I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
of the disk.
I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient manner
and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A regular
hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy finish
on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
hole saw.
Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
flying up into the cutter.
I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
is.
Help!
Thanks,
Pete C.
"Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
>
> I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> of the disk.
>
> I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient manner
> and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A regular
> hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy finish
> on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
> hole saw.
>
> Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
> the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> flying up into the cutter.
>
> I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> is.
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
Just thinking out loud.
Make a dowel the right diameter. Slice of the disks. Drop them into a plate
that has the same size holes as the dowel. Run through a stroke sander. Or
make a simple vacuum sled that holds dozens and run through a planer.
Dave
"Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Teamcasa wrote:
>>
>> "Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> >I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
>> >
>> > I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
>> > number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
>> > disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
>> > of the disk.
>> >
>> > I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
>> > manner
>> > and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A
>> > regular
>> > hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy
>> > finish
>> > on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
>> > hole saw.
>> >
>> > Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
>> > router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the
>> > cut
>> > without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy
>> > of
>> > the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
>> > free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
>> > feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
>> > flying up into the cutter.
>> >
>> > I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
>> > has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
>> > is.
>> >
>> > Help!
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > Pete C.
>>
>> Just thinking out loud.
>> Make a dowel the right diameter. Slice of the disks. Drop them into a
>> plate
>> that has the same size holes as the dowel. Run through a stroke sander.
>> Or
>> make a simple vacuum sled that holds dozens and run through a planer.
>>
>> Dave
>
> I thought of something similar, but all the dowels I've seen have the
> grain along the axis which is opposite of what I need.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
>
Turn your own dowel.
Dave
You could make a pattern from either wood or metal with the proper
sized holes needed to use your plunge cut router with a bushing. An
1/8" (or 1/4") solid carbide up spiral and you cut cut each disk in
seconds. You could take any board of the correct thickness, put the
pattern on it, plunge cut out the disks to your heart's content. Put
the pattern on the top of the finish material and suspend it (like
between two sawhorses) so that when the piece is cut free it will
simply fall out and not get beaten around inside the hole.
You could use a hole saw for the correct size of hole for the pattern
and literally put fifty holes on a piece of pattern material if you
wanted. Clamp it to the board are going to perforate and get after it.
Carbide cut edges all the way around with the orientation you want,
and those bits are cheap enough for a production job. At about 15
seconds to cut a hole, it seems like it might be easier than the time
it would take for a more sophisticated (time consuming) setup.
Especially if you had to setup your prodcutino arrangement each time.
15 seconds X 50 = 12.5 minutes of time for one pass. Thinking that the
pattern would take literally seconds to move and clamp, you could do
almost 600 or so an hour! Probably closer to 500, but hey.. if you
were closer to the 1/2 (thinner) size on your target material it
*could* be closer to to 600. You would have to be pleased with that.
Also, little or no sanding would mean you have a near finished product
bouncing out of the hole. Put a blanket under your work as a catcher
and you are "in".
The pattern would sure be easy enough to make.
Robert
Let me modify that. Change to a downcut spiral, and the splintering
(if any) would occur on the bottom side. Since you need one side only
to be perfect, you could monitor the cutting of the bit easy enough by
visual inspection.
Then when it was getting dull, rather than having the splintering on
the up side, it would occur on the down side which could be the one you
are not concerned with.
Robert
You could either use a backer board, or cut 1/2" deep into a 3/4"
board, then resaw them off. If you go the resaw route, you'd have a
rough side that would need to be sanded, but the other side would look
good. Maybe that's enough? Or you could probably just go all the way
through.
I didn't realize you could get plug cutters that big.
brian
Pete C. wrote:
> I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
>
> I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> of the disk.
>
> I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient manner
> and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A regular
> hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy finish
> on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
> hole saw.
>
> Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
> the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> flying up into the cutter.
>
> I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> is.
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
Hole saw with a spring to eject the blanks, to cut oversize blanks.
Then hold the blanks for finishing one at a time in the lathe, between
a wooden pad on a faceplate or chucked, and a rolling center with pad.
Headstock pad could be rubber faced, sandpaper faced, double-sided tape
faced for friction.
Finishing of the blanks in the lathe could be by several methods.
