Lam trimmer with micro height adjust
Hi All,
I make guitars as a hobby, and I use a laminate trimmer with a rabbeting knife to rout out a channel for purfling and bindings ( these are the bindings that wrap around the edge of the guitar body where the front and the back of the guitar meet the sides ), this is done to seal the edges and give the guitar a nice appearance.
I am looking for a laminate trimmer with a precise height adjustment that is easy to set because I sometimes have to use bindings of different height. I’ve worked with the Porter cable model but I find that the knob on the base is not efficient at micro height adjustments, when I loosen the tightening screw the base tends to swing away from the motor while I turn the height adjust screw and I have to readjust the height all over again. It’s like a game of hit and miss sometimes I make 5-6 height adjustments and test cuts on scrap before the base is at the right height. I’m looking for a trimmer that holds the base at the same position even with the tightening screw loosened so I can make micro height adjustments of 1mm or less, and will keep that position after the tightening screw is closed again. Any suggestions?
Replies
I have the exact same problem with laminate trimmers, they're almost impossible to adjust precisely. They all seem to have been designed by people who haven't a clue as to how they're used. A smooth working fine adjustment is equally important for working with laminate, not just for a special application like your's. You have to do the hunt and peck routine until you get the setting you want more or less by pure luck.
Every time I see a new trimmer I check out the controls, I'm still looking. My guess is that there's a European trimmer that isn't widely distributed in the U.S. or specialty tool meant for some other purpose out there that will do the job. Maybe this posting will turn up something.
John W.
I agree with Routerman. The Porter-cable 310 can literally be adjusted to a few thousandths of an inch, repeatedly. They seem to be in all the laminate shops around here, and most of the fancy aftermarket laminating fixtures by Betterly are made to fit them.
Michael R.
A british mag called Furniture and Cabinetmaking just had a review on a laminate trimmer by Festool - OFK 700 EQ-Plus.
The tool sounds pretty sweet and has infinte adjustment.
This is the Festool version of what used to be called the Holz-Her 2350. Festool took over manufacture of this item when Holz-Her ceased trading last year. I can confirm that this has, indeed, got micro height adjuster, however, if you do buy one you'll have to make sure that you get the auxilliary 0 degree fence as the standard one is angled over at about 5 degrees. The width of cut is adjusted using a knob with a cam actuator to move the follow bearing in and out - quick but not wonderfully precise and requires a light touch. It is a body grip and other hand machine. Brilliant laminate trimer - probably the I've ever owned
Another machine to consider is the deWalt DW609. This is a re-introduction of the Elu MKF67 trimmer and has a screw adjuster for depth of cut and a screw adjuster on the bearing guide for horizontal width of cut adjustment. Probably very good for purfling, however this machine has a back handle plus base knob grip and the base is rather large and may well obstruct your vision of the workpiece. I believe that the DeWalt DW613K offers similar versatility, but as I don't have one in the shop I can't comment on that one.
Scrit
Edited 12/5/2003 10:38:58 AM ET by Scrit
If anyone has a standard base for a PC 310 Laminate trimmer I'd be glad to have it - I have a 310 power head but no base - it's a long story.
Tool parts supply hose.
Normally carried in stock.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Hey Scrit... you must be from 'cross the pond :)
I called festool and they said there were no immediate plans to sell their new laminate trimmer in the USA.
I was considering a laminate trimmer purchase also...I might look into the dewalt.
thnx
PC 310 has continuous predictable up/down adjustment.
Wood',
I created a two piece adjustable sub base for a laminate trimmer to overcome a similar micro height adjustment dilemma. The bonus to this solution is that you lock the trimmer at certain depth of cut and leave it there.
The materials I used were: some some scrap 1/4" Lexan and 3/16" phenolic (5" x 5"), 1/4" threaded rod (approx. 4" total), 3 wing nuts, 3 washers, some epoxy, and the shims from a stack dado blade set.
Remove the stock sub base from the trimmer and use it as template to lay out the screw and center holes on the 3/16" phenolic. An easier solution to this is to photocopy the stock sub base and then spray glue it to the phenolic. This way you can drill or cut right through the image perfectly the first time. The new sub base needs to be at least one inch oversized all the way around.
The next step is the same as the previous one - this time making the sub base from the 1/4" Lexan and do not drill mounting screw holes (just the center hole). Cut segments of threaded rod into 1" lengths. Line up the two sub bases and using the appropriate sized bit, drill three holes spaced evenly apart. You want to drill through the 3/16" phenolic, but stop 1/16" short of drilling through the Lexan. Epoxy the three threaded rod segments into the holes in the Lexan. After it has cured, screw the phenolic sub base to your trimmer, slip the posts from the Lexan base into the holes in the phenolic, tighten it down with some wing nuts, and you're done!
