oldman_pottering Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 I have these hardwood cutoffs of different sizes but around the 8" by 5" size that I thought might be good to make some kids toys from, only trouble is though that they need milling and they are not long enough for me to run through my thicknesser, is there a way that I can get these milled so I can use them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted October 7, 2023 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 First choice is to glue runners to them and cut them back off when done. Second choice would be double stick tape to an MDF base. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 Great question and answer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 On 10/7/2023 at 12:16 PM, gee-dub said: First choice is to glue runners to them and cut them back off when done. Second choice would be double stick tape to an MDF base. Thanks mate, I think I understand the first option in that the rollers can grab the runners and keep the feed going but the 2nd option of gluing to an mdf base, how do the rollers do their job ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 With the MDF "carrier" option you would have to manually feed the assembly until the feed rollers caught the smaller board. For the runner option the runners don't have to be as long as shown in the drawing. Just long enough to be safe on your particular machine. This would be my preferred way to go about it. I would rip the runners off at the band saw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post oldman_pottering Posted October 7, 2023 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 On 10/7/2023 at 3:45 PM, gee-dub said: With the MDF "carrier" option you would have to manually feed the assembly until the feed rollers caught the smaller board. For the runner option the runners don't have to be as long as shown in the drawing. Just long enough to be safe on your particular machine. This would be my preferred way to go about it. I would rip the runners off at the band saw. Thanks very much gee-dub, below is the type of the thing I want to make. It's pretty basic but just getting the timber to be usable is an effort for me ;) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 Shop made toys are "the best" and can become real treasures. My basic rule for dealing with small parts, whether scrap or not, is to attach them or hold them with something larger. Good luck and stay safe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewalnutguy Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 Not what you asked, but related. My choice for finish for toys for children is paraffin, a totally food-safe product. Heat the toy up a little, melt the paraffin and rub it on lightly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 10/7/2023 at 3:45 PM, gee-dub said: For the runner option the runners don't have to be as long as shown in the drawing. Just long enough to be safe on your particular machine. This would be my preferred way to go about it. I would rip the runners off at the band saw. Should I raise the runners so that they sit about half the thickness of the workpieces so i can then flip it and mill the opposite side ? or leave it as pictured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 8, 2023 Report Share Posted October 8, 2023 Whether you want to "float" the material between the runners or reference a common surface will vary with how out of whack the material is. Looking at the pictures I would say you could use a common surface for reference. I do make the runners slightly thicker (taller?) than the material to be machined. That is, the runners could get milled a bit on the first pass before the cutters engage the "keeper" material. This assures that the material is not being machined without any support. Another way to say this is that you do not want to be milling the material very much without it being in contact with the machine's table or platen. Did that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 10/8/2023 at 2:50 PM, gee-dub said: Whether you want to "float" the material between the runners or reference a common surface will vary with how out of whack the material is. Looking at the pictures I would say you could use a common surface for reference. I do make the runners slightly thicker (taller?) than the material to be machined. That is, the runners could get milled a bit on the first pass before the cutters engage the "keeper" material. This assures that the material is not being machined without any support. Another way to say this is that you do not want to be milling the material very much without it being in contact with the machine's table or platen. Did that make sense? Yes, it made sense to me, thanks very much, I appreciate it. I have also learnt that grabbing a couple of old hardwood cutoffs is probably not the best way to start a project, probably a good way to start a fire ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 8, 2023 Report Share Posted October 8, 2023 Often true but my current project is all made from stuff out of the burn pile with the exception of a couple of shorts of birdseye. We give our tine and effort to our loved ones anyway. If we make an object these things just becomes tangible . I'm retired and do this for fun. If it takes me two months to make a side table I'm OK with it. When I was working and had young kids . . . not so much 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 10/8/2023 at 11:39 PM, gee-dub said: Often true but my current project is all made from stuff out of the burn pile with the exception of a couple of shorts of birdseye. We give our tine and effort to our loved ones anyway. If we make an object these things just becomes tangible . I'm retired and do this for fun. If it takes me two months to make a side table I'm OK with it. When I was working and had young kids . . . not so much Man thats a beautiful project ! I don't feel so silly about trying to use offcuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 @gee-dub Here is the finished piece, it worked a treat ! I have now learnt that I should be more particular in my timber choices as these pieces have some deep splitting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 9, 2023 Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 Excellent. Glad that worked out. We are al used to the materials that are locally available to us but I am jealous of the beautiful Australian hardwoods. Is that iron bark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldman_pottering Posted October 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 On 10/9/2023 at 10:27 PM, gee-dub said: Excellent. Glad that worked out. We are al used to the materials that are locally available to us but I am jealous of the beautiful Australian hardwoods. Is that iron bark? Im fairly sure it is, I grabbed it from a local mill. I'm not good at identifying timber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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