awesome tools

[fujimo]

i have just discovered this small, but incredible company, and the myriad of awesome tools they supply, and many they build themselves!
i immediately thought  of the folk on here, so thought i would share!
many have  tried to mill small logs/trunks for use in our bows,  and a suitable jig can be built to cut round wood into flat boards on the bandsaw.
but it can be tricky!

these prices are in canadian- so dont panic!!
canadian made and distributed!

http://stockroomsupply.ca/shop/little-ripper-and-round-ripper/the-little-ripper.html

kits for building drum sanders, they do from a 6" right up to a 30", you can get just the rollers , or parts, or the whole kit!
http://stockroomsupply.ca/shop/drum-sanders/18-x2-v-drum-the-works-kit.html


their portable dust extractors are great, all one unit, cylonic action, no more dust vacs and pails and surplus hoses etc!
http://stockroomsupply.ca/shop/camvac-55l-2000w-dust-extractor.html

i hope others find these links helpful
cheers

[Flem]

Checked them out. Looks like they make nice products. I'm sure there is a niche market to fill, for them.
The listed prices are in USD, but they do offer free shipping for orders over $200, which anybody who has shipped back and forth across the border knows that can amount to a lot of savings.
Not sure about the sander though. The table is short, not much infeed or outfeed  support and I don't think it would be useful with a tapering sled unless you glued the lam to the sled!

[fujimo]

for sure, their sander is an open faced sander, more suitable for furniture mnfr, i was thinking more about being able to get the drum, bearings etc, to make a suitable drum sander.
that log ripper sure looks like a handy tool!

[monterey]

Interesting stuff.  The sander is intriguing.   Thanks for linking.

[Bow Bender]

The 2 videos at the bottom of the Little Ripper page sure explain why I have a lot of problems with blade drift when trying to re-saw anything. That Little Ripper could pay for itself if a person is ripping a lot of wood to make laminations etc.

[Flem]

I only saw the one video, but it was an eye opener when he de-tensioned and misaligned the blade and it still cut well. I'm still trying to figure it out, because when I align the blade and fence for ripping, I do it the standard way and can't imagine it cutting straight just by virtue of using that jig.

[Autumnarcher]

I made a bandsaw ripping jig very similar to that out of plywood for slabbing small logs. Lots of different styles on youtube. Easy to make and a whole lot cheaper.

[Flem]

John, did you have to adjust for drift using your homemade sled?

[fujimo]

yes, very interesting video indeed, dispels a lot of myths i think. proof is in the pudding, they say.
i certainly like their products, well made and locally made. and if one factors in time and engineering and parts, i doubt one could build exactly the same product for less, but having said that, i sure do love building my own stuff, with my own take on them!
i guess we are all just tinkerers at heart

[fujimo]

Flem, i think the key is, that with the set in the teeth, and the flex in the blade and its all up against a fence, that the fence invariably pushes the leading edge of the blade over, and in turn causes the drift.
without the fence, their jig cuts true.
Our Big head saw, uses a carriage, the wood is trapped in the dogs and cant move,  and we dont get drift either.

[Flem]

I know what your saying and it makes sense, but when I put a new blade on and do the parallel line cut to get the fence and blade square to each other, I always have a bit of skew relative to the right angle of the table. Maybe my wheels are not square to the frame? 

[mmattockx]

without the fence, their jig cuts true.
Our Big head saw, uses a carriage, the wood is trapped in the dogs and cant move,  and we dont get drift either.

What I couldn't tell from the video, is the carriage fixed left/right or can it float side to side as the wood is pushed through the blade?


Mark

[fujimo]

Mark, i think its running in the miter slots.
Flem, i used to be one who set up the fence to match my blade angle, as i have seen on videos, but have since changed the way i do things.
i get the fence square to the table , and then i move the blade on the camber to where its cutting straight.
this is after i have checked a new machine for everything being square and plumb, i use a plumb bob, take the table/platten off and check the wheels are co planar, in other words the wheels are in the same plane, not the tilt in the top wheel thats induced to track the blade,  i adjust the tilt until the blade is perfectly vertically in line with the bottom wheel, and you may use a spirit level for this if the machine is level and the bottom wheel is plumb etc. but what i am looking to see is if the front of the either wheel vs the back of the wheel is either towing in or out, and you can fix that by shimming etc.
that solves 90% of blade issues.

then i adjust the blade position( tracking) to get the blade to cut true.

now having said that, thats on my smaller saws that have a fence, on the big head saw, with the carriage, not dissimilar in principle to the "little ripper"( just bigger)  i put the blade on, i make sure the teeth are clear of the wheel, as they are bigger teeth, and the set is more pronounced, and i dont want to change the set on one side of the blade, and thinking about it, every time the blades are in a slightly different place, bearing in mind i change the blade every hour or so, and i sharpen and set the blades myself, and with the carriage, it cuts true every single time.

now to be honest, i have never thought about this before , until i watched Ethans video, but i may change all my saws to a carriage type system. i have a few ideas on how to do that easily, even for when i rip bow backings six feet long, or ripping rough lams that are 3' long

[Flem]

Brilliant Wayne! I have never checked toe and I'm the guy who does his own car alignment. I will be checking my bandsaw toe real soon. Thanks!

[mmattockx]

Mark, i think its running in the miter slots.

No, he adjusts it side to side in the video, using the crosspiece anchored to the front of the table the same as moving a fence (and makes a comment that you initially align it to the mitre slots, but not in them). At one point it looks like he locks the carriage side travel, but I can't tell if it is locked when he does the cut or not. I think it is, but it is hard to see what he does on the far side of the table from the video camera.

I do have to ask how this is any different than cutting with the fence, but set up to take the thin side off the outside of the piece instead of the fence side? I like the carriage idea since it lets you true up a crooked/warped edge before cutting a good piece (same as using a sled on a table saw), but if I can accomplish much the same thing with an adjustment to how I use the fence that is a bonus.

i have a few ideas on how to do that easily, even for when i rip bow backings six feet long, or ripping rough lams that are 3' long

That is something I would like to see pictures of.


Mark

[Bow Bender]

I do have to ask how this is any different than cutting with the fence, but set up to take the thin side off the outside of the piece instead of the fence side?

In the video he explains how the thicker piece can warp or twist while a thin piece is being sawed from it causing its contact with the fence to change. That is why you can have problems when using a fence.  The way the wood is clamped in the carriage prevents it from warping or twisting until it is removed from the carriage.

[mmattockx]

The way the wood is clamped in the carriage prevents it from warping or twisting until it is removed from the carriage.

Maybe this is the part I am missing. I am going to try cutting with the fence as I described and then make a sled to clamp the wood to and see how that works.


Thanks,
Mark

[fujimo]

Mark, i have made sleds that ran up against the fence , just a piece of   some scrap plywood basically, then i have attached  the "log"  from the underneath side with screws, using wooden wedges that i screwed through, or did whatever to secure the rough wood, then cut a few slabs against the fence, cutting the plywood at the same time, as soon as i had a flat face the full length, i would remove the "log" from the "sled", then cut the "log" freehand against the fence.