Router held on carriage, cutting with end of flat bit. Disk sander
held on carriage. HSS tool bit might work, but you'd need a huge
amount of back rake to make it cut rather than scrape. Scraping might
work with some woods, but would likely give you tearout as you're going
from end grain to flat grain.
Guess you'll have to experiment to find what works best.
John Martin
Pete C. wrote:
> Leaving the cut just shy of
> the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> flying up into the cutter.
What about masking tape across the disks (on the underside as it goes
through the planer) so they don't get sucked up?
Chris
brianlanning wrote:
>
> Why wouldn't the circle cutting jig work? Just put a backer board
> behind it.
>
> brian
As soon as the disk breaks free, with the cutter circling around it will
shift to the side and jam mangling the edge (yes I tried it). The same
happens with CNC router, once the disk is free it jams and mangles
(tried that too). Only some sort of vacuum clamp below might fix that
problem.
Pete C.
Teamcasa wrote:
>
> "Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
> >
> > I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> > number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> > disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> > of the disk.
> >
> > I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient manner
> > and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A regular
> > hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy finish
> > on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
> > hole saw.
> >
> > Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> > router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> > without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
> > the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> > free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> > feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> > flying up into the cutter.
> >
> > I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> > has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> > is.
> >
> > Help!
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Pete C.
>
> Just thinking out loud.
> Make a dowel the right diameter. Slice of the disks. Drop them into a plate
> that has the same size holes as the dowel. Run through a stroke sander. Or
> make a simple vacuum sled that holds dozens and run through a planer.
>
> Dave
I thought of something similar, but all the dowels I've seen have the
grain along the axis which is opposite of what I need.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Sergey Kubushin wrote:
>
> Pete C. <[email protected]> wrote:
> > brianlanning wrote:
> >>
> >> Why wouldn't the circle cutting jig work? Just put a backer board
> >> behind it.
> >>
> >> brian
> >
> > As soon as the disk breaks free, with the cutter circling around it will
> > shift to the side and jam mangling the edge (yes I tried it). The same
> > happens with CNC router, once the disk is free it jams and mangles
> > (tried that too). Only some sort of vacuum clamp below might fix that
> > problem.
>
> Did you try double-sided tape?
>
> ---
> ******************************************************************
> * KSI@home KOI8 Net < > The impossible we do immediately. *
> * Las Vegas NV, USA < > Miracles require 24-hour notice. *
> ******************************************************************
No, but it doesn't sound too practical for the volume I need. For a
dozen sure, but for a few hundred...
Thanks,
Pete C.
Teamcasa wrote:
>
> "Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Teamcasa wrote:
> >>
> >> "Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >> news:[email protected]...
> >> >I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
> >> >
> >> > I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> >> > number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> >> > disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> >> > of the disk.
> >> >
> >> > I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
> >> > manner
> >> > and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A
> >> > regular
> >> > hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy
> >> > finish
> >> > on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
> >> > hole saw.
> >> >
> >> > Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> >> > router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the
> >> > cut
> >> > without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy
> >> > of
> >> > the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> >> > free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> >> > feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> >> > flying up into the cutter.
> >> >
> >> > I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> >> > has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> >> > is.
> >> >
> >> > Help!
> >> >
> >> > Thanks,
> >> >
> >> > Pete C.
> >>
> >> Just thinking out loud.
> >> Make a dowel the right diameter. Slice of the disks. Drop them into a
> >> plate
> >> that has the same size holes as the dowel. Run through a stroke sander.
> >> Or
> >> make a simple vacuum sled that holds dozens and run through a planer.
> >>
> >> Dave
> >
> > I thought of something similar, but all the dowels I've seen have the
> > grain along the axis which is opposite of what I need.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Pete C.
> >
> Turn your own dowel.
> Dave
In order to turn a dowel with the grain running perpendicular to the
axis either the dowel wound be very short or the raw stock would have to
be from a huge tree. I'm also not equipped to turn 2" dia dowels very
efficiently.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Chris Friesen wrote:
>
> Pete C. wrote:
>
> > Leaving the cut just shy of
> > the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> > free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> > feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> > flying up into the cutter.
>
> What about masking tape across the disks (on the underside as it goes
> through the planer) so they don't get sucked up?
>
> Chris
That might work, but a vacuum tray might be more practical for
production. Problem is I don't have a thickness planer to experiment
with so that would be a $200 investment for a cheap one to test the
idea.
