I thought that for this week, I would just go over some of the little tidbits of information that I like to call ‘Tips & Techniques’. Since we have been discussing Drill Presses the past 2 weeks, we might as well stay on topic.
One of the areas that folks need some assistance with is that of choosing the correct bit speed for their particular project. The main rule of thumb is: ‘The harder the material, the slower the bit needs to turn.’ Right behind that comes this: ‘The bigger the bit, the slower it needs to turn’. How that plays out is like this. If you’re drilling the same size hole in wood and metal, the speed will need to be slowed down for drilling into metal because it is a harder material. By the same token, if you’re drilling into pine wood and making a ¼” hole and a 2-1/4” hole, slow it down for the 2-1/4” hole. It may be that not much speed change is needed between these two, but the idea is that you don’t usually want a 2-1/4” cutter turning as fast as a small ¼” bit.
Now, let’s talk safety. First and foremost, dress appropriately when using a Drill Press. Wear your safety glasses, roll up your long sleeves and pull your hair back out of the way (IF your hair is that long). I once saw a training film that showed what happened when a lady got her long hair tangled in the Drill Press she was operating. It was not a pretty sight. She reminded me of what Custer’s men must have looked like after being scalped.
After you have all those bases covered, here’s another ‘first and foremost’- ALWAYS clamp your work. I cannot over-emphasize this. Yes, it’s a pain and not always convenient but it IS necessary. I have a nice 2” long scar on my left wrist that is a constant reminder of the need to clamp your work. The very afternoon that I was going to drive my dirt track racecar for the first time, I was making an accelerator bracket and need to drill a hole in it. The bracket was just 8” long, ¾” flat stock, with one end bent at a 45 and that was where I needed the hole. So I go to my DP and hold the long part and place the bent area on the table under the bit. I started drilling the hole and OOPS…it grabbed and swung around 360 degrees and in the blink of an eye it made a few revolutions before I could get it shut off. Unfortunately, on that first swing, the top end of the stock sliced my wrist open and I wear that reminder to this day. It looks like I tried to commit suicide. So, I tell everyone - clamp your stock.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
V2.18 - Drill Presses and their chucks: part 2
Last week we talked about putting your drill chuck on your Drill Press. I ran out of room to fully explore the subject, so here we are again.
We were at the point of what steps to take when the chuck won’t stay on the taper… it keeps falling off when you try to use it, or maybe it won’t even stay on when you try to put it on. So, we said, the first thing to do is to check and clean VERY THOUROUGHLY the taper on the DP and the chuck’s taper.
NOTE: while you are checking/cleaning those tapers, this is a good time to inspect the surface of the tapers closely. The tapers need to be smooth and free from any galling. ‘Galling’ is a machinists term that refers to the tendency of metals, when scrubbing together under force, to grind and scar each other. If your chuck has been loose on the spindle nose (unknown to you) for a while, the two parts may have galled their surfaces. IF they have, it is usually useless to try to get them to properly seat again. (The prescription is to replace both parts and start fresh.)
Ok, let’s say that you’ve checked for galling and found both the chuck and the spindle nose taper to be smooth and in good shape. Now, you’ve cleaned them again and they are absolutely oil-free and dry as a bone. Take the chuck and ram it sharply onto the spindle nose.
Now, it’s time for the 2x4 and small sledge hammer again. Swing the table out of the way so that you can get a pretty decent swing with your sledge. Retract the chuck jaws to prevent them from getting bent and put your 2x4 under the chuck. Hold the 2x4 with your ‘weak’ hand and use your dominant hand to swing that sledge upward and SMACK the 2x4 (which is against the chuck) very hard.
As I said last week, Tapers seat best with a shock to them. A good 3lb sledge and a 2x4 block will allow you to deliver that shock to the chuck without risking damage to your chuck or Drill Press.
If you continue to have your chuck fall off, there may be a misfit between the two parts, or you may be asking the Drill Press to do something it was not designed to do (like milling, or using an out of balance item in the chuck) and the design of the chuck/spindle taper was not intended to account for that.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
We were at the point of what steps to take when the chuck won’t stay on the taper… it keeps falling off when you try to use it, or maybe it won’t even stay on when you try to put it on. So, we said, the first thing to do is to check and clean VERY THOUROUGHLY the taper on the DP and the chuck’s taper.
