Justifying A Major Tool Purchase

[Julie Moriarty]

I swear that the people in shipping in Austria are paid by the staple and screw...

I think someone there has stock in a staple company. But they are really good staples! They fight being taken out until the bitter end.

For whatever reason, I got sucked back into the garage. I opened up the Portamate box to see how the plan for installing the mobile base before taking it down the ramp would work.




There's a tiny lip on the edge there that might make the outwing wheels on the mobile base struggle. We're bringing in the design engineers to see what they think. They just have to finish their beer first.

[Dave Cav]

I swear that the people in shipping in Austria are paid by the staple and screw

Italy, too. My MM20 came on it's back in a full crate, completely crated top, bottom and sides. I thought I might get some usable lumber out of it but ALL the nails seemed to be cinched on the back and I didn't get a single usable board out of it.

[brent stanley]

16" direct drive jointers are around 2400

28 to 30" belt drive heads around 4500.

Priced by the inch, plus more for DD.

Seems very fair.

[Warren Lake]

good staples have glue on the tips and hold well, heard a story of a guy that wanted to go on compensation and shot himself, he was in for the adventure he should have got when they couldnt pull the staple out.

My Senco staples were offshore, think Sweden if I remember correctly, sometimes offshore is good.

[Julie Moriarty]

I've pulled a lot of stubborn staples but tonight was the first time the hammer driving the pry bar into the staple drew blood. I didn't notice until my fingers got sticky.

Anyway, the offending staples holding down plastic sheeting, like someone was trying to hold heavy canvas down in a hurricane, have been removed. I also cleared the underside of all the plastic and the numerous brad nails that didn't penetrate the steel C channel supporting the sides of the shipping base.

This will have to be a conduit roll down the ramp so I'll need stops to make sure it doesn't get away. I've moved transformers ten times heavier than this with conduit rollers and it's surprising how easy they roll over a flat surface. But this won't make Impossible Engineering any time soon.


I went to pick up the other end to place a pipe underneath and it went sliding forward. Time to go to bed...

[Brian Holcombe]

Italy, too. My MM20 came on it's back in a full crate, completely crated top, bottom and sides. I thought I might get some usable lumber out of it but ALL the nails seemed to be cinched on the back and I didn't get a single usable board out of it.

That's funny that this topic has come up. I remember that crate being absolutely hellish to take apart. I did manage to use most of the lumber, however.

It's a PITA, but I'm glad these machines are well packed, some carriers can damage practically anything.

[Dave Zellers]

For whatever reason, I got sucked back into the garage.

Would have been seriously disappointed if you didn't.

I've pulled a lot of stubborn staples but tonight was the first time the hammer driving the pry bar into the staple drew blood.

All right- now you're just flirting.
Totally jealous of what's on that pallet.

[Matt Mattingley]

Julie, pinch it up and put the wheels under it. Pick yourself up a 2×4×8 and cut it in half. Use it with wise and ramp one end of each peace. Shim the other end up to the height of the skid with the ramps on the other end near the floor. Toe screw The 2 x 4’s into the skid. Slowly pinch it down the ramp with the prybar and someone else guiding.

[brent stanley]

Why wouldn't they?

I know that they are more focused on customer service than mass making heads. Something Shelix is not, hence a 10 month wait on a custom head.

I tried to have a discussion with Byrd about shaper tooling years ago and after the first email I never heard from them again. I did just buy a 14" head from them for $1250 though, in my door in 4 days. Go figure...

Julie, that machine looks very well crated up which is very refreshing to see. Not all companies bother with that commitment to doing it well, so good for Felder I say. Can't wait to see your first boards!

B

[Julie Moriarty]

I awoke at 5:50 this morning. It was still dark. I should go back to sleep, right? Images of building a ramp and safety stop were dancing in my head. By 6:20 I was back in the garage. And I had a plan...

First thing I had to do was move the pallet back as far as I could. I could have opened the garage door but I didn't want to let the cool out of the garage or the humidity in.

I used a 6' level as a straight edge to mark the 2x4s for the ramp incline. I needed to add another short piece on top of the 2x4 to make up the difference. Then took the wood to the bandsaw and cut the ramp.

I ran a 2x4 across the front of the pallet, marked where the ramps will go (under the sides of the JP) and screwed everything together. For the add-ons I just tacked them in with some finish nails. And we were ready to roll...



For the safety stop, I used the vice to hold a pulley wheel.


Pushed the JP to the edge of the pallet and took a moment to look for any foreseeable problems..


It was a little tricky getting it over the edge. And I was surprised how, once I did, the rope tensioned more than expected.


You can see the tension on the rope. It's not drum tight but if that rope setup wasn't there that thing would have rolled right over me.


The eagle has landed. I had to put that shim on the floor to the right to keep the machine from rolling. The garage floor is pitched for drainage. That shows you how easy this thing rolls.


Next up is the mobile base.

[Julie Moriarty]

Julie, that machine looks very well crated up which is very refreshing to see. Not all companies bother with that commitment to doing it well, so good for Felder I say.

I too was impressed with the crating. I left it crated when I removed the bottom pallet because I felt it would be easier to maneuver.

This is what the bottom of that beast looks like
Felder_pallet.jpg

[Greg Parrish]

Good job. Made that look easy.

[John Barfield]

Hi Julie,
It looks like you are getting close to installing the fence rail. It is critical that it be parallel to the infeed table. To that end I took a few minutes to make this:
IMG_20180920_085556280.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

Thank you, John. I've got a gauge I think I can make work to do what you did.

Greg, if I wasn't so prepared thanks to watching you, I think I'd still be working on getting it off a 9" pallet. I don't know if you saw it, but there was a big bright sticker on it that said, "DO NOT DOUBLE STACK PALLETS" Back in the early 70s I worked as a receiving clerk and never remember stacking pallets like that. Whoever loaded the crate on the pallet just set it there. No nails or anything to secure it.

[Julie Moriarty]

We have now gone mobile. Cue The Who.

The Portamate 3500 is one solid mobile base. To get it under the JP I cut a couple of 2x4s just shy of the width of the base cabinet and inserted them in deep enough to allow the corner plates to fit under the JP base. Levers, fulcrums and Archimedes looking over me... I got it installed and we're going mobile.







I need some cool down time before I get to the final unwrapping. And maybe a mini split to bring the temps down to an average Chicago winter day.