I'd like to know how the very common toy wheels are being produced, the
volume is clearly huge so there must be some good trick to it.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Australopithecus scobis wrote:
>
> On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:38:12 +0000, Pete C. opined:
>
> > Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> > router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> > without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
>
> Start with thicker stock, say 1.25 or so, barely wider than your final
> diameter + cutter width (2.25 or so). Cut holes _part way_ through; 0.7
> deep. Run on edge through table saw with spiffy blade. The guys who cut
> their own screw-hole plugs can give you the details. You might have to run
> some tape across the tops of the partially-cut forms so they don't go
> hopping about when the TS frees them from the stock.
>
> Because you're a machinist, perhaps you could cobble up a two-blade
> circle cutter. First blade is outboard, and cuts first (deeper). Second,
> inboard, blade makes the finish cut.
>
> --
> "Keep your ass behind you"
> wreck20051219 at spambob.net
Hmm, running the stock on edge and using the table saw a bit like the
thickness planer? Let the remaining stock act as the pusher / carrier to
move the disks along. That might work, I do have a table saw.
I think that a single tooth carbide hole saw will leave a good finish as
long as I don't cut full depth and have the disk stick inside the saw.
Should be easy enough to make a jig to run a 1x3 under the hole saw in
my mill.
Thanks,
Pete C.
John wrote:
>
> Assuming that you already have the dowel turned to the appropriate
> diameter, slice off slightly oversize discs. A bandsaw will waste less
> wood due to the thinner kerf but if you only have a chop saw then I
> guess you'll just have to turn a longer dowel. To clean up the rough
> faces, mount each disk in a drill press vise or a custom made wooden jig
> that will hold the little disc without letting it revolve. Mount a
> sanding disk in the drill press chuck, press and sand. Flip the wood
> disc over and repeat. If you want a really fine finish on such little
> pieces then repeat sand with a finer grit of paper.
>
> No sanding disk? Make one out of steel pipe and glue sandpaper to one
> end of it. Chuck the other end in the drill.
>
> As an alternative to sanding, maybe a small rosette cutter in the drill
> press would work for you. Since you're a metal worker you could probably
> fashion your own for such small diameter work.
>
> J.
The problem with the dowel is that the grain will be running in the
wrong direction. These disks need to look good plain or with a light
spray or dip finish.
Thanks,
Pete C.
CW wrote:
>
> Double sided tape will hold it. Another way to go when routing is to leave a
> tool tab connecting the piece. Just break the tab when finshed and sand off.
> If it was me, I'd do it on the lathe. Got a CNC lathe that can feed 1 5/8"
> stock through the spindle with a bar feeder.
No big CNC lathe and the dowel would have the grain in the wrong
direction.
The biggest problem is the volume I need, too large for fully manual
production and too small to justify building a fully automated setup.
Sanding tabs adds labor that makes it less practical.
Thanks,
Pete C.
CW wrote:
>
> Lathe.
I'd like to see a pic of the production setup. The toy wheels are
profiled on both sides so I wonder how they are holding the stock.
Pete C.
>
> "Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > I'd like to know how the very common toy wheels are being produced, the
> > volume is clearly huge so there must be some good trick to it.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Pete C.
Rick Samuel wrote:
>
> Assuming you have a >metal lathe<;
> Prep your stock to thickness.
> Cut squares 1/8 OS. Clip corners if you wanna.
> Stack w/ double stick tape.
> Chuck up a block, face & turn boss for size.
> Pressure turn w/ tailstock, dummy part for the TS center.
> Tool steel bit, w/ lots of relief. Not carbide
> Not sure I'd try this on a wood lathe....
Not a bad idea. A little more labor, but the power feeds on the metal
lathe mean it could cut while I assemble the next stack.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Morris Dovey wrote:
>
> Pete C. (in [email protected]) said:
>
> | I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
> |
> | I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> | number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> | disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the
> | side of the disk.
> |
> | I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
> | manner and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center
> | hole. A regular hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill
> | gives a lousy finish on the outside of the disk and very
> | inefficient disk removal from the hole saw.
> |
> | Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> | router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of
> | the cut without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the
> | cut just shy of the bottom and then running the sheet through a
> | thickness planer might free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a
> | thickness planer can handle feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the
> | outfeed and keeping them from flying up into the cutter.
