any advice on spindle moulder tooling?

[jeffinfrance]

hi all,

i'm taking delivery of a new felder spindle moulder (3.6kw monophase moter) and being a novice dont know much about the tooling. i know there is an enormous price variable.

to get some experience on it, i'm going to start by using my router tooling, but as its a very expensive router table would prefer to get the most from the machine.

does anyone have experience of using universal cutterblocks and the much more expensive profiled specific blocks?

hope you can help

jeff

 

[Shultzy]

I, along with gasman, have the Record universal which has a spindle moulder. It has a universal cutter block with 40mm cutters. I have about 6 different shapes inc. T&G and a raised panel set. No problems, easy to sharpen and easy to change. If I was changing cutters constantly I would buy more than one cutter block, but for what I use it for one is sufficient. Only consider the profile specific blocks if you need to create a lot of the same profile or these profiles are not available as separate cutters.

PS Your Felder may take the 50mm or 60mm blocks.

 

[Karl]

I'm going to qualify this post by saying that i've only owned my spindle moulder for a few weeks, so i'm just getting to grips with it.

The very first thing I would do, before even plugging the machine in, is to buy a few DVD's on SM useage and watch them a few times. Maybe even see if somebody local can give some tuition on safe use.

As regards tooling, it very much depends on what you intend to do with it. I bought a rebate block, a 6mm grooving cutter and a "euro" block which takes the standard form of 40mm cutters.

Cheers

Karl

 

[jasonB]

As Karl says the basic tooling to think about would be a block to take 40mm euro knives, a dedicated rebate block with scribing cutters and I would suggest a wobble saw rather than a fixed width groover, the Omas ones from Wealden or Axi do a good job.

The profiled blocks are really for when you want to do a lot of one specific task and I would only suggest getting them as and when the need arises.

Jason

 

[jeffinfrance]

thanks guys,

i'm grtting a dvd with the machine and i'm going to get a book suggested to me here.

sounds good sense to go for the universal block. i think i can go up to 115mm tooling so makes sense to go for 50mm blocks and a selection of knives.

i was thinking of going for a specific tongue and groove set because i do quite a lot of that already.

thanks for the help,

all the best,

jeff

 

[RogerS]

....

to get some experience on it, i'm going to start by using my router tooling, but as its a very expensive router table would prefer to get the most from the machine.
....

I didn't think they went fast enough to use router cutters unless the Felder is different

 

[Chippyjoe]

....

to get some experience on it, i'm going to start by using my router tooling, but as its a very expensive router table would prefer to get the most from the machine.
....

I didn't think they went fast enough to use router cutters unless the Felder is different

Yep,they do a router spindle that replaces the standard one,takes about 3 minutes to change and spins at 15000 rpm.

Mark.

 

[cutting solutions]

sounds good sense to go for the universal block. i think i can go up to 115mm tooling so makes sense to go for 50mm blocks and a selection of knives.

If the max diameter tooling you can use on your machine is 115 mm you will need the cutterhead to be the smaller of the two that are generally avaiable. 93 mm as when you add the knives the cut circle will be up to 110 mm. make sure the 50 mm wide heads are available in the smaller diameter...I am sure they are but.....

 

[jasonB]

I think Jeff was talking about tool height as the Felders can swing around 220mm dia

Jason

 

[jeffinfrance]

yes i was jason,

you seem pretty jenned up on the felder, you used one before?

jeff

 

[jasonB]

No but almost bought a Hammer c3-31 combi, just decided that with the comfort package it would take up a bit too much room in my workshop.

Jason

 

[RogerS]

.... the comfort package ....

Jason

I always smile when I read that. It conjures up such images ....

 

[jasonB]

.... the comfort package ....

Jason

I always smile when I read that. It conjures up such images ....

