Terrco duplicarver (sorta) tamed.

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
Even though I'm still on a Mt. Everest learning curve, I think I'm on the way to actually getting a gunstock shaped on this monster. From my earlier thread you might recall the 'touch and kick' issue and horrible rough cuts I was getting with this. http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4058 The big problem is the fact that the machine is designed to weightlessly 'float' the router, a very touchy and potentially dangerous situation. It was suggested here that I try to find a cutter with more than two wings. I couldn't. That is until a couple days later the heavens opened and dropped a new MLCS catalog in my lap. And, in it, they are featuring a new product, THREE WING ROUTER CUTTERS. :clap: I ordered one, $13.00 and no shipping charge :thumb: . It is a 1/2" shaft which I like. I put on yesterday and tried. About 90% of the 'touch and kick' problem has vanished. I still, of course, must cut in direction of rotation, that's a bit of a learning issue as I go from side to side but it will come with practice. Also, I'm going to continue to use my oversize styluses for initial shaping then switch to same size as cutter for finishing. That will almost eliminate very deep cuts and catches but will be more time consuming. I'm already a fan of this 3-wing cutter and can recommend for other router/shaper duties. Will post a picture when I finally get a satisfactory gunstock shaped. BTW, I'm still not a fan of the Terrco 100 or 200 series duplicators because of the light construction and 'floating' cutter motor. Anyone considering serious duplication work for gunstocks or similar, IMHO, should invest more and go with their heavy duty K-Star series. No high speed, flying, cutting things with those.
 
Glad to see you're starting to get workable results out of the duplicarver, Frank. For a while there, I'm pretty sure I could hear you banging your head on the shop wall all the way out here in California. :p
 
Frank, I’m glad your getting a handle on it. As I mentioned in your other thread, years ago (decades), I ran 3D pantographs doing tool & die work. They were much stouter than your Terrco but it would still get your attention when the cutter grabbed. As I recall, they kept a dark brown stool with the machine. :bonkers:
 
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