The ways we process solid wood change as the material cycles from log to cabinet. For sawyers and millers, the processes are edging, trimming, ripping, stickering, drying and grading. Cabinet shops then render those graded rough-sawn boards into usable, coatable, machined parts through ripping, planing, gluing, shaping and sanding. While many of those processes are completed by automated equipment, the industry also sees continual growth in traditional lumber processing machinery and tools.
Furniture shops without access to a CNC often need to flatten slabs for live-edge or epoxy work, and Woodpeckers(woodpeck.com) has just made that a little easier. Its American-made slab flattening jig has been around for a while – it’s an XYZ guidance system for a manually controlled router sled – and its biggest challenge is that it only works comfortably on slabs that are no wider than the length of the woodworker’s arms. Woodpeckers’ new EZ-Drive has added a crank operated system to the platform, so just turning a couple of handles guides the router across and/or along the entire slab with ease. And extensions are available that let the shop process slabs large enough for counters and tabletops.
Another U.S. built solution, the Chatternator(profilesander.com), is a patented sander for getting rid of chatter marks. It comes in models that handle work up to 6" or 12" wide, such as moldings, picture frames, or profiled stiles and rails. The machine can be purchased either as a stand-alone unit or as an attachment for specific molding machines. The core concept evolves around an aluminum drum with dovetail-shaped slots that accept slide-in sanding sleeves. This makes it very simple and quick to change abrasives, and also lets the machine sand complex shapes without changing their profile.
For shops that need to gang rip solid wood, Stiles Machinery(stilesmachinery.com) offers CML E Series multi-rip saws. Designed as entry-level machines, these are tailored to meet most volume production requirements.
Wood-Mizer’s (woodmizer.com) new MP280 planes and molds material on all four sides at the same time. All four cutters can be fitted with planing knives or molding profile knives to produce flooring, planed boards, crown molding, and more. It features multiple upgrades over its predecessors for durability and performance including reinforced metal construction, standard infeed and outfeed tables, a longer in-feed fence, an additional cutterhead, and dust collector controls.
When it comes to processing moldings, the innovative miter saw fence from Kizen Enterprise (kizenenterprise.com) is now available in a plastic version. The original fence is offered in anodized aluminum. It’s designed to cut crown and other trim, while making miter saw work both faster and safer. It allows for quick transitions between cuts in molding or stock lumber in seconds.
Sanding and sawing
Cantek’s (cantekamerica.com) newer offerings include the BS600-2H, a two-head wire brush machine designed to remove the soft grain between growth rings to produce distressed wood flooring, paneling, and more. With variable frequency inverters to control the brush RPM and feed speed, the shop can control the texture of the finish.
Gibbs Group North America (gibbsgroupna.com) introducesthe Cup Brush Sander to the U.S. market. This machine can perform delicate and general sanding tasks and features a touchscreen control display and six customizable programs. It also has an automatic cleaning function, leaving cabinet doors and fronts dust-free and ready for coating. It comes in stock models to fit most shop’s needs from 40" to 51" wide. Wider custom sizes are also available.
The new SideShift from Castle (castleusa.com) is a positioning jig for the company’s pocket cutting and screw inserting machine, the CSI 1.5D. The new device automatically positions solid wood stock to create two low angle 6-degree pockets with the screws already located and started, and it does all that in under four seconds. SideShift automatically adjusts for stock widths of 1-1/4" to 3", so it’s ideal for face frame assembly.
Felder Group USA (felder-group.com) presents the Hammer CNC Portal milling machine with a T-slot table and a work capacity of 32-1/2" x 18-7/8" and 6-1/4" in Z. This is a smallheavy-duty machine that can be controlled by integrated, proprietorial software or by any of several aftermarket packages.
South Bend Tools (southbendtools.com) offers the new 24” resawing band saw, model SB1123. The saw offers a full 16" of resaw capacity and features dual ball-bearing blade guides and rack-and-pinion table adjustments. The cast iron table is 23-5/8" x 33 -1/2"and a full 2" thick. That mass, along with cast iron trunnions, works to minimize vibration.
Another new band saw, the 14CX from Laguna Tools(lagunatools.com), boasts a digital readout, speed control knob, electronic variable speed, and foot-operated disc brake.
Processing improvements
For woodworkers with machines that have a T-slot table, some new pneumatic clamps from PantoRouter (pantorouter.com)might make a big difference in lumber processing. The clamps rotate 360 degrees and work with air cylinders, so their operation can be synchronized. That is, two or more clamps can engage at the same time, or they can operate separately using an inexpensive ($20) clamp control kit.
Ripping and crosscutting are essential steps in the processing of solid wood, and several saw manufacturers have added high-tech safety features to their saws of late. Among them, Altendorf’s Hand Guard (altendorfgroup.com) is a two-camera early-recognition system that drops the blade below the table before any hand contact is made. Other options to explore are SawStop, the Felder PCS system, and Blade Off from the SCM Group.
Dust isn’t just a health hazard. It can negatively affect several steps in the processing of lumber. Cutting debris for the second time dulls bits and blades. Accumulated waste can mess with set-ups and positioning. And, of course, dust in a coating can be a bit of a nightmare. By cleaning the cut line as dust is produced, Biesse’s new T-JET (biesse.com) increases finishing quality, prolongs tool life and boosts process efficiency by accelerating job turnaround. It uses high pressure air nozzles mounted to the rotating C axis and dislodges any dust that has settled in the kerf. As soon as it becomes airborne, the dust is removed by an extraction system that sits over the spindle.
Battery technology is making it easier than ever to use portable tools in processing. For example, the new DeWalt (dewalt.com)DCW620B is a cordless plunge router that delivers 2-1/4 hp of torque and has integrated dust collection.
Batteries also helped make the new CSC SYS 50 cordless table saw from Festool (festoolusa.com) so compact that it fits into one of the company’s standard Systainers. It can directly support rip cuts in material up to 11" wide, and cross cuts to 17-3/4". It bevels with electronic controls from -2 to 47 degrees and comes with a sliding table. The two 18-volt batteries combined with a brushless EC-TEC motor deliver plenty of torque to process any solid wood species.
SawStop (sawstop.com) has also introduced a new compact table saw, the CTS. Weighing in at just 68 lbs., it has a 10" blade, rack and pinion fence, a quick-tilt mechanism with micro adjustment for bevels, and the company’s patented safety system.
Lumber processing often requires cast iron machine tables and beds and tables that can be prone to rust. Harvey (harveywoodworking.com) presents three ‘stain-less’ table saws and two band saws, all of which boast nickel plating. They’renot only moisture resistant, but they also clean up and withstand impacts better than older tables.
Powermatic (powermatic.com) has also introduced a new way to fight rust. Its ArmorGlide option is now offered on bandsaws, table saws and jointers. It is described as a durable and rust-free coating that gives you more control.
For bigger shops with larger lumber processing needs, the new Zentrex 6215 panel saw from Holz-Her U.S. (holzherusa.com) features linear guide technology on all axes and tool position memory.
Not all lumber processing is lineal, and a new lathe from Oliver(olivermachinery.net) addresses work in the round. The Oliver No. 2019 features cast iron construction for torsion rigidity, a reversible 2-hp motor, an RPM meter, and a dual-purpose bed extension that can be used either for outboard turning or to increase the distance between centers to 41".
Originally published in the September 2024 issue of Woodshop News.
