Replies

1. 
   jackplane | May 24, 2005 06:20pm | #1

   Paul,

   HSS knives would give you good performance on mdf up to about 100 lineal feet.More or less. Mdf/mdx is just too dense with a high glue content to expect much more than that without sharpening. I once edge-joined about 30' of the stuff on a joiner with hss knives- dulls quickly.

     So if you have more time (to sharpen) than money, use hss.Otherwise I'd use carbide which can last 4-5 times longer before sharpening.

   Just my opinion.

    

1. 
   PaulGC | May 24, 2005 06:33pm | #2

   Thanks Jack but you really have to look at the two quotes. The carbide knives are over $1000. I have calcualted that it'll take over 50 sheets to break even on my initial investments of buying the molder plus the knives. By the time 50 sheets are "done" the carbide will have gone dull themselves. Basically, I CAN'T break even if the knives are gonna' be dull before my costs are paid for.

    

   See my point?

   Paul

   Thanks again, I greatly appreciate it

1. 
   jackplane | May 24, 2005 07:01pm | #3

   It sounds like your point is that either way it'll be cheaper to have someone else mill the trim. If that's the dilemma, I'd definitely sub it to another shop.

   But what's missing from this equation is the quoted cost of sharpening, which may help you decide. 

1. 
   Adrian | May 24, 2005 10:31pm | #4

   You could run the mouldings in pine or poplar also, and use the HSS. The costs you have been quoted are not out of line, but you could also get some other quotes.

   Anyway, your customers pay for your tooling....if they want mouldings they can't get elsewhere, they pay some kind of a premium. The other moulding shops are paying the same prices for tooling.

   cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, N.S

   Edited 5/24/2005 3:33 pm ET by Adrian

1. 
   PaulGC | May 25, 2005 02:17am | #7

   Adrain, I live in Newfoundland and got the quotes from Moldingknives.com, who I believe are somewhere in Nova Scotia. I can't get poplar where I live just knotty pine and MDF to make moldings from. Guess I'm finished with the molding business even before I get started.

    

   Paul

2. 
   DougU | May 25, 2005 05:58am | #8

   Paul

   First off how much are you talking about, length wise?

   We run HSS all the time on MDF and yes it does dull the cutters but I wouldn't agree that they are shot at 100'.

   Piffin had some good points on the dust and the overall use of HSS on MDF.

   Try these guys for a price on cutters, I cant find better prices anywhere. http://www.ballewsaw.com

   Don't give up so easy!

   Doug

3. 
   Adrian | May 25, 2005 07:07pm | #9

   Yup, they're a Nova Scotia company....you've probably been dealing with Craig, who is a friend of mine. They're a good company, but it's always worth talking to a few companies. Another you could try is BC Saw & Tool, out of Toronto, or there are others.....also the people that sell standard tooling, like J.R Normand in Quebec.cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, N.S

2. 
   Piffin | May 25, 2005 12:49am | #5

   I wouldn't dream of making my own MDF moldings.

   But one of my subs also has a shop, shaper, and a couple of Williams and Hussey Molders. He milled a whole house out of MDF. I don't know if he would ever want to do it again. He burned up a lot of cutters, and did some research with the guys milling and sharpening the steel for him. Eventually, he found out that MDF requires a different feed rate, and different grind angle on the cutters than the same pattern for milling the poplar we normally make. That made his cutters last twice as long, which was still a tenth of the footage he could get on the poplar.

   If you are serious about this, I don't know if the Jet machine is up to the task. Milling MDF makes alot more heat and nastier dust than wood. That means the machine will be outgunned at the OK corral. You will have to invest in good dust collection equipment too, or you wil soon be six feet under.

    

    

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3. 
   Piffin | May 25, 2005 12:50am | #6

   That was all with HSS. We don't use carbide, 'cause we sharpen our own.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!