Sawmilling Machine
December 11th, 2009Dust in my Chips
I just tried woodworking on the milling machine. It was interesting.
The machine has no end of power, so that’s not an issue. But it tops out at 4200 RPM, which is a little slow. And the aluminum cutters leave a finish that isn’t what you would get with a wood router. Also, the vise bends the work! I think you have to clamp stuff right onto the table to make it work well.
Cleanup wasn’t bad. I did it right away, because I was afraid wood dust would hold moisture and rust the machine.
One nice thing: that 3-phase motor is much quieter than most woodworking machines.
I guess I’ll think about this before I try again. I have a piece of mahogany about 4″ square by 0.44″, and I want to get it to a nice flat 0.28″ and cut some mortises in it.
It may be time to think about real dust collection instead of a cheap mask and a shop-vac.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:00 PM
I found this to be a great help when I set up my cyclone system a few years back: http://www.amazon.com/Woodshop-Dust-Control-Sandor-Nagyszalanczy/dp/1561584991/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260575913&sr=1-1
December 11th, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Steve could you ask your readers to pray for my family?
We are trying to get a trailer placed on our property and the construction isn’t going well. We really need some heavenly intervention on our behalf. We had been promised a move-in date of 12/15 and we aren’t anywhere close.
As an aside-you have written before about the contractors in FL, their incompentency can’t hold a candle to the hillbilly jerks we’ve had to deal with on this. They simply don’t know what they are doing and we have construction equipment stuck in the mud that may be our new lawn sculpture because it’s been there two days and no one has bothered to try and get it out. The worst was showing up today at 11AM and leaving before 3P. I am in the middle of this high-risk pregnancy and being stressed is really taking a toll on me.
Thanks so much!
December 12th, 2009 at 4:25 AM
If the wood is already relatively dry…i.e. hardwood that’s been inside in your garage rather than new fresh wet pressure treated the wood chips will actually act like a dessicant and suck in any moisture it can find from the surfaces of the metal or even the air.
It’s still a good idea to clean things off because the resins in the wood will act like a glue and things can gum up the ways and moving parts by compressing being squeezed between things when you turn the screws.
You’ve apparently got plenty of electrical capacity so remember that nothing beats CFM and STATIC PRESSURE when trying to move solids with air…and that equates to NOISE so if you can mount the moving/shaking/spinning/whirling parts in a closet or even outside (I know…code issues) you will save your sanity not having to listen to it.