NOTE: while you are checking/cleaning those tapers, this is a good time to inspect the surface of the tapers closely. The tapers need to be smooth and free from any galling. ‘Galling’ is a machinists term that refers to the tendency of metals, when scrubbing together under force, to grind and scar each other. If your chuck has been loose on the spindle nose (unknown to you) for a while, the two parts may have galled their surfaces. IF they have, it is usually useless to try to get them to properly seat again. (The prescription is to replace both parts and start fresh.)
Ok, let’s say that you’ve checked for galling and found both the chuck and the spindle nose taper to be smooth and in good shape. Now, you’ve cleaned them again and they are absolutely oil-free and dry as a bone. Take the chuck and ram it sharply onto the spindle nose.
Now, it’s time for the 2x4 and small sledge hammer again. Swing the table out of the way so that you can get a pretty decent swing with your sledge. Retract the chuck jaws to prevent them from getting bent and put your 2x4 under the chuck. Hold the 2x4 with your ‘weak’ hand and use your dominant hand to swing that sledge upward and SMACK the 2x4 (which is against the chuck) very hard.
As I said last week, Tapers seat best with a shock to them. A good 3lb sledge and a 2x4 block will allow you to deliver that shock to the chuck without risking damage to your chuck or Drill Press.
If you continue to have your chuck fall off, there may be a misfit between the two parts, or you may be asking the Drill Press to do something it was not designed to do (like milling, or using an out of balance item in the chuck) and the design of the chuck/spindle taper was not intended to account for that.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Friday, August 12, 2011
V2.17 - Drill Press - Chucks ‘n Stuff
Drill presses are usually found in almost every shop. I was one of those ‘poor folks’ who didn’t have a drill press during my ‘learning how to work on stuff’ years and let me tell you what, by the time I got older and realized what I had been missing…hoo-boy, was life in the shop so much easier with one around.
Most of today’s ‘home/hobbyist’ drill presses use a taper to hold the chuck onto the spindle. Some manufacturers have the chuck already installed, while others ask the buyer to do it. In any event, the following information will come in handy.
Drill Press Tapers & Chucks usually fall into one of two categories: A spindle with a male taper and the chuck having a female taper; or a spindle with a female taper, a chuck with a female taper and an adapter with a male taper on each end that goes between the chuck and spindle. Each style has their place, with the adaptor style being used more on the bigger Presses.
Alright, there’s your ‘taper background’, now let’s get specific. Drill Press tapers engage (‘seat’) best with a shock. I know some manufacturers will tell you to just push them together, but that’s not the best way. Let’s say that you have a Drill Press with a female tapered chuck and the spindle has the male taper sticking down. First, clean the tapers completely to remove any oil, grease or coating that could prevent metal on metal contact. My favorite solution to this is an old rag saturated with acetone (NOTE: if you use acetone, be aware that it is highly combustible). Next, once you have the tapers cleaned, turn the chuck so as to retract the chuck jaws. Next, Place the chuck onto the spindle taper by hand. Finally comes the ‘shock’ part. Put a small 2X4 underneath the chuck jaw opening and use a small mallet (I have a 3lb sledge for this) to hit upward on the 2X4 (chuck bottom). One good sharp whack ought to do it. Once the tapers are seated properly, they will usually remain engaged unless something too large or out of balance is put into the chuck.
Let’s say that you get the chuck installed and all appears to be well. But then, one day, you turn your DP on and the chuck falls off of the spindle nose. Now, what to do?
Well first, you’d want to make sure that the inside of the chuck taper is clean and free from any oil or contaminants. Once you’ve checked and cleaned the chuck, check and clean the spindle nose also. We’ll continue here next time.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Most of today’s ‘home/hobbyist’ drill presses use a taper to hold the chuck onto the spindle. Some manufacturers have the chuck already installed, while others ask the buyer to do it. In any event, the following information will come in handy.
Drill Press Tapers & Chucks usually fall into one of two categories: A spindle with a male taper and the chuck having a female taper; or a spindle with a female taper, a chuck with a female taper and an adapter with a male taper on each end that goes between the chuck and spindle. Each style has their place, with the adaptor style being used more on the bigger Presses.
