On Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:20:31 -0400, John Grossbohlin wrote:

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
m...

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...

Points of clarification:

I've got several projects in mind. One involves making thousands of square
feet of flooring from cants and bolts. Thus lots of resawing (for the bolts,
after squaring) and lots of shaper work, both of which would clearly benefit
from power feeding the stock. What makes this viable is that the cants and
bolts would be practically free. Another project involves relatively small,
but relatively frequent, production runs of parts made from sheet goods
(nominal 16" x 32" and 12" by 32") which is where the table saw comes in.
I've considered also setting it up on the 8" jointer for face jointing as I
think it would work fine with relatively short stock (3-4 foot long). The
thickness planer has it's own feed!

The comparisons I am curious about involve the X & Y adjustments across
various feeders, how much HP is needed for various tasks, and what wheel
composition and number of wheels seem best for various tasks.

See... simple questions where there would be utility in having a real
comparison chart!

John

That is in my mind plenty of work to justify buying a really nice
heavy duty power feeder and with the need for production work
later on, something you want ever regret.

All the feeders I have used were either three or four wheel models,
with table saw and shaper work any number of wheels and hp will work
fine. Resawing and jointer work will benefit from having the longest
body, most wheels and as much horsepower as you want to invest in.

One of the great benifits to power feeders is the fact that feather
boards, holdovers, holddowns and all such similar devices are
not needed, properly set the feeder will take care of all these
functions.

I have never used one of the track feeders that are available now, and I
don't see the need for a track feed. Could be that I am clueless about
some magic property they have.

Get one of the universal mounting arms, easily adjustable six ways from
Sunday. makes life much simpler. These will require drilling mounting
holes in tops and or fashioning heavy mounting brackets along side the
top of any machine you want to use it on. Some will cringe at the idea
of drill ing holes in tablesaw tops, it is done as a matter of course for
any need that arises in production work, and no one bats an eye-YMMV.

Everything is relative, how sharp everything is, speed at which you want
to work, cost of equipment etc. I don't think you'll find a chart that
factors in how fast you and a helper can comfortably feed and restack
the material. A good tablesaw, sharp blade, and almost any size
power feeder will keep you hustling handling material.

basilisk