Firewood processor build thread

[kiotiken]

Got a little more done last night along with some good head scratching. Think I have it all figured out now.

Lower rails in place.


Upper rails extended. Just need to add a little sheet metal to make it level with the trough.


Welded a 2" X 4" - 1/4" piece to the bottom of the pusher plate. The two 6" X 10" - 1/2" scraps I cut out of the bottom of the splitter head will be trimmed to 5" tall and welded vertically to it. A T will be welded to the bottom to bolt onto a slide under the lower rails. I cut 3 holes randomly into one of the pieces to plug weld it to the other. 3/4" nylon one either side brings it to 2 1/2" thick to fit into the 2 5/8" space between the rails.

 

[kiotiken]

So, you'll all probably think I'm slacking off these days, but this pusher plate re-work is taking forever! By the time I looked up last night it was 12:30 am and it felt like I barely got anything done. The sad part is, I still see needing two nights to finish up the pusher plate before I can start having a little more fun building rollers and figuring out how to install the hydraulic motor.

Pictures all show the pusher plate upside down.

I trimmed the vertical pieces down to 4 15/16" (yes, I actually managed to hit that exactly on both 1/2" thick plates!).


I ripped a 8" X 12" - 1/2 plate down to a piece 2 1/2" X 10 1/2" and another at 5 3/8" X 10 1/2". I then tacked them together and drilled bolt holes through them. The 2 1/2" piece will be welded to the bottom of the pusher plate as a T, then there'll be a 3/4" thick piece of nylon (5 3/8" X 10 1/2") sandwiched between it and the larger piece.


There will be 14 - 3/8" grade 8 bolts holding the plates (and nylon) together. The bolt heads should jam on the vertical piece but if not, I'll have to tack them in place since I won't be able to get a wrench on them.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

It's all those holes that take forever! How are you going to hold the poly to the sides of the guide?

By the look of it, you are using a hole saw for the larger holes -- what brand? I tried a couple 3/4" holes and just eat the teeth off after only a couple holes, seems they don't clean out enough (1 Mastercraft, 1 Dewalt) 1 1/4" worked much better thru 3/8' plate

And what drill press are you running? My Mastercraft one slips the belt way more than I think it should.

 

[kiotiken]

It's all those holes that take forever! How are you going to hold the poly to the sides of the guide?

By the look of it, you are using a hole saw for the larger holes -- what brand? I tried a couple 3/4" holes and just eat the teeth off after only a couple holes, seems they don't clean out enough (1 Mastercraft, 1 Dewalt) 1 1/4" worked much better thru 3/8' plate

And what drill press are you running? My Mastercraft one slips the belt way more than I think it should.

Yup, holes take a long time.

I drilled a 1" hole in 1" thick plate for the cylinder attachment. I could have spray painted the hole saw, stuck it back in the package and returned it when I was done! I used to burn hole saw after hole saw until I went to Ottawa Fasteners and bought cutting oil. I believe it's called Ice Cold but I can't remember who makes it. It's about $10 a bottle but goes a long way. Once you start using it, it won't matter what brand hole saw you use, they slice through it like butter. For thicker metal (like the 1/2" plate I just did), I continually stop, use a mini wire brush to clean out the cut, fill the groove with a couple drops of oil and keep going. It took a little while to get through the 1" plate, but it was easy cutting.

My drill press is from my dad. It's an older one, but a good one. Don't know any of the details though. The important thing is to slow it down, move the belt to the slowest speed and use cutting oil, heat is what's killing those bits.

 

[kiotiken]

Oh, the poly will be bolted using four bolts through the 1" thick plate. The head and nut will be sunk flush. I'll have to see what Ottawa Fasteners has to offer that's as thin as possible. I'll probably have to use loctite.

The poly for the slide under the bottom rails will have the 14 bolts through them.

