Replies

1. 
   JeffKurtz | Oct 12, 2002 03:32pm | #1

   Wood Hoon,

   Tauton's On Making and Modifying Machinery has some great plans.  It's out of print, but easily available o the web - I think you can usually find good copies at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  You'll also find a lot of material in the Popular Mechanics reprints Lee Valley has.  For now, try these links:

   http://members.aol.com/woodmiser1/   (Allan's Wood Miser's Workshop)

   http://www.wwforum.com/index.asp   (Badger Pond)

   http://www.2.cs.cmu.edu/~alf/en/   (Electronic Neanderthal)

   http://members.aol.com/lughaid/index.htm  (A Lot of Brass)

   http://www.mimf.com/archives/thickness_sander2.htm  (Building Your Own Thickness Sander)

   Be sure to check their links.  Jeff

   
   

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   Edited 10/12/2002 8:51:36 AM ET by Jeff K

   
   

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   Edited 10/12/2002 3:58:41 PM ET by Jeff K

2. 
   rslatm | Oct 12, 2002 05:02pm | #2

   For one thing the best search engine only get 15% of whats's out there. There's more available in print in my experience and that's not a lot. As far as building woodworking tools with all the imports you can't build it cheaper than you can buy off the shelf plus you will need a lot of metal working experience. Plus buying used or at auctions is a better bet. Before you can build a machine you must understand how to tune up and rebuild a machine. Gilliom is a company that sells parts and plans to make some basic machines such as a tablesaw etc. I used to see them advertised in FWW. Planers and jointers are a more advanced a project that require a lot more skills and access to metal working equipment. Even if you bought imported cutterheads, rollers etc you will go well over the price of buying a new machine. The only reason to build your own woodworking machinery is for the fun of it, certainly not the cost. The web is a great source of information but if you want to find information on building machinery go to the Library and look through old Popular Mechanics magazines. Look for Gilliom company I mentioned and do a search for Dave Gingery's website. He sells old reprints but his stuff concerns mostly building metal working tools. Occasionally the Homeshop Machinist magazine has an article on building something woodworking related tools. Get on with your woodworking and stop torturing yourself with this notion.

   Here's a guy who built his own Biesemeyer Fence at only twice the price of buying a real one.

   http://www.tdl.com/~swensen/machines/fence/fence.html

   Rick

1. 
   AJinNZ | Oct 13, 2002 11:51am | #3

   Thanks for the links and suggestions.

   I am not especially hellbent on making my own machinery, but, some equipment here can get pretty pricey. A bandsaw is what I know i could build for a very reasonable cost.  If I bought one anywhere near the size I require, then spent hours and dollars tuning it.............I figgure why not just build what i want right off?

   The purpose of looking around at others plans, ideas, mistakes etc is to use the best of these. There would be some satisfaction in  making my own gear. A basic tablesaw isnt difficult, but a tilt capability would be a little more tricky.

   Thanks again.

    

   Wood Hoon

1. 
   rslatm | Oct 13, 2002 04:05pm | #4

   AJINNZ...spend the time learning how to find and tune up the used stuff and you'll be way ahead of the game. In my experience buying used will yield far better deals. I once bought a used Oliver 32" bandsaw for $300 that didn't need any work at all. Put the time in learning about phase converters because that's where the deals are. Of course if space is an issue then that's probably out. Most of the books on making machines date back to before the import explosion and the net. Definitely a Popular Mechanic crowd and there wasn't the options you have today nor were there as many wood mags available. Go to a news stand and see how many magazines are published on any given hobby to judge popularity.

   Rick

1. 
   AJinNZ | Oct 13, 2002 10:34pm | #5

   Rick, My situation is this. LOTS of space. A piddly 20amp power supply. ( I looked at phase convertors, priced the bits to make one, got really excited................then decided against it cos the power available isnt enough to run the machine and the inefficiencies of the convertor.)

   Despite that, if I saw a deal like yours I would buy anyway, but they are more rare here. I keep my eyes open however.

   An example is.......I have seen a monster cast iron jointer. A bed 2 feet wide and 6 long. A tablesaw beside it equally massive. Could probably get them very cheap. But sadly just not feasible due to power restrictions. Getting 3 phase power put on hits the $6000 mark and then climbs.

   So, I keep looking at different ways. Building my own has been in the back of my mind for years, just thought I would look at it properly. Just so damn difficult to get it on the net.

