I recently tried to cut a couple precision holes of 5 1/32" diameter in
1/4" Cherrywood using a drillpress and circle cutter, an arrangement that
worked well for me last Summer but not this time in the cold of winter. My
work area is unheatable and it was close to zero Fahrenheit when I cut the
wood. It came out quite badly: rough edges, chips where I had not expected
them.
Could this be caused by the cold or should I be looking at a problem with
the drillpress setup?
(I'm making new lens boards for a very large view camera.)
Thank you in advance for help.
Wed, Dec 10, 2003, 6:56am (EST+5) [email protected] (Joey=A0Bosco)
claims:
<snip> My work area is unheatable <snip> problem with the drillpress
setup?
Unheatable? Or, unheated? We have a thread going on cold shops.
You ought to check it.
Dunno, never worked with wood that cold, but I'd be thinking setup,
or how you're cutting.
JOAT
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might
as well dance.
- Unknown
Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT
Web Page Update 9 Dec 2003.
Some tunes I like.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/SOMETUNESILIKE/
Joey,
It must be a VERY large view camera. Wit 5 1/32" diam. holes in the
lensboard, you must be using about a Copal 27 shutter! :-)
I'm a large format shooter myself, though strictly 4"X5". In fact, my
first view camera was Jay Bender's kit camera made of cherry. It was
also my first woodworking project. I built it in the evenings while
living in a hotel for a month. Learned a lot about woodworking AND
cameras on that one. The camera served me well for many years before
I handed it down to my kids and replaced it with an Arca Swiss. Along
the way somebody also gave me an old Burke & James 8X10 in need of
some TLC, but I've never gotten around to it.
Love to see some pictures of your camera and some of the photos you do
with it.
Ian
Joey Bosco <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I recently tried to cut a couple precision holes of 5 1/32" diameter in
> 1/4" Cherrywood using a drillpress and circle cutter, an arrangement that
> worked well for me last Summer but not this time in the cold of winter. My
> work area is unheatable and it was close to zero Fahrenheit when I cut the
> wood. It came out quite badly: rough edges, chips where I had not expected
> them.
>
> Could this be caused by the cold or should I be looking at a problem with
> the drillpress setup?
>
> (I'm making new lens boards for a very large view camera.)
>
> Thank you in advance for help.
"Joey Bosco" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Could this be caused by the cold or should I be looking at a problem with
> the drillpress setup?
Honestly - not an educated clue. But I'd place my money on setup. Having a
hard time figuring out why a 50 degree drop would have that effect.
On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 06:56:25 +0000, Joey Bosco wrote:
> I recently tried to cut a couple precision holes of 5 1/32" diameter in
> 1/4" Cherrywood using a drillpress and circle cutter, an arrangement that
> worked well for me last Summer but not this time in the cold of winter. My
> work area is unheatable and it was close to zero Fahrenheit when I cut the
> wood. It came out quite badly: rough edges, chips where I had not expected
> them.
>
> Could this be caused by the cold or should I be looking at a problem with
> the drillpress setup?
>
> (I'm making new lens boards for a very large view camera.)
>
Yes, it makes a definite difference, both in the machines and the wood.
Machines tend to chatter worse because of more play in the bearings
and moving parts when they are this cold. The wood will splinter and
split much worse, though I would not think it would make as much
difference in cherry as it would with an open grained wood such as oak
(especially bad) or ash. Remember, the wood will generally be around 6%
moisture content and it will take on a complete different set of working
characteristics when it is below freezing.
The third variable is the person. When I am working in a garage that cold
I am shaking like crazy, hurrying with setups, not paying close attention
like I should and generally doing a sloppy job just trying to get done and
get back to someplace warm!
T. wrote:
> Dunno, never worked with wood that cold, but I'd be thinking setup,
> or how you're cutting.
Me neither, and me too. My shop isn't *that* cold, but it's quite a lot
colder than it was during the summer. I'm not working with cherry either,
for that matter, but I'm not seeing any real difference in how the wood
works at these (30-40 degree) temperatures.
30 more degrees colder could certainly make a difference, but I'd be much
more inclined to look and make sure the chisel on the fly cutter is sharp,
and that it's turned the right way. Not too much feed pressure either, and
set the drill press for its slowest speed.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
When I was a kid, one of my chores was splitting wood for the fireplace and
cookstove. Granddad pointed out that if I put off most of it until we had
several days of good, hard freeze, it would split a lit easier. Generally,
it only took one swing of the maul against the wedge and the wood flew
apart.
I don't know if this has anything to do with the cutting characteristics of
frozen, planed lumber - - - but it might be worth a try to experiment on a
piece that has been brought up to room temperature before boring.