Welcome to the Carbide Processors Blog
Rip Blades and Crosscutting Blades vs. Combination Blades
Posted on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 at 2:49 pm.
A combination saw blade is a great saw blade to have in your shop. If you’re needing to switch between ripping and crosscutting often, then a combination blade will definitely get the job done. The 4 Tooth Alternate Top Bevel design with the 1 flat top Raker tooth make it a great blade for both crosscutting and ripping. However, if you are looking for cleaner rip cuts, or if you are going to be doing a lot of crosscutting or ripping, it may be worth it to invest in a specialty blade specifically designed for each application.
Ripping a stack of hardwood with a combination blade can really take its toll on your saw. A rip blade is specially designed with fewer teeth and a more aggressive hook angle to reduce the feed resistance and yield smoother, more efficient cuts. The deeper gullets and special Triple Chip Tooth configuration on World’s Best Glue Line Rip blades allow for faster feed rates and a cut so smooth, the surface is actually glue ready.
If getting a smooth cut when cutting across the grain is important, investing in a blade that is specifically designed just for crosscutting can be a really good idea. Crosscutting blades typically have a higher tooth count and an Alternate Top Bevel Tooth configuration that crosscuts the fibers in the wood more cleanly and leaves a much smoother edge. If you are looking for a crosscutting saw blade made to your specifications, you can get a custom saw blade quote on one of our World’s Best Cermet tipped Crosscutting blades.
If you are going to be crosscutting with a sliding miter saw or a radial arm saw, then it is important to use a saw designed for those machines. Sliding miter saws and radial arm saws have a tendency to self-feed the wood which can leave the cutting edge more ragged or fuzzy. They can sometime grab the wood, causing a potentially dangerous situation. A sliding miter saw blade or a radial arm saw blade have a negative hook angle that will help to keep the wood from self-feeding or coming up off the table.
Why invest in Quality Tools?
Posted on Friday, May 17th, 2013 at 2:26 pm.
Count on Quality and Depend on Carbide Processors to deliver it.
For over 30 years, Carbide Processors has been bringing you tools that will last you, as well as the kids and grandkids that you pass them down to, a lifetime of strength and durability.
You can spend a lifetime dumping money into cheap tools, or you can invest in tools that will last you a lifetime. We believe that you shouldn’t just spend money on tools, but invest in quality tools that will last.
I was recently talking with a tool enthusiast who had mentioned that he just now had to repair his favorite pair of German made pliers that he had owned for over 20 years. After a small repair, they still work good-as-new.
To make sure you’re getting a quality tool, it is important to look at the process. Creating tools is truly an art. What goes into the manufacturing process is very evident in the end result. A Quality Tool will use a higher quality alloy with the steel to create optimum strength and durability. The way the tool is formed (whether it is machined, cast, or drop forged) can make a difference on the integrity of the tool and can affect the life.
We do our research on all the tools we sell to ensure we are only going to bring you the best tools. Manufacturers like Wiha, Bondhus, and Wera take every step of the manufacturing process very serious and are meticulous about every little detail that goes into their tools. Everything from the design of the handle to the tolerance and precision of the working parts.
Bondhus Tools use a special Protanium Steel alloy additive to make their tools gorilla tough. All Bondhus tools are machined to the tightest tolerances ensuring the best fit, and reducing the chances of you stripping or breaking the fastener. Bondhus Tools are all finished with a chrome plated or Pro-Guard Finish to protect the tools and prevent corrosion and rust.
Both Wiha and Wera Tools are also made with a high quality steel additive to give you longest tool life. Wera Tools are known for their innovative designs and comfortable handles, which have earned them several awards and make their tools ideal for repetitive jobs and industrial applications.
How to get the proper tightness for collets on router bits.
Posted on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 at 2:05 pm.
How do you know how tight to make the router collets so that the router bit wont slip, but the router collet is not too tight to where it is too hard to loosen when you need to remove the bit?
A good rule of thumb for knowing the right tightness for router collets on router bits and bit shanks is give it one last hand squeeze. After you have slipped the router bit or bit shank into the collet and twisted the nut finger tightly, tighten it with the wrenches.
