SS Molder - steel, aluminum?? History?

[bobgroh]

I have been considering buying a SS Molder plus some blade sets for my 510. Just ran across a source who had the following factoids to throw my way:

#1: There are both aluminum (early versions) and steel (later versions) molder heads

#2: The molder blades sets are NOT interchangeable between heads. I.E. you can not use a molder blade set from a set with an aluminum molder head on a steel molder head.

OK, guys -- some questions to throw yourway:
Q1: Are there both types of heads?
Q2: If so, is one better than the other?
Q3: Are the blade sets specific to one type of molder head?

Thanks for your inputs.

[RobertTaylor]

i have had both. the aluminum model held the cutter by the head of a bolt. the steel head uses a ball under the bolt. the cutters would fit either head. craftsman cutters will not work in either head as they are too thick. i could not notice any difference in the performance of the shopsmith heads or even the craftsman for that matter. my preference is craftsman only because of greater availability of cutters and/or price. one major advantage of either of the shopsmith heads is that no arbor is needed as they will mount directly to the spindle.

[perryobear]

Hi Guys,

The Shopsmith molder head family history has a third member which I will add here for completeness. It is an aluminum head that uses the same "Ball and Bolt" mounting system as the SS steel head (and therefore the same cutter sets as the steel head).

The SS p/n for the "new" aluminum molder head was 555611. It was originally made by Shopsmith for their Sawsmith 2000 model. It made its last major appearance a couple of years ago as a SS e-mail special targeted toward Mk 5 owners. As you can see it has a larger diameter than the steel molder head and the e-mail description noted that this provides a higher surface speed at the cutters (I'm not sure how important this is, how it interacts with feed rate, etc.)

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I thought I would include this info in the thread just in case someone runs across one of these "newer" Shopsmith aluminum molder heads.

Regards,

Dennis

[JPG]

The radius if the cutter edge affects cutting speed. A larger radius results in a faster "cutting" speed for a given rpm.

The faster the cutting speed, the more likely a smooth cut will result as well as being quicker.

Cutting speed can be altered by changing rpm's OR radius.

Think of a large diameter piece on a lathe. You must slow it down to maintain proper "cutting" speed(balance issues aside).

A larger saw blade will cut faster at a given rpm.

[8iowa]

There is no "free lunch" here. Keep in mind the fact that as the radius of the molding head is increased, the torque at the blade tips will be proportionally lower. This could lead to the motor "bogging down" when taking full depth cuts, or in hard wood, or both.

[davem1066]

So if the previous owner of my Sawsmith 2000 cannot find the molder head for it, I can use the latest one sold by Shopsmith and it is identical? I do have the molder/dado insert.

I assume the standard shopsmith Dado blades work in the Sawsmith 2000.

Dave

[perryobear]

So if the previous owner of my Sawsmith 2000 cannot find the molder head for it, I can use the latest one sold by Shopsmith and it is identical? I do have the molder/dado insert.

I assume the standard shopsmith Dado blades work in the Sawsmith 2000.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Let me try and answer your questions,

1. No, you cannot use the latest Shopsmith Mk 5 molder head on your Sawsmith 2000 (SS 2K). The latest SS molder head is smaller in diameter than the SS 2K version was (see photo earlier in this thread) and you will not be able to get the cutters above the table surface using the smaller diameter molder head.

2. Do you mean that you have both a Molder Insert and a Dado Insert for your SS 2K? As you can see they are not the same.

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3. Any Dado set with a 5/8" arbor hole should work on your SS 2K. I use a Craftsman 7" Dado set on mine.

4. Of course you do need a Molder/Dado Arbor to mount it on. The SS 2K had its own Molder/Dado Arbor (I don't think they are available any longer from Shopsmith ). I have used the latest Shopsmith Molder/Dado Arbor as a Dado Arbor on my SS 2K, but I have never tried to use it as a Molder Arbor. I suspect it might be a problem since the side clearance in the table insert for the molder knives is a lot tighter. You might be able to make a custom table insert to solve that problem.

I hope this helps,

Dennis

[davem1066]

Dennis,

Thanks for the photos and post. I now realize I have the regular and dado insert and not the molder insert. I'll send the previous owner another note with a picture of that too.

Dave