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Thread: A Real Workshop
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4th July 2012, 03:22 PM #106
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4th July 2012, 11:58 PM #107
Portable Bandsaw, Mafell
Another day routing the dovetail slides.
Nearly ready to put up the next section.
The "dream" project also gave me an opportunity for new toys.
The most impressive is a Mafell Portable Bandsaw.
My brother who builds big houses for people with lots of money asked me to help with a new project. The proposed house and other buildings are in the Santa Fe Style. They have lots of big timbers and massive corbels.
I searched around to find out how they cut corbels on the huge timber beams.
I might be able to do some of the woodwork in my new shed but would probably need to do a reasonable amount on site.
The timbers used in Santa Fe are pines and similar. Certainly nothing like Australian hardwoods. Even so, you couldn't push several metre long, 200 x 200 plus beams through a bandsaw. Carving over a hundred corbels by hand would take forever.
The most suitable machine I found was the Mafell Bandsaw.
Have a look at this demo video:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H65CRXlzz4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLC5F7AA4EAFBB9544]Mafell Portable Bandsaw demonstration - YouTube[/ame]
It isn't available in Australia. It is in USA, UK and Europe.
I contacted Mafell in Germany and said their bandsaw would be suitable and they would be happy to sell me one.
So I ordered the 12" version and a large supply of blades.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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5th July 2012, 01:58 PM #108
What a great shed build - thanks for sharing
What are your going to park on top of the pergola? SS Enterprise?
Oh, and Robson - we really didn't need a link to another tool catelogue, I've got drool in my keyboard ... again!regards
Nick
veni, vidi, tornavi
Without wood it's just ...
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5th July 2012, 04:25 PM #109
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5th July 2012, 04:32 PM #110.
- Join Date
- Feb 2006
- Location
- Perth
- Posts
- 24,746
My Italian Builder cousins used these for many years to build roofing structures for alpine style houses and buildings but now they have a 13 m long automated sawmill with CNC attachment. Details here.
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5th July 2012, 05:09 PM #111
Z5EC Mafell Bandsaw
The process to get the bandsaw was relatively simple.
I was helped by a German friend who confirmed we were all talking about the same thing.
I did a bank transfer to the German company's bank.
A couple of weeks later I got a message from Customs.
I signed a piece of paper and gave them their 10% plus a few hundred dollars for something else.
So withing three weeks I had my bandsaw.
A nice sized box with a pretty red and grey machine inside.
I order a good supply of bands.
1/2" for straight cuts
8mm with teeth on the back to retrieve a stuck band, and
6mm
for the scrolls and corbels.
The instructions were minimal.
Put blade on the wheels.......tighten blade........adjust running so blade sits in bearings and guide slots.
I checked with an electrician and changed the European plug to a normal 10 amp plug.
3 Hp
Variable speed
Cuts on the up and the down
Handles for one and two person operation.
Stop button also acts as a fast stop/brake.
Plug it in and stand back............it ran smooth......no sudden kick on start-up or stop.
I found a 6" wide 2" thick pine board to do a test cut......smooth cut.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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5th July 2012, 05:21 PM #112
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5th July 2012, 05:31 PM #113
Mafell Bandsaw at Work
Well my gloat got blown away quickly BobL!
That is an impressive operation by you Italian builder cousin.
I will put his town on the list of my places to visit.
I have seen other articulated machines that are more heavier duty than my Mafell.
I put on a 1/2" blade and cut the recesses for the base of the posts. It cuts at a good speed and a very clean cut. I was hesitant about cutting on the up but it seems to cut easier than the down.
My driving could do with some practice as the cuts are a bit wobbly.
It was great for cutting the tenons in the old bridge timbers.
Straight cuts were getting boring so I swapped to the 8mm blade to cut a corbel on the 80mm thick plank.
The blade jumped off........but the blade didn't break.
A bit of head scratching to work out the problem.
The tracking hadn't been adjusted. I thought the previous setting would also work for the new blade. No it didn't.
I had to loosen off the tension on the blade to adjust the tracking but it only took a couple of minutes.
Then back to the corbel. It cut very easily and was good to maneuver.
I decided to test the 8mm blade trimming one of the 200mm posts. It seemed to cut easier than the 1/2" blade and just as straight.
So far I am pretty happy with its performance. Now I have to hope my brother's project comes through so I can pay for it.
