Thread: Power Feeders

You'll find that not only do they may make the job far safer they speed up the job and give a far better finish than hand feeding.

Its possible to climb cut very safely which virtually eliminates tearout and ragged edges most of the time. I found the 2nd highest speed a good allround setup. It runs door styles in ash in a single pass without blemish using a 1/2" stacked cutter on a TR12.

I am now seriously thinking about putting one on my sawbench for some very repetitive work.

Cheers Bob, I have'nt driven it yet still deciding whether to hard wire it to the main switch (which for safety sake would be best)or put a plug on so that it can be removed easily.
Cheers

So are there any Chinese cheapies available for hobby use, (what is GMC up to I wonder?)

I'm thinking that once a year when I cut and machine the strips for canoes etc, it would be worth having, but not at the cost equivalent to a small car..

Is there a "domestic" version for this sort of use? Or am I being sillier than usual?

P

John,
why not do both? Hardwire an extra outlet to the switch. That way you cna plug the powerfeed in and control it with the switch but still be able to remove it to use on your saw or router table. I've done the same on my router table and am going to wire an outlet in on my saw.

Mick

After just walking out of a dead boring and brain numbing training session on ‘standard traffic controls and management plans' all I can say is I have a gut feeling there a few more issues that will come into play, but I haven’t the brain power left put my finger on it.

I’m thinking along the lines that the stop/emergency stop will need to stop the power feed first, then cut power to the spindle, especially if it's got a spindle brake. With what little brain power I have I'm thinking it would be 'interesting' (in a morbid sort of way) to see what happens if power to the spindle is cut/braked before the power feed comes to a complete stop.

Anyhow don’t rely on this as I’m currently verging on being brain dead, so I’ll regain my strength and get back to you with a clear picture.

Cheers,
Brain Dead Eastie :confused:

I dreeeaaammm of a power feed.
But I doubt if Ill afford one in the near future.

The ones carbatec have are some of the chaepest on the market. I believe you can spend quite a lot of money on a power feed.

But from what Ive heard they are a wonderous device for all sorts of uses.

I'f I'd coughed up for one I'd want to be ble to use it on a number of machines so Id have a plug on it.

Eastie,
I have thought about this, my method is usually: set fence and power feed, place stock on table just under rollers, fire up saw/spindle/router, start powerfeed. When coming to end of run: let stock run through until clear of moving parts, stop power feed, stop blade/cutter/bit. I think in the case of an emergency having the stock continue to feed into a deccelarating blade would act as a brake and bring things to a halt more quickly. At any rate, you could still shut down the powerfeed by using its own switch and then turn off the saw/spindle/router. If things went seriously wrong I doubt you would have time to turn off anything :eek:

Mick

I seem to recall optimum feeder speed for ash and pine is somewhere around 30 feet per minute but 10 feet per minute still works well. Its more important not to overload the moulder motor than to get max feeder speed. Even 10fpm will have you constantly picking up timber and putting it into the feeder and you will put a lot of timber through in an hour..

Using a 3 pin plug gives some versatility to change the feeder to another machine as soundman suggested. Even the junior model is heavy enough to really make it a 2 man job to relocate. Personally I would stick with the 3 pin plug on the feeder if only to be able to pull the plug if changing gears etc.

Easties concern about E-Stop is easy to fix. Put a 3 pin socket on your moulder and wire the power directly from the moulder motor. So you just plug the feeder into the moulder (or saw)This way the feeder can only run if the moulder motor is running. (get a competent electrician to do the wiring)

Always set up the feeder so its on a slight inward angle, say 3 to 5 degrees, so it pulls the timber hard against the fence as the timber runs through the machine.

While nothing is absolutely foolproof the feeder and fence completely shroud the cutters so its probably one of the safest wood machining setups you can get. Main thing is don't get pulled into the feeder by loose clothing etc.

Bitingmidge and Soundman - The junior model from mik or carbatec are around $750-$850. It works very well. From there you can go up to a couple of grand for bigger units in various makes.

I agree with echnidna in that it is one of the safest setups once you have the powerfeed unit setup properly you are unable to see the cutterhead. But commonsense should always prevail . I am also looking at getting one for my sawbench as we run a lot of timber through with grooves . At the moment we use an array of hold downs to hold the timber against the fence and down against the bench but pine being pine it will still push away if it can . The power feed will eliminate this and help give a more consistant groove.

an other good reason to attach EVERTTHING via a plug where possible is for maintence.
You can unplug & take it to a repairer even if that involves a chain block.

additionaly
If the item is hard wired you have to be a full blown electrician to do anything electrical to the item.

If it is connected via a plug & cord (particularly single phase) you only need a restricted licence (check local regulations) to work on the item.
For those of us who have restricted licences for other reasons this is very helpfull.