CS88 - am I worrying too much

[CanvasChris]

Not long had my CS88 and still getting used to it. It was new so if I have a problem I want to nip it in the bud so to speak.

I have noticed the sliding table has some play left, right and can skew. Not a massive amount 2-3mm overall, but noticeable.

The wedges are not centre of the join... am I worrying too much? Not having too much success with Polcore either and wondered if this maybe the culprit causing my joins to open slightly?

Small, not very good vid here... http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1937619/IMG_025 ... mputer.m4v

Cheers

[Nigel Nobody]

Chris,
Being a new machine, you should contact the supplier and ask them to rectify the problem or explain how you can do that yourself. If it's like that from new, it is out of adjustment and something may have come loose. If it's not fixed now, it could become worse.

If I were in your position I would have called the supplier immediately I noticed the problem. Suppliers are supposed to provide backup and support for the products they sell.

[Not your average framer]

Hi Chris,

Was the CS-88 secondhand when you bought it? If so, there may be some wear on the plastic bushes under the sliding table you mention. This wear will show as flats worn onto the sides of these bushes, where they run to and fro against the inside faces of the two slots in the top casting.

This is a normal fact of life with the CS-88 and the good news is that it ain't no big deal to do something about it. All you need to do, is to loosen the screws in the centre of these bushes and then rotate the bushes, so that an unworn section on the bush now runs against the inside faces of the two slots in the top casting. Don't forget to retighten the screws afterwards.

There will still be some play remaining, as this is normal with this particular underpinner. The remaining play is something that all CS-88 owners have to live with, as is the ongoing wear to the bushes.

The design of the CS-79 is better in this particular respect, but can't cope with such large mouldings. There are a lot of common parts used in the CS-88 and The CS-79. Both are dependable machines.

Some aspects of the design of the CS-88 may lack finesse, but most problems are easy to fix. I have never regretted buying my CS-88. It's a solid machine, which won't let you down, if you look after it.

[AllFramed]

Hello Chris,
I bought mine second hand and had similar problems. The nice thing about this machine, as said in the previous post, is that just about everything is easily adjustable and solid. A little time spent with the right allen keys can make all sorts of adjustments to improve your corners. I also had problems with a very wobbly left fence (the one that swings) but managed to find the correct screw to tighten and stop the moulding slipping.

However, that being said, if it is new, you should get further advice and support from your supplier really.
cheers
Tim

[JohnMcafee]

The most likely culprit is that the spacer bars (used when the moulding is lower than the fences) have been placed incorrectly on the machine.

This is the incorrect orientation.

incorrectspacer.jpg (31.4 KiB) Viewed 8510 times

Correct orientation

Correctspacer.jpg (30.5 KiB) Viewed 8510 times

[CanvasChris]

This is a new machine.

John you are right ... It is more apparent when using the spacer and I may have had it the wrong way round, however the 'offset is clearly visible as can be seen below.

Larger mouldings don't seem too bad.

[JamesC]

Chris another tip with plastic if you don't know - concentrate the wedges nearer the rebate - don't have any too near the back edge as this can force the corner apart. Can't quite recall exact recommendation but I'd say avoid the back third on wide mouldings.

Not familiar with the CS machine but I would be concerned about the function of the wedges if not bob on in the corner - the softwood ones in particular are designed to pull the two lengths together and any uneveness in my mind could be an issue in preventing that or creating uneven forces.

[CanvasChris]

Hi James

Yes, know about the third's spacing... I think it's my gluing and type of glue. Using a contact adhesive.

Think I will glue and clamp the whole frame before I wedge. I need to have more patience... I tend to rush.

Thanks for everyones input.

[Jonny2morsos]

Just looked at my five year old machine. There is no more tha half a mm or so play on the table and the V that the wedge comes out of sits bang in the middle.

The only way I could recreate the offset you appear to have was by loosening the fence and titling it forward.

[Graysalchemy]

You do appear to have your spacer bar back to front. Also plastic is the worst thing to use, have you got any wood moulding you can compare ?

Alistair

[CanvasChris]

Hi GA

My small moulding is wood as per OP pic
My bar is the same way as Johns above

.... now confused

[Graysalchemy]

No you are right I'm the confused one

[easypopsgcf]

By the looks of that picture the left side arm needs moving left a bit.......... get a bit of moulding as wide as you have/can cut and test it ,first right hand side wedge position front and back which will probably be good as the right fence wont adjust(as far as i remember)..........then do the same on the left side(adjustable). When you have got the 'V' in the centre , both sides, use a decent 'L' square to check it is 90 degrees.
What are you using to cut the mouldings?........Morso?........Blades hollow ground?

[Nigel Nobody]

Chris,
Perhaps you didn't notice my suggestion, so here it is again - Call the supplier and get them to either come and fix it or give you advice on how to fix it yourself!
Suppliers of machinery usually provide support for the machinery they sell, and that should be your first avenue, not your last avenue of help!

[CanvasChris]

Nigel... I did hear you and I did call them.

Didn't want to look a 'car' .... check the Albanian translation.... when someone took 3 hours to get here and take a dirty rag out and voila.

@ easy'p' Morso... blades? just bought that 2nd hand from Neil, The Framing Engineer so it's a good un. Which reminds me I must call him re something unrelated.

[TONY.W]

Judging by the picture it looks as though the spacer bar is upside down.
The nut should always be on the top as it can catch in the gap between the block.
Tony

[Nigel Nobody]

Chris,
I'm pleased that you did call them.

Sorry, I don't have a clue what the remainder of your post means, so I'm not commenting about it.

[Not your average framer]

Spacer bar? My secondhand machine does not have one, so I didn't know about getting it the wrong way around. I've made my own spacer from a piece of 6mm x 12mm ramin spacer and it works well enough.

The original post clearly refers to play in the sliding table, so two different issues are involved here. Off-set wedge insertion is most likely due to incorrectly oriented spacer bar and play in sliding table is another issue.

I'm surprised to hear that there is 2 to 3mm play on a new machine.

[Nigel Nobody]

The Cassese supplied spacer I have has legs that are exactly the same width. If they were unequal I guess that would put the vee nails off centre.

[JohnMcafee]

I think you have missed the subtle difference, Nigel Nobody, it's not that the widths of the legs are dissimilar, rather that, in one orientation, the inner end of one of the legs projects, preventing the other leg from lying flat against the fence.

Whether the nut is up or down is of no practical consequence as the only time the time the nut down would cause a problem is when trying to insert a wedge less than 3mm from the outer edge of the frame.