Sawdust Maker I am getting plenty of interesting comments on the scale of the pergola. Most people think I am crazy but are too kind to say so to my face.
Maybe I can hang a family sized hammock from the rafters just to test them out!!Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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5th July 2012, 05:39 PM #114
I know what you mean Scott.
Their tools are priced like Festool (who would spend that much on power tools?). Why would you buy a $2000 domino when for $20 you could buy a dowel jig? Craftsmen that do lots of them!
Precision engineered tools, high quality and smart.
Mafell obviously cater for a particular section of the construction industry and do it very well.
I am sure you would get value from the tools if you have the work to justify their initial cost.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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5th July 2012, 05:56 PM #115.
- Join Date
- Feb 2006
- Location
- Perth
- Posts
- 24,746
Nah Scally I am just jealous of your new bit of gear!
As well as the Mafells the cousins also had several chainsaw powered bandsaws like the one called a Ripsaw. They built mountain refuges for the national parks in site with these. The timber and gear was helicoptered onto the site and they would mountain climb up to and build on the spot. These days they just CNC everything. They still keep a Mafell around to tidy up the odd mistake that comes out of the CNC. The CNC never gets it wrong - its just been fed some wrong info.
Anyway, enough of that. I am really enjoying your build and the photos, well done!
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5th July 2012, 07:15 PM #116
Love that bandsaw Scally, what a great bit of gear! And the portable chain mortiser looked nice too.
Enjoying the build, you must be having a ball. Keep up the good work.The time we enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
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5th July 2012, 10:49 PM #117
beams Up for second bay
Mafell have some awesome tool, 3 toed sloth.
I would have loved to have had one of the morticers.
Steady progress. I finished the dovetail slides. Unfortunately the lock down on the router came looses and the dovetail bit started chewing into the guide. A couple of big chunks out of the dovetail bit.
I ordered another bit but wasn't prepared to wait for it to arrive. The bit still cut the dovetails but left some big ridges. Fortunately I have had a fair bit of practice with chisels and they are all sharp. It didn't take long to clean them up.
A mate came around for a couple of hours this morning and we lifted the next three beams.
Some of the M&Ts were a bit tight and there was a lot of grunting and bashing and winching to get them in.
It feels good to finally have some building underway and all the heavy woodwork fitting together.
Now to finish the next four rafters.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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7th July 2012, 07:16 PM #118
Shed Posts
I have done pretty much all I can with the Pergola until the shed is up.
There are a few more rafters to put up tomorrow and a bit of tweeking the last post and beam.
The front pergola beam connects to the shed so the good news is I finally get to work on my real workshop.
I have a bit of dirt to move but it might be Christmas if I wait for the weather to fine up enough to get a machine in.
So I am going to work on the shed.
Today my friendly neighbour moved the 4m long, 250 x 250mm hardwood posts so I could work on them.
These posts must be near the capacity of the new bandsaw so I asked my neighbour to trim them with his chainsaw.
He did a pretty good job but left them a tad long (on request) and not exactly square.
I had to cut the recesses for the stirrups with the bandsaw so I decided to see if it would cut the full 250mm. If it was too much I proposed to take a cut with the circular saw to reduce the total depth of cut.
No problem. It was steady work but the bandsaw didn't hesitate.
The cut was very smooth. Much smoother and straighter than the chainsaw.
The posts are now done.
If the rain can keep away, I hope to get the four posts up tomorrow.
Then next week I will start on the shed frame.
Finally!Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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9th July 2012, 06:00 AM #119
Pergola Rafters up
I put up the next bay of rafters.
The last beam needed a bit of trimming to get the last post straight. It took a while but looked good in the end.
Even with all the mess it has an interesting look.
Plenty of places to hang a hammock.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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9th July 2012, 06:53 PM #120
Ouch
I just bought the framing timber for the shed.
Ouch.
The pine is OK but the 7.2m LVLs for the roof rafters and doorways are expensive.
The rafters are 200 x 63 and the beams above the doors are 300 x 63.
The plans said 90 x 35s for the walls but I have increased them to 90 x 45. I am also putting them at 450 centres instead of 600.
I couldn't see the point in having flimsy walls when the foundations and corner post (250 x 250) heavy duty.
It is possible that I might be hanging some heavy stuff off the walls so the extra strength might be useful. I do plan to put the drop saw and some timber racks along the back wall.
Not much of the timber I use is small or light either.Scally
__________________________________________
The ark was built by an amateur
the titanic was built by professionals
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