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164K views 559 replies 125 participants last post by  Ken90712 
#1 ·
Signmaking

Had a full day yesterday, filming the Torque Work Centre,
Aaron and Luke came down from Yandina. They make the tool with Keith, who couldn't make it down.
And Stuart arrived with his trusty video camera to take some footage of the machine in action.
Had a blast and learned a few more things the wee beastie can do.
For a start we just set it up with a router [Makita 3612C ] and did some basic rabbets dados and grooves.
Cut an arc and did some angle routing. Pretty cool.\
Then we made a board up with some letters glued on and cut a raised letter welcome sign and using a template and a HSS mill bit routed a sign in aluminium. I used the copy attachment arm to do this. Run the pin around the template and the router follows in the timber or other material.


Not bad for my first attempt.


 
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#447 ·
What cutter?

In answer to a question from LJ Sharon aka PurpLev.... I took some close up pics of the Carb-i-tool 55 mm 3 flute surfacing cutter… this bit has 3 rotatable replaceable carbide tips…. as they dull or are damaged you loosen of the holding screw with the tool supplied and rotate 90 degrees to a new face… when all 4 are used… just replace for a few dollars each.
Automotive tire Automotive lighting Bumper Gas Automotive exterior

This is a fairly powerful router bit and it is advised only to use it in some form of jig… such as the "Torque Workcentre or maybe on a router sled…
Household hardware Nickel Composite material Gas Metal

You probably see that this has been used… in fact it is the original bit I bought with the machine… just about ready to replace the tips.. after over 12 months…
Wood Nut Household hardware Auto part Metal


It has a 1/2 shaft and due to the diameter of the cutter,ideally, should be used with a variable speed router… that said I had no problems with my Makita 3612 single speed … I have just up graded to the new variable speed Makita and if the client requires a router with the TWC I recommend and supply the new Makita Variable Speed…[made in Japan] I get a good price from my local Power Tool shop… Trademan's Toolbox in Morayfield.
Although any GOOD quality router… at least 2 HP or more if possible…..would be suitable.
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas Engineering Automotive wheel system

These bits are available from Carb-i-tool in Melbourne, Australia and Torque supplies the cutters as an option with the TWC at a discount.
Automotive tire Ruler Gas Fender Rim


If you follow the link and watch the last video on the TWC page there is a close up at around the 1 minute mark.
 

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#448 ·
What cutter?

In answer to a question from LJ Sharon aka PurpLev.... I took some close up pics of the Carb-i-tool 55 mm 3 flute surfacing cutter… this bit has 3 rotatable replaceable carbide tips…. as they dull or are damaged you loosen of the holding screw with the tool supplied and rotate 90 degrees to a new face… when all 4 are used… just replace for a few dollars each.
Automotive tire Automotive lighting Bumper Gas Automotive exterior

This is a fairly powerful router bit and it is advised only to use it in some form of jig… such as the "Torque Workcentre or maybe on a router sled…
Household hardware Nickel Composite material Gas Metal

You probably see that this has been used… in fact it is the original bit I bought with the machine… just about ready to replace the tips.. after over 12 months…
Wood Nut Household hardware Auto part Metal


It has a 1/2 shaft and due to the diameter of the cutter,ideally, should be used with a variable speed router… that said I had no problems with my Makita 3612 single speed … I have just up graded to the new variable speed Makita and if the client requires a router with the TWC I recommend and supply the new Makita Variable Speed…[made in Japan] I get a good price from my local Power Tool shop… Trademan's Toolbox in Morayfield.
Although any GOOD quality router… at least 2 HP or more if possible…..would be suitable.
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas Engineering Automotive wheel system

These bits are available from Carb-i-tool in Melbourne, Australia and Torque supplies the cutters as an option with the TWC at a discount.
Automotive tire Ruler Gas Fender Rim


If you follow the link and watch the last video on the TWC page there is a close up at around the 1 minute mark.
Thanks Larry
I saw a pic of this the other day on the TWC website and thought it would be great for surfacing my cutting boards before they go to the sander. I was going to drop you a line and see where you can get these from but I guess purplev beat me to it. Now to find out if they ship to the states. Here is a link to the exact page in the cab-i-tool catalog for this bit http://www.carbitool.com.au/pdf%27s/PageR039.pdf for others who want to see the specs.
Scott
 

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#454 ·
Sign for a Bar...

I made a sign for a mate… GRIMA VIEW…. and a friend saw it… hey how much… told her and she thought it would be a great idea for me to make a sign …"Rabbit's Bar.".. to hang over the bar that I will be building.. so that is how you pick up a commission…For a bar I did not know I was building…
Any way… here is the progress on the sign…http://w662.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fw662.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu349%2Fdegoose%2F74adecee.pbw

I have not finished this.. as I intend to spray on some poly...
Total build time so far is well under an hour..
 
#497 ·
Grooving square bollards.