Alright, there’s your ‘taper background’, now let’s get specific. Drill Press tapers engage (‘seat’) best with a shock. I know some manufacturers will tell you to just push them together, but that’s not the best way. Let’s say that you have a Drill Press with a female tapered chuck and the spindle has the male taper sticking down. First, clean the tapers completely to remove any oil, grease or coating that could prevent metal on metal contact. My favorite solution to this is an old rag saturated with acetone (NOTE: if you use acetone, be aware that it is highly combustible). Next, once you have the tapers cleaned, turn the chuck so as to retract the chuck jaws. Next, Place the chuck onto the spindle taper by hand. Finally comes the ‘shock’ part. Put a small 2X4 underneath the chuck jaw opening and use a small mallet (I have a 3lb sledge for this) to hit upward on the 2X4 (chuck bottom). One good sharp whack ought to do it. Once the tapers are seated properly, they will usually remain engaged unless something too large or out of balance is put into the chuck.
Let’s say that you get the chuck installed and all appears to be well. But then, one day, you turn your DP on and the chuck falls off of the spindle nose. Now, what to do?
Well first, you’d want to make sure that the inside of the chuck taper is clean and free from any oil or contaminants. Once you’ve checked and cleaned the chuck, check and clean the spindle nose also. We’ll continue here next time.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
V2.16 - Collecting dust from all over
I got a question past week that might be good to pass along to my readers. Here’s the issue: “Samples are being cut from defective units. Once the employee rough trims the pieces to approximate sizes with a circular saw they use a tile saw to finish trim them and a belt sander to clean up the edges. The samples are made from Gel-Coat, resin, wood and ½” X 1” metal bar stock. What would be the best dust collection system for this?”
In his email, he gave 3 separate issues. #1-wood, #2- not wood, #3- metal. Each of these need separate consideration. The easiest is wood. Both Delta, Jet and many others make wood dust collectors. Most units are now the single-stage style- meaning the incoming material travels right thru, and impacts, the wheel. Steel is more resistant to the material’s impact and steel wheels are what is found in the single-stage units.
With that in mind, let’s look at each: wood would be fine with single-stage units and standard bags- no issues, however, with ‘not wood’, you’d need to be concerned about the bags themselves. At its most basic, wood is a porous material- meaning if the airflow was hard enough, *some* air could pass thru it. Not so with ‘not wood’. If the inside of the bag was coated with Gel-coat or resin, the airflow would stop and either it just wouldn’t work, or the pressure would build up and cause a bag seam to rupture. Your best bet here is to just collect it in a two-stage system like Cincinnati Fan has. This was the company that Delta used to get their 50-180-series units from. You’d want your dust to just drop into the barrel and not get to the bag to clog it up. Now for metal; metal is a whole different ballgame. If you are collecting wood and metal at the same time and using a single-stage, STEEL wheel, once the wood dust got to the critical ‘lower explosion level’ of 40 grams per cubic meter of air, and a metal spark was injected into the mix, a dust explosion is a real possibility. It would be safer to use the Cincinnati Fan style, two-stage collector as they use cast aluminum radial wheels so sparking is not as much of a concern; however, if you have a pile of wood dust in the bottom of the barrel and a grinding spark of metal made it thru to that pile, you could have a smoldering fire occur. Mixing metal and combustible material is never a good thing. Metal dust collection is best handled by a dedicated unit such as Delta’s old 49-826. (for those who’ve read this far and might need a good ferrous metal dust collector, I happen to have a brand new one- never used- $4000.00 value for only $1500.00) But it will not do the multi-material collecting either. It’s not good for anything but ferrous metals.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
In his email, he gave 3 separate issues. #1-wood, #2- not wood, #3- metal. Each of these need separate consideration. The easiest is wood. Both Delta, Jet and many others make wood dust collectors. Most units are now the single-stage style- meaning the incoming material travels right thru, and impacts, the wheel. Steel is more resistant to the material’s impact and steel wheels are what is found in the single-stage units.