> |
> | I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so
> | there has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure
> | what it is.
> |
> | Help!
>
> Pete...
>
> I'd go with the CNC router. In that context "hundreds" isn't "a large
> number"!
>
> If a disk need not be cut entirely from a single board, you can save
> time and waste less wood by gluing up panels and routing the panels
> rather than individual boards.
>
> Cut the pieces free except for 0.01" (or thereabouts) at the bottom of
> the cut. Run the workpiece upside down through a wide-belt thickness
> _sander_ and remove 0.01". The freed workpieces will be captured in
> the scrap and have good finish on (at least) the sanded side.
>
> If you don't cut all the way through the board/panel, a simple vacuum
> clamping system will work quite well. I use shop-made "pucks" and a
> recycled refrigerator compressor for exactly this kind of work in my
> shop (my last comparable run cut hexagons rather than circles; but
> it's essentially the same problem).
>
> You can also use a simple mechanical clamping system as your cutting
> program knows where the clamps are. :-)
>
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USA
> http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto
I don't have the sander, so I think I'll try the table saw idea. I only
need a nice finish on the edges and one side so light saw marks on the
bottom won't be an issue.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Oleg Lego wrote:
>
> The Pete C. entity posted thusly:
>
> >The problem with the dowel is that the grain will be running in the
> >wrong direction. These disks need to look good plain or with a light
> >spray or dip finish.
>
> Ahh.. you had me fooled when you said "End grain should be on the side
> of the disk.".
Sorry, should have said "edge".
Pete C.
[email protected] wrote:
>
> Let me modify that. Change to a downcut spiral, and the splintering
> (if any) would occur on the bottom side. Since you need one side only
> to be perfect, you could monitor the cutting of the bit easy enough by
> visual inspection.
>
> Then when it was getting dull, rather than having the splintering on
> the up side, it would occur on the down side which could be the one you
> are not concerned with.
>
> Robert
Possibly the CNC router setup with a baseplate that has clearance holes
for the disks to drop rather than a more complicated vacuum clamping
setup.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Bruce Barnett wrote:
>
> "Pete C." <[email protected]> writes:
>
> > CW wrote:
> >>
> >> Lathe.
> >
> > I'd like to see a pic of the production setup. The toy wheels are
> > profiled on both sides so I wonder how they are holding the stock.
> >
>
> >Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> >router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> >without an elaborate vacuum clamping system.
>
> Here's an idea, which may not be efficient, but it's cheap.
>
> What about if you glue two pieces of wood together, with brown
> (grocery bag) paper in between?
>
> Cut down to the first layer, and use a chisel to pop off the top piece.
> You do have to sand the paper off.
>
> --
> Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
> $500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.
Efficiency (low labor) and low per piece cost are key here. Most of the
ideas I've come up with either are too expensive for startup tooling for
the volume of parts I need, or so labor intensive that my time would be
less than min wage.
Pete C.
dadiOH wrote:
>
> Pete C. wrote:
> > I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
> >
> > I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> > number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> > disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> > of the disk.
> >
> > I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
> > manner and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole.
> > A regular hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a
> > lousy finish on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk
> > removal from the hole saw.
> >
> > Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> > router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the
> > cut without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just
> > shy of the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness
> > planer might free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness
> > planer can handle feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and
> > keeping them from flying up into the cutter.
> >
> > I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> > has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> > is.
> >
> > Help!
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Pete C.
>
> Seems to me that you need a giant plug cutter and a drill press. These
> folks have cutters in the size range you want but I don't know if they
> would work as there is no picture...
> http://wtwchgo.com/plug_cutters.htm
>
> Assuming they are similar to smaller plug cutters, it would seem easiest
> to me to drill to your .625 depth in 3/4 (or a bit less) stock then
> release them with a large belt/drum sander.
>
> Another way - a PITA way - would be to glue together square pieces of
> appropriate size, turn the result on a lathe and cut apart.
>
> --
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
I think the plug cutter or single tooth hole saw in the mill is the way
to go. Very easy to make a guide jig with a pneumatic clamp if needed
and just manually index a 1x3 along cutting the plugs to the appropriate
depth. The idea of using the table saw (which I already have) to release
the plugs seems like it may be the most efficient way to go. Hopefully
the weather will be a bit better this weekend and I'll be able to do
some tests in the shop.