For the poly under the pusher plate, I'll weld 1/2" sides and secure them with a few screws. There wont be any place for them to go since the pusher wont be able to rise or move side to side.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I'll have to try some proper cutting oil. I've always just used whatever part bottle I had around, motor oil, atf, spray can of something.... Are you just running your finished size right from the start or do you go up in increments? Drill press is already as slow as it will go

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Oh, the poly will be bolted using four bolts through the 1" thick plate. The head and nut will be sunk flush. I'll have to see what Ottawa Fasteners has to offer that's as thin as possible. I'll probably have to use loctite.

Ask about flat-head bolts (they use an Allen wrench) with T nuts or another option is called a "Chicago bolt". They'll know what I mean.

Loctite sounds like a good idea.

 

[kiotiken]

I'll have to try some proper cutting oil. I've always just used whatever part bottle I had around, motor oil, atf, spray can of something.... Are you just running your finished size right from the start or do you go up in increments? Drill press is already as slow as it will go

Finished size.

 

[kiotiken]

Ask about flat-head bolts (they use an Allen wrench) with T nuts or another option is called a "Chicago bolt". They'll know what I mean.

Loctite sounds like a good idea.

Thanks.

 

[muddstopper]

Let me tell what I have found out about using cutting oil with hole saws. Recently I was cutting some 1x8in plate on my bandsaw and cutting some 2.5in holes in the same plate. On the bandsaw blade, I was using pb nutblaster to lube the bandsaw blade, but for the hole saws, I had some lennox brand cutting oil. I noticed the bandsaw seemed to take a awful long time to saw thru the plate and the hole saw was just eating thru the same plate. Between cutting and drilling, I spent a lot of time walking back and forth between the machines and somewhre along the way, I got the oils swapped. Almost immediantly, the bandsaw started cutting and the drill stopped drilling. This made me really start looking at the oils i was using. I could use the lennox cutting oil on the 2.5in holesaw and drill thru the one inch plate and the hole saw would be cool to maybe slightly warm when the hole was finished. Only took about one good drop of the cutting oil and I didnt have to keep adding more oil while cutting. I could cut the next hole using the bp blaster and the saw would be smoking and hot enought to burn you before it got thru the metal. Same results with the bandsaw, cutting oil gave faster cuts without heating up the blade. I cut 8 or 9 holes with the whole saw and the saw was still cutting just as good as it was when new. I did notice I lost some of the dia of the hole I was cutting toward the end, but heck by then I had cut thru about 9 inches of steel so I aint complaining and also contribute that to using the bpblaster on a couple of those holes.

Another tip for drilling with a hole saw, I like to take the hole saw and just start the cut, just enought to give a circle line in the metal. I will then swap out the hole saw for a drill bit and drill a hole just inside that circle left by the hole saw. I will then swap the holesaw back into the drill and finish making the hole. By drilling the hole with the drill bit first, it gives the chips someplace to fall thru the metal instead of building up inside the cut path of the hole saw. It only takes a minute to do the drill bit swap, but it will decrease cut times many times and doesnt wear out your hole saw.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

That's some great info, very helpful.

When starting the holesaw, how do you eliminate the saw from walking around? Even with the center bit in mine always walk way more than I'd like before settling in

 

[Scooby074]

That's some great info, very helpful.

When starting the holesaw, how do you eliminate the saw from walking around? Even with the center bit in mine always walk way more than I'd like before settling in

There is a lot of run out with hole saws, nature of the beast. Your pilot drill shouldnt be walking around too much unless you have a bad holesaw arbor or your drill press itself has a ton of run out.

If you want a nice, super clean hole check out Rotabroaches. Cost wise they arent that bad considering. Ideally they are used in Mag drills, but certainly can be used in a normal drill press with the proper adapters.

 

[kiotiken]

That's some great info, very helpful.

When starting the holesaw, how do you eliminate the saw from walking around? Even with the center bit in mine always walk way more than I'd like before settling in

As you can see in the last pics, they didn't walk around, they ran around. I normally have them in my drill press vice and just start very slowly, for those holes I was just holding the plate by hand and not really putting much effort into getting a precise spot. You can do it with almost no walking if you're really careful and it's clamped down very well. I don't generally use a pilot bit in the Mandrell when using my press.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

There is a lot of run out with hole saws, nature of the beast. Your pilot drill shouldnt be walking around too much unless you have a bad holesaw arbor or your drill press itself has a ton of run out.

