Felder spindle moulders - variable speed

[jefferson]

Has any of the crew used / owned one of the ew Felder spindle moulders? The specs on the 700 and 900 series in particular look great.

What I am wanting is a variable speed machine that takes a router head, 30mm spindle as well, has great adjustable fences on both sides etc. Is the Felder machine/s the way to go?

I have simply tired of second-rate router tables and want the precision of an industrial quality machine.

PS I have a spindle moulder on my Minimax 300CU Smart, but it won't take router bits. Even if it did, it wouldn't run fast enough.

Thanks Jeff

[ian]

Jeff

can you post some photos of your shed??

have you considered a quality router table?

11,000 RPM, the top speed of the Felder F700, is only half the speed you need for a smallish router bit so I'm not sure what the advantage is unless you have lots of large panel raising bits you want to use in the molder.


ian

[jefferson]

Ian - thanks for the response.

I'll try to get the wife to take some pics of the shed over the next few days so I can post. I'll make sure I don't clean up, as sawdust is a must if you want to avoid criticism.

The shed is 16m by 9m and aside from some fishing gear and a chainsaw, is solely devoted to woodworking. When I get out there that is. Out there the last few days, stuffing up the cut list on some whiteboard for some kitchen cupboards. Very depressing when you can't add 555mm + 16mm + 20MM. (I came up with 575mm and replicated the mistake elsewhere).

Even more depressing is the fact that these "love jobs" keep popping up when I haven't even finished decking the shed out. Time pressures are not what I need.

The Felder rep from Vic rang today and is posting the catalogue etc on the spindle moulder. And a new saw as well. Don't know whether the budget will stretch that far though, as I have already spent thousands on machines and tools.

I am keen (at least in theory) on the Felder moulder, as apparently it has variable speed to 15000 rpms and I can quickly change the heads over between 30mm and router mode. I'm yet to see what the fence is like, thus my original query in the first place.

I have I guess been spoilt with some decent machines, starting with my Minimax 300CU Smart combo. It may not be a Felder, but it almost does all I want it to.

The three things I lack are:

- an industrial spindle moulder that takes router bits
- a drum or belt sander
- a cyclone dust extractor

I also forgot, a table saw for ripping. The 10inch Jet is simply not enough machine at 1 3/4HP and well under weight.

As the wife will say, not all today, maybe tomorrow.

Jeff

[ian]

Jeff

15000 is still too slow for router bits.

you really should check out a quality router table and dedicated router

also, I think Felder sell more saw/ spindle molder combos than they do saws


ian

[jefferson]

Ian - I hear what you are saying about the revs. I was thinking to slow the feed rate down a little as a compromise. That said, others reckon you can get by with a slow 8-10000 RPMs but I have my doubts.

A decent router table? I've looked and looked and I don't see too much on the market at the right price. By the time you add the cost of the table, fence, router lift and the router (which I have already) it doesn't seem to add up.

I like the precision of industrial tooling also, which I don't think will be there if I build myself. I want rock solid, precision rise and fall, variable speed, safety switches, and a fence I can adjust both sides.

I could I guess get some more profiles for my spindle head but the variety of bits for the router are almost endless.

Decisions, decisions.

Jeff

[LuckyDuck]

Jeff

I don't have the Felder shaper but I do have several of their other machines. If you decide to buy a Felder you are in for a real treat.

I am a regular on the Felder Owner Group in the USA (see link below) and they are a wealth of information on everything heavy duty. Go spend an hour or two there and you will find all your questions about the Felder shapers answered. Indeed, you will probably want to buy the Profil 45 (i.e. the format-4 shaper) after you are finished reading there. I know that when it comes time for me to get a shaper, it will be the Profil 45. Just have to keep saving up my pennies. Happy reading.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/felder-woodworking/

[gordonwindeyer]

I recently bought a Teknomax (MiniMax) CU300 Elite and included a router spindle in the hope that it will work. The router spindle cost about $600 so I hope it does. I have not tried it as yet. The max speed of the spindle is about 10,000 rpm so about half that of a normal router. The advice I got which prompted me to include the router spindle is that if it is too slow, just pass the timber passed the tool at a slower rate. Whether that works I am yet to determine.
I do have some faith in manufacturers such as SCM/Minimax group that they would not make a router spindle if it did not work. Maybe I am too optimistic!

Gordon