Tool wear study looks for new angles

TOOL WEAR STUDY LOOKS FOR NEW ANGLES

Some people measure success only by monetary achievements, however, others, such as myself gain by how his work can effect an individual. For instance, my nephew (who is in his late 20's) told my wife that I was an inspiration to him in reaching a goal of owning his own business. Of course, I was certainly pleased to learn his comment and started to reflect back on ways that helped me get to where I'm at today. One of my thoughts was to try and help others with what I've learned through the twists and turns on the road up the steep mountain to owning and operating my own business. I'm not going to paint some pretty picture, just give you the facts!Read the eBook to see the details and results of my experiment and learn which brand performed better. You�ll be surprised at the results. The eBook also explains more about PVA glue, so you�ll understand whether it�s possible to manufacture one brand significantly better than another brand. So, the question still remains: For our indoor glass mosaic art, is it worth it to spend $4.50 for a 4-ounce bottle of Weldbond instead of $1.50 for a 7.5-ounce bottle of Elmer�s? Read the eBook!Harold Stewart's research into rake and clearance angles could lead to longer tool life.At IWF |90, DML Inc. of Louisville, Ky., claimed a Challengers Award for its Golden Eagle saw using Dyanite, a carbide material developed by Vermont American as a result of Stewart's findings. These new materials reportedly extend tool life two to five times over what could be expected in the past.Remember, making mosaic art is easy. You can do it. Yes, you can!Stewart said his research "is also aiding in the development of adhesives for the woodworking industry by reducing or eliminating filler that can cause excessive tool wear.""There are several kinds of corrosion taking place when machining MDF," he points out. "One is sulfidation, a result of a sulfur salt on the tool." Stewart is investigating this phenomenon now.That research, completed when Stewart was at the North Central Forest Experiment Station in Carbondale, Ill., investigated the basic mechanisms in tool wear on wood, based on the premise that composite board caused excessive wear. The woodworking industry previously believed these wood products were abrasive. Stewart's research proved that was unfounded and led him to determine tool wear mechanisms other than abrasion in wood machining.A research project on tool wear causes and solutions, which was partially funded by a $25,000 grant from the International Woodworking Machinery & Supply Fair - USA (IWF), is moving into its next phase of discovery.I'm one of the two founders of EastmanPublishing.com and also own and operate another off-line wholesale business that was established in 1986. I mention these two businesses because they were both started with a five year business plan, in mind. Now, if you can bear with me, I'll pass on some self-employment business information to you and it won't cost you a cent.After coming home one evening and discovering our television wasn't working, my wife and I decided to take it to a nearby repair shop the next morning. While the television repairman was trying to figure out what was going on with it, we browsed around the furniture section and checked out the new televisions available. Soon the repairman told us the problem with the set and how much it would cost to repair. He showed us the unit within the set that had to be replaced, which would have cost hundreds of dollars by the time he was done. My first thought was, "ya right!, you saw us checking out the others and you're trying to sell us a new one instead!." I guess it's a reasonable first reaction. After pondering and discussing the situation with my wife, and reviewing the other sets with the now "salesman," we decided to go down the street and have some lunch and discuss this dilemma further.I tried to determine the chemical properties of Weldbond and Elmer�s, but I couldn�t find anything that fully defines the ingredients. The Elmer�s website says their ingredients are proprietary, so I assume Weldbond�s ingredients are also proprietary. I also couldn�t find independent laboratory test results that define Weldbond�s shear strength, adhesion strength, and cohesion strength. (The key word is �independent.�) Same for Elmer�s. Therefore, I couldn�t compare the two to determine if one truly is stronger than the other in shear, adhesion, and cohesion strength.Let�s think about it. White glues are made from PVA emulsions. All basic PVA emulsions have the same properties: water-based, odorless, easy clean-up, colorless, relatively non-toxic, water resistant (not waterproof), and not too heat resistant compared to other adhesives.Many websites and articles say Weldbond is the best adhesive for indoor mosaics and that it�s the preferred glue of professional mosaic artists worldwide. I�m the kind of guy who likes to ask, �Why?� I�m compelled to dig deeper, so my question is: What makes Weldbond so much better than other polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glues (commonly known as white glue), such as Elmer�s Glue All? If you�re like me, you wonder, �Why do so many mosaic websites say Weldbond is the best mosaic glue, but none of them fully explain what makes it better or why it�s better?� I don�t know, maybe one mosaic artist heard something about Weldbond and regurgitated it to another artist without knowing the chemical facts. Maybe a mosaic supply salesman makes a bigger profit selling a 4-ounce bottle of Weldbond for $4.50 than a 7.5-ounce bottle of Elmer�s for only $1.50.Those 5 years of working for someone else and running my own part-time business passed many years ago. I'm just pointing out, that an idea such as working full-time and part-time for 5 years has worked in the past for those previously mentioned furniture makers and myself. Of course, there are pros and cons to everything. Being self-employed doesn't mean that you give up your day job and so goes the boss right along with it. Now that you've created a new full-time self-employed business, you're taking on many new bosses, such as your customers. Each of your customers are actually your boss in one way or another. So now you've taken on many bosses, which are your customers or clients and they are now paying your income, and if you don't produce a quality product that they find useful, you may find yourself back working for someone else.Varieties of PVA glues can be developed by adding small amounts of materials to improve specific characteristics. For example, simple clay can improve the glue�s high temperature strength. However, the differences in varieties aren�t that great because if too much extra material is added, the glue�s adhering properties unacceptably weaken.Two of those firms have each won the prestigious Challengers Award for their efforts. The Challengers Award is presented biennially by the IWF to manufacturers selected by a team of industry experts who judge their product to be highly innovative and beneficial to the industry.In my opinion, those previously mentioned furniture makers were successful because they created their own quality furniture and was able to gain a market through retailing their products. However, they may not have been so successful if they hadn't taken the five years to introduce their quality products, build their own outlet store, and have their already established clientele.IWF has funded several research projects over the years including the Flexible Cell Manufacturing study at North Carolina State University.

PHOTO : Sandy Stewart's cutting edge tooling research was boosted by a $25,000 grant from IWF. The research into rake and clearance angles could lead to longer tool life.