Alternative To The Aigner Spindle Moulder Finger Fence?

[pollys13]

Hi all,
The Axy version is £75 Code: 951688 and has very good reviews.Load less expensive than the Trend version.
Thought a finger fence would be better than faffing about with false fences all the time. That breaking through of the cutter through the false fence, strikes me as a bit of a dodgy procedure. I've seen them doing it on the Health & Safety Executive video and Roy Suttons Basic Spindle Moulding dvd still looks dodgy to me.

I'm about to order the Axminster false fence but before I do. I'd like to hear peoples opinion?
Anyone got one, how did they get on with it?
Cheers.

 

[ColeyS1]

It does look good ! It's a shame they didn't allow the slidey fingers longer so it could be slid from the left fence to the right fence in one piece. With a join I can see issues unless they slot together somehow.
I imagine if you use the standard fence at the momentit'll be an upgrade. Just make sure all the grub screws are tight !

Coley

 

[pollys13]

It does look good ! It's a shame they didn't allow the slidey fingers longer so it could be slid from the left fence to the right fence in one piece. With a join I can see issues unless they slot together somehow.
I imagine if you use the standard fence at the momentit'll be an upgrade. Just make sure all the grub screws are tight !

Coley

OK, if I order it, " It's a shame they didn't allow the slidey fingers longer so it could be slid from the left fence to the right fence in one piece. With a join I can see issues unless they slot together somehow. " I'll get back to you and let you know
Peter.

 

[ColeyS1]

I could tell you why the aigner would be a much better choice in terms of flexibility etc but compared to standard the Axminster will be an improvement. Even with the aigner there are restrictions, that Axminster has many more which may or may not be an issue.

Coley

 

[pollys13]

I could tell you why the aigner would be a much better choice in terms of flexibility etc but compared to standard the Axminster will be an improvement. Even with the aigner there are restrictions, that Axminster has many more which may or may not be an issue.

Coley

Even with the aigner there are restrictions, that Axminster has many more which may or may not be an issue.
" that Axminster has many more which may or may not be an issue" Which restrictions?
Cheers.

 

[Jacob]

The usual thing is to fix a sacrificial fence (mdf etc) and to drop it carefully back on to the cutter.
Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc.

 

[pollys13]

The usual thing is to fix a sacrificial fence (mdf etc) and to drop it carefully back on to the cutter.
Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc.

" Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc. "
Which profiles and could you explain, technique of cutting with the bandsaw?
Thank you.

 

[Jacob]

The usual thing is to fix a sacrificial fence (mdf etc) and to drop it carefully back on to the cutter.
Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc.

" Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc. "
Which profiles and could you explain, technique of cutting with the bandsaw?
Thank you.

There are an infinite number of possible profiles. Some of them only cut part of the workpiece so you might need clearance for the parts of the cutter or the block which would extend into the false fence but without reaching the workpiece.
It'd be obvious if you were trying it. Instead of cutting as you drop the fence on there'd be a bit of a bashing going on!

 

[RobinBHM]

And deep profile cuts may require a slot cut out for the shaft.

An aigner might cost as much as a spindle moulder, around the £1000 mark!

 

[pollys13]

And deep profile cuts may require a slot cut out for the shaft.

An aigner might cost as much as a spindle moulder, around the £1000 mark!

" And deep profile cuts may require a slot cut out for the shaft." Could you explain that a bit?
Yes I know the aigner stuff is really expensive.

 

[pollys13]

The usual thing is to fix a sacrificial fence (mdf etc) and to drop it carefully back on to the cutter.
Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc.

" Some profiles this won't work and you have to cut with bandsaw etc. "
Which profiles and could you explain, technique of cutting with the bandsaw?
Thank you.

There are an infinite number of possible profiles. Some of them only cut part of the workpiece so you might need clearance for the parts of the cutter or the block which would extend into the false fence but without reaching the workpiece.
It'd be obvious if you were trying it. Instead of cutting as you drop the fence on there'd be a bit of a bashing going on!

" Some of them only cut part of the workpiece " Are you saying, that only a section of the cutter profile is used to make the cut?
Cheers.

 

[RobinBHM]

If you use an 18mm false fence it may restrict the depth of cut because the shaft hits the back of the fence before the profile depth is reached. A common prkblem with fielding blocks.

 

[pollys13]

Assume using a finger fence is not possible to offset the fences?

