Architectural Woodworking

You are not logged in. [ Login ] Why log in
(NOTE: Login is not required to post)

Hussey Knife Alignment

11/4/15       
Dale Skipper

Does anyone else have trouble aligning Hussey Knives in their William's and Hussey Moulder?

We bought a new Hussey about 2 years ago and use it occasionally for our curved mouldings.

I have found that there is 'slop' in between the hole size of the steel and the bolts used to secure the knives to the shaft bar. This allows for misalignment.

Any tips to improve this problem?

Thanks in advance :)


View higher quality, full size image (1280 X 850)

11/4/15       #2: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
B.H. Davis Member

You need to press the knives back against the backstop and over towards the post when installing.

Then tighten the bolt furthest from the post first to have less twist torque on the knife as the bolt is tightened.

Use a socket on a ratchet to do the tightening. Once you are adept at the process you can go to an air ratchet.

BH Davis

11/4/15       #3: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Leo G  Member

Website: http://www.lrgwood.com

The knife place that makes my knives told me that they use a flat head allen screw and it has a tapered bottom which will self center the cutter with the hole. Been using them for years now. Works great.


View larger image

11/4/15       #4: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
rich c.

If I knew mine were ground with the flat head bolt, I'd use that. Never heard about that before. What I do is cut a small spacer that fits between the casting and the edge of the cutter. Rotate the head and use that spacer to set the second knife. I suppose a magnetic base dial indicator could do the same thing.

11/4/15       #5: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Leo G  Member

Website: http://www.lrgwood.com

Rich, for a couple of buck you should go out and get the bolts. Give it a shot and see if it's aligned properly. If it is then you'll save a lot of time and aggravation in your setup.

I don't worry anymore. All I do is put the cutter on the arbor and tighten down the bolts, done. Perfect everytime.

If the company that makes your knives uses any other method other then centering on the holes then any alignment procedure you use will be flawed because of their non aligned setup.

Ask them how they do their setup. Mine actually have a W&H arbor for their grinding setup. They brought me in and showed me how they do it and that's when they suggested to me that I use those bolts because it's what they used.

And in reality that is the only true reference there is on the knife. Center of the hole. Everything else can be a variable. All that has to happen is one knife being cut slightly longer then the other and the reference off the edge of the knife is gone.

11/5/15       #6: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Hussey Forever

What? You push the cutter towards the post, tighten and that's it! We've over 500 pairs of knives - used our Hussey for decades and never, ever had an alignment issue. Don't overthink this - these Hussey machines have been used by thousands successfully for several decades with no alignment issues when just following this simple rule - push to post and tighten. Never, ever use the edge of the knife. Only the holes can guarantee perfect alignment. Period. BH Davis nailed it with his procedure. I find LeoG's slant on this interesting, sounds like that would also be a simple solution. Never thought about a tapered screw head. Duh! Thanks Leo! :-)

11/5/15       #7: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Dale Skipper  Member

Website: http://www.oaktrim.com

Thank you folks for your response!

I will try Bernie's recommendation first - if that doesn't do it I will look into the tapered bolts - also a great idea!

I like the machine - but I am used to running a Weinig all day - so it's a different machine for sure. Good machine.

Oh - one more question. We bought the elliptical Guide when we bought the Hussey - my hopes were that I could use that for all of our curves - both Elliptical and radius. I find though that even with a fair bit of tension on the bearings it still has a bit of a 'jerky' feed as it goes through causing quite a bit of chatter / knife mark on the part. Has anyone else noticed this?

Dale

11/5/15       #8: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Leo G  Member

Website: http://www.lrgwood.com

Loosen the pressure on the rollers

11/5/15       #9: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Dale Skipper  Member

Website: http://www.oaktrim.com

Hi Leo!

On the feed rollers?