Once you have got it tight using the wrenches, you’ll want to arrange the wrenches sot that one is on the nut and the other on the spindle with the wrench handles offset. Then, with one hand, squeeze the two handles together toward each other. That final squeeze should ensure that the fit is tight, and you can reverse this last step to loosen the router bit when you need to.
This method may not work with some router models that only use one wrench. For these models, you may need to try alternate methods.
The design of the collet can greatly affect the way you need to tighten the router collets. The collet and socket are designed with precision so that when pressed into the socket the collet grips the router bit shank tightly.
Older style collets were shorter and had a steeper taper to them. This created a need for a more considerable amount of force to drive the collet deep enough to get a proper grip. Newer styles of routers use a longer collet with less of a taper that’s connected to the nut. These routers grip nearly twice as much of the length of the shank as the older routers do. The shallower taper requires more turns of the nut to get the bit tightly in place, but makes it so that it wont pop loose once it has been properly tightened.
Another method to achieving proper tightness from your collets, especially if you are using an older router, is to bottom out the router bit. The reason this is important is that when you tighten the collet nut, the growing taper of the cone is being driven into the corresponding shallowing taper of spindle. This grips the router bit, locking it into place and ensuring that it wont pull out.
If you bottom out the bit and pull back on it, the collet can take hold of the shank and bring the bit with it. This will cause both the cone and the bit to get driven further into to spindle, locking tighter, but not over tightening it.
Also, Remember that it is important to change your collets regularly. If a router cannot get a tight grip on the bit shank, then try to replace the collet. If replacing the collet does not work, then it may be time to replace the router. Also, remember to change your collets regularly. By not replacing your collets when you need to, you may be greatly affecting the spindle life on your machine.
Information for this blog was taken from Woodworking journal and Ehow.
Testing the Hardness of Carbide
Posted on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 at 2:25 pm.
I had a question today about whether an end-user can test the hardness of carbide.
The official way to test carbide hardness is with a Rockwell tester or similar but nobody even pretends that this way is particularly accurate.
In a Rockwell test, pressure is applied slowly through a particularly shaped diamond point. This has almost nothing to do with how carbide is used in the real world. Because of this, it is not uncommon to see carbide grades with a lower Rockwell value out wearing carbide grades with a higher Rockwell value.
Tungsten carbide is tungsten carbide grains in a cobalt matrix. When you test tungsten carbide hardness you are mostly testing the amount of cobalt in it. You are also testing grain size to a certain extent as well as testing how well the carbide is made.
Official ratings for carbide hardness are ballpark estimates at the best and don’t necessarily have much to do with how well the carbide will perform.
Typically in our industry, when someone says they are interested in carbide hardness what they are really interested in is carbide performance. Carbide used to be considered either hard for long wear or tough to prevent breaking. We have carbide tips in many different grades that will perform the best for a particular application. Our Cermet II grade tips are extra long wearing. Our Super C grade tips is both harder and tougher than most carbide grades, making it ideal for many applications. We also have a Nail cutting grade that is very tough and less prone to breakage, even in the toughest applications.
However we now see carbide with a lower transverse rupture strength that is actually tougher and carbide with a higher transverse rupture strength.
Preventing Rust from Ruining your Quality Tools
Posted on Friday, May 3rd, 2013 at 10:08 am.
April Showers bring May flowers, but they can also bring a more humid environment to your woodworking shop.
During the wet, and warmer season of Spring, it may be a good idea to take some precaustions and be proactive in order to keep your lumber and tools safe from humidity.
If quality is important to you, then you probably invest a lot into your cutting tools. One of the best things you can do to prevent humidity from potentially ruining those quality cutting tools, and hand tools is to make sure that all exposed surface on your tools are coated with a rust preventative coating. You can use various types of wax or purchase specialized couating like BoeShield. This small step to prevent your tools from rusting can really payoff big.
Another thing you can do is to put a dehumidifier in your shop. This will also help to also keep your lumber and unfinished wood prjects from being ruined from excess moisture in your shop. If you store your wood and wood projects in a humid environment, it can lead to the wood expanding and warping, which can ruin any project.
