One of my favorite places is the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Lexington, Kentucky. I have a very high regard for the Shakers. They knew the value of quality work. They were very "open shop" people and shared their knowledge, both among themselves and with the outside world.
We all benefit from this kind of open shop forum sharing. As the old saying goes, "We are too soon old and too late schmart." We can help each other become schmarter sooner.
I have been planning the next phase in my Viel conversion. Max has his Viel equipped with metal plate to hold the motor control. It looks nice and I am sure is very functional. I am more of a woodworker than a metal worker. I plan to use Baltic birch plywood. It is nice to work with, and I happen to have some on hand. My plan is to have two pieces of 3/4" bbp, one along each side 7" x 12". I would radius the edges and let in for obstructions to allow the pieces to fit snuggly against the frame. I would need to include drilled holes for the screwdriver to access the brushes. Three drilled holes on each side of the frame with either hex bolts or hex head sheet metal screws would hold the bbp pieces securely to the Viel frame.
A cross piece of 3/4" bbp would be placed between the side pieces. It would be located beyond the end of the motor with enough space at the outer side to fully protect the motor control box, which would be mounted to it. A small register board and two holes for an electrical tie would hold the motor control in place. My reversing switch is on the face opposite the on/off and variable speed controls I want the motor control to be placed such that the three boards extend just enough to protect the top controls. I want the cross piece to be open on the bottom to allow the motor cord and possibly a short extensiob cord to be tucked in for storage and transport.
The cross piece can be held in place with flat head screws. A butt joint is probably adequate, although I may use a dado, or a sliding tapered dovetail joint. (That's another post.)
I want to be able to lay the Viel flat on either side. With this capability and the reversing motor, I will be able to use the full flexibility of the Viel.
I want to explore using the different Viel jigs, including those which use the adjusting wheel. I purchased an adjusting wheel through Steve Bottorff. Switching the included hex head bolt for a rhumb screw enables quick removal with no tools. I plan to use Viel's drill bit jig this way. I have the Tormek drill bit jig, which works marvelously. The Viel jig extends my range from 1/8" to 1/16".
A future development will be designing wood pieces to adjust the belt angle. Borrowing an idea from Steve Bottorff and Ken Stewart, I want to be able to angle the belt to where I can hold the knife flat (level) to grind the bevel.
I wish to state that using plywood with a Viel is not an original idea with me. Reading that Pete of this forum has done so indpired me. I hope Pete will post. I have never met Pete, nor have I ever seen or read anything about his finished product. Pete, if by chance you sell plywood accessories for the Viel, please let me know and I will gladly delete this post. I have no desire to sell anything, nor do I wish to interfere with anyone who sells a useful product.
Ken
We all benefit from this kind of open shop forum sharing. As the old saying goes, "We are too soon old and too late schmart." We can help each other become schmarter sooner.
I have been planning the next phase in my Viel conversion. Max has his Viel equipped with metal plate to hold the motor control. It looks nice and I am sure is very functional. I am more of a woodworker than a metal worker. I plan to use Baltic birch plywood. It is nice to work with, and I happen to have some on hand. My plan is to have two pieces of 3/4" bbp, one along each side 7" x 12". I would radius the edges and let in for obstructions to allow the pieces to fit snuggly against the frame. I would need to include drilled holes for the screwdriver to access the brushes. Three drilled holes on each side of the frame with either hex bolts or hex head sheet metal screws would hold the bbp pieces securely to the Viel frame.
A cross piece of 3/4" bbp would be placed between the side pieces. It would be located beyond the end of the motor with enough space at the outer side to fully protect the motor control box, which would be mounted to it. A small register board and two holes for an electrical tie would hold the motor control in place. My reversing switch is on the face opposite the on/off and variable speed controls I want the motor control to be placed such that the three boards extend just enough to protect the top controls. I want the cross piece to be open on the bottom to allow the motor cord and possibly a short extensiob cord to be tucked in for storage and transport.
The cross piece can be held in place with flat head screws. A butt joint is probably adequate, although I may use a dado, or a sliding tapered dovetail joint. (That's another post.)
I want to be able to lay the Viel flat on either side. With this capability and the reversing motor, I will be able to use the full flexibility of the Viel.
I want to explore using the different Viel jigs, including those which use the adjusting wheel. I purchased an adjusting wheel through Steve Bottorff. Switching the included hex head bolt for a rhumb screw enables quick removal with no tools. I plan to use Viel's drill bit jig this way. I have the Tormek drill bit jig, which works marvelously. The Viel jig extends my range from 1/8" to 1/16".
A future development will be designing wood pieces to adjust the belt angle. Borrowing an idea from Steve Bottorff and Ken Stewart, I want to be able to angle the belt to where I can hold the knife flat (level) to grind the bevel.
I wish to state that using plywood with a Viel is not an original idea with me. Reading that Pete of this forum has done so indpired me. I hope Pete will post. I have never met Pete, nor have I ever seen or read anything about his finished product. Pete, if by chance you sell plywood accessories for the Viel, please let me know and I will gladly delete this post. I have no desire to sell anything, nor do I wish to interfere with anyone who sells a useful product.
Ken