With that in mind, let’s look at each: wood would be fine with single-stage units and standard bags- no issues, however, with ‘not wood’, you’d need to be concerned about the bags themselves. At its most basic, wood is a porous material- meaning if the airflow was hard enough, *some* air could pass thru it. Not so with ‘not wood’. If the inside of the bag was coated with Gel-coat or resin, the airflow would stop and either it just wouldn’t work, or the pressure would build up and cause a bag seam to rupture. Your best bet here is to just collect it in a two-stage system like Cincinnati Fan has. This was the company that Delta used to get their 50-180-series units from. You’d want your dust to just drop into the barrel and not get to the bag to clog it up. Now for metal; metal is a whole different ballgame. If you are collecting wood and metal at the same time and using a single-stage, STEEL wheel, once the wood dust got to the critical ‘lower explosion level’ of 40 grams per cubic meter of air, and a metal spark was injected into the mix, a dust explosion is a real possibility. It would be safer to use the Cincinnati Fan style, two-stage collector as they use cast aluminum radial wheels so sparking is not as much of a concern; however, if you have a pile of wood dust in the bottom of the barrel and a grinding spark of metal made it thru to that pile, you could have a smoldering fire occur. Mixing metal and combustible material is never a good thing. Metal dust collection is best handled by a dedicated unit such as Delta’s old 49-826. (for those who’ve read this far and might need a good ferrous metal dust collector, I happen to have a brand new one- never used- $4000.00 value for only $1500.00) But it will not do the multi-material collecting either. It’s not good for anything but ferrous metals.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Friday, July 29, 2011
V2.15 - Now, back to our roots
Last week I let you in on the undercover work I’m doing for the Delta Power Equipment Corp. out of Anderson, SC. These were the folks who bought the Delta brand back from Stanley-Black & Decker-DeWalt, et al… I really hope they succeed at reviving the brand and I’ll do whatever I can to help them. Right now, my role is as a consultant for knowledge on old machines and helping provide folks with copies of my personal owner’s manuals and parts lists.
A few weeks ago, I got a referred email from a Pastor in Texas who had found a 6” jointer for 50$. That’s a pretty good bargain because it was one of the ‘old school’ jointers like those that used to be in the school shops all around the USA. No aluminum fence, non-adjustable outfeed table, lightweight machine here- no sir. He really did find a good deal…but-it-didn’t-run. However, this guy was savvy enough to be able to get her running…but there were other issues.
First off, it wouldn’t run with the drive belt on. If he took the belt off AND rolled the motor shaft by hand- while it was powered up- the motor would start running and get up to speed. It just couldn’t do it like it should be able to.
When a single-phase motor acts that way, there really are only a couple of things to look at. First is the centrifugal start switch. Make sure it is not stuck in the open position. If it is, this has to be corrected or the start windings inside the motor cannot do their job of ‘kick-starting’ the motor. Second, if the start capacitor has gone bad, you’d see the same results. A simple capacitor check will reveal that. I had Mr. Pastor check both of those items and the next report I got was, ’yes, the capacitor had gone bad. I replaced it and the motor runs fine now…BUT...(here it comes)…it will plane down a 1” board just fine, but anything wider causes it to just bogg right down’. ’
Ah, now we get to the second part of his problem. My reply to him was just this: “There's no way 'anything wider than 1 inch ' should bogg a 6" jointer.
How could one ever do a 6" board, if it did?... Something's still a bit hinky...You might want to verify that the motor is actually wired for the voltage you are inputting. You're describing what happens when a motor is wired for 220v and is only getting 115v put in.”
So, Mr. Pastor re-checked the wiring of the motor and guess what? Yep, it was wired to use 220v. He changed the wiring and at last report he was ‘blowing thru 5 inch boards like butter and thanking God for his 50$ deal.’
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
A few weeks ago, I got a referred email from a Pastor in Texas who had found a 6” jointer for 50$. That’s a pretty good bargain because it was one of the ‘old school’ jointers like those that used to be in the school shops all around the USA. No aluminum fence, non-adjustable outfeed table, lightweight machine here- no sir. He really did find a good deal…but-it-didn’t-run. However, this guy was savvy enough to be able to get her running…but there were other issues.
First off, it wouldn’t run with the drive belt on. If he took the belt off AND rolled the motor shaft by hand- while it was powered up- the motor would start running and get up to speed. It just couldn’t do it like it should be able to.
