Thread: Remanufacturing the guard on a Wadkin AC

Now he's bringing out the serious toys!

700mm crosscut saw.
You are going to have a few of those puny 450mm CC boys all upset.

There's a bit of timber stacked there no wonder you need a serious saw.

Have fun,
Alli

Matty,

That's an interesting project you have there, please do keep us posted! I think I can see a Wadkin CD in the background, so there is plenty of saw for all that timber

what's the HP on that AC Matty?

Cheers,

Camo

Nice big saw pictures, 700mm blade on a cross cut ! Fruit
I wonder what it's like if one of them jams in a bit of wood like my 300mm one does.
Maybe a little chest of drawers next to the machine with a change of under pants for the operators is needed
How are you joining the metal , Arc or Mig ? One of us will get a Tig one day , that would be nice for that, neater, but i suppose it all comes out the same with a grinder.

Rob

Interesting and nice bit of kit there!
It looks like it has a pneumatic Ram on it or is that just a damper of some kind?

At the mens shed we have a Nolex 3P RAS and while it only has a 12" blade that thing still worries me.
It's so quite and runs for such a long time after it is turned off that it represents a real risk to (especially novice) users who need to manipulate timber near the still turning blade.
Because of this I was thinking of trying to incorporate some sort of a braking mechanism to stop it quickly when it is turned off.

Not many people realise that RAS have a much higher rate of accidents than other saws amongst DIY and professionals alike. They appear safer because the risk of kickback is lower but the fact that they are often placed up against a wall can mean pieces come bouncing back at the operator at all sorts of wild angles. The other is it can pull wood and any operator trying to hang onto it into the exposed blade. This is where a full covered blade such as found on a modern SCMC is a safer system.

Despite this I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hi Alli, yes its a biggin !
We have a job coming up that requires lots of big cuts, short sections and square cuts.
Thanks Cam, it has a 2.75 HP motor and does 2800 rpm, it makes some air and noise when it runs !
Rob if it jamed it would be scary !
I'll probably arc weld this all up, my mig is not running at the moment.
Bob, you have good eyes, it is air operated and a brilliant set up !
The seceret to not jamming a cross cut or radial saw is consistency in the cut.
Any lunge during the cut results in jamming, the air ram provides a good consistent cut and is adjustable, Scarry to watch running but I will be fitting up a full cage around the machine so it will be very safe to operate.
I'll get the guard around the blade done first, then the aim is to get the benches and fence stops set up, sort out the bugs that way we can see where the cage guards need to be.
Thanks for all the comments everyone

Melbourne Matty.

Originally Posted by BobL

At the mens shed we have a Nolex 3P RAS and while it only has a 12" blade that thing still worries me.
It's so quite and runs for such a long time after it is turned off that it represents a real risk to (especially novice) users who need to manipulate timber near the still turning blade.
Because of this I was thinking of trying to incorporate some sort of a braking mechanism to stop it quickly when it is turned off.

Bob, just a thought, does a VFD unit brake the motor ?
We had a nolex docker where I did my apprenticeship, nice machine, made in WA from memory ......

Melbourne Matty

That's a serious blade
No vibration/resonance damping though, so I hope it doesn't shriek like one of our blades does (we don't use it any more)

Originally Posted by L.S.Barker1970

Bob, just a thought, does a VFD unit brake the motor ?
We had a nolex docker where I did my apprenticeship, nice machine, made in WA from memory ......
Melbourne Matty

Good point but a regular VFD would't have enough resistance built into it's bracing circuit to handle the angular momentum of even a small blade so it would have to be fitted with a heavier duty braking resistor.

The mens shed would probably be unwilling to shell out on a VFD to do this up front. I'd have to demonstrate it to them and that might convince them ;-)

How needs a guard for a docker? Matty that AC look very modified?

Originally Posted by BobL

Good point but a regular VFD would't have enough resistance built into it's bracing circuit to handle the angular momentum of even a small blade so it would have to be fitted with a heavier duty braking resistor.

The mens shed would probably be unwilling to shell out on a VFD to do this up front. I'd have to demonstrate it to them and that might convince them ;-)

In an earlier life manufacturing electric motors, there was an installation of high level exhaust fans where the insurer insisted on brakes on the fans so that they couldn't assist any potential fires. There was VERY high inertia in the fans and rotors and mechanical braking resulted in ...... mechanical breaking! We eventually satisfied both the owner and insurer with simple DC injection and I was quite amazed that the progressive injection of only 0 to 9VDC was sufficient to stop the fan from running and to prevent any 'environmental' running due to ambient airflow.

fletty

DC Injection Braking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_injection_braking
Learn something new here everyday!

Originally Posted by jgforsberg

How needs a guard for a docker? Matty that AC look very modified?

That 2" steel tube rail is just to hang his coat on when it gets hot.
He's at least 3 feet to the side, it's hydraulically controlled and the machine does have a guard.

Still a scary saw. Not a job for the fainthearted or those who want to keep their hearing.

Have fun,
Alli

Originally Posted by Allison74

That 2" steel tube rail is just to hang his coat on when it gets hot.

Alli

No , that's for the pole dancing routine going on while sawing . I could see Matty with one of those in his shed .



Not a kinky thing, a fitness thing.

Rob.

Somehow the image of Matty pole dancing is just a little too much.
But maybe, you never know!

Have fun,
Alli