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Post by woodbloke on May 3, 2014 15:00:29 GMT
As a long time contributor to Furniture & Cabinetmaking and as a recent convert to the ProEdge, Geoffrey Laycock and I have done a joint review of the beastie which will appear in the mag in due course. Although the RS machine is primarily aimed at the turner, the recent addition of a jig to enable chisels and plane irons to be ground means that it's now suitable for use in a furniture making 'shop as well. My thoughts thus far on the machine are as follows.
'Tirpitz built in the best tradition of English equipment from the 50's…even the colour reminds me of the old Coronet gear.
Heavy grinding with a 60g belt requires extraction...hence the hole in the base where I built a box to go underneath the bench, into which could be plugged a vac hose. Beware though of hot sparks being sucked into the vac, so a length of 3m is recommended.
Although I'm no expert turner, some reading around t'interweb suggested that a straight bevel would be superior to a curved one, which the Proedge provides. Removes steel at an eye-watering rate when a 60g belt is used, so much faster than a Tormek. Interestingly, the steel only becomes warm if grinding a plane blade….worth checking frequently to see that the steel doesn't become too hot.
Jigs are crude and will probably require some fettling to work smoothly.
All the pre-set grinding angles easily set…no messing around.
Small footprint.
Made in the UK…not an oriental nut or bolt in it anywhere.
Much more competitively priced than the Tormek, say around 30-50% cheaper, depending on where it's bought. Poolewood is the best place to buy in the UK
As I've been banned for some years from UKWorkshop, you won't see any of my stuff/workshop or input on that particular forum. If anyone would like to see stuff that I've done over the last few years, then please ask the mods to reinstate me - Rob
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Post by Rob on May 3, 2014 16:16:55 GMT
well...an interesting post Rob. I agree with many if not all your points and I'm a long time Tormek user and turner too. Out of curiosity, why did you get banned from UKworkshop?
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Post by woodbloke on May 3, 2014 17:08:55 GMT
well...an interesting post Rob. I agree with many if not all your points and I'm a long time Tormek user and turner too. Out of curiosity, why did you get banned from UKworkshop? Long time Tormek user as well (Supergrind 2000, the lean, green mean one) but the RS Proedge in my estimation is superior in most (not all) counts. A couple of minuses is that the buffing wheel seems to be set too low and the cover on the rhs is a pain to remove with those Sorby bolts. Also the machine threads aren't metric so it requires a bit of hunting around if mods need to be done. Banned from UKWorkshop? Not really sure tbh, but I think it was 'cos I upset a couple of the mods a while ago who consequently decided to throw teddy out the pram. C'est la guerre! - Rob |
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paulm
New Member
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Post by paulm on May 3, 2014 18:53:46 GMT
Hi Rob (woodbloke), What's the recent jig addition to the PE for plane irons and chisels ? I've been using the supplied table and right angle jig that runs in the slot for a few years now, is there a new one available now along the lines of the tormek one along the round bar instead, or something different ? Which jigs do you find crude ? I personally wouldn't use extraction with the machine. I know that a longer hose length should help allow the swarf to cool off, but the potential for hot metal dust/swarf to ignite filters or bags or wood dust or stuff in the extractor after you have shut the shop up for the evening would scare me silly, just a personal thing ! Didn't realise you were banned from UKW, thought you had just moved on ! Hello to the other Rob too !  Cheers, Paul |
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Post by Graham on May 3, 2014 19:06:17 GMT
The right side cover is rather flimsy and a pain to remove as woodbloke says but I assumed it was just there to keep the Elfin Safety boys happy so I've left mine off. There are a few little ( very little ) niggles I have with it. Changing the belt with the platform in place is a bit of a faff Having to remove the platform to use the fingernail jig is likewise a faff When trying to put a 25 degree bevel on a curved skew the handle was hitting the top of the switch cover so I had to use a 30 degree bevel ( I need to work on that one ) But all in all its a good bit of kit. |
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Post by Rob on May 3, 2014 19:48:50 GMT
My side cover is left off permanently to save time and I don't own the buffing wheel so cant comment on that.
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Post by Rob on May 3, 2014 19:50:47 GMT
Hi Rob (woodbloke), What's the recent jig addition to the PE for plane irons and chisels ? I've been using the supplied table and right angle jig that runs in the slot for a few years now, is there a new one available now along the lines of the tormek one along the round bar instead, or something different ? Which jigs do you find crude ? I personally wouldn't use extraction with the machine. I know that a longer hose length should help allow the swarf to cool off, but the potential for hot metal dust/swarf to ignite filters or bags or wood dust or stuff in the extractor after you have shut the shop up for the evening would scare me silly, just a personal thing ! Didn't realise you were banned from UKW, thought you had just moved on ! Hello to the other Rob too ! Cheers, Paul......................Hi Paul, glad you could make it :-) |
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Post by Rob on May 3, 2014 19:58:50 GMT
I've also found my fingernail grind bowl gouges bump into the switch cover on the left sweep which is annoying and I agree it would be very cool if the platform didn't need removing to use the articulated gouge jig. I guess the only way round that would be to have a longer belt assembly and accordingly longer belts.