I was asked to make some bollards… short posts with a hole at the top to thread rope through….
I picked up some 8 foot lengths of 4 inch by 4 inch treated hardwood.. cut them in half and planed them smooth..ish..
Ran a piloted chamfering bit around all 4 corners and the top… sorry no pics….
The 1 1/4 inch hole near the top, which was drilled with an electric drill mounted in the TWC, was also chamfered…
The beauty of this set up is that the post is supported on the table….
I wanted to make a V-groove all round about 6 inches from the top, so put a v-bit in the router and mounted it on the TWC
Automotive tire Bicycle tire Wood Fender Bumper


then screwed some scrap ply to the table to set a fence and stop block at the end to hold the post in position…
Wood Automotive tire Bumper Automotive exterior Floor


Set the depth stop and using the plunge control lever made a few passes until the groove was cut…
Wood Door Road surface Grey Floor


Automotive tire Wood Composite material Gas Font


Wood Tool Gas Machine tool Machine


Only had to rotate each post and repeat….Due to the way the torque is set all grooves matched all the way round..
Wood Gas Clock Composite material Plant


Wood Gas Machine Electric blue Metal


The best part for me was not having to hold the router or use a fence on the router or a straight edge that would have to be reset for each side…I also did not have to move the post… which is really heavy across a table saw or router table…
A great time saver… all 4 grooves on all 6 bollards in under 5 minutes…
 

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#498 ·
Grooving square bollards.

I was asked to make some bollards… short posts with a hole at the top to thread rope through….
I picked up some 8 foot lengths of 4 inch by 4 inch treated hardwood.. cut them in half and planed them smooth..ish..
Ran a piloted chamfering bit around all 4 corners and the top… sorry no pics….
The 1 1/4 inch hole near the top, which was drilled with an electric drill mounted in the TWC, was also chamfered…
The beauty of this set up is that the post is supported on the table….
I wanted to make a V-groove all round about 6 inches from the top, so put a v-bit in the router and mounted it on the TWC
Automotive tire Bicycle tire Wood Fender Bumper


then screwed some scrap ply to the table to set a fence and stop block at the end to hold the post in position…
Wood Automotive tire Bumper Automotive exterior Floor


Set the depth stop and using the plunge control lever made a few passes until the groove was cut…
Wood Door Road surface Grey Floor


Automotive tire Wood Composite material Gas Font


Wood Tool Gas Machine tool Machine


Only had to rotate each post and repeat….Due to the way the torque is set all grooves matched all the way round..
Wood Gas Clock Composite material Plant


Wood Gas Machine Electric blue Metal


The best part for me was not having to hold the router or use a fence on the router or a straight edge that would have to be reset for each side…I also did not have to move the post… which is really heavy across a table saw or router table…
A great time saver… all 4 grooves on all 6 bollards in under 5 minutes…
That is quiet the machine, Larry. Wish I had the money and the space. I'll just have to wait until a poor old Aussie throws this one away and gets a new improved one. Then I can dig it out of the scrap pile lol
 

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#504 ·
Dressing a few panels.

Had a phone call from a bloke I met last May at the Timber and Working with Wood Show.. seems he had two panels that were glued up from some 290 mm wide stock…

Problem was… stock was too thick and after glueing up into 560 mm by 560 mm panels… how do you dress this down to the right thickness..

Ah you say… I know, I know.. Pick me..

Torque Workcentre to the rescue.


Secure the two panels to the table …


Insert the 55 mm surfacing head.. into the router…


Flatten one side and then flip and dress to desired thickness…

This method is not just for slabs or panels too large to fit through a planer… or where too much material is required to be removed… for a drum sander.. but for pieces too small as well..
 
#515 ·
Drilling angled holes.

To make a wine bottle balancer it requires a hole drilled at an angle…so what to do… build a jig for the drill press..


Cut some tapered pieces and make a ramp to hold the blank to be drilled…

Hey… what is this? I have a Torque WorkCentre….. and one of the features is the ability to drill holes at any angle… hmmm….. make a jig to hold the blank horizontally on the bed and then drill at the required angle…


Two t-bolts and some knobs to hold the jig in place.. using the winged track… nice…


and a couple of toggle clamps to hold the piece while it is drilled


This worked so well I made 18 balancers..


Shown here hanging on a dowel to let the first coat of Danish Oil to dry…
Before you all ask about dimensions and angles… that is a separate blog which I will post shortly… so stay tuned….
 
#531 ·
Dimensions and angles...

This is just a quick post to give some information regarding the way I make the wine bottle balancer…You can use other dimensions and it will still work


I did research the whole thing and found different angles and other variables…but this is what I have come up with by trial and error… to make the bottle balance in a horizontal position.. not pointing up or down… more aesthetically pleasing.. and if it looks right don't mess with it…

Length…11 inches or 275 mm

Width… I use 2 depending on the timber 3 inch or 4 inch…. 75 mm or 100 mm

Thickness …. at least 3/4 inch or 19 mm … thicker is better… up to just over 1 inch or 25 mm [altho I have made them as thin as 1/2 inch or 12.5 mm and they still work..]

Angle for base… 40 degrees.

Angle for hole…30 degrees.

Diameter of hole… 1 1/4 inch or 30 mm and it is centred 8 inches or 200 mm from the base…


I made 18 yesterday and more to follow… now that I have the jig…

The bottle is actually horizontal… just the angle of the camera…

I did a few schmancy ones including the one above … in honour of Patron aka David Mitchell, my friend and mentor…Who showed me how to make some of the crazy things I do now..Thank you David…

The plain timber ones are from the left….

New Guinea Rosewood, Camphor Laurel, Queensland Red Cedar, Silky Oak and White Cedar.
 
#545 ·
Slabbing attachment

Just received the video of the new prototype chainsaw attachment for the Torque WorkCentre..
This is different in that the chain saw is mounted under the Machine… thereby negating the need to lift the log onto the table…

NB. please be aware that this is the very first prototype and as such may have some issues… there will be furthur development and refinement as theses issues are addressed…
With regards length of log…. up to 8 feet or so at this stage .. obviously with a longer machine…

There are also some ideas about a all terrain wheel system …more as it happens…
 
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