   Found some great stuff on metal casting, primitive archery, finishing ..................:)  

   Wood Hoon

1. 
   LeeEschen | Oct 13, 2002 11:29pm | #6

   AJINNZ wrote: An example is.......I have seen a monster cast iron jointer. A bed 2 feet wide and 6 long. A tablesaw beside it equally massive. Could probably get them very cheap. But sadly just not feasible due to power restrictions. Getting 3 phase power put on hits the $6000 mark and then climbs.

   ---------

   Have you looked into replacing the motor in such monster machines? Some may have peculiar configurations, but I would think many three phase motors would have 240 volt 2 phase equivelents. 5HP motors are relatively cheap and available and should be able to power most equipment, even the jointer and tablesaw mentioned above.

   The efficiency gained by not having a phase converter along with cost savings would allow putting a decent magnetic switch on the circuit. Just make certain that you know what you are doing with electricity or get a professional electrician to help with the project.--

   Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon

   On the Redwood Highway

2. 
   JeffKurtz | Oct 13, 2002 11:40pm | #7

   Sounds like you'll need to get a heavier service before you start anything.  I'm not very familiar with the new static and electronic phase converters, but I think they're a lot more efficient than they used to be (70%) and only a fraction of the cost of rotary converters.

   Again, if one found an old 3 phase machine cheaply enough, it would pay to simply replace the motor witha single phase unit.

   Jeff

3. 
   rslatm | Oct 14, 2002 12:46am | #8

   He needs more power or he can't do anything. A static converter only starts the machine then just sits there waiting for the next time it starts it. The reason it only has 2/3 to 1/2 the power is two legs are doing all the work and the stator coasts by the third unpowered leg until it hits the energized legs again. The rotary is probably the most vesatile because you can hook different hp motors up to it. A rotary can be made with a slave motor and a static to get it running. One could also use a fractional hp motor to get the slave motor running. I've seen it done with a rope pull as well. The rotary will give full three phase. The inverters have come down in price but still expensive to run a whole shop full of machines. They are more particular to the motor size and must be chosen accordingly. Inverters are nice for shapers, drill presses and machines you want to run at infinitely variable speed. So actually a rotary can be cheaper if you can score an old (careful on this one...too old and you can have problems) three phase motor and spend a couple of hundred on a static. Don't hold me to the costs. Statics vary from light duty to heavy duty. I usually buy phase-a-matics from Enco at a good price. There's a lot of little nit picky details that I'm leaving out. I'm no electrician but I've dealt with phase converters a lot over the years for my use and others but I use the experts to guide me. Best bet is to get information from the converter companies and your local motor repair shop. I've seen a lot of well intentioned mis-information on forums about converters. I find for the most part the converter route is better for these machines as a lot of the motors are part of the machine or changing frame sizes of motor results in a lot more complications with new pulleys and can actually cost more in the long run. There's exceptons of course.

   Rick

4. 
   AJinNZ | Oct 14, 2002 03:47am | #9

   Thanks guys. You got me thinking again.

   The monster jointer I will leave alone. It has a 5 horse 3 phase donk driving it, so the power limits squash that one. I think bigger power tools are better, but even I cant see a need for a jointer bed the size of a small ship. <G>

    BUT, what i am thinking is, if a tablesaw has a 12'' blade for example and a 3 horse motor. I assume the motor is sized to run that diameter blade without overload, etc. If I put on a 10" blade then a smaller motor would do fine...............right?

   Then swapping the 3 phase for a single is feasible. I got a 2 horse , 3 phase planer and put a 2 horse single in it. works well. I just need to be careful not to have anything else running when I start it up. Once humming along all is good.

   I looked at building a rotory convertor with a small slave. the cost was well within limits, time factor didnt worry me. The pathetic little circuit is the stumbling block. There really isnt any way to beef it up without running into thousands either, i looked at all of them. best I could come up with was to buy the 3 phase producing gizmo for approx $1500, then spin the thing myself with a diesel car engine. All up only a few thousand compared to almost 10. still out of my bracket just now.

   If getting a large throat 2 horse band saw at a sensible cost means building one, then fine by me.

   thanks for the ideas. 

   Wood Hoon

5. 
   JeffKurtz | Oct 15, 2002 12:35am | #10

   Thanks for the information Rick.

   Jeff