Australian Wood Review – June 2017

96 Australian Wood Review

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

I

n the space of fifteen months I

have had three shoulder operations.

This unfortunately is the side effect of

my style of making. Just about all of

my furniture has a curved laminated

element to it which has me pushing

wood through my bandsaw just about

every other day.

I have calculated that over the past

ten years I have pushed approximately

15–20km of timber through my trusty

Hafco bandsaw. For me to carry on

designing and making fine furniture

I had to remove this element, so

that was when I decided to research

bandsaw feeders.

The only one I could find that suited

my purpose and my budget was the

Taiwanese made Co-Matic AF19.

The unit had to be ordered in and

arrived after eight weeks, packed in

a well built plywood box which took

some time to unpack as it was all

nailed together. As with all machines

purchased new, this one did not come

with a power plug – you have to get

this fitted to the supplied cable.

I ordered the three phase unit however

the single was supplied. (The suppliers

were apologetic and organised for

the three phase to be shipped.) Both

versions are rated at 1/2hp. It’s a 10

speed unit ranging from 1–15 metres

per minute selected via a two speed

power switch and through the five

speed pulley-driven unit.

No assembly is required, only the

mounting of it to your bandsaw.

Normally this would be quick and

easy: drill two holes into the bandsaw

The Real Value

of Machinery

In hindsight, Darren Oates weighs up the significant cost of

a recent machinery purchase with what it might have saved.

$3311