Cutting bits for 50mm spindle moulder

[Andy Dingley]

I guess a spindle moulder with a 50mm spindle would be a "Freedom Moulder"

[Andy Hall]

ROTFL.... :-)

[Holly, in France]

I'll be back a bit later to tell you all in a bit more detail what we got in the end, apparently what the Americans might call "a stacked dado head cutter", but in the meantime two people ROTFL here too!

Holly

[Andy Hall]

Not surprisingly, use of these is discouraged in Europe as well, for much the same reason of having a heavy lump of metal that you can't stop quickly, plus it being not easy to put safety devices around them.

Table saws sold in Europe usually have short arbours to prevent you putting a stacked dado set on.

[Andy Dingley]

Use of them is constrained in Europe, but for the supplemental reasons you mention, not because dado heads are themselves a bad idea. You might note that it's hard to find a saw that can accept a dado head, but you can buy the heads themselves easily enough.

[Andy Hall]

Sure.

I have a portable DeWalt contractor type saw which I bought in the U.S. and imported myself. This has a long 5/8" arbour and will take stacked dado cutters quite happily. It actually stops withing 10 seconds, even with all blades and chippers mounted.

It's legal for me to import and use for personal use, but not to import and sell or use commercially, as I understand it.

For my Felder combination machine there is a dado option for the saw arbour but instead of using U.S.-style stacked sets, it uses tooling which is rather like spindle moulder tooling consisting of two halves between which spacers can be installed. There are disposable main and scoring cutters with four cutting edges each giving very clean cuts and the same tooling can be installed on the spindle moulder instead. Although the tooling is steel of about 230mm dia., the electronic braking spins it down very quickly.

Like all of these things, it gets treated with the greatest respect, and if I can use the power feeder, I do.

[Holly, in France]

Yes it was, but that was just the best picture, the 50mm bore ones were mentioned as being available aswell, as Andy said.

Had checked that before we started.

which is the stage we were at when I asked if anyone knew a good place to buy them from :-)

Holly

[Andy Hall]

I'm not sure about using one of these for tenon cutting. The typical method that I have seen for this on a saw is to have a jig which clamps the wood vertically and runs in one of the mitre slots.

e.g.

scoring cutters are the ones fitted to the top, square in shape. They can be removed and rotated to get a new edge. The purpose is to get a clean edge to the cut.

The main cutters are the vertical ones on this block. Normally these are reversible once.

I don't either. I am not sure whether it's a case of actually being legal or illegal in France, although there may be an obervance issue.

At any rate, I always buy and use the limiters. As I say, wherever possible I use the power feeder, or failing that various other safety devices to keep fingers well away. With something like this, any safety device that is practicable should be used as far as I'm concerned.

[Holly, in France]

reasons

My husband was wondering about using the stacked cutters as you suggest too, for tenons etc, but the arbour on his standards saws are too short. Another thing for his tools wish-list then :-)

Andy, I am SO glad you described these things first! Otherwise I was going to have to attempt it since these are what we bought. They have two horizontal blades also for cutting smooth the 'top' and 'bottom' of the tongue/groove as well. I really can't describe it but you will know what I mean, perhaps that is what you mean by main and scoring cutters? Anyway, he is going to use this same set of cutters which will cut 5-9mm by use of spacing rings to cut both tongue and grooves in three passes instead of the two it would have taken with the tool-holder system we saw on the web page.

Decided against those since any damage to the blade was going to involve new blades for T&Ging. Sharpening not practical, at least not much, for obvious reasons with T&G. We may well get one with other cutters if we ever have to do more mouldings than are practical with the De Walt router.

Interesting thing about these tool holder systems as on the web page. You will be aware of the multi-function ones and the safety ones which hold backing blades of the same moulding as the cutting blade, so that only a mm or so of blade is exposed. Salesman says both are legal in France, it's only Germany which has regulations against them.* We were not convinced and still umming and ahhing about the safety ones. He said that for every 90 or so ordinary ones he sells he would only sell 1 safety one, because of the cost (30euro./pair ish) of the 'contre-fers', or backing blade thingies (what are they called in English?), has only sold 3 in 16 years!

*don't worry, I didn't believe him!

Ours are 160mm

Ours alas will not, he will just have to be very careful. At least this system won't 'grab' the timber so it will be better that the standard American cutters from that point of view.

Thanks very much for all your input into this Andy, you have been very helpful, as have others.

Holly

[Holly, in France]

cutters?

It has taken me ages to get around to this, but in case you are interested I have put a picture of the cutters we bought here:

's not very clear but I think you can see what is what.

There is also a picture of a DIY boat, the kids have been watching too much Scrapheap Challenge :-)

Holly, in France. Holiday home in the Dordogne, website: