I have both the Bridgeport slotting head and was lucky to find a Volstro slotter that slips on oner the spindle years ago at the Cabin Fever Expo. It was a little shop worn,but never used. When I took it open,the red grease inside was completely undisturbed.
The Bridgy head has a 4" stroke,and a small 3 phase motor. I was very fortunate to have an identical 1/3 H.P. motor in 1 phase on hand. I have been afraid of breaking off the end of the ram where it is mounted,so have been quite content with just the 1/3 HP motor. The Taiwan made one seems a lot more powerful. Perhaps TOO powerful.
We used my B.P. slotter to cut the throats of many,many wooden planes we made for the museum where i was toolmaker. I had thought for quite some time about how the complex escapement of wooden planes could be cut in a reasonably short amount of time,as opposed to laboriously hand chopping each one as I had done in the past to make planes for myself.
We made powerful wood cutting chisels with round shanks to fit the slotter. Then we made sharp,large toothed saws to saw out the deeper grooves where the wedges jam the plane irons into place.
First,the escapements were drilled out as much as possible with Forstner style wood bits. The throats of the planes where the irons came through were routed out with a long router bit I was lucky to have,for they are not common. A small machine shop where I used to live made router bits for the furniture industry,and I picked up a lot of odd router bits that were not to req'd specs,but were perfectly good to use.
Then,the slotter was used to chisel away the inclines of the planes,and the other angular parts of the escapement. Sorry about the huge and tilted image. I can't find the regular one. There were 5 planes in a set,and 80 craftsmen in Williamsburg who used planes. I only have this picture of a batch. Wish I'd been more diligent in making pictures. That's my journeyman Jon on the right. Roll the screen to get the whole picture.
The slotter worked out very well,because it left straight chisel cuts,like the originals would have had,rather than router bit cuts,which would not have been acceptable.
Here's a picture of a batch of planes,and a jack plane made to 18th. C. style. The blacksmith's shop made the blades. You can see the multi angled escapement that had to be cut in each plane.
The Bridgy head has a 4" stroke,and a small 3 phase motor. I was very fortunate to have an identical 1/3 H.P. motor in 1 phase on hand. I have been afraid of breaking off the end of the ram where it is mounted,so have been quite content with just the 1/3 HP motor. The Taiwan made one seems a lot more powerful. Perhaps TOO powerful.
We used my B.P. slotter to cut the throats of many,many wooden planes we made for the museum where i was toolmaker. I had thought for quite some time about how the complex escapement of wooden planes could be cut in a reasonably short amount of time,as opposed to laboriously hand chopping each one as I had done in the past to make planes for myself.
We made powerful wood cutting chisels with round shanks to fit the slotter. Then we made sharp,large toothed saws to saw out the deeper grooves where the wedges jam the plane irons into place.
First,the escapements were drilled out as much as possible with Forstner style wood bits. The throats of the planes where the irons came through were routed out with a long router bit I was lucky to have,for they are not common. A small machine shop where I used to live made router bits for the furniture industry,and I picked up a lot of odd router bits that were not to req'd specs,but were perfectly good to use.
Then,the slotter was used to chisel away the inclines of the planes,and the other angular parts of the escapement. Sorry about the huge and tilted image. I can't find the regular one. There were 5 planes in a set,and 80 craftsmen in Williamsburg who used planes. I only have this picture of a batch. Wish I'd been more diligent in making pictures. That's my journeyman Jon on the right. Roll the screen to get the whole picture.
The slotter worked out very well,because it left straight chisel cuts,like the originals would have had,rather than router bit cuts,which would not have been acceptable.
Here's a picture of a batch of planes,and a jack plane made to 18th. C. style. The blacksmith's shop made the blades. You can see the multi angled escapement that had to be cut in each plane.
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