 

[custard]

Hi all,
The Axy version is £75 Code: 951688 and has very good reviews.Load less expensive than the Trend version.
Thought a finger fence would be better than faffing about with false fences all the time. That breaking through of the cutter through the false fence, strikes me as a bit of a dodgy procedure. I've seen them doing it on the Health & Safety Executive video and Roy Suttons Basic Spindle Moulding dvd still looks dodgy to me.

I'm about to order the Axminster false fence but before I do. I'd like to hear peoples opinion?
Anyone got one, how did they get on with it?
Cheers.

I use the Aigner Integral Fence, it's excellent but certainly no bargain. I've never heard of this Axminster version before you pointed it out, but for the price it looks astonishingly good value for money.

The Aigner has one very narrow finger at the base that can allow some cutters to extend out above it and thereby provide support throughout the cut, it also has extra components that allow you to support a rebate on the outfeed side, and a dovetailed panel that allows you to quickly drop in false fences without needing to screw them in place. The Aigner will also be faster in use, for example if you raise the cutter block you just swing a finger out of the way which on the Aigner is a fast, tool free operation. Additionally the Aigner Fence accepts the full range of Aigner guarding and pressure rollers so you can quickly tailor it for complex operations. But hey, apart from details like that the Axminster version would appear to offer most of the functionality of the Aigner at far less than a tenth of the price!

However, there are plenty of occasions where a false fence is still by far the best solution. A false fence delivers virtually a zero clearance option, it allows a spindle moulder to operate efficiently with less powerful dust extraction, and you can screw additional guarding to a false fence to either support something like a rebate on the outfeed side or offer protection above a large diameter cutter. Another critical advantage of a false fence for some operations is that you can leave a section at the bottom untouched to offer lateral support right across the fence gap.

In other words, even if you get this Axminster device you'll still need to be fully conversant in installing and using a false fence because there'll be plenty of occasions when you'll need one. So maybe the best course of action would be to first learn to use a false fence and only then decide if you want to spend additional money on a finger fence? Remember, there are plenty of very successful furniture and joinery workshops that get by just fine with nothing more than a few MDF false fences.

 

[custard]

Assume using a finger fence is not possible to offset the fences?

Correct

 

[ColeyS1]

Custard covered alot of the 'perks' of having an aigner. From the picture of the Axminster version I see no up and down adjustment.

Take this pic as an example. I was taking out a groove and to get the finger to miss the cutter/groove I wound the fence up to miss. It's surprising how often I do this ! Another example would be if you were putting a bevel on say 10mm mdf. The point would be running in the groove where the short fingers are, so you'd need to arrange the fingers in a row or only in effect have a fence that's bearing on approximately 12 inchs (2 fingers worth) why they never allowed them longer is beyond me !

Aigner fence has a solid piece on each end but also adjustment for height to ensure its bearing where it needs to.
The aigner was alot cheaper when I bought it. If the Axminster version were around I'd have considered it, but perhaps waited for the mk2 version to come out with longer fingers !
Coley

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Jacob]

Mustn't forget that you can do almost everything without a false fence or Aigner (which I'd never heard of before).
Needs to be firmly held on the in-feed and well picked up on the out, ideally by power feed, but if not, with two push sticks.
It only becomes a real problem with short pieces which won't span the gap enough.

 

[pollys13]

Assume using a finger fence is not possible to offset the fences?

Correct

I've ordered the Axminster finger fence. As other forum members might find it of interest and helpful. I'll post some photos of it showing how the fingers connect.
On the Health & Safety Executive site, they have video including false fence, in front of the false fence they have another board attached, this seemed to me to be much safer than breaking through the false fence by itself, so no exposed cutter blade.
In the Spindle Moulder Handbook it says, " Breaking through, moving the fence, breaking through a fence "live" must only be attempted by experienced spindle hands. Vibration is created to give an entirely different feel to normal movement - and which can be dangerous. New users should first roughly shape the cut - out, then chip away the wood fence by rotating the cutterhead manually whilst easing the fence back. This is a tedious but safer operation.
I appreciate what you say about zero clearance, like table saws zero clearance plate to prevent tear out.
Cheers.

 

[pollys13]

And deep profile cuts may require a slot cut out for the shaft.

An aigner might cost as much as a spindle moulder, around the £1000 mark!

" And deep profile cuts may require a slot cut out for the shaft." Could you explain please?
Cheers.

 

[pollys13]

If you use an 18mm false fence it may restrict the depth of cut because the shaft hits the back of the fence before the profile depth is reached. A common prkblem with fielding blocks.

Ah, I'm with you, thanks for that.