Thread: How do pros make round stock?

... and lurching precariously back on topic...

You can also machine them using a jig like a pencil sharpener; https://woodgears.ca/dowel/making.html

In a couple of weeks I’m going to be making one very similar for machining custom sized dowels used for making marking gauges.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Sorry auscab, but you're wrong on several things.

1) The legs shown are about 40mm max. Look at the spacing of the grain.
2) Even if they were 70mm, you can get enough projection with 10mm serrated knife stock. It'd have to be in a 4-sider because you can't get heads that big for a normal moulder and it wouldn't have enough power to run it anyway.
3) I can set a pair of knives in a slotted collar in 2-3 mins quite comfortably. Height is set with a straight edge from the table, outfeed fence is a straight edge from the deepest part of the profile. Power feed and extraction are always attached in a production environment. I'm not going to go through the whole setup, but I'm pretty confident with my initial guess, maybe 20 mins.
4) Why so aggressive? Do you need a cookie?

No, I'm not wrong. You can be a pain in the place China put his statement.
He must be stuck trying to figure out if he's going to leave it or take it out again ?

There is no "Definite" way of doing anything . There is always at least three ways .
The maker shown has a few different sized legs ranging from small to larger ones fitted to different sized tables. And there are plenty of ways they can be made.

To fit a router bit in a router takes 2 to 3 minutes . Spindle moulders take longer to fit up and have ready to work. You dont rush it without checking every thing two to three times. And you dont quote it for rushing your butt off and put safety second . One slip up is all it takes.

Did your previous boss let you set up and start the moulder without checking it out before starting ?

Your still young, still rushing around doing dangerous crap and telling all who listen how fast you are . Typical young bloke crap ! I reckon giving advice here on spindle moulders is is not far behind giving advice for electrical work .

Cheers . See no Agression

If you don't need tapered sides, then you can make dowel like pieces on a router table with a fence.

Use a round over router bit of the size spindle that you need. Remember this size will be the radius of the spindle.

Start with timber about 2 or 4 inches longer than your needed spindle and about ¼ inch larger than the diameter of the intended spindle.
Install a starting stop and ending stop on the fence. Install the router bit and raise it 1/8" above the table.

Assuming 4 inches longer, route a round over starting 2 inches from the end and ending 2 inches from the end of the timber. You will have to make 4 passes, rotating the timber after each pass. Adjust the cut by moving the fence so that more of the timber is rounded.

A word or two of caution. The ends of the timber left square to provide alignment when cutting. It is doubtful that the bearing on the bit is of use because you're taking away the surface that it is intended ride on.

Originally Posted by auscab

There is no "Definite" way of doing anything . There is always at least three ways .

Correct. The original question was how do pros do it; as a pro, I gave my response based on how we did it, I certainly believe it to be the fastest way to produce any sort of volume.

Did your previous boss let you set up and start the moulder without checking it out before starting ?

All the time because he knew that I was perfectly capable of setting it and if there was a job that I wasn't 100% confident with I would ask for advice on the best way to go about it.

Your still young, still rushing around doing dangerous crap and telling all who listen how fast you are . Typical young bloke crap !

Not rushing, not interested in showing off, that is genuinely the time it takes me. There's plenty of my work on the forum, people can make their own assessment as to my abilities. Not believing anyone young might possibly be capable of completing a task both properly AND quickly? Typical old bloke crap perhaps? I can play this game too if you really want to

Cheers . See no Agression

You can be a pain in the place China put his statement.
He must be stuck trying to figure out if he's going to leave it or take it out again ?

Play the ball, not the man, personal attacks are aggression. If you want to disagree with an opinion that's your right, but there's no need for all the extra cr@p. If you want to dish it out, remember that it might come back with interest.

The magic of machinery designed to save a finger or two. How many metres needed to make it pay off?

Low tech production method...

ascab, sorry, but if it takes you one and a half hours to set up your spindle moulder at home that is fine, I can tell you now in the real world you would be unemployable

Originally Posted by auscab

If the knives are in a set block it may take 15 minutes to bolt the block on, if not add 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour to set two blades in a head . Then 15 to half an hour to set the fences and dust extraction , then 15 to half an hour to set the power feed if its already on the machine . Then go change your underpants and get ready .

The way I have done this in the past is with a four sided moulder using four precision ground cutters (right, left, top and bottom). It's a royal pain in the butt to setup because the first right head is ~700-800mm away from the last bottom head. If the timber didn't track well through the moulder over this distance, the right profile didn't align with the top or bottom profile. I see the same problem coming from Porta mouldings. If you check the ends of their dowels, you can see/feel the misalignment of the cutters. Having precision cutters taking advantage of axial constants allowed me to get the initial setup "pretty damn close" first go. But pretty close just means steps from the slightly misaligned cutters. I seriously had to made 0.05mm adjustments which then affected the appropriate positioning of another cutterhead. Massive pain in the butt, but once set I could run 600lm/hour easy peasy.

To answer the initial question fairly specifically, I would say he contacted Porta mouldings and asked for a pack of dowels in American white oak.
https://www.porta.com.au/custom-mouldings/

Originally Posted by China

ascab, sorry, but if it takes you one and a half hours to set up your spindle moulder at home that is fine, I can tell you now in the real world you would be unemployable

You. Are a Bully China !

Lol 😂

How is telling the truth being a bully

Originally Posted by China

How is telling the truth being a bully

Don't say anything political, don't say anything political...

Not. Really how the pros would do it but I remember Izzy Swan using a jig on a table. Saw to make a heap for handles.

Originally Posted by China

How is telling the truth being a bully

I was having fun China . You had me laughing .

Aren't you glad you asked?