When a single-phase motor acts that way, there really are only a couple of things to look at. First is the centrifugal start switch. Make sure it is not stuck in the open position. If it is, this has to be corrected or the start windings inside the motor cannot do their job of ‘kick-starting’ the motor. Second, if the start capacitor has gone bad, you’d see the same results. A simple capacitor check will reveal that. I had Mr. Pastor check both of those items and the next report I got was, ’yes, the capacitor had gone bad. I replaced it and the motor runs fine now…BUT...(here it comes)…it will plane down a 1” board just fine, but anything wider causes it to just bogg right down’. ’
Ah, now we get to the second part of his problem. My reply to him was just this: “There's no way 'anything wider than 1 inch ' should bogg a 6" jointer.
How could one ever do a 6" board, if it did?... Something's still a bit hinky...You might want to verify that the motor is actually wired for the voltage you are inputting. You're describing what happens when a motor is wired for 220v and is only getting 115v put in.”
So, Mr. Pastor re-checked the wiring of the motor and guess what? Yep, it was wired to use 220v. He changed the wiring and at last report he was ‘blowing thru 5 inch boards like butter and thanking God for his 50$ deal.’
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Column V2.14 - Murfreesboro, How do you do?
Winding down our tragic tale of woe, 2004 was a year to go in the record books. February was when NO-CS decided to move me to the South Campus and remove me from Tech Service. After 23 years of employment at Delta, it was also when I decided to put out some feelers about working for someone else. In the grand scope of things, there is only so much one can take before it’s time to move on. We had seen our company disintegrated and our brand taken over by people who just did not have what it took to manage it properly. It was pretty traumatic for those of us who actually gave a flip. Then came the huge hammer. In October, it was announced that Black & Decker had bought Porter-Cable/Delta from Pentair. This was for sure one of those Good News-Bad News kind of deals. Good News in that B&D had way more $$$ to spend on the brands; Bad News in that a purchase like this usually results in a round of layoffs… and there I sat, in a ‘Training manager’ position…more often than not, one of the first to be shown the door when the beancounters look for heads to cut.
What to do, what to do?…well, what I did was land another position over in Middle Tennessee with Porter-Cable/Delta’s main competitor. I could not have written a better fit than this was. It was doing just what I had been doing for 23 years. This move is what brought us to Murfreesboro. Unfortunately, in the long run, it did not work out, but we are still here. The area has become our home and until God changes that, here we will remain.
Obviously, much happened after I left Delta. Sorry to say, the product line was trimmed, cut and almost disappeared. For instance, in 1967, Delta (then Rockwell) invented the first Motorized Miter Box. At the time of the purchase by Black & Decker in 2004, Delta had about 10-15 miter saws in their offering. By 2011, when Black & Decker sold the Delta brand (which was the catalyst for this series of articles in the first place), there were NO miter saws in Delta’s catalog. Can you believe it? - not one.
As I said, B&D sold the Delta brand and a new group has a chance to restore a once market-leading brand to its proper place. I wish them all the best. In fact, I am doing some consulting work for them already. It seems that I have a better set of Historical files than they do, so customers looking for information on their older tools are being sent my way… Only God knows where this could lead. Maybe somewhere…maybe nowhere. He’s the Boss.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
What to do, what to do?…well, what I did was land another position over in Middle Tennessee with Porter-Cable/Delta’s main competitor. I could not have written a better fit than this was. It was doing just what I had been doing for 23 years. This move is what brought us to Murfreesboro. Unfortunately, in the long run, it did not work out, but we are still here. The area has become our home and until God changes that, here we will remain.
Obviously, much happened after I left Delta. Sorry to say, the product line was trimmed, cut and almost disappeared. For instance, in 1967, Delta (then Rockwell) invented the first Motorized Miter Box. At the time of the purchase by Black & Decker in 2004, Delta had about 10-15 miter saws in their offering. By 2011, when Black & Decker sold the Delta brand (which was the catalyst for this series of articles in the first place), there were NO miter saws in Delta’s catalog. Can you believe it? - not one.
