It's not often that I get a chance to work with some of the more commercial woodworking machinery, but when I do it's a thrill to see what's new, how it works. The advancements and innovations in woodworking have moved ahead immensely in recent years and I love to see how these machines work. I was very excited to be part of the Maksiwa emergence in North America because I felt strongly they had some equipment that would be a big interest to a certain segment of my viewers. The Maksiwa Portable Edge Bander and Edge Trimmer Machines perfect for many woodworking shops for their price/value, their size and portability, and what they can do.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/6r-FaWJZKrU
The units arrived in three boxes and except for a few components that need to be removed for shipping, they come substantially ready to go. After unpacking, I think both my machines prepped in an hour, but what can really help this is taking a few minutes to watch the YouTube Videos on setting these up.
Portable Edge Bander
Basically, all that needs to be done to the Edge Bander is to attach the legs and the arm that the banding material sits on. The glue pot even comes with enough glue to do about 100 feet of edging and the temperature of the glue pot, which wants to be 170 degrees, is already pre-set at the factory. One of the advantages of this edge bander is that it's a low-temperature version, which means that as soon as the edge has been banned it can go right into the trimmer, you don't have to wait for to "cool off" like many of the high-temperature versions.
One the unit is energized with the switch on the far left (note: if the emergency switch has been activated, that will need to be reset). Next, you touch the green switch to turn on the heater to the glue pot and wait about 5 minutes while the glue gets up to temperature. When the glue is up to 170 degrees, you can turn on the toggle switch on which will drive the glue spreader drum, which draws glue up from the glue pot.
After putting the edge banding material on the platten, and feeding it through the guide-set, and adjusting the tension, the banding material needs to be drawn up to just past the blue drum and now the bander is ready to use.
If you are new to edge banding, or at least edge banding with a machine, you will want to make sure that you have the banding material inserted with stipple side on the outside to match your melamine, ad to ensure the matte side is what gets glued as that is what is going to give you a very strong glue bond.
All you need to do now is run your boards through the edge bander then trim the ends with the built-in guillotine and they are ready to go to the edge trimmer.
Edge Trimmer
The Edge Trimmer I am using also came with an optional Folding Work Bench which is a perfect match for the trimmer for a couple of reasons. 1) The Edge Trimmer attaches easily to the workbench and 2) the Work Bench includes it's own power outlets and cord, and the lets can fold inward so that the 2 wheels on the side of the bench can then be used like a dolly to easily transport the Trimmer.
The Trimmer comes with Trim Router, and also includes a special Trim Bit AND and associated Collet, for the router bit. After the Trim Router is attached, you need to set the router bit to the prescribed distance, but also check that the Cam on the back of the Trim router, which is the resting place for the Trim Router holder, that it is in it's the highest setting. Then, with the Trim Router unplugged, test to make sure that the bearing will ride up and over your boards to trim the banding material on the top of each board.
Setting the Scraper Block needs to be done every time you change the thickness of the material. To set the scraper block, first loosen it completely, then insert a piece of material the same thickness as what you will be using, apply a small amount of pressure on the top of the scraper block to so that the springs are under some tension, then re-lock the scrape block in place with the handle. The scraper block does just that, scrapes the edged material to give it a final cleaning at the end of the trimming process. At this point, the Trimmer is ready to use after the router has been plugged in and the dust collector attached.
Who Can Use These
For a number of years, I have had many people asking me how they can get into the woodworking business. This is a very hard question for me to answer because there are so many variables, and jumping into making custom furniture for people can be a tough road to go down. What has worked in the past for some, is getting into the woodworking industry by providing a service that there is already a need for ... such as smaller units, like bathroom cabinets, laundry room shelving or cabinets, children's room cabinets, storage or pantry storage and so on. Many people need smaller cabinets and shelving units like these, but it is often hard to find people to do these smaller jobs and that's why these Maksiwa Machines, for some people, are the perfect answer to allow them to get into the business and start building a client list while providing a service that there is already a need for.
All over the country, there are small cabinet shops who don't have space or the capital to invest in huge banding and trimming machines that are currently available, for them, these portable units are very well priced and can fit almost any small shop's footprint.
For large shops who already have large banding equipment, these smaller units can be used 2 ways, first of all in-house to for smaller jobs that are not worth starting up the big machinery for, of just having backup equipment that can be used from time to time and finally, for large shops that need to have on-site machinery for custom cabinetry, these Maksiwa Machines are ideal ...
Learn More
Matsiwa USA
2702 NW 19St Street
Pompano Beach, FL,
USA, 33069
Matsiwa USA YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIBw6epOmyJOOLssBuiwfw
Phone 1 (770) 335-0807
