FDMC Red Book April 2018

Improving yields and efficiency in the rough mill can add meaningful dollars to the company’s finances. If you are purchasing $1 million dollars of lumber a year, then each 1 percent of yield gain adds $10,000 to the company’s bottom line. Today’s wood product manufacturers are seeing an improving business environment for their products. Housing starts are trending upward and with that the need for hardwood flooring, cabinets, moldings and other wood products have been rising. The price of hardwood lumber has seen an increase as demand has risen.

Here are four questions to ask your supplier before buying your next load of hardwood lumber.

End checks are a common problem when drying wood.

Many times, one of the first steps when manufacturing with hardwoods is to convert the random width boards to the exact widths required in production. Manufacturers either do this in their own production facilities or they work with a hardwood supplier and purchase specific SLR2E boards, (moulder blanks), instead of random lumber. This typically replaces or supplements what they produce themselves. Here’s why:

A small shop owner talks about issues related to his new router.

What follows are some of the best conditions in which to cut small parts, along with alternative methods if your setup doesn’t quite fit the bill.

Placed on top of an aluminum vacuum deck, the sacrificial bed allows the machine to fully cut through material without permanently damaging the deck. When set correctly, the tool will very lightly mark the surface of the MDF, which can be skimmed regularly to keep it smooth and flat and to minimize vacuum leakage.

The number one issue which results in poor edgeband quality is chipped edges at the banding/panel interface.

Your tooling choices can impact your lean journey. Here's how.

The question of expected yield per bit is one that every cutting tool salesperson and customer service specialist in the tooling business has been asked hundreds, if not thousands of times. While an approximate range/number can be provided in response, it requires the caveat that anticipated yield is based on the presumption that all outside factors that influence tool performance are optimal, so the tool itself can cut as intended.

Saws are a workhorse in the woodworking shop, and use of the correct blade is essential for a quality product. The following is a primer on some of the basic tooth types and their advantages and disadvantages for use on different substrates and materials.

A general outline of the TSCA Title VI requirements applicable to manufacturers of finished products containing composite wood panels, as well as the key dates for compliance, which have only just been finalized through recent litigation.

Since the very beginning of my involvement in 3D lamination, I’ve been aware of the problems associated with producing very long parts (4-foot-plus) in a membrane press.  One of my earliest experiences providing technical support involved a part that was 4 feet wide and nearly 8 feet in length. “I can’t even get one-third of the parts to come out acceptably,” said this frustrated producer.

Buying a sanding machine? Here are some of the things to consider before you make that purchase. 1 | What are your needs?

Listed below are some common finishing problems related to spray finishing, curtain coating and roll coating applications.  Spray finishing Problem: Pin holing Causes: Insufficient and excessively dry spraying of the substrate; Excessive application at high temperature or on heated substrate; Porous substrate (fiberboard, particleboard, etc.); Incorrect thinning

Sanding wood is a process that, if done correctly, makes the wood surface very smooth by "machining" the surface of the wood with a multitude of very small sharp edges; in other words, sanding is the process of removing surface imperfections, including scratches, from a surface and thereby making the surface smooth.

Why understanding viscosity is important to spray finishing.

There is nothing more frustrating than having more work than you’re able to produce. If your current throughput can no longer match your monthly sales, then you have a dilemma: Increase capacity, or ultimately lose the ground you just made by getting extra sales. The fact that we must invest to gain capacity usually brings with it a variety of emotions: Fear that we will not keep the work to support the investment, excitement that we will be able to handle more work and grow, and deep thought about the logic of our upcoming decisions.  

My work has given me access to manufacturers and designers from all over Europe. Couple that with meeting with closet companies across the United States and I can guess at what’s going to be hot in 2018. I’m going bold with these predictions. Sure, I can tell you soft close everything, but that’s too easy. I guarantee more and more companies will make this the new standard. You are selling a luxury product. How could stock kitchen cabinets offer soft close and you don’t?

The following are a few frequently asked questions on fastening tools and equipment. Brad or finish nails? Brad nails are formed from a fine 18-gauge wire, while finish nails are made from heavier 16- or 15-gauge wire. Finish nails are the correct choice for fastening larger crown and baseboard trim, brad nails are used to install smaller trim to help prevent splitting and to promote a cleaner looking job with less touch-up work after the nailing is done.

The kitchen and bath market is projected to reach $178 billion in 2018, according to a recent study of products and materials by NKBA. So, what are homeowners buying? According to NKBA’s 2018 Design Trends Survey, here’s what’s hot, and what’s not.

Choosing the best software for your shop may feel overwhelming at times, but with a few good tips about questions to ask and pitfalls to avoid you’ll be well on your way. Here are 10 essential questions to ask: 1. Can I evaluate the software prior to purchasing? Nothing beats getting your hands on the actual software, prior to purchasing. Is it intuitive? Easy to use? Is it a tool you will use often? Make sure you “try it” before you “buy it.” Sample and compare.

Here are some tips for maintenance and care of some of your most expensive machine components. Moulder Spindles: Broken shafts, seized bearings, “welded” tooling, all can be prevented.  Prevention = money in your pocket or more precisely, money you get to keep in your pocket. 

Woodworkers are loyal to the products they use. Whether it’s a type of blade, tool, nail or screw, they often stick to what they know works. This even holds true for glue. Woodworkers want a glue that sticks and they cannot take chances on a product that will not hold, a problem that could lead to a shoddy end-product, damage to their reputation and ultimately a dip in sales.

OSHA defines combustible dust as “fine particles that present an explosion hazard when suspended in the air, in certain conditions.” For a combustible dust explosion to occur, five factors must be present: fuel (combustible dust), ignition (heat or spark), oxygen (air), dispersion (dust suspension) and confinement. Removal of any one element will eliminate the possibility of occurrence. The following is a list of some of the agencies and organizations involved in monitoring dust hazards in the woodshop.