How to remove mold from Wood
Posted on Friday, April 26th, 2013 at 12:01 pm.
Getting halfway through a woodworking project and finding mold growing is enough to figuratively and literally make you feel ill. Luckily, if the mold has not been on the wood long enough to ruin the woods structural integrity, it can be fairly easily removed.
I have gathered some tips, and methods from several difference sources on how to save your woodworking projects and how to remove mold from your wood projects.
The first step before even trying to remove the mold is to fix whatever may be causing the mold in the first place. If the place you have been storing your projects is damp or moist, you’ll either need to store them somewhere else, or fix the moisture problem wherever they are being stored first.
When removing the mold or working with wood that has mold on it, be sure the area is well ventilated.
Scrub away the surface mold with hot soapy water and a scrubber brush or Scotch-Brite pad. You can also use a towel or rag if you are worried that the scrubbing may harm the wood. Remove as much of the mold as possible.
Rinse the wood well.
Once most of the mold has been removed, there are several different solutions you can apply to the surface to kill the mold and help insure that it won’t come back.
*Remember to use gloves and safety glasses to protect your skin and eyes from any bleach or alcohol mixture splashing up on your hands for face.
For Unfinished wood, eHow.com recommends using a 50/50 Solution of water and rubbing alcohol instead of bleach.
They recommend a mix of nine parts water to 1 part bleach otherwise and recommend leaving the solution on for 12 hours, then rinsing and drying the wood very well.
Some other suggestions from other woodworkers have been to try putting it under glass or in a clear plastic bag and letting it sit in the sun or a dry, warm airing cupboard until it has dried out. One woodworker suggested (if the wood pieces are small enough) putting the wood in the microwave or oven for a short time to dry them out and help kill the mold.
Woodworking Joints
Posted on Thursday, April 18th, 2013 at 12:53 pm.
There are many different types of Woodworking joints. In this blog post you will find a list of Woodworking joints from strongest to weakest, the common uses for each and the tools needed to make these joints.
Mortise and tenon joints:
A mortise and tenon joint is made by cutting a groove (or a mortise) in one board and cutting a “tab” (a tenon) in the board that is to be joined. The tenon is inserted and into the mortise to fit the boards together. Mortise and tenon joints can be very strudy and is often used for framing, cabinetry, doors, drawer fronts, and windows.
You can purchase Mortising bits to make clean and accurate mortise cuts. Tenons can be made with various types of router bits or saws.
- Tip: Only half the width of the piece being mortised should be used to make the mortise-tenon joint.
Dovetail Joints:
Dovetail Joints are made up of alternating tenons and grooves that narrow and then become wider, giving them a dovetail shape. Dovetail joints provide a very strong joint and give great strength making them ideal for drawers. Dovetail joints are also often used for cabinets, shelves, and boxes.
There is a wide variety of dovetail router bits that can create variying sizes of the mortise and tenons needed to create strong dovetail joints. You can find great deals on quality dovetail bits for your Incra or Leigh machines.
Box Joints (or Finger box Joints):
Much like Dovetail Joints, Box Joints are made up of alternating tenons and grooves on each of the boards that are to be joined. Box joints are one of the strongest joints for producing rectangular structures. Box joints are most commonly used in making boxes and drawers.
Whiteside Machine makes a Fine Finger Joint router bit that will make both the grooves and the tenons with one tool.
Lap Joints:
Lap joints are made by cutting grooves into two boards, and fitting the two boards together at the grooves. Lap joints are eady to construct anc can be cut by hand or with a machine. A variation of the Lap joint is the Half-Lap Joint, which can be made by cutting away half the thickness of each board and overlapping the boards to make the joint. Half-Lap Joints are very popular because of their ability to resist stresses in multiple directions. Both Lap Joints and Half-Lap Joints are often used in egg-crate type of assemblies or projects requiring separators.
Dado Joints:
Dado Joints are made by cutting a slot (or Dado) into one piece of wood and the joining piece of wood into the dado. There are several different types of dado joints.
