2016 IWF is Coming!

[John Morris]

Just a reminder folks the IWF is coming!

See information at IWF 2016.

 

Are any of you guys going to be there!

[RJH30518]

I am already registered and going to spend Friday there. I happen to work about 2 blocks from thee, so I will take the bus like I was going to work and then just detour to the show.

 

Last show, after walking all day, I was ready to take a break, but the bus schedule was not running yet -- so I ended up walking over to work, have a cup of coffee, sit down for a spell, looked at all of the brochures that I collected, and then around 3:30, walked over to the bus to head hoe.

 

I have a list of the vendors that I want to see -- and being a hobbyist, I don't expect the vendors to spend much time talking to me since they are there to sell to people in the business. It is really a great way to spend the day -- and dream about all of the equipment that is there.

 

With the equipment that is there, you get a different opinion about the quality of the work that can be done by machine -- it becomes more about what material is used more than what can actually be machined -- and of course the time it takes to do it if you are making a living at it.

Edited August 21, 2016 by RJH30518

[John Morris]

Great news RJ, if you can report back to us, with images! We'd love to see what you saw. 

[RJH30518]

As it was for other years that I went, it was a lot of walking and a lot to see. While I did look at all of the CNC, edge banding, material handling equipment, I also was able to talk to some of the vendors that were there that also sold to hobbyist woodworkers.

 

I spent some time with the FeatherPro people --- the 2 brothers were there that actually started the company. They had initially looked at providing their feather board using mag switches. They had 2 reasons (maybe more) for not going that route -- the ma switches are expensive and they could not provide "real" kickback protection. They said that no matter which one that the tried (strength of the switch), they would all move when introduced to kickback. For me, to have absolute protection from kickback is not why I use them ... I use them to keep the wood against the fence -- and protection against kickback is a plus. I have tried to pull back on a board, and it did not move, but if it would actually stop a kickback that was initiated by an errant cut -- no idea. They also said that having mag switches would not work with their double unit. Regarding their double unit, they said that part of the feedback that they got was that they were happy that the pressure could be different on the bottom and top unit. They were not sure of its usage, but their double unit could do it.

 

They also had several prototypes there. One was for a push stick that had a support that hit up the arm -- and using it made it feel like the push stick was an extension of your arm and it kept your fingers a long way from the blade. The working end had a tooth that was made out of the same material as their feathers in the feather board. The second one was really interesting, It had a small piece that would latch into the miter gauge and would push against a piece of wood that was standing on end -- like for resawing. The working end was a flexible piece that would slide against the wood and as it did, would bend and push the board against the fence. Perfect for resawing, or for cutting a kerf in the end of a board. The thing that really sold me on it, was its easy setup. As you slid it against the wood, it would wedge itself in the miter slot and not move. They were seriously considering going into production with that one.

 

I also showed them the pictures that I also posted here about buying the featherpro inserts, and using magswitches to hold it. They liked how it worked, and that lead into he discussion that we had on it not holding well enough if an actual kickback happened.

 

I also talked with Kingspore. I asked them if they had ceramic pads for square pad sanders. They said that ceramic was good for metal sanding -- it takes a lot of pressure to break down the ceramic to get a sharp cutting surface, and that using that pressure for wood was not a good idea. They said that using one of the aluminum formulas was better for wood because it did not need the pressure to get the sharp surface. So, I am no longer going to think that I want to get ceramic sanding pads for my wood sanding.

 

I talked to the Drillnado guy ... and mentioned that his web site was down -- and he knew that, and was moving to have his product being sold by Amazon. The last time that I talked to him, he was thinking of introducing a drill press depth gauge -- but he did not have it ready. He did have a few prototypes there -- one for a mortising machine, and another for scroll saws. The scroll saw one would collect the saw dust from the top and bottom of the saw. He was looking to introduce a setup for dewalt and Excalibur. He may have one for Hegner too, but probably not initially.

 

During lunch I sat with a guy who owned a place in Florida that did architecture pieces for buildings with PVC pieces and CA glue. I also sat with a guy from Colorado that sold CNC machines, and we talked about the differences between machines and the maintenance programs that are used to support the machines. As we were talking is cam up that I get burning when cutting cherry, and he asked the hook angle that I have on the saw blade. I had no idea -- but use a Freud Fusion blade. He said that if I wanted to get rid of the burning, I should use a hook angle of between +5 and -5 degrees. I looked up the fusion blade and it has a 18 degree hook angle. Both were very interesting conversations.

 

While I was there, I was some wood owl drills. I looked at them and they had a point like a forstner bit, but without the outside flange It also had a very narrow cutting part that would slice the wood as it want around. The guy offered to let me try one of their bits in a cordless drill, and I was really surprised how easily it cut into the wood. Much easier that any forstner bit, and the hole was just as clean and as flat a bottom. They advertise them as having clean exit holes, and needing 25% less drill effort when drilling (having better battery life). I was so impressed that I purchased a set from 3/8" to 1". They only have sizes up to 1.25", and they don't have a drill less than 3/8" or have drills other than every 1/8" up to 1" and then the 1.25" size. The set was $55 and they have a hex quick connect end.

 

All in all, I really enjoyed the show.

Edited August 29, 2016 by RJH30518

[Cal]

A good report Bob, sounds like a productive day for you.

Cal