Spindle Moulder Forward/Reverse And Kickback

[pollys13]

Out of curiosity, why does the spindle moulder have a forward and reverse?
Also does using a powerfeed guarantee the prevention of a kickback?
Cheers.

 

[deema]

Forward and reverse comes into its own on circular work, you want to always be cutting with the grain, and as you go around an arch or circle you need to reverse the feed and cutter direction to keep working with the grain.

A power feed doesn't guarantee that you won't get kickback, but, it minimises the effect when / if it happens. The biggest bonus is that it keeps you well away from the sharp bits and improves the quality of the cut significantly due to the consistency of the feed rate.

You normally climb cut when hand feeding, but this increases the chances of tear out, you can reverse the feed direction of feed such that the cutters are pulling the stuff through (I'm not advocating this) with a power feed something you should never do hand feeding which improves the finish further.

 

[pollys13]

Clear, detailed answer, thanks deema.

 

[custard]

Many different reasons why you might want to run a spindle moulder in reverse, generally they involve you wanting to flip a cutter block upside down.

Take for example a cutter block like this,

http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... r_609.html

Now imagine a version of this tool that has a copy bearing fixed at one end, that's quite a common item of tooling, normally it would have the bearing fixed on the bottom so that you can use a copy template with the workpiece above it secured by toggle cramps. But let's say you wanted to flip that tool upside down and run it as a top bearing cutter, then you'd have to reverse the spindle moulder and feed from left to right.

Or you might have some whopping great tool that's too big to sink beneath the table, no problems, flip it over, have it above the workpiece, and run the machine in reverse.

Some tooling allows you to swap the positions of the cutters and limiters in order to invert a cutter block, others don't, if they don't then invert the cutter block and run the machine in reverse.

All sounds very good in theory, but in practise I think I've run my spindle moulder in reverse no more than twice in the past three years. The situation that Deema mentioned, copy cutting with a template and wanting to favour the grain direction and keep cutting "downhill", in reality I'll do that on a router table with any workpiece up to 50mm thick. Copy router bits are becoming so good these days, like these for example,

https://routercutter.co.uk/2-2-compress ... n-trim-bit

that you can get excellent routed results, even with tricky veneered workpieces, provided you've got a good, flat router table.

Regarding kick back with power feeds. Yes, it hugely reduces the risk, puts you well away from the cutters and line of fire, and improves cut quality significantly.

The down side is that on my power feed there are about sixteen or seventeen bristol levers and locking wheels, every single one has to be correctly tightened and secured every single time the power feed is used. Forget to tighten just one of those seventeen levers and the power feed can get pulled into the cutter block.

That pretty much sums up the reality of spindle work. It's a great machine, but you have to work through a "pre-flight checklist" as meticulously as if it was a jumbo jet. What's even more significant is that for each cutter block and each operation you have to know what that pre-flight check list actually is! There's no book or internet web site that will give you that information. That's why I keep banging on about spindle moulder training, basically that's where you'll get your all important check lists.

 

[pollys13]

Brilliant informative answer custard, I don't mind, bang on, point taken

 

[Peter Sefton]

As Custard stated fipping the block upside down is one, this is how the two bottom images can be done on page 194 of this article, although you can buy different cutters for this block one set can be used for both operations.

Using a spindle in reverse feels like reversing up the motorway, not recommended, keep your wits about you things can go wrong very quickly. The powerfeed will reduce the risk of kickback but this is down to a number of factors.

http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... rticle.pdf

Cheers Peter

 

[pollys13]

Hi Peter,
I think I will be contacting you to try to book a space for your one day spindle course. I'm also thinking of booking a space on the Axminster day training course in January 2017, perhaps another day course somewhere that covers different aspects of using the spindle. I know these are not college apprenticeships, but what else can I do?
Cheers.

 

[RobinBHM]

I seem to remember that reversing spindles should use a double locking nut to prevent the cutter coming loose.

Regarding power feeders: Spindle moulders achieve better finish and are much safer with them, I would not recommend using a spindle much without.

A pre flight check is a great idea. Setting up a spindle safely is about being methodical and work in the same order each time. If you get interrupted during a set up, working through from the beginning on your return.

 

[bench_monkey]

Some of the more recent jobs I've done have been Windows with swapped rebates (lights opening out/internally glazed) and so a reversed run/feed would mean you could safely rebate from both ends.

However, manually dropping a rebate into a sapele transom is not big or clever.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RogerS]

Also sometimes when you are making a complicated moulding using several different cutters, if you are able to reverse the feed then it means you might be able to support the moulded timber after cut 1 and/or 2, say, a bit better.