What spindle tooling

[MrYorke]

Having just bought a second had Jet JWS-34 I now need to get some tooling. I'm guessing it's worth buying a block and just buy cutters/limiters as and when I need them.

An Axminster store has just opened up 10 mins from me (Cardiff branch) so I was thinking of buying one of their blocks and cutters as they'll probably have them in stock most if not all the time......and they open on a Sunday which is a massive bonus.

So what do you think? Is that sensible?

Or should I buy online from somewhere else?

I have no problem in buying quality of it means spending a bit more

Cheers in advance

 

[RobinBHM]

Axminster is fine, from memory their tooling is from Whitehill.

A very useful starter block is a euro profile block. It takes cutters that have twin holes and there are many profiles available ( some of which are strange shapes!). If you have a look on ebay you will see sellers offering the block at good prices and there are good prices to be had for the cutters.When comparing, note that you need 2 cutter + 2 limiters per profile.

One confusion with euro cutters is that they come 40mm wide, 50mm wide and in different thicknesses; 4mm, 5mm, 5.5mm and most blocks wont take all sizes. Also some blocks will take the cutter but wont allow the full profile to be machined, this is usually large bullnose profiles, where the centre is ground back quite deep.

A 125mm x 50mm rebate block is very useful, I would definitely put one one the list.

I dont know if they still do it, but Felder used to do a Christmas specials brochurr which often had some good deals on blocks.

Have a look on line at; whitehill, wealdon, scott and sargeant.

If you get a wealdon spinfle tooling brochurr it has all of the euro profiles shown full size.

 

[MrYorke]

Lovely. Cheers.

 

[deema]

The four blocks that I seem to use all of the time are
1. Rebate block
2. Euro block
3. Wobble saw for grooves
4. Adjustable angle block.

5. I know I said 4, but I have a Tennnoner. A Whitehill tennon block, the biggest your spindle will take.

I bought them all on eBay when I got my spindle for not much money. I selected Whitehill and ensured that they were modern safety blocks with pins rather than grooves - they are far easier to setup.

 

[custard]

Having just bought a second had Jet JWS-34 I now need to get some tooling. I'm guessing it's worth buying a block and just buy cutters/limiters as and when I need them.

An Axminster store has just opened up 10 mins from me (Cardiff branch) so I was thinking of buying one of their blocks and cutters as they'll probably have them in stock most if not all the time......and they open on a Sunday which is a massive bonus.

So what do you think? Is that sensible?

Or should I buy online from somewhere else?

I have no problem in buying quality of it means spending a bit more

Cheers in advance

I'm guessing from your question that you're new to spindle machine work. Congratulations, it's a terrific machine and it opens the door to all sorts of furniture and joinery components.

However it has a ferocious reputation for not just nipping off half a finger, but mangling an entire hand.

At the very least you should print this off and carefully read every word,

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis18.pdf

Unfortunately like all these safety documents it assumes a fair bit of the very basic knowledge, like the correct method for tightening the cap nut or how to cut through a false fence, so you should seriously consider getting some training from an experienced and qualified man. Peter Sefton runs highly regarded short machinery courses, or maybe you could find something similar closer to you.

Good luck!

 

[blackrodd]

Having just bought a second had Jet JWS-34 I now need to get some tooling. I'm guessing it's worth buying a block and just buy cutters/limiters as and when I need them.

An Axminster store has just opened up 10 mins from me (Cardiff branch) so I was thinking of buying one of their blocks and cutters as they'll probably have them in stock most if not all the time......and they open on a Sunday which is a massive bonus.

So what do you think? Is that sensible?

Or should I buy online from somewhere else?

I have no problem in buying quality of it means spending a bit more

Cheers in advance

I'm guessing from your question that you're new to spindle machine work. Congratulations, it's a terrific machine and it opens the door to all sorts of furniture and joinery components.

However it has a ferocious reputation for not just nipping off half a finger, but mangling an entire hand.

At the very least you should print this off and carefully read every word,

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis18.pdf

Unfortunately like all these safety documents it assumes a fair bit of the very basic knowledge, like the correct method for tightening the cap nut or how to cut through a false fence, so you should seriously consider getting some training from an experienced and qualified man. Peter Sefton runs highly regarded short machinery courses, or maybe you could find something similar closer to you.

Good luck!

+ 1 for the above, The spindle moulder is a wonderful machine, but it can, and will, bite the unwary.
regards Rodders

 

[deema]

I would strongly recommend a power feed. I lived without one for many years until I had a kick back and my fingers were saved by the Shaw guards.....which is what they are for!!! The power feed means that nothing gets anywhere near the exciting bits and you get a far superior cut.

 

[MrYorke]

Thanks for the advice. Having used heavy duty spindle moulders for several years up until 4-5years ago I'm pretty confident in using one.

Yes, am looking to get a power feed as soon as funds permit so will be using all shaw guards etc until then.

Was just looking at what people recommended for that size machine as I've not used such a small machine before.

Cheers for all the advice

 

[RobinBHM]

I see axminster have that jet model. Athough a small machine, it has a cast table and looks a nice machine. I used to have a kity spindle and it produced just as good results as a heavy machine when using a rebate block or euro block. I used it with a power feed, which worked fine as far machine went, but I couldnt swing the arm right out of the way or the machine would tip over.

 

[dzj]

A spiral-cutter head, panel raising cutters...

 

[PAC1]

Wealden Adjustable groover rather than a wobble saw if you are looking to use it for cabinet making. The wobble saw is great and can be set very accurately but the finish is sometimes a bit utilitarian