bradleyheathhays

Hey everybody. Hope this winter is treating you well. Now that I've been frozen out of my shop for a while I've been nosing around the net for some new ideas and came across what was probably a more popular art form in the 70s, but is still quite captivating....parametric wall art design (pic below)...which of course led quickly to studying the gorgeous CNC machines that produce these designs and their associated software. I like the tiling feature the X Carve Pro offers but I haven't read about it being offered on any other CNC machine. What Inventables calls 'tiling' is where you can cut pieces larger than your CNC table by sliding your wood/material through and let it do one section at a time. 1) Is there any way to make the AVID PRO 510 do this tiling function or is this something only Xcarve has right now? 2) V Carve Pro is SO expensive! Is there ANY way to get it cheaper than it's retail price? I've seen where you can get an activation code if you're part of an educational group, so wonder if that could be cheaper. Also, would be nice to be able to split a subscription with someone. 3) I believe I've seen where Fusion 360 was suggested as a good program to use if you're working with parametric designs. Any opinions on this? 4) And last, I'm still searching for the best forum to ask these kinds of CNC and software questions. If there's a more appropriate place than here please do let me know. Thanks

Turns out with this size rock you're right. I ended up spreading it out then raking about 1000 lb cement into the top 2" and watering it. Made for a somewhat bumpy but serviceable floor.

Forty you are absolutely not kidding on the cost of things. Think about getting into this hobby for 2 grand....oh no no no! I just keep praying I'm at the end of having to buy things and will see some income from this soon. Yes I'm getting advice that the 1HP motor in my 1221 probably won't cut it with coring so I'll have to reconsider. And thanks for the Ron's Best link. I'm finding the prices there to be fairly competitive. On the vacuum chuck option I just couldn't put out a grand for one, but Chuck TellicoTurning over at penturners.org just mentioned his home made version and estimates it cost him bt $250-300 to make. I'm asking for more info and pictures so maybe I can duplicate what he's done. I'd say $300 is a small price to pay for a great chuck like that. lew thanks for your advice on the trees and etc. Looks like I'm gonna have to get these down AS I can process them into bowls. Any advice on treating logs for bugs using boron? boric acid?. Just learning that this is an issue too when storing wood. And I bet those backer pads you linked too would pay for themselves in no time. Gerald...on the frugal vacuum chuck...enter sound of car tires screeching to a halt...Whaaaaaat?!? A vacuum chuck for a tick above $300? Man I thought these things were in the $1000 range. This is a no brainer then. Why spend $100 on a Longworth or Cole when you can add a couple hundred more (which you were gonna spend on tools anyway, right?) and get a bonafide vacuum chuck? Are these Frugal Vac Chucks a decent quality? I'll bet they are just sounds too good to be true. Thank you for your sanding setup advice and thank you for your tree felling advice. I'm still on a steep learning curve with all these subjects but I'm getting there one step at a time with all this great advice. And yes without a doubt you and lew and a host of others have been a tremendous help in guiding me in all subjects wood related. Concerning my most recent questions, I haven't made any equipment purchasing decision yet as I'm still processing all the feedback I've gotten. A little embarassed on how many boards I post to. Mostly I get the same kind of information from most people that respond, across different forums. But then often I end up getting the best little snippets of advice from one forum that doesn't show up anywhere else, which is why I use this broadcast technique. Being so new I'm soaking up all the information I can get. Tend not to get on the net that often so I try to make the most of it when I do. I'll keep in mind to ask questions one at a time as this was a lot to address. Always appreciate you guys and everybody really.

Hey fellas I'm at the point where I need to finish out some of my turning tools and figured I should stop by before making the investment. I've got a Jet 1221 VS and am looking for both a bowl coring system and Longworth chuck appropriate for my lathe. Far as the coring system goes I'm almost settled on the One Way 12" mini system. If there's a better system out there for a beginner like myself please mention it, but I'm fairly sure this should be the best option for ease of use. I see they offer replacement cutter heads. If the kit doesn't come with a carbide cutter should I go ahead and order that as well? As for the Longworth chuck, I already have a Nova G3 chuck and wondering what's the least expensive but capable option I should look at for a Longworth that's compatible with my Nova G3? Also, not being that studied up on these kind of chucks, since my lathe swing is 12" I assume any Longworth described as 12" is appropriate for my Jet. Last tool question...need advice on a good sanding system, drill, pads and disks. I get emails from the Woodturners Wonders and they're advertising two of their systems. One angle drill driven and the other friction driven. I'm guessing the drill is the better option? Only issue I have with that kit is Reed Gray talks about how the softer backed pads don't do well with the lower grits, so I guess I'll have to get more parts than this kit offers. Are the Woodturners Wonders kits worth looking into or are there better options out there? Sanding kit link And last, I have absolutely lucked out and found 10 good sized Walnut trees that a guy needs cut down, so if it turns out I can get this very labor intensive job done I'll have wood for a good long time to come. Brings me to the question, what's the best way / procedures / time of year to fell a tree with the idea of keeping it's bark on through storage / drying and the turning process? Believe I've seen winter is the best time to fell but is say November weather in Kentucky good enough or should I wait more toward late Dec or Jan?

