Our Barrie Store is Moving!

We are very happy to announce the re-location of our Barrie location, to a BIGGER, BETTER and BRAND NEW LOCATION!

The new location has been in the works for sometime and we are excited to be able to serve our Barrie Customers in a much better way in the new store. We have pulled away from a very congested traffic spot, the new showroom is bigger and will also feature a new Demo Room!

Important info for our Current Barrie customer

From now until March 24th 2012, we will be having a Moving Sale, where we will be clearing floor model machines and many tools that will not be brought to the new location.

If you are interested in taking advantage of the savings, drop by our the current Barrie store, but hurry because as it is first come, first save! 

The current location will close its doors on March 24th 2012.

We will re-open in the new location approx. May 1st 2012.

In between then, we will be offering our Barrie Customers a special promotion so that you don't miss out on shopping with us. If you are an active Barrie customer, you will receive a letter from us in the mail so watch for a Busy Bee Tools envelope shortly. We will continue to update our website with information on the Barrie move, so check back often for details. We appreciate your patience during this move and look forward to being able to serve your better in our new location. 

For more details click here

                                                  Artist rendering of the new location

Getting the most from your Metal Band Saw

When cutting metals, there is a lot to be taken into account. The type of blade you are using, speed of cut, configuration & adjustments to your saw should all be looked at thoroughly.

Selecting the proper blade to cut the type of material you are sawing is the first consideration. Aluminum is quite different from mild steel and mild steel is quite different from tool steel etc. For most applications, carbon steel blades are adequate but for the specialty steels, you may have to go for a more sophisticated blade such as a high-speed steel for example.

The recommended cutting speed also varies greatly for the materials that may be cut with this type of machine. For example, some die steels may require a speed of 50-60 FPM, while aluminum can be cut at 10 times that speed. If you select the proper speed it will result in better cuts and a longer blade life.

The configuration of the material and the size of cross section determines the pitch of the blade. If the material is think then a finer pitch is required. If the pitch is too coarse then the material can enter the gullet of the blade tooth and the break the tooth. If the pitch is too fine the gullet will fill up with cuttings before it goes through all the material and will stop the blade from feeding.

Remember to have at least three teeth in contact with the work at all times. The rate of feed is determined by the amount of material that can be carried by the gullets of the saw blade.

For maximum blade life avoid excessive feeds and always enter work slowly at the start of each cut. Keep the saw clean and adjust guides whenever necessary and should get good life from your blades.

Metal cutting band saws usually have the facility to be adjusted to the original settings and will require adjustments occasionally, depending on the frequency of use.

Try the adjustments in the following order.

Remove the blade and clean the drive and idler wheels of all oils and foreign materials. Saws that are capable of using water soluble oils will leave residue on the driving surface of the wheels when the water evaporates, causing the blade to slip off when the saw is under load.

Using the blade as a gauge, check the guide bearings to ensure that they move freely and are not tight on the blade. The blade should be able to slide between the bearings without the bearings rotating when you hold the bearings with your fingers. The bearings are mounted on eccentric shafts and can be adjusted quite readily.

Mount the blade on the machine and check the blade tracking. If the tracking needs adjusting there are usually set screws near the idler wheel axle to change the altitude of the axle, which will use the blade to track either further on the wheel or move off the wheel.

When the blade is tracking properly, adjust the bearing guides to twist the blade into a vertical position. When you do a test cut, you may have to readjust the guides to give a 90° to the blade. When both the vertical and horizontal settings are 90° you should get accurate square cuts. You should select the proper blade and speed setting for the material you are going to cut.

Remember that each time you use your machine the conditions may require some change in the machine. Perhaps a different speed or a different blade. If you make these changes and maintain your machine, you can expect your band saw to operate to its fullest potential.

3 Day Winterlude Event

3 Day Winterlude Event is coming up shortly at a Busy Bee Tools near you! You won't want to miss this 3 day event packed with HOT deals, FREE giveawyas, BONUS in-store credits and more. http://www.busybeetools.com/pages/Winterlude

Getting the most from your planer

The planer is a popular addition to almost every woodworking shop. These machines can often be the workhorses in a small shop, so the machine set up & user techniques should adhere to some basic rules to avoid minor problems.

The most obvious thing to look for when setting up the machine and preparing to plane some stock encompasses the following. Firstly, the knives should be very sharp and free of nicks and secondly to check that the table rollers are not higher than necessary in the table. Any of these conditions may cause a poor finish or a false cut resulting in sniping. Planer manufacturers have tried to tackle this problem (sniping) by having the four cornerposts of the machine work in a unified fashion. This four-column design does work but sniping is a problem that is unavoidable unless the proper technique is applied. Sniping is probably the one problem that most puzzles the operator since quite often he or she has followed all of the set up instructions and the sniping still occurs.

If one looks at the snipe they will find that the board is thinner at one end for a certain distance and then becomes thicker through the full length of the board and then may snipe again at the other end. If the distance of the snipe is measured, it will correspond to the distance between the knife and the outfeed roller. This indicates that the board is not being held firmly to the table until it makes contact with the outfeed roller. (See illustration below)

Since the distance "B" is so short, the board exerts a great deal of leverage on the infeed roller and can overcome the spring pressure allowing the board to float above the table until it contacts the outfeed roller. This is because it has a greater mechanical advantage "C" and holds the board firmly to the table. The same condition occurs in reverse when the board leaves the machine.

Ideally the machine should have long infeed and outfeed tables to support the work at the correct height but since this is not always practical, a few hints to observe when hand feeding the boards will help to avoid (minimize) sniping.

The normal tendency is to assume that the machine has control of the board when the infeed roller starts to draw the material in and the operator relinquishes control of the board to the machine at this point. The opposite is true when the board starts to feed, the operator must apply some upward pressure to hold the board against the table until the outfeed roller can exert its pressure to stabilize the cutting action. At no time should the operator allow the board to lever the machine, as the forces from even the smaller pieces are considerable.

Another method that has seemed to work with large success is to attach some scrap (the same thickness as your board) to either side of the workpiece. The scrap pieces should be at least 12" longer than your board (about 6" on each end). You can hold the workpiece & the scrap piece together as you feed your workpiece or even use hot melt glue to affix the pieces together. Do not use metals like nails or screws for this, as it may come into contact with the planer knives.

The planer, like any other piece of equipment is a tool with a few simple rules to simplify its operation and ensure better results. A simple rule of thumb that applies to any machinery is " The more mass and the more power, the more forgiving". This means that if you overlook any detail on the lighter units such as the "lunchbox" planer, it will affect the results much more than the heavier thickness planers.

New Video - Craftex CX-Series Dust Collector with Canister

We have released a new new Video - Craftex CX-Series 2 & 3 HP Dust Collector with Canister featuring Mark Eaton.

New Video - Craftex CX-Series 10" & 12" Cabinet Table Saw

We have released a new new Video - Craftex CX-Series 10" & 12" Cabinet Table Saw with Riving Knife featuring Mark Eaton.




For more videos by Busy Bee Tools, click here

Our Winter Catalogue is now on-line!

Highlights from this catalogue include the introduction of Wholesale pricing, new additions to the CX Series line, many new must haves for the workshop and more!
http://www.busybeetools.com/pages/View-Catalogue.html