Dale

11/5/15       #10: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Leo G  Member

Website: http://www.lrgwood.com

Yes, the feed rollers. I was doing an elliptical molding and noticed the same as you. I took off most of the pressure so the material could slip a bit and it solved the issue. I have original rollers on my vintage machine (gray) and they aren't really that sticky. But they were sticky enough to cause issues when the tight radius came through. I usually have my pressure cranked full for straight feed, and this was way to much for running ellipticals. I've never run a true radius though the elliptical jig, but I assume it's just the same, you need a bit of slip so the molding can mover across the roller as it changes positions from the radii.

11/5/15       #11: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Dan / drbwoodworks

Bernie Davis has it right , never had a problem doing it that way , though I wonder if the problem is in the way the knives were made . Jim at Ct saw does the w & h knives different , I believe he drills his own holes in the steel so that there are no half holes and never any alignment issues .

11/6/15       #12: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Bruce H

One thing not mentioned is that you have a "non jointed" machine and only one knife is cutting anyway.

11/6/15       #13: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Dale Skipper  Member

Website: http://www.oaktrim.com

Very true Bruce, but the reason for my frustration with the design was because when the knives are not aligned in a matching axial position fine detail areas of a profile would cause a 'line' to appear. Looking much like a line that appears when you hit a staple when running lineal mouldings. Not good :)

11/7/15       #14: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
door shop guy

I have not had any problems with my W&H getting my knives from Ballew.

11/8/15       #15: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Joe

I second the knife to post side and tighten (for alignment), and loosening the feed roller pressure (for radius work). That's the way I did it for years with two separate W&H's...both worked like a charm, and we never had alignment issues. All our knives came from Weinig...and they bored the knife stock to match the W&H hole pattern.

11/9/15       #16: Hussey Knife Alignment ...
Adam

They have two sets of springs and rollers. The one that comes with the machine has tight springs and is designed for single pass cutting. They sell a different set with looser springs and different rollers for 2-pass cutting. We use that for doing radius work.

I like Leo's flat head screw alignment idea. Just because "we've always done it this way" does not mean its the best way. The flat heads take the human mistake problem out of the equation.


Post a Response
  • Notify me of responses to this thread
  • Subscribe to email updates on this Forum
  • To receive email notification of additions to this forum thread,
    enter your name and email address, and then click the
    "Keep Me Posted" button below.

    Please Note: If you have posted a message or response,
    do not submit this request ... you are already signed up
    to receive notification!

    Your Name:
    E-Mail Address:
    Enter the correct numbers into the field below:
     

    Date of your Birth:



    Return to top of page

    Buy & Sell Exchanges | Forums | Galleries | Site Map

    FORUM GUIDELINES: Please review the guidelines below before posting at WOODWEB's Interactive Message Boards (return to top)

  • WOODWEB is a professional industrial woodworking site. Hobbyist and homeowner woodworking questions are inappropriate.
  • Messages should be kept reasonably short and on topic, relating to the focus of the forum. Responses should relate to the original question.
  • A valid email return address must be included with each message.
  • Advertising is inappropriate. The only exceptions are the Classified Ads Exchange, Machinery Exchange, Lumber Exchange, and Job Opportunities and Services Exchange. When posting listings in these areas, review the posting instructions carefully.
  • Subject lines may be edited for length and clarity.
  • "Cross posting" is not permitted. Choose the best forum for your question, and post your question at one forum only.
  • Messages requesting private responses will be removed - Forums are designed to provide information and assistance for all of our visitors. Private response requests are appropriate at WOODWEB's Exchanges and Job Opportunities and Services.
  • Messages that accuse businesses or individuals of alleged negative actions or behavior are inappropriate since WOODWEB is unable to verify or substantiate the claims.
  • Posts with the intent of soliciting answers to surveys are not appropriate. Contact WOODWEB for more information on initiating a survey.
  • Excessive forum participation by an individual upsets the balance of a healthy forum atmosphere. Individuals who excessively post responses containing marginal content will be considered repeat forum abusers.
  • Responses that initiate or support inappropriate and off-topic discussion of general politics detract from the professional woodworking focus of WOODWEB, and will be removed.
  • Participants are encouraged to use their real name when posting. Intentionally using another persons name is prohibited, and posts of this nature will be removed at WOODWEB's discretion.
  • Comments, questions, or criticisms regarding Forum policies should be directed to WOODWEB's Systems Administrator
    (return to top).