Thanks,
Pete C.
Pete C. (in [email protected]) said:
| I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
|
| I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
| number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
| disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the
| side of the disk.
|
| I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
| manner and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center
| hole. A regular hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill
| gives a lousy finish on the outside of the disk and very
| inefficient disk removal from the hole saw.
|
| Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
| router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of
| the cut without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the
| cut just shy of the bottom and then running the sheet through a
| thickness planer might free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a
| thickness planer can handle feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the
| outfeed and keeping them from flying up into the cutter.
|
| I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so
| there has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure
| what it is.
|
| Help!
Pete...
I'd go with the CNC router. In that context "hundreds" isn't "a large
number"!
If a disk need not be cut entirely from a single board, you can save
time and waste less wood by gluing up panels and routing the panels
rather than individual boards.
Cut the pieces free except for 0.01" (or thereabouts) at the bottom of
the cut. Run the workpiece upside down through a wide-belt thickness
_sander_ and remove 0.01". The freed workpieces will be captured in
the scrap and have good finish on (at least) the sanded side.
If you don't cut all the way through the board/panel, a simple vacuum
clamping system will work quite well. I use shop-made "pucks" and a
recycled refrigerator compressor for exactly this kind of work in my
shop (my last comparable run cut hexagons rather than circles; but
it's essentially the same problem).
You can also use a simple mechanical clamping system as your cutting
program knows where the clamps are. :-)
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Sergey Kubushin wrote:
> >
> > Pete C. <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > brianlanning wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Why wouldn't the circle cutting jig work? Just put a backer board
> > >> behind it.
> > >>
> > >> brian
> > >
> > > As soon as the disk breaks free, with the cutter circling around it will
> > > shift to the side and jam mangling the edge (yes I tried it). The same
> > > happens with CNC router, once the disk is free it jams and mangles
> > > (tried that too). Only some sort of vacuum clamp below might fix that
> > > problem.
> >
> > Did you try double-sided tape?
> >
> > ---
> > ******************************************************************
> > * KSI@home KOI8 Net < > The impossible we do immediately. *
> > * Las Vegas NV, USA < > Miracles require 24-hour notice. *
> > ******************************************************************
>
> No, but it doesn't sound too practical for the volume I need. For a
> dozen sure, but for a few hundred...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
>
If you cut the circles from longer strips of wood, then double sided tape
shouldn't take too much time. Just run a wide strip down a backer board and
press your stock onto it. If you use a large plug cutter in a drill press
you should be able to step across the board cutting out disks, and pop them
off when you are done.
Double sided tape will hold it. Another way to go when routing is to leave a
tool tab connecting the piece. Just break the tab when finshed and sand off.
If it was me, I'd do it on the lathe. Got a CNC lathe that can feed 1 5/8"
stock through the spindle with a bar feeder.
"Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> brianlanning wrote:
> >
> > Why wouldn't the circle cutting jig work? Just put a backer board
> > behind it.
> >
> > brian
>
> As soon as the disk breaks free, with the cutter circling around it will
> shift to the side and jam mangling the edge (yes I tried it). The same
> happens with CNC router, once the disk is free it jams and mangles
> (tried that too). Only some sort of vacuum clamp below might fix that
> problem.
>
> Pete C.
Pete C. <[email protected]> wrote:
> brianlanning wrote:
>>
>> Why wouldn't the circle cutting jig work? Just put a backer board
>> behind it.
>>
>> brian
>
> As soon as the disk breaks free, with the cutter circling around it will
> shift to the side and jam mangling the edge (yes I tried it). The same
> happens with CNC router, once the disk is free it jams and mangles
> (tried that too). Only some sort of vacuum clamp below might fix that
> problem.
Did you try double-sided tape?
---
******************************************************************
* KSI@home KOI8 Net < > The impossible we do immediately. *
* Las Vegas NV, USA < > Miracles require 24-hour notice. *
******************************************************************
Assuming you have a >metal lathe<;
Prep your stock to thickness.
Cut squares 1/8 OS. Clip corners if you wanna.
Stack w/ double stick tape.
Chuck up a block, face & turn boss for size.
Pressure turn w/ tailstock, dummy part for the TS center.
Tool steel bit, w/ lots of relief. Not carbide
Not sure I'd try this on a wood lathe....