On the subject of extraction, its very clear that the steel dust accumulates quite quickly, especially with lower grit belts. It's pretty heavy though and doesn't seem to get airborne so I've not bothered with either a mask or extraction. Should I? I do always wear eye protection as many years ago I got a red hot iron filing in the eye from an angle grinder and boy did that hurt...for a long time too.
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Post by Jeff Farris on May 3, 2014 21:32:51 GMT
Extraction should not be done without a proper spark trap.
Rob, stand your arm more upright, and that should eliminate the interference between a bowl gouge and the switch. Similarly on the skew, I lay it almost all the way down, but find on some tools if I bring it back up a little, it clears better.
Like I said in the other thread, you guys need to get in the habit of using your side guards. There are all sorts of nasty little pinch points in there for the belt to pull your fingers in to. I felt the same urge when I first started using the ProEdge, but repetition makes the process of aligning the guard less fiddly.
Please...use it.
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Post by woodbloke on May 3, 2014 22:55:56 GMT
Hi Rob (woodbloke), What's the recent jig addition to the PE for plane irons and chisels ? I've been using the supplied table and right angle jig that runs in the slot for a few years now, is there a new one available now along the lines of the tormek one along the round bar instead, or something different ? Which jigs do you find crude ? I personally wouldn't use extraction with the machine. I know that a longer hose length should help allow the swarf to cool off, but the potential for hot metal dust/swarf to ignite filters or bags or wood dust or stuff in the extractor after you have shut the shop up for the evening would scare me silly, just a personal thing ! Didn't realise you were banned from UKW, thought you had just moved on ! Hello to the other Rob too ! Cheers, Paul It's the PESQ jig here. The jigs just aren't as sophisticated as the Tormek ones and I had to file a couple of them to make them run smoothly in the slot in the baseplate. I was very careful to check the vac bin each time after using the 60g belt as Geoff Laycock mentioned the possibility of ignition. The 3m length hose I'm using allows the swarf to cool sufficiently before it enters the bin so I reckon the danger is minimal…using a shorter hose would present problems. The swarf from a prolonged grinding session (i.e. reshaping all my turning tools) was considerable and without dx there was a great pile of grey stuff all over the floor…a P2 mask is probably advisable as well - Rob |
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Post by Rob on May 4, 2014 0:08:48 GMT
Rob, stand your arm more upright, and that should eliminate the interference between a bowl gouge and the switch. I don't understand you on this Jeff. I'm using the articulated gouge jig with a long ground fingernail gouge when I get this problem. My setup is a known protrusion (65mm) from the clamp and then the jig has a collar on it which shoulders on the boss. It doesn't matter what I do with my arm?? Its the tool handle that contacts the switch housing when I come to the end of the arc that is grinding off the left hand wing (as you're looking at the gouge from the top). The trajectory of the tool is fixed is it not? If it weren't then it wouldn't leave a single facet bevel. So either I've misunderstood you or I didn't communicate my challenge clearly enough. When you roll round to the right wing, with no switch gear in the way you can take it to horizontal which is about right for the grind. Roll round to the left and it's stopped by the switch gear at about 10 o clock when it wants to be 9 o clock (horizontal). Not sure if that explains it sufficiently well?? |
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Post by woodbloke on May 4, 2014 7:20:52 GMT
Having gone up the wooden hill last night, I was pondering on the problem of hot swarf extraction thereof. What's required is some sort of spark trap (they do exist and they're expensive) so I came up with a much simpler idea, which is usually the best. I was after a membrane of some sort that wouldn't slow down the flow of air from the vac too much but which was sufficient to catch the debris from the sanding belt and after some deliberation I hit on the idea of a stainless steel scouring pad…about 30p from Tesco. I just placed this in the plenum box (under the ProEdge) so it was in contact with the end of the hose. When I tried it out, all the steel debris was trapped by the pad and there was nothing on the inside of the vac. To make it even more effective, I soaked the scourer in some water (being ss it won't rust) so that any swarf hitting the pad was instantly cooled. Seems to work so worth a punt - Rob
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Post by Graham on May 4, 2014 7:21:25 GMT
Bob - When you say it doesn't matter what you do with your arm, what arm are you talking about ?
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Post by Rob on May 4, 2014 7:27:19 GMT
Ha....What a total prat!! I've just realised what Jeff was on about :-) He means the arm of the machine doesn't he, not the fleshy thing that extends from my body. Dear oh dear...not gunna live that one down am I :-)
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Post by Graham on May 4, 2014 7:29:45 GMT
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