Experimental Board Carrier

[henry1]

Looking good Henry. I think I have just come up with a new way to setup for double sided carves. Get one or two cross clamps and get ready to experiment.

Just wondering about the 3 rd mark I pointed to why are they there

[bergerud]

The marks on the keypad side are just to help line up the x when you jog. The marks are right across from the touch holes.

You will need 4 1/8" thick shims (3 or 4 inches long) to go under the board during setup and you need a pointer. The pointer should be something sharp you can hold in the chuck like a bit.

[bergerud]

The board in the ACB is held by side clamps (instead of roller pressure and sandpaper as with the UCB). The board setup and measurement process is more complicated. It, however, only has to be done once and then identical sized boards can be slid in and out at will without having to remeasure. The following is from procedures I am writing for the ACB.

Whether one is carving copies of a project, a double sided project, or a multi sided project, one has to first go through the board measuring procedure.

1. Adjust sides of the carrier (as with the UCB) to match the width of the board.
2. Adjust the rails in the ACB so that, instead of being 1/8” above, the board is slightly below the carrier sides. Use something like a box cutter blade on top of the board as a spacer to adjust the height. (The reason for the board being slightly below is so it is not pinched by the roller and can slide out.)
3. Decide where you want the touch point to be on the board and line it up with one of the touch holes on the carrier. Put a stop block in the rear left of the carrier side to set the board’s x position.
4. Lift the board up in the carrier and place the ends of 1/8” shims under the four corners of the board. Leave enough of the shims sticking out so you can pull them out later.
5. Tighten the side clamps. (If the clamps are deemed sufficient to hold the board in position under light roller pressure, the shims can now be removed.)
6. Place the board and carrier into the machine so the black marks closest to the desired touch point are under the board sensor.
7. Lower the head until the rollers just touch the board.
8. Load the project and answer NO to stay under the rollers.
9. Now lower the head slowly until the display changes from “Load Board” to “Press Enter”.
10. Press Enter and let the machine measure the board.
11. If the shims were not removed in step 5, now remove the shims from under the four corners of the board. (remove the front ones first and then the rear ones when the carrier moves backward to load the bit after you answer No to “Cut to Size” and Yes to “Center”.
12. When the machine asks to load the bit, simultaneously lower the head as you release the side clamps. The board will push down into the carrier and then be free to slide. Clamp the head down as usual.
13. Make sure the board is up against the stop block and retighten the side clamps. (This is the end of the measuring procedure.)
14. Load the bit, jog to touch, carve the project.
15. Once the project is finished, loosen the side clamps and slide the board out. Do not lift the head.
16. Slide in the next (or flipped) board up to the stop block and tighten the side clamps.
17. Load the project (same one again or another one) and answer the display questions as before. The board will not be measured again and the project will be carved in exactly the same position. Even the jog to touch will be remembered and automatically be repeated.
18. This may be repeated as many times as desired as long as the machine is not turned off, the head is not lifted between projects, or a project is not aborted. If any of these things occur, the measuring procedure has to be started all over again.

[diane]

Will you have the ACB model with the pop up rails available to try for those of us who purchased the original "simple" model? One of the major issue with the original model for me was in getting that height set exactly right - without some additional help to hold everything in place. Would really appreciate trying the "pop up" rail model. Also the ability to remove the board and flip it will be a terrific improvement! You are truly a genius with this design!

[bergerud]

The pop up rails are complicated and do not serve any really new purpose except convenience. All of the carriers have the same type of procedure to set the rail heights. The pop up rails will be no different. If you have trouble setting the rail heights, you could try flipping the whole thing over on a flat surface. With four shims under the sides, just push down on the rails and tighten them.

[henry1]

Like berg said the 1/8 shim is the same as 12" square is exactly 1/8 thick

[bergerud]

Still working on the pop up rails. Changed the design a little adding push buttons on the front and back. The buttons on the back pop them up. These are pressed before the carrier is put into the machine. The front buttons let them down. These are pressed with the carrier in the machine after the board has been measured.

[henry1]

Still working on the pop up rails. Changed the design a little adding push buttons on the front and back. The buttons on the back pop them up. These are pressed before the carrier is put into the machine. The front buttons let them down. These are pressed with the carrier in the machine after the board has been measured.

Man that look very cool can't wait to try it if at all possible , that is a good ideal

[bergerud]

I am not sure about these pop up rails yet. I think I may just include them as an option in the ACB project. I really would like to come up with a simpler design.

In any case, they are not needed to experiment with the modified UCB you have made. (The ACB is actually shorter and the rails I made would not even fit the UCB.)

What kind of double sided projects are you planning on making?

[henry1]

the double side is my clock,, and spoon and fork I make for the highland games I am trying to save on the 8" add on or the old jig I made 3/4 thick with 4 " at each end but no worry I will keep on doing like I was before