Mesmerizing woodworking video

[Ole Anderson]

Ok, mesmerizing might be a bit much, but I couldn't stop watching this half hour video by Felder of construction of a hot tub. Starting with a to-die-for big stack of 4 meter long nearly clear Siberian Larch, he cross cut, edged, ripped, jointed, planed, bandsawed until he finally assembled the hot tub. Included was an aluminum wood fired heater that sat inside the tub. I would enjoy the repetition needed to construct all of the T&G floor boards and the radiused staves, particularly being able to use the big feeders. The initial crosscutting of those 12 footers looked a bit awkward, methinks a big RAS would be much easier.

Off now to buy some lotto tickets to get a big shop and equip it with those big Felder machines...

Enjoy.

Edit, just realized this video just came out last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj4gSMdaaxE

[John M Wilson]

Well, I watched the whole thing, and mesmerizing is an apt description. It was oddly fascinating...

I kept wondering how my hero Norm would have approached this project -- (the New Deutsche Workshop?) -- I'm sure there would have been some biscuits and a brad nailer in there some place :D

Both the machine and the stack of lumber only things I can dream about at this point, but it was fun dreaming for a half-hour!

[John Lankers]

I like all of Felder's infomercial videos, but this project deserves a place high on my bucket list. I'm afraid though, it could be easier sourcing the stove from Germany than finding good suitable lumber.

[Keith Weber]

Well, thanks for that! Now I'm going to get a half hour less sleep before I have to go to work!

[Peter Aeschliman]

What a dream machine!

Cool project too, although I wonder how comfortable it would be to sit in there with the 90 degree sides.

[Dave Stuve]

What an amazing video. The Germanic part of me (Norwegian and German) just sings with joy at the simple efficiency and precision of that entire build process. Usually that part of me is sobbing with grief as I start a project and proceed to dither over small details instead of getting 'er done, let it sit in a corner for few years, lose pieces, start another project or three, can't find my original drawings, or worse can't read my original notes, or I'm ready to finish the project at last but can't find the hardware I bought two years earlier...

Thank you Felder, for providing an inspiration to undisciplined hobbyists like me. Happy New Year everyone!

[Brian W Evans]

I thoroughly enjoyed that video as well. It especially made me happy that I just bought a rolling lift cart/table like the one in the video (mine's HF - not Felder, since I don't have $2200 or whatever to spend on a cart).

Dave, I think you and I might be woodworking twins. You described my work 'process' perfectly!

[Dave Stuve]

Dave, I think you and I might be woodworking twins. You described my work 'process' perfectly!

Ha, good thing we're on opposite coasts or we might try and collaborate on a project and really get into trouble! Or do two wrongs make a right?

[C Scott McDonald]

Neat watched the whole video. I really need a power feed...and a better jointer....and a shaper... and and.. haha

[Dave Cav]

I thoroughly enjoyed that video as well. It especially made me happy that I just bought a rolling lift cart/table like the one in the video (mine's HF - not Felder, since I don't have $2200 or whatever to spend on a cart).


Yeah, I got some ideas for my HF lift cart. I had primarily used it in the metal shop but it's going to get a new top and moved to WW duty.

That was some beautiful larch.

[Bob Cooper]

What a nice piece of equipment and great project to show it off. Any idea what that setup costs? Im sure the power feeder and shaped heads are pretty pricey too. 30K?

[Darcy Warner]

What an odd way to process rough stock.

[Jim Becker]

Darcy, yes, I agree that there was some "order of steps" that were different than I might have done. For example, I flatten and thickness before I cut the edges on the slider and with a sharp blade, that eliminates the edge jointing step. But no matter...the job got done and the end result was very interesting. No glue, either. :)
-----

That was a very interesting video. I hope that folks not familiar with Euro style machines appreciated the clear examples of repeatability that those of us who own them appreciate to the max! While this is a high end Felder machine with lots of bells and whistles, the techniques are "brand-less".

Bob, when you add accessories like the power feeder, it does ratchet up cost a bit, and tooling is always a cost. I don't know what that particular machine setup goes for, however...hopefully one of our Felder owners can help with that. The power feeder clearly provides value for projects like this, for sure...that was evident in the video. Not only does it "do the work" of moving the material, it also is designed to keep that material against the work surface and/or fence in a way that no human hands could ever match.

I kinda, sorta, really want one or two of those adjustable tables! :D

[Darcy Warner]

I know you can wrap up 30k in the 700s (?) Sliding table saw/shaper with feeder and tooling.

If I order lumber skip planed, it goes through the SLR first, other wise it's face, plane a pass on both sides, then SLR, then glue ups or back through planer.

SLR really eliminates almost all edge jointing.

[Andrew Hughes]

What really got my attention is Siberian Larch.
Sounds badass :cool:
Had to look that one up.

[Keith Weber]

Darcy,

What's an SLR? That's always been an acronym for Single Lens Reflex cameras for me. Maybe it's just short for slider, but the caps confused me. Maybe it's just a saw model that I'm unfamiliar with.

[Dimitrios Fradelakis]

Darcy,

What's an SLR? That's always been an acronym for Single Lens Reflex cameras for me. Maybe it's just short for slider, but the caps confused me. Maybe it's just a saw model that I'm unfamiliar with.


SLR stands for Straight Line Rip.

Great video, thank you for sharing it.

[Andy Giddings]

That was a very interesting video. I hope that folks not familiar with Euro style machines appreciated the clear examples of repeatability that those of us who own them appreciate to the max! While this is a high end Felder machine with lots of bells and whistles, the techniques are "brand-less".