"Pete C." <[email protected]> writes:
> CW wrote:
>>
>> Lathe.
>
> I'd like to see a pic of the production setup. The toy wheels are
> profiled on both sides so I wonder how they are holding the stock.
>
>Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
>router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
>without an elaborate vacuum clamping system.
Here's an idea, which may not be efficient, but it's cheap.
What about if you glue two pieces of wood together, with brown
(grocery bag) paper in between?
Cut down to the first layer, and use a chisel to pop off the top piece.
You do have to sand the paper off.
--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.
Lathe.
"Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I'd like to know how the very common toy wheels are being produced, the
> volume is clearly huge so there must be some good trick to it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
Do one side, turn it around and do the other.
"Pete C." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> CW wrote:
> >
> > Lathe.
>
> I'd like to see a pic of the production setup. The toy wheels are
> profiled on both sides so I wonder how they are holding the stock.
>
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:38:12 +0000, Pete C. opined:
> Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
Start with thicker stock, say 1.25 or so, barely wider than your final
diameter + cutter width (2.25 or so). Cut holes _part way_ through; 0.7
deep. Run on edge through table saw with spiffy blade. The guys who cut
their own screw-hole plugs can give you the details. You might have to run
some tape across the tops of the partially-cut forms so they don't go
hopping about when the TS frees them from the stock.
Because you're a machinist, perhaps you could cobble up a two-blade
circle cutter. First blade is outboard, and cuts first (deeper). Second,
inboard, blade makes the finish cut.
--
"Keep your ass behind you"
wreck20051219 at spambob.net
Pete C. wrote:
> I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
>
> I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> of the disk.
>
> I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient
> manner and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole.
> A regular hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a
> lousy finish on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk
> removal from the hole saw.
>
> Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the
> cut without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just
> shy of the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness
> planer might free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness
> planer can handle feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and
> keeping them from flying up into the cutter.
>
> I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> is.
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.
Seems to me that you need a giant plug cutter and a drill press. These
folks have cutters in the size range you want but I don't know if they
would work as there is no picture...
http://wtwchgo.com/plug_cutters.htm
Assuming they are similar to smaller plug cutters, it would seem easiest
to me to drill to your .625 depth in 3/4 (or a bit less) stock then
release them with a large belt/drum sander.
Another way - a PITA way - would be to glue together square pieces of
appropriate size, turn the result on a lathe and cut apart.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
Assuming that you already have the dowel turned to the appropriate
diameter, slice off slightly oversize discs. A bandsaw will waste less
wood due to the thinner kerf but if you only have a chop saw then I
guess you'll just have to turn a longer dowel. To clean up the rough
faces, mount each disk in a drill press vise or a custom made wooden jig
that will hold the little disc without letting it revolve. Mount a
sanding disk in the drill press chuck, press and sand. Flip the wood
disc over and repeat. If you want a really fine finish on such little
pieces then repeat sand with a finer grit of paper.
No sanding disk? Make one out of steel pipe and glue sandpaper to one
end of it. Chuck the other end in the drill.
As an alternative to sanding, maybe a small rosette cutter in the drill
press would work for you. Since you're a metal worker you could probably
fashion your own for such small diameter work.
J.
Pete C. wrote:
> I dabble a little in wood now and then, but I'm mostly a metal guy.
>
> I unfortunately have a project that requires me to produce a large
> number (hundreds) of nominal 1.5" - 2" dia x .5" - .625" thick wood
> disks probably from a decent hardwood. End grain should be on the side
> of the disk.
>
> I need to figure out a way to produce these disks in an efficient manner
> and with good surface finishes. They can't have a center hole. A regular
> hole saw (without the usual pilot drill) in my mill gives a lousy finish
> on the outside of the disk and very inefficient disk removal from the
> hole saw.
>
> Any single point cutter like the adjustable circle cutters or a CNC
> router will mangle the disk when it breaks free at the bottom of the cut
> without an elaborate vacuum clamping system. Leaving the cut just shy of
> the bottom and then running the sheet through a thickness planer might
> free the pieces, but I'm not sure that a thickness planer can handle
> feeding the loose 1.5" pieces on the outfeed and keeping them from
> flying up into the cutter.
>
> I see all sorts of cheap little wooden toy wheels and whatnot so there
> has to be an efficient way to produce these, but I'm not sure what it
> is.
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pete C.