anatomy of a spindle moulder ??

[Tusses]

well, I picked my little spindle moulder up today.

Never having seen one before, I'd like to know how it ticks.

If anyone can explain what each bit does that'd be great !



I have some spare spindles, so I guess they just screw in and out ?

I have 5/8" 3/4" and one that takes router bits

the fence and guard are pretty self explanatory - each side of the fence moves front and back, and towards and away from the cutter.

the table tilts both ways - but onle has a scale for tilting down, so I guess it should only be used tilting down ? ? ?

it has a sliding dovetail mitre slot with holes. I guess these are for clamp downs ?

cutters ... I have 4 different types that I can tell, the 1st is easy - router cutters can be used with one of the spindles. another spindle I think he said and take whitehead cutters ? 3/4 ?

there is this one that looks like it should fit a 1" spindle, and it has a bushing to reduce the hole so it fits the 5/8" spindle with this machine

there is this type of cutter

and finaly slot/grove cutters that look like they can stack on a spindle with various spacers

which cutter is the 'french' one I have heared worrying things about ?

thanks for any help

 

[jasonB]

I think I would weigh it in for scrap, just too dangerous to risk using it whith that tooling.

There are no french cutters that I can see but the spindle on the left with the slot in it is for holding them. Some of the other holders/bolcks look even more dangerous, particularly 2nd & 3rd from last.

Jason

 

[Tusses]

I am looking to get a modern cutter head with limiters

 

[ProShop]

In Pic 3 of the cutters some would call that a French cutter, but it's not imho.
although fairly similar (we scrapped those years ago), the most scary block ever invented imho :shock: :shock: The French cutters used to go through a slot cut right through the spindle shaft, they were one piece sharpened & profiled on both ends.

I can't tell from the pics what size the spindle shaft is :?: . And I'm not sure if the other cuter blocks are pinned or not. Having worked with moulders for many years I personally wouldn't use any of them in your pics today although I have years ago as they were the norm.


Ah have just spotted the french cutter spindle in your first pic of the collection of 3 spindles, it's the one on the left with the slot in it .



..

 

[Digit]

the most scary block ever invented imho

Not half! As an engineer I have to wonder what sort of.......whatever came up with the design. He must have had a death wish, or a hatred of wood workers!

Roy.

 

[Scrit]

the most scary block ever invented imho

Not half! As an engineer I have to wonder what sort of.......whatever came up with the design. He must have had a death wish, or a hatred of wood workers!

They're slotted collars which by the 1960s had acquired locator pins (that set doesn't have any) and were still notorious for throwing cutters - and if one went, the other did as well! In terms of scary I don't think you could beat the old square cutter blocks where it was quite normal to run two, three or even four pairs of cutters on a single block. All these old tooling types have been banned - French cutters, square blocks and slotted collars in 1974, old-style unpinned Whitehill blocks, non-limiter tooling, etc in the late 1990s. They were chief contributors to the fearsome reputation that spindle moulders once had and since their demise accident rates have dropped dramatically. Fot anyone interested modern tooling is discussed here.

Scrit

 

[Digit]

In the past Scrit I have been known to make comments unfavourable to the operation of H & S, but by God they got that right, believe me, I know!
Fearsome rep is damn right!

Roy.