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Thread: OMGA questions

  1. #151
    That just cements my thought that I need a mill. And a lathe...

    I'm not sure I would've done the uhmw. It'd drive me nuts if it wasn't flat, flush, or if it got deformed. But, I'm also in the minority that thinks zero clearance inserts are a waste of effort. My thought was to make it one piece and just use the saw to cut through the fence. Then take them off again and grind them back a smidge.

    I could cut those on the cnc, but first it's fences, then I'd be illegally producing rifle lowers. A rabbit hole I don't need to tumble down. Plus I'm pretty sure I can have fences made for less than the cost of the tooling.

    What would you do differently?

  2. #152
    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    That just cements my thought that I need a mill. And a lathe...
    Don't forget a surface grinder...and....
    https://shorturl.at/mRTU3

  3. #153
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    They're handy, the metal working tools, I'd love to have a big cincinnati lathe. This stuff goes the same way as WW'ing equipment and before you know it you have a surface grinder and specialized machines for cutting metal, pressed, etc.

    The tooling gets expensive pretty quickly, I probably spent more on tooling for the Mill on these last few projects than all of the actual parts combined (less the machines) but it has expanded my capacity in the mill shop dramatically to where I can accomplish much more of what I want to accomplish without stopping to buy tooling.

    I could have skipped the UHMW but I find it helpful to have a sacrifice in that area so if not this then a replaceable piece of aluminum. The thing I like about ZCI is that I can knife the line on the board set it right to the insert and make the cut and it will be right on. They don't really do much for reducing chip out if the blades are correct for the cut (and sharp). With and without in this case was the same. ZCI make dust collection harder, so my insert is zero clearance on one side and open 1/16" on the other.

    You could make this one piece, but you'd need to waste a lot of material unless you're not going to pivot the machine, so if it's kept at 90 degrees all the time then you could make one without having to remove so much material to make clearance. I think back cutting the area behind the fence improves dust collection.

    These brass bolts are really out of place, so I'll buy some stainless bolts soon, but I had these on hand so they're there for the moment.

    Here is a shot behind the fence, showing the clearance left. Another way to approach this would be to make a bar that sits under the blade area and attaches both fences together, that would eliminate some fussing to set the individual fences true to one another.



    And here is the final product:



    I squared it up and made 50 chops or so. It was a touch fussy to square, but after that was done it stayed tight and the cuts are really nice.

    Thanks for recommending this approach, much appreciated.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  4. #154
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    The thing I like about ZCI is that I can knife the line on the board set it right to the insert and make the cut and it will be right on.
    We used to do a fair amount of doors that have a moulding wrapped around the inside of the frame. I'd set up three saws, one for just whacking parts to a rough length. One set to do one miter, then I'd unusually use a compound saw for the other. You could bevel it just a freckle and cheat the miter so they'd tap together and self clamp all four corners basically. That last saw I'd usually clamp down something to the fence for the same reason, so the kerf would show me my edge. The problem is after a hundred cuts or so, it'd start getting beat to death, so you're shuffling it over frequently. It also changed the angle of attack on the blade, pushing it out that little bit away from the center line delivers a cleaner cut.


    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    You could make this one piece, but you'd need to waste a lot of material unless you're not going to pivot the machine, so if it's kept at 90 degrees all the time then you could make one without having to remove so much material to make clearance. I think back cutting the area behind the fence improves dust collection.
    I'll have to look closer, mine are all the mec300 model where the motor is in the back. I could've sworn there was a bunch of real estate there at full angle. I was thinking I wouldn't need any relief cut in the back. My guards are all modded so they swing out of the way sooner for mitering toe boards as well.
    Last edited by Martin Wasner; 02-01-2019 at 5:32 PM.

  5. #155
    Looking at your second to last picture, there's a allen head screw for the stop. Mine doesn't have that either. It has the big nut underneath it though. I have mine set so at full depth you're almost digging into the base. Just trying to get max cut capacity out of it.

  6. #156
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    I put that Allen in, the saw had a smaller blade from the previous user so they ground the bolt down a lot so I had to replace it for the larger blade I’m using. Didn’t have a hex bolt handy so I subbed in the allen.


