Adapting corrugated knives to the Husssey / Shop Fox moulder

[dirk martin]

Anyone up here ever drill holes in a set of corrugated moulder knives, to get them to work in a Hussey, or Shop Fox?
Any thoughts on whether or not this idea should work?

[David Kumm]

I would think the knives would be hard enough to give a drill fits. I'd also worry that the corrugated part would not seat tightly enough and cause the knives to chatter. Dave

[dirk martin]

Well, I'm pretty sure if I took my knives to my local steel fabricator, they'd have some way of drilling out some holes in M2 steel.

Flat seating tho.....hmmmm, yes, that could be an issue.
I'm surprised I haven't gotten more responses to this. Afterall, Shop Fox and Hussey knives seem to sell so much more than corrugated....and the only difference besides the corrugation, is the drilled holes.

[Lucas G Hager]

Always wondered if there was a way to put a corrugated head on a w&h molder. Or on a logosol for that matter. That way if you ever upgraded, your collection could be reused.

[David Kumm]

I would ask W and H. I've thrown molding knives and it makes me not want to take any chances. They are really under stress when cutting. Dave

[dirk martin]

David, are you saying you've thrown a W&H knife?
I can't imagine throwing a bolt-in knife.
I can see a "clamp in", corrugated, but a bolt-in?

[David Kumm]

David, are you saying you've thrown a W&H knife?
I can't imagine throwing a bolt-in knife.
I can see a "clamp in", corrugated, but a bolt-in?

I've thrown a corrugated. the gibs were sized slightly off. The bolt holes would have to be exactly referenced of course, and perhaps a matching corrugated plate between the machine and knife so they could seat completely. Dave

[Peter Quinn]

They make combo knives that have both hussey bolt pattern and corrugations for use in either a hussey or a molding head. We have a few at work. This allows you to run curves on a hussey, flats on a molder or shaper. But not every knife is suitable for this approach, so not every knife would be a candidate for retrofit. The issues are two; knife projection and cut orientation. Typically a hussey knife is designed so the deepest part of the cut is made closest to the posts where the machine is more rigid. Hussey knife steel is usually 1/4" stock, and the deepest cut is theoretically 3/4", though cut width is also a factor. If a lot of the width is removing 3/4" you have to remove material first in a separate operation. So first question, is the profile appropriate to be run on a hussey, and will the deepest part of the cut be near the inboard side?

second issue is projection. Hussey knives are ground with a specific projection from back to tip so that the hold down wheels are still holding on the out feed side. The back of the knife buts into the cutter block for additional security. If your corrugated knives are too wide they will project past the depth of the out feed hold down wheel, and you will be in serious danger of a kick back.

So my considered answer to your question is maybe, but please excercise caution and have the work done by a qualified grinding shop that knows the hussey molder and can assure your cutters are made correctly for the machine. They must be very well balanced post drilling, and of proper projection. It may prove cheaper to have new knives made than to retrofit old ones, it's worth getting an estimate.