Bob, when you add accessories like the power feeder, it does ratchet up cost a bit, and tooling is always a cost. I don't know what that particular machine setup goes for, however...hopefully one of our Felder owners can help with that.

Website price for the CF-741S Professional used in the video is a shade under $25k

[Glenn de Souza]

Darcy,

What's an SLR? That's always been an acronym for Single Lens Reflex cameras for me. Maybe it's just short for slider, but the caps confused me. Maybe it's just a saw model that I'm unfamiliar with.

Sometimes you might see a lumberyard use the acronym SL1E (Straight Line 1 Edge)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, if I'm breaking down rough stock my order is

- cut to length leaving a few mm extra
- straight line rip and rip to width, a few mm wider than finished size.
- joint one edge, one face
- plane other edge and face to dimension
- cut to finished length

Diann calls the Lee Valley flyers/catalogues and Felder videos "Tool Porn".

That said she reads and watches them.

There is a different approach used with the Euro machines, took a bit of instruction and training from my FIL to get the hang of doing a lot of near sizing in the rough format, as he put it "There's no money in planing the firewood"........Regards, Rod.

P.S. Felder have issued their new catalogue, hard cover, 435 pages of colour tool porn.

[Martin Wasner]

Obviously that thing isn't water tight right off the bat, but I wonder how long it actually takes being wet for everything to swell up and seal up?


Cool project though.



What an odd way to process rough stock.

That's what I thought as well.

[Dave Stuve]

- cut to length leaving a few mm extra
- straight line rip and rip to width, a few mm wider than finished size.


Wow, cutting from rough with just a few mm extra from finished length/width? That's impressive - I usually add an inch to length and at least 1/2" to width if I can. But then I do make plenty of mistakes.

[Glenn de Souza]

Hi, if I'm breaking down rough stock my order is

- cut to length leaving a few mm extra
- straight line rip and rip to width, a few mm wider than finished size.
- joint one edge, one face
- plane other edge and face to dimension
- cut to finished length



Rod, my milling sequence is the same as yours with the exception of the order of jointing (your third step). Would you mind sharing why you joint the edge before the face? The traditional method I was taught was to joint the face first, then the edge (with the freshly jointed face up against the fence during the edge jointing procedure). Not suggesting you're wrong in any way, just like to understand the reasoning behind your method.

When you joint the edge, is the un-jointed face up against the fence?

[Keith Weber]

Technically, you should always face joint first, and use that jointed face flat against the fence to edge joint to a true 90° from the flat, jointed face. Most times you probably wouldn't notice any problem doing it the other way around if the board was more or less flat to begin with, but if the board has a twist to it, then that twist could transfer into the edge. Convention is to face joint first, then edge joint. It's the only way to ensure a true board (at least until the humidity changes).

[Rod Sheridan]

Rod, my milling sequence is the same as yours with the exception of the order of jointing (your third step). Would you mind sharing why you joint the edge before the face? The traditional method I was taught was to joint the face first, then the edge (with the freshly jointed face up against the fence during the edge jointing procedure). Not suggesting you're wrong in any way, just like to understand the reasoning behind your method.

When you joint the edge, is the un-jointed face up against the fence?

Glenn, it's a mistake, I joint the face then the edge, I simply wrote them down as items in step 3 not thinking about the order of operations.

Happy New Year............Rod.

[Mason Truelove]

Thanks for sharing that stuff so really amazing and how great to see such machine.

[Jim Becker]

Technically, you should always face joint first, and use that jointed face flat against the fence to edge joint to a true 90° from the flat, jointed face. Most times you probably wouldn't notice any problem doing it the other way around if the board was more or less flat to begin with, but if the board has a twist to it, then that twist could transfer into the edge. Convention is to face joint first, then edge joint. It's the only way to ensure a true board (at least until the humidity changes).

I agree, but I don't edge joint anymore...with the slider available, I go directly to SLR after the board is flat. With the board secure on the wagon, the edge is "glue line ready" as long as the blade is not worn.

[Glenn de Souza]

Glenn, it's a mistake, I joint the face then the edge, I simply wrote them down as items in step 3 not thinking about the order of operations.

Happy New Year............Rod.

Okay Rod, that makes sense now. So my milling procedure is exactly the same as yours including the procedure of planing the second edge to final dimension. I invested in a Hammer A3-31 a year ago, and since then, I have enjoyed using the planer to dimension board width on edge like you do. Gang planing several pieces at a time can be very efficient.
I'm one of those heretics that rarely rips on the table saw except for sheet goods.
All a matter of preference, but it's more pleasant (to me) and safer to rip boards on a properly tuned band saw and dimension to width using the planer.

[Rod Sheridan]

Okay Rod, that makes sense now. So my milling procedure is exactly the same as yours including the procedure of planing the second edge to final dimension. I invested in a Hammer A3-31 a year ago, and since then, I have enjoyed using the planer to dimension board width on edge like you do. Gang planing several pieces at a time can be very efficient.
I'm one of those heretics that rarely rips on the table saw except for sheet goods.
All a matter of preference, but it's more pleasant (to me) and safer to rip boards on a properly tuned band saw and dimension to width using the planer.

Glenn, since the planer has no snipe I don't have to make stuff extra long and then cut the ends off. A few mm is all I leave as the rough cut to length is often done with Fritz und Franz.

Using a sliding saw does change your work habits.........Rod.