Craftsmanship in Wood

Howdy gents,

This forum needs a new thread to bring back a bit of life. I've yet to divert people back over here, sorry for that it's been difficult to break away from the work and working on these machines to get them tip top, or whatever the realistic equivalent is.

I decided to put an add-on to the Felder slot mortiser which allows the machine to hold square chisels. This add-on features a part that bolts onto the motor, for holding chisels, and rack and pinion assembly for driving the chisel.





Only one problem, the chisel is going to apply force to a workpiece which will be held by an overhead clamp. The chisel likely will move the workpiece and so I'll have to clamp on a backup bar each time I use the machine. This seems kind of lame, so I decided it was time for a more complicated solution.

I ordered slabs of cast iron from McMaster Carr along with a hardware such as control handles, heavy washers, roll pins and set screws.

The fence need not keep perfectly square to the table, since the stop at the front of the machine squares stock to the table, however I wanted it to be pretty close incase it should be needed to serve that function. This fence would now act as a backup in conjunction with the eccentric clamp.



A fews hours in machine work later, followed by some touch up details by hand and then blackening for a finish.



The two holes bored through the fence are set to hold the next step in this project; an auxiliary fence. I plan next to source aluminum extrusions (thanks Chris, for the referral to 8020) and aluminum plate to create a wide fence which will double as a support for long stock. The fence will feature stops which will make repeated runs a bit easier and I'm debating a support for the outrigger which will help for when I load this machine up for timber work or other large work.

Looking good so far. Nice to have a milling machine, huh? Next thing, you'll be wanting a welder (I know I do!)

Thanks Chris, indeed it is a handy tool to have

I have my dad’s shop, we’ve got Miller TIG and MIG machines and another fun tool; an Ironworker shear, notcher and punch press.

Now I'm jealous. You have all the cool toys! Even if I could swing the purchase of those sort of machines, I have no room in my shop for them.

How far is your dad's shop from your shop, and is his shop also a basement shop?

It’s about 25 minutes drive. His shop is in the garage, it’s the same shop where the Bridgeport lives.

Hehe, it is certainly nice to have access to this stuff. It seems that woodworking needs a lot of support from metal working equipment.

Or, its all done with a penknife I guess. Much smaller shop, and greatly reduced issues with electrical costs, dumpster rentals, insurance...

He’s retired now, so he reduced it down to what he felt was equipment that he really uses (very occasionally now) and keeps it in the garage for the reasons you mention.

Until recently there was a Cnc plasma cutter and hydraulic brake for sheet metal up to about 1/4” thickness. Neither of which were getting used after my dad retired.

Brian wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 28, 2018 7:26 am

Hehe, it is certainly nice to have access to this stuff. It seems that woodworking needs a lot of support from metal working equipment.

So true. I recently discovered that my local go-to machine shop is gone, and that’s going to cause me some trouble until I find a new one. I was intending to use them for a few projects related to the new machines in my shop, and had been wondering why they hadn’t got back to me.

I’ll probably end up with a mill at some point, but I’m likewise space (and ceiling height) constrained. Definitely nothing in the short term, while I’m still getting the shop built and organized.

A mill is really nice to have, works great for many woodworking processes as well. The nice thing is that you can see what’s happening in the cut, not the case with most routers.

Agree - you can see what's happening in the cut, AND, there is the ability to fixture a piece onto a non-flexing support table, so the work is held properly . It's safer, and fewer opportunities for mistakes.