If you want a nice, super clean hole check out Rotabroaches. Cost wise they arent that bad considering. Ideally they are used in Mag drills, but certainly can be used in a normal drill press with the proper adapters.

I'm by no means new to hole saws. I'm a carpenter and use them all the time on doors including steel clad entry doors and cabinets for the plumbing pipes. The only time I've ever had issue with walking was when the pilot bit broke -and that's with a hand held drill not a press. Cutting holes in some 3/8" plate recently, I resorted to clamping a plywood guide to the steel to keep the bit located.

I'll have to look up those Rotabroaches.


Mmmmmm. Mag drill. I'd love to get me hands on one of them

 

[Scooby074]

It's possible the pilot was defective?

Does the pilot run true to the drill chuck?

Ive broken pilots before, but its rare and usually it happens drilling something questionable.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Everything runs true spinning in the air. Only when I hit the steel does it start to walk, even with a pre-drilled pilot hole. The pilot stays in place but the saw walks flexing the pilot. I always figured it was just the increased resistance of the steel compared to wood.

 

[kiotiken]

Everything runs true spinning in the air. Only when I hit the steel does it start to walk, even with a pre-drilled pilot hole. The pilot stays in place but the saw walks flexing the pilot. I always figured it was just the increased resistance of the steel compared to wood.

I always start with cutting oil and very lightly touch the hole saw to the material. The oil lubricates the cut and probably helps keep it from biting too hard. You may want to look at your drill press, it shouldn't allow any movement.

Here's the oil I'm using


I can always tell when I need to stop and add a couple drops of oil, the shavings change. With oil, I get a long, tightly wound shaving, when the oil is gone, the savings are much shorter, flakier and don't curl very much.


With a hole saw, there's a pronounced difference when the oil runs out. With oil, it's just a smooth, constant light pressure and you can feel it cut nicely into the material. When it needs more, it doesn't cut nearly as quickly and you find yourself adding more pressure.

 

[kiotiken]

Picked up the motor on the way home from work yesterday. We when through so many options, I can't even remember exactly what the specs of this one are, but it's a larger displacement and will take a higher pressure and greater flow. It was a more expensive motor because of that, but allowed me to eliminate having to add a flow regulator and and pressure regulator. In the end, it cost about the same but it's a much stronger, slower turning motor.


So, what takes longer than drilling?... Grinding! Oh man, that sucked last night. I cleaned up the two 1/2" remenants from the splitter head frame, ground a groove in the 4 edges for welding, got some more holes drilled through them and got the whole mess welded together.



My final act of the night was to butcher the extension on the pusher plate. I don't have enough light in the garage and didn't manage to follow the lines I drew perfectly. Oh well, I'll weld a cap on it and no one will be the wiser. Oh wait, I just told everybody...

 

[farmer2009]

I use a NAPA brand cutting oil that my local store caries. But then place it in a little oil squirt can, pictured below, that makes it easy to dispense.

 

[muddstopper]

about the only time I have a holesaw try to walk is when the metal being drilled isnt laying perfecly flat and perpendicular to the drill head. My drill press table tilts and even tho i usually have it locked in place, it does tend to move out of level when laying heavy plate on it. I usually will start the drill and very easily lower the saw into the metal. If the saw isnt making a full circle in the metal, I know the table isnt level and will just stop drilling until I true it back up. Once true, i still just lightly touch the saw to the metal until ist making a clean cut. Once the cut is started, the cut hole will hold the saw true. If you try to saw a hole without the metal laying flat, the saw tends to grab on one side and then will walk in the direction of where the saw first touches the metal. I have some long thin wedges I sometimes use to help shim the metal level, but usually , just loosening up the tilt bolt on the table and bumping it with my hand will get it back to level. I also have scribed a mark on the tilt so I can just do a visual look see and know the table is close to square.