Through Dado Joints are joints where the inserted board is visible on both the outside edges of the outside board. (see Picture below)
Stopped Dado Joints are when one side (or both) are stopped short of the edge of the outside of the board. (see picture below)
Rabbeted Dado Joints is where a ledge is cut into the inserted board and fit into it’s corresponding slot. (see picture below)
Dado Joints are most commonly used when making shelves, bookcases, etc. You can make a nice clean dado cut in many different sizes with a Dado Set.
Miter and Rabbet Joints:
Miter Joints and Rabbet joints are often combined to create a corner lock joint for drawers and box corners. You can find qualilty Rabbeting router bits, Miter Lock Router bits and even Corner Lock Router Bits (also called drawer lock router bits) that will help make creating these joints easy.
These types of joints are often used in drawers and boxes.
A standard Rabbet Joint is a where there is a ledge cut onto a board and another board is fitted onto the ledge. Rabbet Joints are typically stress free joints and are common in bookshelves and bookcases.
Miter Joints
Miter Joints are butt joints that are cut at an angle. There are several variations of Miter Joint including compound miter joints and lock miter joints. Miter joints are most often used when constructing door casings, cabinet trim, frames and boxes. Miter Joints can be made stronger by adding a dowel or spline in the joint.
Biscuit Joints
Biscuit Joints are made by creating a slot in one piece of wood and creating football-shaped plate of pressed wood to insert into the slot and join the two pieces. Biscuit joints are great for helping to align the wood, make glue-ups, and add strength to the joint.
Biscuit Joints are often used with Butt joints and Miter joints to add strength and help with alignment. You can get both 1/4″ shank Biscuit joining kits and 1/2″ shank biscuit joining kits manufactured by Whiteisde Machine.
Spline Joints
Spline Joints are made by cutting slots into the two boards you wish to join and fitting a separate piece of wood, sized so that the boards touch, into the slots. Spline joints are often used to reinforce butt joints or to ease alignment. Slotting router bits can aid in making the slots for this type of joint.
Butt Joints and End-Grain-to-End-Grain Joints are the weakest, and usually require splines, biscuits or some type of glue or fastener. They are used simply to create a longer or wider piece of wood. Butt Joints are created by joining the wood from edge to edge and give a wider board. End Grain Joints are created by joining the wood from end grain to end grain and are used to make longer boards by joining small boards together.
Truing a Square
Posted on Friday, April 12th, 2013 at 1:27 pm.
Using a woodworking square is essential to creating quality woodworking projects, but what if your square is not true? We found this very helpful article from the book Handy Farm Devices and How to Make Them by: R. Cobleigh, about How to True a Square.
We currently sell Woodpeckers Woodworking Squares, and find them to be the highest quality, Truest Squares you can find. I’d love to hear any comments from anyone who owns one and wants to try this technique out to test their Woodpeckers Square.
Truing a Square
Making a Straight Edge:
In connection with the work with the steel square a straight-edged board is necessary to have ready for immediate use. Procure a board 8 or 10 feet long of good, dry pine, free from knots and 6 to 8 inches wide. Plane the edge until it seems straight to the eye, then lay it on the bench or on another board and make a mark along the edge, just straight with a fine lead pencil; reverse it or turn it over and fit it to the other side of the pencil line.
This multiplies any inaccuracy or deviation from a straight line. Make a new line each time you plane the edge. Work with as long a plane as you have and set the blade to take a fine shaving. When the edge will fit both sides of the line made from it while in one position, it is straight. Figure 8 will give a clear idea of this operation.
Truing The Square
After obtaining a steel square, the first and most essential thing is to test or prove it to see that it is accurate, forming the angle of a perfect square.
Take a board planed on one side and straighten one edge of it perfectly as described under ‘Making a Straight Edge’. Make a mark across this board with the square, as shown then reverse the square to Position B. If the square is true it should exactly fit the mark made. It is necessary to work very accurately, making the mark with the point of knife and having the edge of the board absolutely straight.
