Head pressure and poor cutting

[easybuilt]

I cut this sign tonight and it skipped part of the outline and two of the letters were cut wrong. Any idea what caused this? I checked the head pressure and it was 67#'s. Can this cause this to happen. I tried to adjust the head pressure by losening the rods and releveling the head but the pounds has not exceeded 68#'s. Any suggestions on both of these questions. Thanks in advance for your help.

[c6craig]

I believe low head pressure can cause the board to not move smoothly causing what you are seeing. I would start by making sure to lube the posts well and give an extra crank on the ratchet handle and see where your head pressure is then. You need to get around 80#, I believe 80-90 is the sweet spot.

If lubing the posts doesn't work, some others will join in about adjusting the tie rod and ratchet crank, but I am not familiar enough with that to offer suggestions.

Good luck,
Craig

[easybuilt]

I believe low head pressure can cause the board to not move smoothly causing what you are seeing. I would start by making sure to lube the posts well and give an extra crank on the ratchet handle and see where your head pressure is then. You need to get around 80#, I believe 80-90 is the sweet spot.

If lubing the posts doesn't work, some others will join in about adjusting the tie rod and ratchet crank, but I am not familiar enough with that to offer suggestions.

Good luck,
Craig

Thanks for the help Craig. I did lube the rods and tried adjusting the posts but it still did not increase the pounds. Unless someone has any other ideas I will try adjusting the tie rods again tomorrow.

[c6craig]

Have you tried taking off the crank handle and cleaning it, and then give a quick shot of WD40 into the handle?

Craig

[easybuilt]

Thanks for the idea Craig, I will try that. I have been gone all day today.

[easybuilt]

I cut this sign tonight and it skipped part of the outline and two of the letters were cut wrong. Any idea what caused this? I checked the head pressure and it was 67#'s. Can this cause this to happen. I tried to adjust the head pressure by loosening the rods and re-leveling the head but the pounds has not exceeded 68#'s. Any suggestions on both of these questions. Thanks in advance for your help.

Thought I would share how the problem was solved with head pressure. CW sent me two small washers to go into the crank handle and after a few cranks I am back up to 81 pounds. I wonder why it works? Well all I know I am back up and running.

[Pratyeka]

the extra washers compress the spring, putting more pressure on the ratchet thingy, therefore more torque on the screw so more head pressure.

[easybuilt]

Now that makes sense and I understand why. Thanks Pratyeka!

[Digitalwoodshop]

Well the cause of the cutting error is just classic X Axis Board loss of contact with the brass roller.....

Causes.....

Belt rolled under at the brass roller

Sawdust around the brass roller

Light Head Pressure like you say.... Clean and lube the crank area and the vertical smooth rails and jacking gear.

Head not level

Worn dirty sand paper belts

Not staying under rollers and when the board comes out from under the roller it tips up and looses contact with the brass roller.... Looks like what it might be....

You can tape a board blank to the end of your board to get the 4 inches more to stay under the rollers. See picture.... Just tape a board to the end... I always use Place on END and design the 4 inch blank area into my Designer right side.

And last but not least... MASKING TAPE on the bottom of the board gives the brass rollers something to bite into. Makes the brass roller into a rack and pinion system...

AL

[Ike]

Remember to be gentle on the M5-16 metric screw that holds the handle it will strip by just looking at it! Make sure you press the handle in and then tighten the screw. Better yet go to your local hardware store and buy a steel screw that won't strip!

Ike