Grooving Blades?

[BruceK]

Hi there. As a newbie to the group I'd firstly like to thank you for letting me join.
If it's okay I have a question for the wise about using grooving blades on a spindle moulder.
Some years ago I bought a second hand Scheppach HF33 spindle moulder. It's not too bad but not that heavy duty really and if I'd had 3 phase electricity I'd prefer to have got something more rugged like a Wadkin. Anyway, with the spindle moulder came a few blades and cutters, three of which are OMAS blades (Giri Massimi 4000). They're about 7" square, flat plates of varying thicknesses. Each has a tungsten tipped tooth on each corner and a 30mm bore (see pic).
I'm not sure whether this type of blade is compatible with my spindle moulder as it seems so heavy and I don't want to do anything stupid by trying one out without first seeking advice. Can anyone please shed some light on how to use them? They almost seem as if they should be mounted to a sawbench but even then there's a lot of weight involved. I'm planning to t & g several reclaimed boards to build a shed and was hoping to use them for that job. Many thanks.

 

[Trevanion]

Welcome to the forum,

If I'm correct these moulders have a 2HP motor, which isn't a hell of a lot of power but it's surprising what can be done with that amount of horsepower. I've got a Kity 623 moulder which also has a 2HP motor and I've ran 125x60mm steel rebate blocks that weigh around 5KGs, some large adjustable groovers and even a large panel raising block without too much issue, takes a little while to get the heavier blocks up to speed but once it's up there it holds it quite well.

"Giri Massmi" means "Maximum RPM" in Italian, which is 4000RPM stated on your blade, most moulders have two speed settings (Usually 6000 and 4000) that are changed with a belt between two pulleys. So you'd need to change the speed down to 4000 if yours is set at 6000 to use the blocks, which would also give you more power due to the pulley-power ratio.

I think you should be safe to use them, at the lower speed setting you should have enough power be able to gang two onto the shaft to create tongues and then a single one afterwards to create the grooves.

 

[BruceK]

Thankyou for the reply. I'll have a check on spin speeds and motor size and then give it a try next week.
Next job will be to fabricate a power feeder because they're so expensive to buy and most are 3 phase anyway. Has anyone on UKworkshop made one? I'm thinking of using a 12v car wiper motor with a transformer and some skateboard wheels. If I design it properly it could fit on both the saw bench and the spindle moulder. I'll let you know how things progress over the next few weeks.
Incidentally, another thing which came with the spindle moulder was a Kity cutter head. Useless for me because it has a 20mm bore and my machine has a 30mm spindle. Swapsies anyone?
Thanks again.

 

[Trevanion]

Has anyone on UKworkshop made one? I'm thinking of using a 12v car wiper motor with a transformer and some skateboard wheels. If I design it properly it could fit on both the saw bench and the spindle moulder. I'll let you know how things progress over the next few weeks.

I think a 12V motor would struggle with feeding against the resistance of the cutter, even with light cuts I would think you'd need a 1/3HP 240v motor minimum. I don't see why you couldn't make your own powerfeed though, you could do a very neat job of it with multiple wheels that are ganged together with sprockets and chains.

Matthias Wandel has a good video on a powerfeed he made with just a cordless drill and a rollerblade wheel.
[youtube]tPiaduBZHRU[/youtube]

 

[BruceK]

Yes I was looking at this video last night and thought a wiper motor would be more powerful than a drill (they use them quite a lot in diy robots). I also have an ancient 12v lawnmower motor which would be more torquey still. I'll need to check the rpm.
The problem with a 240v motor would be in reducing the speed to 60 or so rpm and reversing the direction (I think that's why most powerfeeds are 3 phase which is easier to control). It could be done with loads of pulleys & belts but the result would be very bulky and it could also be done with a reducing gearbox but they are expensive. I have a couple of old washing machine motors that I could use though if I could find an easy & reliable way of achieving the correct speeds.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions. All input is very useful at this stage.