    Carefully review your message before clicking on the "Send Message" button - you will not be able to revise the message once it has been sent.

    You will be notified of responses to the message(s) you posted via email. Be sure to enter your email address correctly.

    WOODWEB's forums are a highly regarded resource for professional woodworkers. Messages and responses that are crafted in a professional and civil manner strengthen this resource. Messages that do not reflect a professional tone reduce the value of our forums.

    Messages are inappropriate when their content: is deemed libelous in nature or is based on rumor, fails to meet basic standards of decorum, contains blatant advertising or inappropriate emphasis on self promotion (return to top).

    Libel:   Posts which defame an individual or organization, or employ a tone which can be viewed as malicious in nature. Words, pictures, or cartoons which expose a person or organization to public hatred, shame, disgrace, or ridicule, or induce an ill opinion of a person or organization, are libelous.

    Improper Decorum:   Posts which are profane, inciting, disrespectful or uncivil in tone, or maliciously worded. This also includes the venting of unsubstantiated opinions. Such messages do little to illuminate a given topic, and often have the opposite effect. Constructive criticism is acceptable (return to top).

    Advertising:   The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not an advertising venue. Companies participating in a Forum discussion should provide specific answers to posted questions. WOODWEB suggests that businesses include an appropriately crafted signature in order to identify their company. A well meaning post that seems to be on-topic but contains a product reference may do your business more harm than good in the Forum environment. Forum users may perceive your references to specific products as unsolicited advertising (spam) and consciously avoid your web site or services. A well-crafted signature is an appropriate way to advertise your services that will not offend potential customers. Signatures should be limited to 4-6 lines, and may contain information that identifies the type of business you're in, your URL and email address (return to top).

    Repeated Forum Abuse: Forum participants who repeatedly fail to follow WOODWEB's Forum Guidelines may encounter difficulty when attempting to post messages.

    There are often situations when the original message asks for opinions: "What is the best widget for my type of shop?". To a certain extent, the person posting the message is responsible for including specific questions within the message. An open ended question (like the one above) invites responses that may read as sales pitches. WOODWEB suggests that companies responding to such a question provide detailed and substantive replies rather than responses that read as a one-sided product promotion. It has been WOODWEB's experience that substantive responses are held in higher regard by our readers (return to top).

    The staff of WOODWEB assume no responsibility for the accuracy, content, or outcome of any posting transmitted at WOODWEB's Message Boards. Participants should undertake the use of machinery, materials and methods discussed at WOODWEB's Message Boards after considerate evaluation, and at their own risk. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages it deems inappropriate. (return to top)


  • Forum Posting Help
    Your Name The name you enter in this field will be the name that appears with your post or response (return to form).
    Your Website Personal or business website links must point to the author's website. Inappropriate links will be removed without notice, and at WOODWEB's sole discretion. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    E-Mail Address Your e-mail address will not be publicly viewable. Forum participants will be able to contact you using a contact link (included with your post) that is substituted for your actual address. You must include a valid email address in this field. (return to form)
    Subject Subject may be edited for length and clarity. Subject lines should provide an indication of the content of your post. (return to form)
    Thread Related Link and Image Guidelines Thread Related Links posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should point to locations that provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related Link that directs visitors to an area with inappropriate content will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    Thread Related File Uploads Thread Related Files posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. Video Files: acceptable video formats are: .MOV .AVI .WMV .MPEG .MPG .MP4 (Image Upload Tips)   If you encounter any difficulty when uploading video files, E-mail WOODWEB for assistance. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related File that contains inappropriate content will be removed, and uploaded files that are not directly related to the message thread will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links, files, or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)