Thanks for the advice everybody. I wrote Doug Thompson and he explained his steel is 10% Vandium vs. the 2% in the Hurricane M2s, so even though they're a bit more expensive I'm sure they're worth the extra $. Any idea how D-Way's steel would compare to Thompson's? I'm writing this before watching robo hippie (v good name btw) but I'll give it a good look through first thing.

Getting ready to drop some $$ on my first set of wood turning tools and I've got everything figured out except my scraper. I'm primarily interested in turning bowls and could use some advice on which one of these three I should get. In order, the below pictures are: 1) Hurricane M2 Cryo 1" (x3/8") Heavy Duty Bowl Finishing Scraper....$114 2) Hurricane M42 Cryo 3/4" Bowl Finishing Scraper .......................................$82 3) Hurricane M2 Cryo 1" Round Nose Scraper ....................................................$76 At first I was thinking of getting the cheaper 1" round nose and grind / sharpen so that it has the profile of a bowl scraper. Is it ok to do this, or should I go for one of the other tools that are actual bowl scrapers? And if so, what's the advantage / functionality of the heavy duty scraper vs. the smaller 3/4" one?

Yes, the guide bearings were the first thing I replaced. Probably because they were the first thing I saw that were ragged and just looked like they needed replacing. Got the cheapest one I could find on Amazon and they seem to be working ok, although I'm not sure how long they'll last. My usage on the badsaw will probably be fairly light so maybe I'll be able to get some good miles out of em.

Oh wow that's the first I've heard about wheels going out of round. Fairly old saw so it's possible. I've got a dial caliper on magnetic base so I'll give the wheels a measure and see if anything turns up. Glad the links are removable on these belts. The one at HF seems long enough I might be able to split it and have enough for both the belts.

Yep that's exactly what I was looking for. Although I've been told there are lots of other reasons a band saw can be out of balance besides the belt I'm sure the belts need replacing regardless. Thanks for the links. Oh BTW the Horror Freight version goes for $35 so I'll prob go that direction.

Just got this ancient Grizzly 16" band saw for fairly cheap with the idea I need to replace just about everything to get it up to speed again. Right now I'm trying to get the wobble out of the machine (seen when running) and the first thing I'm gonna replace are the 2 drive belts. I've heard about a new (to me) type of replacement belt that is supposed to turn more smoothly and is adjustable with links in it. Not sure what they're called but would they be an appropriate replacement part for this saw?

Thanks everybody, lots of good leads to check out. Unfortunately haven't been able to get to Mom's for the last month so I've yet to be able to check it out for myself. Interesting development though...she's used it a lot more in the past few weeks and the thing seems to be starting normally now, so I guess the increased use has maybe loosened something up a bit. I'm guessing the problem will return after the usage goes back down though. At least it sounds like a simple mechanical fix instead of electrical, which I was hoping not to have to get into.

I'm not sure what brand it is, she might've said Hotpoint, but her dryer is a fairly simple design and it's begging to have starting problems. When it's set to go and the start button is pressed the heating element heats up but the bin doesn't turn. If you open the door and rotate the bin by hand then apparently that loosens it up enough to start when you press the button again. If you run a second load of clothes after the first it'll start up ok with just the start button, but if left sitting for much time it requires a hand start. Once it gets going it runs just fine. I'm hoping this symptom is enough to diagnose what parts going bad and go in to do the swap. I don't have any experience working on a clothes dryer but I've changed out electric motors and bad capacitors on other equipment so I figure I should be able to get this done.

Thanks for the info and walk though Smallpatch. I'll get myself over to youtube and look up Mr. Snodgrass and see what else I can learn.

Thanks Gene. I figured out the compressor belt problem and just deleted it from my post. I'll bet you're right about that third bearing. Guess I'm just not that familiar with the mechanics of band saws yet.

Recently found a 16" Grizzly band saw and I'm in the middle of tuning it up. 1) How much is this used saw generally worth? Guy seemed knowledgeable and said it had a really good motor. 2) What does the bearing above the two guide bearings do? Doesn't seem to touch anything. 3) Guy said the thermal overload dial should be set according to certain parameters but I'm not sure what they are. 4) Any clue about it's model number? All I could find was the sticker stating 16" band saw. 5) The bottom wheel has some play in it so I need to replace the bearing. Any advice on replacing it? Doesn't seem like a socket has enough room to fit over that nut.