Set the trimmer (with both bases on) to your initial depth of cut and leave the adjustment there. Now to increase the depth of cut, unbolt the Lexan sub base, slip in the appropriate dado shim thickness, bolt it back together and you're off to the races. It's precise, fast, and easy.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Hi Jackie Chan,
This sounds like a great system, can you send me a photo of the set up? it will make it easier to visualize and assemble it, thank you.
Wood',
Here is a graphic of the router's set up.
Please feel free to send along any questions if they arise!Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Dan,
Your solution is well designed, I really like it. Using shims to fine tune the settings of a machine is an under used and generally unappreciated method of obtaining high precision with simplicity.
As I commented in the note I just posted, the PC 310 is a very nice tool that I'm probably going to purchase, but I'm going to file away your solution as an alternative that I may still use, if not right away, then in the future when I have a similar problem.
Thanks, John W.
Woodwiz and Routerman,
I have just tried out the Porter Cable Model 310, that you recommended, and it is a very sweet tool.
The used one I borrowed needed to have some burrs on the threaded body removed and an application of a dry lube, but once it was cleaned up, the precision of the height adjustment was all I could ask for. The accessory guide that attaches to the underside of the base was also well designed and easy to adjust without the usual frustrating sloppiness or flexing that most trimmers have.
Thank you for the information.
John W.
Edited 12/3/2003 11:45:23 AM ET by JohnW
Woodhobbyist,
As I commented in the post above, I tried out the PC 310, and it is very easy to adjust precisely, it had none of the usual frustrating slop that every other trimmer seems to have built in.
The ring that adjusts the bit height is slightly over 3 inches in diameter, a 1mm height change would be about a 1/4 inch movement on the perimeter of the ring, so getting the precision you need should be no problem. You should be able to easily adjust the height to a small fraction of a mm with no shift when the setting is locked.
John W.
Edited 12/3/2003 12:11:19 PM ET by JohnW
Hi John W,
I checked on the PC website and this trimmer does have a precise height adjustment similar to the one they have on the larger routers. I do like Jackie Chan's shim solution though, it's simple, effective and elegant. Thank you for the input.
I have the PC 310. It sits and collects dust. I don't like the depth adjustment. Not smmoooooth. Switch is goofy too.
I use the Bosch #1609AKX. It may do what you need it to do and then some. You can do finer than 1/64" in adjustments.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
Imerc,
Try cleaning the threads and using a dry lube on the PC, the one I borrowed barely worked until I cleaned it off, but now it works like a fine camera. Actually, don't clean it up, send it to me, I'll give you $20.00 for it.
I'm using a Bosch 1609 now and its the reason I'm looking for a different trimmer. The Bosch's adjustment mechanism has always been annoyingly sloppy in my long experience with the machine. It may be that mine, which is several years old, has a different adjustment system from the one you have.
The slide switch on the nearly new Porter Cable I tried seems to be almost identical to the switch on my older Bosch 1609A, in any case, the switch on the PC worked well for me.
John W.
My 1609 is pushing 21 or 22 years old. It's sssmmmoooootttthhhh.
The 310's switch pushed back into the housing. The switch isn't mounted in it's little hole any more. Still works. So much for plastic. Cleaning, polishing and dry lubeing it did wonders but I still don't think it is very smooth. I should not have had to do that to a tool right out of the box. I took the 1st one back. 2nd one too for this reason. This is the 3rd one.
The 310 is PC's example of quality control, fine engineering or just slam it together for as little as possible and pass on the problem. After all it might have cost PC another buck or two to get it right. As near as I can tell these problems still exsist with their routers.They havedone no corrective avtion. If the 310 had been free it's not worth the aggrevation.
I believe that if I fork over a pile of bucks for something it should work fine right out of the box. Work well and last a life time or a little longer than that. Not 3, 4 or 5 years and become disposeable. I try to buy the best I can even if the money is a strain but not go ape either.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
i have a couple of makita laminate trimmers and they have a reasonably good rack and pinion system, the tool also has plenty of power for most 1/4 router bits
caulking is not a piece of trim
I have a DeWalt trimmer that was difficult to adjust. I took it apart and cleaned up the ways, the screw and any other part that slid, turned etc. I used some fine files and 600 grit emerypaper. Gave it a bit of wax and it works nice and smooth. That was about 3 years ago and it still works fine.
I use it a lot, but not on the commercial level that some do.
Curt
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