As I said, B&D sold the Delta brand and a new group has a chance to restore a once market-leading brand to its proper place. I wish them all the best. In fact, I am doing some consulting work for them already. It seems that I have a better set of Historical files than they do, so customers looking for information on their older tools are being sent my way… Only God knows where this could lead. Maybe somewhere…maybe nowhere. He’s the Boss.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Column V2.13 - Mr. Tech Service no more
So, while the obsoleted-parts fiasco was transpiring, NO-CS was hard at work disrupting our tried and true methods of Technical Service. I get called into his office in early 2004 and get told (Note: not asked; not ‘do you think this is a good idea?’…) that I am being moved out of Technical Service and into a full-time training role. At the same time, my office will be relocating to the South Campus so that I could be segregated from the day-to-day Technical Operations.
Several things came to mind when I was told this was happening. Not really in order, but: 1] I turned down the Call Center Manager job because it would have removed me from Technical Service; 2] I was NOT a “Training Manager”. Yes, I could DO it, but it was not where my strengths lay; 3] Customers still needed the Service that only I could provide-I would still get the harder calls whether that was NO-CS’ idea or not; 4] the new office location meant doubling my commute distance each way. (the “South Campus” was the DeVilbiss manufacturing plant- about 15 miles from my home in Oakfield. The Jackson PC/Delta plant-AKA: “North Campus”-was 7 miles from my home); 5] Yes, NO-CS is the Boss and he has the Authority to do with me what he will. Was this a good idea? Not in my opinion; 6] I did NOT want to be forced into a “Training Manager” role. Mainly because I had seen first-hand what happens to ‘Training Managers’ when the company belt gets tightened up…they are usually among the first out the door.
OK, so being the trooper I am, I gave it my best shot. My first project was to serve as the Technical Advisor on a repair video for portable planers. It took about 3 days to shoot and 3 weeks to edit and organize, but the final result was a good thing. We sent it out to all of the Service Branches. My second project was to design a Flat-rate manual for woodworking machines. If you know anything about servicing cars, there exists a ‘flat rate manual’ that tells the mechanic how long each job should take. Dealerships use this manual for their job estimates. Up till this point in time-2004-no such manual existed for woodworking machines. That can’t be said any more. I designed it, wrote it, used my 23+ years of working on these machines and created one from scratch. On its face, it might have been a good idea, but NO-CS intended to use it has a hammer over the heads of our Service Branches and Authorized Service Stations. When they happened to send a claim in that was longer than what I had assigned, he was going to reduce the reimbursement rate.
Next week, same time, same place…
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Several things came to mind when I was told this was happening. Not really in order, but: 1] I turned down the Call Center Manager job because it would have removed me from Technical Service; 2] I was NOT a “Training Manager”. Yes, I could DO it, but it was not where my strengths lay; 3] Customers still needed the Service that only I could provide-I would still get the harder calls whether that was NO-CS’ idea or not; 4] the new office location meant doubling my commute distance each way. (the “South Campus” was the DeVilbiss manufacturing plant- about 15 miles from my home in Oakfield. The Jackson PC/Delta plant-AKA: “North Campus”-was 7 miles from my home); 5] Yes, NO-CS is the Boss and he has the Authority to do with me what he will. Was this a good idea? Not in my opinion; 6] I did NOT want to be forced into a “Training Manager” role. Mainly because I had seen first-hand what happens to ‘Training Managers’ when the company belt gets tightened up…they are usually among the first out the door.
OK, so being the trooper I am, I gave it my best shot. My first project was to serve as the Technical Advisor on a repair video for portable planers. It took about 3 days to shoot and 3 weeks to edit and organize, but the final result was a good thing. We sent it out to all of the Service Branches. My second project was to design a Flat-rate manual for woodworking machines. If you know anything about servicing cars, there exists a ‘flat rate manual’ that tells the mechanic how long each job should take. Dealerships use this manual for their job estimates. Up till this point in time-2004-no such manual existed for woodworking machines. That can’t be said any more. I designed it, wrote it, used my 23+ years of working on these machines and created one from scratch. On its face, it might have been a good idea, but NO-CS intended to use it has a hammer over the heads of our Service Branches and Authorized Service Stations. When they happened to send a claim in that was longer than what I had assigned, he was going to reduce the reimbursement rate.
Next week, same time, same place…
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
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