"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
eb.com...


"John Grossbohlin" wrote:

Has anyone come across an article that compares and contrasts various
power feeds across various applications? Of particular interest is the
use of power feeds on shapers (3 HP), table saws (3 HP), and also for use
on large bandsaws (e.g., 36" 5 HP) for resawing. I didn't find anything
like this on the FWW or PWW sites though Lonnie Bird's book on shapers
discusses power feed use but in generic terms...
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Can't answer your question directly; however, some info that may be of
interest.

A few weeks ago saw an old tape of a "This Old House" program that showed a
CNC controlled machining center that reminded me of a typical Warner &
Swasey Wiedeman CNC Turret Punch except instead of cutting metal it was
cutting wood.

Given what I saw, the day of the individual machine ranks right up there
with the dodo bird in a production operation.


I saw that episode of TOH also... it got me thinking about a couple projects
where CNC methodology would be fantastic for work with sheet goods. I
suspect it is perhaps not so good with solid woods due to the grain... which
metals don't have from a machining perspective. Yes I know metals have grain
but the grain in metal generally does not affect its machining the way grain
affects the machining of wood (try jointing the end grain of wood vs.
running steel in any orientation through a milling machine if you don't
believe me... ;~) ).

If my project involving the sheet goods turns into mass production (ha ha
ha...) I'd certainly go with the CNC so that whole sheets could be slapped
on a vacuum table and CNC machined into finished parts!