The sliding table can also be used in conjunction with the spindle moulder for European open Box type tenons and If required a Slot Mortising attachment can be obtained as an optional extra to complete the standard closed type mortise and tenon joints and for dowel boring for chair making etc.
The selection of the correct type of saw blade for panel work is just as important as for the ripsaw. The standard TCT saw blade with zero cutting angle would be 250mm diameter with 60 teeth and an alternative top bevel tooth profile. This saw blade is ideal for cutting all unfaced flat panels, to obtain the best result when cutting faced panels, a saw blade with 80 TCT teeth, and a Triple Chip tooth profile. This tooth profile produces a progressive cutting action resulting in a very clean finish to the face and edge of the panel.
To minimise breakout on the underside of faced panels the saw blade height should only project about 2 gullet depths above the panel being cut, this results in a more slicing cutting action as the tooth passes through the panel.
“Mini Max C26 Surface Planer”
The surface planer offers one of the best tools to the Woodworker moving from Power Tools to the combination machine, it has a surfacing width of 260mm, a cutterblock speed of 5500 rpm and 1040mm length to the surfacing tables.
The main use of the surface planer is the preparation of solid timber prior to thicknessing or spindle moulding. A typical process would be to face and edge solid timber to obtain a 90 deg. edge, then final dimension through the thicknessing unit for Window or doorframes. For the best result surface plane the widest face first, this will give a good wide surface to rest against the fence so as to achieve a square edge.
The surface planer can also be used to straighten solid timber and when feeding the work piece over the cutter block the Hand over Hand method is the safest, and to create the straightening process hand pressure should only be applied on the outfeed table after sufficient timber has passed over the cutterblock, hence the timber is dragged over the cutterblock rather than pushed from the infeed table.
Normally straightening is best achieved on timber which does not exceed the length of the infeed table, however, longer lengths can be straightened by passing the bowed (convex) face over the cutterblock, this may take more than one pass depending on the extent of the bow in the work piece.
The bridge type cutterblock guard supplied with the C26 is one of the safest and easiest guards to use. Also the surfacer fence can be used in the 45 deg position.
“Mini Max C26 Thicknesser”
Normally the thicknessing operation follows soon after surface planing as covered under the surface planer, however, it provides an additional advantage in the workshop as it can maintain a constant thickness of stock, regardless of the source of supply.
The Thicknesser cutterblock is the same tool as used for the surface planer and has a speed of 5500 rpm, with a feed speed of 6 m/min, this results in a surface finish of approximately 1mm cutter pitch. This high quality will result in minimum sanding operations and for some components will eliminate sanding.
The Thicknesser unit has a maximum working width of 260mm and a maximum working height of 150mm, and can machine stock down to 3mm. The C26 thicknesser is equipped with anti-Kick-back fingers to prevent the work piece being thrown back against the operator.
“Mini Max C26 Spindle Moulder”
It is quite possible the spindle moulder will enhance the Shed most, due to the increase in moulding profiles which can be achieved above the limited range of router cutter type profiles.
The C26 spindle moulder has 2 spindle speeds of 4000 rpm and 6500 rpm. This enables the use of large diameter tooling such as Tenon cutter discs at the lower speed and a comprehensive range of mouldings at the higher speed.
As with the surface planer operator’s hands can come close to the cutter equipment and extreme caution should be used. For spindle moulder work boxed sets of safety tooling are available from the supplier of your C26. There are many different profiles available in these cutter sets and each profile has a mating limiting plate so as to reduce the amount of stock removal. Not only does this provide safety to the operator but it also results in superior finish to the particular moulding.
A safe working practice is always essential when operating any woodworking machine whether it is one of the units of the C26 or any type of power tool. So it is opportune to draw the attention of the operator once again to the importance of constantly referring to the detailed safety instructions contained in the Mini Max C26 operation manual supplied with the machine.
As the C26 spindle moulder can be used also for jig work and various shaped components, the purchase of additional cutter equipment may be necessary.