    Thats been my experience eith most of the inserts, they seem to wear away just enough that they’re no longer reliable after a while. UHMW seems to hold up so far, but it’s going to take a few hundred or thousand chops to see how well it holds up. On the Kapex I chalked it up to a lack of sturdiness in the build, but it could just be that the chips passing by at high speed wear on the insert.

    I may take out the inserts when I miter and put in a wooden sacrifice so I can avoid having a knife edge on the inserts.

    This saw seems about the same as the mec 300 with exception to the motor placement.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  7. #157
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    Martin,

    Thought I'd mention it, since you made the recommendation. I ordered the JA Rawley stop setup. I decided to do that rather than build my own, I like that he offers a digital accessory that seems very useful for the shop that doesn't need automation but would benefit from quicker parts layout. I didn't buy the electronic bit yet, but may do so later.

    Added the gang accessory and the chopsticks things for small parts. I cut small parts a lot so it's nice to get my hands much further away.

    Very nice person to talk to and was at least understanding of my interest in precision in this regard.

    I also ordered all of the stuff to build a better worktable next to this saw and get rid of the aluminum channel sitting there now (which is not actually flat, so I discovered).

    This brings it out from the wall a bit, but should be enough to support larger material should I need too after I add a radial arm to this wall.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #158
    I'm curious how you like it. I was considering it pretty hard, but ended up having a fabricator bend and weld up a bunch of fences and stops that are a clone of the Biesemeyer stuff. Good enough for what we need them to do on the benches.

  9. #159
    Man to have a mill and a metal lathe and know how to use them.

    That’s the dream man but I’d actually need a shop and not a shop in my basement lol..

    Your cheating using your dads shop. Just saying

  10. #160
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    I'm curious how you like it. I was considering it pretty hard, but ended up having a fabricator bend and weld up a bunch of fences and stops that are a clone of the Biesemeyer stuff. Good enough for what we need them to do on the benches.
    I'll post up some details on it once it's arrived and up and together. I'll probably set it up with my current outrigger to complete a few jobs requiring short mitered pieces then reset it when the stuff comes in from 8020.

    This is a touch overboard for just cut-off, so I'm mainly doing this for the future saw that I will use for dado work and similar and hope to place right next to the OMGA. I cut kumiko (lattice work) for shoji and have been dreading the idea of making additional shoji to match previous work, so this will make that project much easier to do in the future if I keep records/blocks of my kumiko layouts.

    I made a set of shoji recently then in addition to it made an extra screen to give to my wife, she had a plan to use it. Not long after receiving it she asked if I could move it somewhere else and make a few to match....

    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Walsh View Post
    Man to have a mill and a metal lathe and know how to use them.

    That’s the dream man but I’d actually need a shop and not a shop in my basement lol..

    Your cheating using your dads shop. Just saying
    Hah, very true. I'd love to have the mill at my shop, I'd likely spend most evenings milling up aluminum, just have a short drive after hours is enough to knock that down to a more reasonable amount of use.

    You can fit one of each, even a smaller mill is handy to have for stuff that is just too much trouble to file.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  11. #161
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    All set, bought some stuff from 8020. Leveled, squared, bolted the saw to the floor and outrigger to the wall. I think I will also connect the track to the saw fence.

    I also added the tape measure, and checked it for accuracy. I never use built in tapes, but making exceptio here.







    I should have done this a long time ago.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  12. #162
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    Dang...that looks REALLY good, Brian!!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #163
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    Thanks, Jim!

    Btw, Im thinking to do away with the carpet and lay down some light colored rubber mats.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #164
    I could never get used to a stop on the right. It's not wrong, just programming from 20 years of the stop being on the left would make it tough.

    Looks good!

  15. #165
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    Thank you!

    Yeah, it took me forever to get used to it and only did so because of the shop layout. Even the saw makers must think it weird because they tend to always have the motor on the right hand side of the saw.

    BTW, I bought Dawley's 'ChopStix' setup too, and it's great. Really handy for small cuts. I made 12 crosses with four way miters the other day (98 cuts) in 1~" long material and it worked nicely for that.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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