If the square is found to be out or inaccurae, it is not necessary to throw it away; it can be made true by a simple method by any handy mechanic. If you do not possess an anvil, make a substitute by sticking the ax into the chopping block, lay the square on the head on the head of the ax so that bearing will come from the throat or inside angle to the heel or outside of the square. To close up the angle, strike with a hammer a sharp blow at a point near the heel; to open the angle, strike near the throat at a point indicated in fig. 7. Don’t strike too hard. Use a bell face nail hammer and the dent will not be noticed
The Rule Of 6, 8 And 10
This is a rule so extensively used in the building trades and others that it has finally come to be known by the above name. It is derived from the 47th Problem of Euclid, and is used in the manner shown in Figure 13.
Measure 6 feet on the end sill of a building and 8 feet on the side sill. If it measures 10 feet across the angle the building is square. This is a very useful rule and easily remembered.
Quarter-Sawn Lumber vs. Plain-Sawn Lumber
Posted on Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 at 3:17 pm.
When picking out lumber for your next project, it is helpful to know what the difference types are and what the advantages and disadvantages are of each.
There are 3 basic ways that lumber is cut, Quarter-Sawn, Plain-Sawn, and Rift-Sawn.
Plain-Sawn Lumber
Plain-Sawn Lumber is also often called flat-sawn lumber. Plain-Sawn Lumber is cut so that the log runs through the mill in one piece, and each slice is parallel through the log. Many people seek out Plain-Sawn lumber becuase of the way it looks. It has loops and growth swirls found in the grain patters that gives it a very attractive look. Plain-Sawn Lumber also conserves the lumber, producing the most usable lumber from any particular board, and can be easier to find and less expensive than Quarter-Sawn Lumber or Rift-Sawn Lumber.
Some disadvantages of Plain-Sawn Lumber are that it can twist, cup, or bow as the wood dries and ages. Plain-Sawn Lumber also tends to absorb more moisture from the air than Quarter-Sawn or Rift-Sawn lumber, which can result in more unwanted movement of the wood.
Quarter-Sawn Lumber
Quarter-Sawn Lumber is where the log is cut into quarters first, through the logs center. Each quarter is then sawn. This produces a plank where the tree’s growth rings are perpendicular to the plank’s surface, and produces a straight, linear grain pattern. Quarter-Sawn Lumber produces much less usable lumber than Plain-Sawn lumber, making it more expensive. It is often still sought after becuase it is more stable. It is less likely to cup or twist and there are fewer surface checks and splits. It also wears more evenley. These are crucial attributes if using the lumber for furniture building.
Rift-Sawn Lumber
Milling Rift-Sawn Lumber is the most laborous of the three, and also produces the least amount of usable lumber. It does have some advantages over Plain-Sawn and Quarter-Sawn lumber. It is the most stable and has a vertical grain that is shown from all sides. The linear grain pattern is achieved by milling perpendicular to the logs growth rings on angles between 45 and 75 deg.
Rift-Sawn lumber is the most structural integrity of all the different types of cut lumber, but comes with a higher price tag.
Once you have chosen the best wood for your project, shop for the best Cutting Tools.
Braze Analysis
Posted on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 at 2:46 pm.
Here is a braze analysis on some carbide tips that we received from Southland Tool. The tips were not staying on the saw blades, and were not pretinning.
We treated the tips and they now pretin nicely. In the picture above, the carbide saw tips in the top row are the tips that were pretinned after being treated. The tips on the bottom row are show what the tips looked like before being treated and pretinned.
The picture above shows what we used to pretin the carbide saw tips. We used precut pieces of Braze Alloy; .062” dia. by .0.330 inches long.
The Brazing Process:
Flux Removal:
If you use enough of the right flux and do not over cook it then flux removal is easy. Here you can see that about half the flux came off just from drooping it into the wire basket.
Preparing the Steel:
The steel needs to bare, bright metal. This has been heat treated and still has the scale on it as well as a heat affected zone or layer. I worked at one tooth with a bastard file to get bright metal. You cannot get a good braze join to a scale surface.
If you can use it, a standard shape is considerably cheaper than a custom shape.