You get your laderhozen made from soft leather with that package :wink:

J

 

[Tim Nott]

The 40mm block is what I use most, it was bought at the same time as the machine & came with ten pairs of cutters. I bought a 50mm block when I had some really big mouldings to do for this http://www.timnott.co.uk/gallery/builtin/target7.html. (Also bought a powerfeeder for that job)
Since then I tend to keep 50mm block set up for rebating.
A grooving thingy is useful - I got one that stacks from 6mm upwards - can fine tune it with spacers.
Also got a thing specific for fielding panels or 'plat-bande' - I'm also in France
It works over the wood, which is much less scary than you would think.
I've found Outillage 2000 pretty good, but also order specific cutters from Axminster, Wealden Tool and Whitehill in UK

 

[jeffinfrance]

thanks tim,

are outillage 2000 something like otelo, i use them if i have to buy tools here, although most of the time i buy from the uk, its still so much cheaper. i saved 2500 on the felder, buying at sterling prices direct from austria. its even got to be installed by the local dealer. if you think about it, that extra has to be just extra tax, the machine cant cost more. crazy.

"fielding panels" ?? unfamilier with that term.

i suppose you get a wider selection of knives with a 40mm, good place to start i guess. two pairs of tongue and groove knives wont break the bank either. steel or ali block? and is it best to get the biggest diameter possible?

i see there's a few "neuvaux frenchies" here. is it for the huge workshops? sorry jason! more space to be comfortable here! its certainly not for the low prices...except the houses of course!

 

[Tim Nott]

thanks tim,

Fielding panels - moulding the face of a penel around the edge - a sort of curvey rebate - so, eg, a 20mm thick panel can fit in a 10mm groove on the inside of the door

I don't know what the advanteges of sttel vs alu re. Except the alu blocks ar lighter and stop quicker. Beware the T&G knives. I got some from Axminster, and in the naive assumption that they would be matched, cut the grooves, changed th cutters in the same block without altering the height and started cutting the tongues. They don't match in height - you have to adjust,
Certinly not for the huge workshop! Ours is 205cm high so a bit of a trial making anything taller

"fielding panels" ?? unfamilier with that term.

i suppose you get a wider selection of knives with a 40mm, good place to start i guess. two pairs of tongue and groove knives wont break the bank either. steel or ali block? and is it best to get the biggest diameter possible?

i see there's a few "neuvaux frenchies" here. is it for the huge workshops? sorry jason! more space to be comfortable here! its certainly not for the low prices...except the houses of course!

 

[cutting solutions]

With Alu blocks you get a conflict between the block, knives and screws.

Alu doesnt like the tough steel and wears down quicker.
Not a problem if you only use them occasionally but if its professional use I would recommend the steel one.

 

[jeffinfrance]

thanks tim and "cutter",

sound advice seems, always buy the best you can afford.

cheers agian,

jeff

 

[ProShop]

With Alu blocks you get a conflict between the block, knives and screws.

Alu doesnt like the tough steel and wears down quicker.
Not a problem if you only use them occasionally but if its professional use I would recommend the steel one.

Having used alloy blocks 5 days of the week, month in month out for years in a Pro workshop, I can honestly say imho that alloy is as good as steel any day. They are cheaper to buy, much lighter and in turn much kinder to the machine, especially if it's a low HP machine. And the quality of the cut is as good.

Even the top tooling firms use alloy blocks.

We have blocks in both alloy & steel some of them are huge, some are small & they all perform the same.

 

[ProShop]

thanks guys,
i'm grtting a dvd with the machine and i'm going to get a book suggested to me here.
sounds good sense to go for the universal block. i think i can go up to 115mm tooling so makes sense to go for 50mm blocks and a selection of knives.

i was thinking of going for a specific tongue and groove set because i do quite a lot of that already.
thanks for the help,
all the best,jeff

Top tip Jeff, get yourself a powerfeeder, you can't handfeed for quality of finish like a powerfeeder.

Also FWIW bigger cutter blocks give a better finish.