Molding - In one pass???

J.M. wrote:
> I've just started playing with the new Powermatic planner molder that I
> bought and was wondering if someone could help? Last night when I was doing
> some relief cuts I need to do a lot of adjustments to the infeed and outfeed
> rollers in order to get them to take the pine wood. Is this normal? Now I'm
> tooling up to run some 3 1/2" molding with a profiled blade that will cut
> 3/4" at it's deepest part. Should the molding be cut in a single pass or
> should I adjust the rollers down and slowly work the profile???

Personally, I have always found it better to ease up to a final profile
whether planing, routing, or making dadoes. I have some bonzai mofo
friends that love the sound of their machines straining... it makes
them feel like they are working hard.

But smaller passes with your cutters means less wear on the machines,
less wear on the cutters, and it gives a better surface on the final
product if you make a final finishing cut.

Robert

[email protected] wrote:
>
> I have some bonzai mofo
> friends that love the sound of their machines straining... it makes
> them feel like they are working hard.
>
...and here I thought those mofos lived exclusively up here.

Thanks for the laugh..

When I first started using my machine I had the same questiona nd couldn't
fidn the answer so being impatient I ran some rough pine through the molder
with a single pass. All of that molding came out great and was ready to be
stained. I'll probabl go to multiple passes if I go to a harder wood. With a
5HP motor I can't say I noticed the machine even working at making the
molding.

For those of you doing multipasses are you setting your feed rollers lower
for each pass? Doesn't this make for a lot of adjustment time?

"J.M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've just started playing with the new Powermatic planner molder that I
> bought and was wondering if someone could help? Last night when I was
> doing some relief cuts I need to do a lot of adjustments to the infeed and
> outfeed rollers in order to get them to take the pine wood. Is this
> normal? Now I'm tooling up to run some 3 1/2" molding with a profiled
> blade that will cut 3/4" at it's deepest part. Should the molding be cut
> in a single pass or should I adjust the rollers down and slowly work the
> profile???
>

I attempted the same thing on my Jet molder - when the wood ejected the
molder and slammed into my basement wall about 3" from my new glass doors, I
decided multiple passes is a much better approach.

[email protected] wrote:

> But smaller passes with your cutters means less wear on the machines,
> less wear on the cutters, and it gives a better surface on the final
> product if you make a final finishing cut.

There is an old adage among cruising sailors:

Take care of the boat and the boat will take care of you.

Seems like a good philosophy for most things, including wood working tools.

Lew