Home » Knowledge Base » Knowledge Base Article What's New  |  Site Map 

 

 
   
   
 
 


Today's
Sponsors:


Extrema Machinery

FastCap

Finish Systems

FlexiCAM

FORDAQ

Forest City Tool

FormWood Industries

Freeborn Tool Company

FS Cruing

FS Tool Outlet.com

Fuhr International

Fuji Spray

Furniture D Cube

G&M Woodcopy Lathes

Gabbiani Machine

Gary M. Katz

Global Hardwood Flooring

Glue Machinery Corporation

Goby Walnut Products

Granite Road

Great Lakes Kiln Drying Association

Great Northern Lumber

Greco Manufacturing

GreCon

GUHDO

Hanson and Leja Lumber Company

Hardware Resources

Hardwood Council

Hardwood Store of N.C. Inc.

Hasko Machines

Heidelberg Flooring

Hendrick

Her-Saf

CNCROUTERSTORE.com

CNT Motion Systems

Colonial Saw

Construction Programs and Results

Construction Recruiters

COOLwoodworkingstuff.com

Copemaster

Cordes Machine

Country Saw & Knife, Inc.

Courmatt International Inc.

CP Adhesives

CSH Custom Service Hardware Inc.

CTD Machines

Custom Woodworking Business

Cutlist Plus

D.S. Brown Machinery

Dancer Lumber

Delle Vedove USA, Inc.

Delmac Machinery Group

Delmhorst Instrument Co.

Delta

Denray Machine

DeVilbiss

Diehl Machines

Dispoz-A-Blade

Diversi-Tech

DMC

DODDS

Don Hall & Associates

Donald Dean and Sons

Downdrafttable.org

Durable Wood Products

E.W. Tooling Inc.

Eagle America

Eagle Machinery and Repair Co.

EasyCoper Tool Company

ECabinet Systems

Edge-It Edgebanding

Electrophysics

Elias Woodwork & Manufacturing

Elkom North America

Endeavor Hardwoods

EnRoute WOOD

ETemplate Digital Measuring

Eterna Lighting

ETK International

Eurosoft, Inc.

EX-FACTORY

Excel Dowel and Wood Products Inc.

ExpressSander.com



WOODWEB DISCLAIMS any and all RESPONSIBILITY and LIABILITY for the accuracy and application of the information below. Readers agree to evaluate the significance and limitations of the information provided, and accept full responsibility for the application of this information. Read More ...

Would you like to add information to this article?
Interested in writing or submitting an article?
Have a question about this article?



Machining Jatoba       Like other tropical hardwoods, jatoba is high in silicates and wears out knives quickly. Here is some advice on tooling and other aspects of working with jatoba. November 18, 2006

Question
I am doing a substantial stair project with 5/4 jatoba treads. Is this stuff particularly hard on tooling? We run a glue joint on the shaper with a Freud cutter. Any cautions? I'm considering looking for q-sawn for stability's sake.

Forum Responses
(Solid Wood Machining Forum)
From contributor R:
This wood is very hard. I've cut a lot of it over the last few years. Make sure you have sharp cutters, especially router or shaper bits that you use to round over the treads. I get serious tearout with this wood when routing against the grain if my cutters are on the dull side. It glues well with plain old yellow wood glue. Most of the QS has ribbon figure and is subject to tearout when planing. Drum sander or wide belt sander are about the only way to get a good finish on the QS. I much prefer to use the flat sawn. I don't think you will have stability problems with this wood either way.



From contributor U:
You can machine jatoba with a good quality high speed steel and get anywhere up to about 1000 lf of good quality milling. But where the glue joints are, the knife will not hold up that long, and my preference would be carbide. It's much more expensive, as you know. I guess you have to weigh it out. Sharpen more or longer run time?


From contributor H:
We have done several jobs with jatoba, from entire stairways to just treads and rail. Glue right after ripping. Or if you need to wait, clean the joint with alcohol, then glue. Jatoba, like any other rainforest product, is heavy with silica. It requires carbide tooling for best results. It machines much like teak. Sands good and does not take much to get a good finish on. It darkens quickly, so either cover it all or none. The only bad thing we found is that it's just plain heavy.


From David Rankin, forum technical advisor:
If you are doing over 5,000 lineal feet, I agree that carbide is the better choice. For runs under that, there are a couple of other choices. You can try WKW's Opti-knive or MSI's DGK-ACT knife. Both of these would be much less expensive than the carbide. I would expect to get at least 5,000 lineal feet with these tools, since we see some fairly good runs in maple. With Opti-knive, I have gotten 6-8,000 lineal feet in maple and with the DGK-ACT, I have gotten over 30,000 lineal feet in maple between grinds.


From contributor J:
Dave, I have to ask only because I run a high quality finish in my products. 30,000 lf? What were you running, stock for pallets or skids?


From Dave Rankin, forum technical advisor:
An example of the type of products run and the mills doing the run:
Colonial Millwork Beverly, WV - double shoe oak @ 200fpm 320,000lf with 1 regrind in DGK-ACT
Spectrum Products Greenville, SC - assortment of maple architectural profiles @ 35 fpm average 30,000 lineal feet between regrinds
Batesville Casket Panola, MS - assortment of woods for caskets, varied feed rates from 35fpm to 120fpm. Run entire day's production between regrinds.

The base tooling material for DGK-ACT is M2 steel. It simply increases the tool life due to the major reduction in heat. Heat is what dulls the tool. In rough lumber applications, such as pallets, we do not recommend DGK-ACT, since it is designed for the higher quality finish type production.


Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below?
  • KnowledgeBase: Knowledge Base

  • KnowledgeBase: Solid Wood Machining

  • KnowledgeBase: Solid Wood Machining: Tooling




    Would you like to add information to this article? ... Click Here

    If you have a question regarding a Knowledge Base article, your best chance at uncovering an answer is to search the entire Knowledge Base for related articles or to post your question at the appropriate WOODWEB Forum. Before posting your message, be sure to
    review our Forum Guidelines.

    Questions entered in the Knowledge Base Article comment form will not generate responses! A list of WOODWEB Forums can be found at WOODWEB's Site Map.

    When you post your question at the Forum, be sure to include references to the Knowledge Base article that inspired your question. The more information you provide with your question, the better your chances are of receiving responses.

    Return to beginning of article.



    Refer a Friend || Read This Important Information || Site Map || Privacy Policy

    Letters, questions or comments? E-Mail us and let us know what you think. Be sure to review our Frequently Asked Questions page.

    Contact us to discuss advertising or to report problems with this site.

    To report a problem, send an e-mail to our Webmaster

    Copyright © 1996-2008 - WOODWEB ® Inc.
    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without permission of the Editor.
    Review WOODWEB's Copyright Policy.

    The editors, writers, and staff at WOODWEB try to promote safe practices. What is safe for one woodworker under certain conditions may not be safe for others in different circumstances. Readers should undertake the use of materials and methods discussed at WOODWEB after considerate evaluation, and at their own risk.

    WOODWEB, Inc.
    RR4 Box 265A
    Montrose, PA 18801

    Contact WOODWEB