Frick 27" Gang Edger Adjustment

[354maple]

I am trying to help my next door neighbor with a question on a Frick 27" gang edger.

When he runs a 8 foot pine board through the edger the board is bowing by as much as 1/8 inch in the middle.  So if you lay the board on a flat surface on its edge there is a 1/8 inch gap in the middle of the board.

His question is this: is there some king of a adjustment he can make to the edger so the edge will run true for the entire 8 ft?

I appreciate any help you can give me since the edger is of no use to him if he can make a adjustment somewhere.


 

[dgdrls]

Welcome 354maple

Not sure what your asking,
Are the boards coming off the mill already bowed?
or are you saying when he runs a board through it comes out with a bow?

If the boards are bowed across their width the edger will not correct that

D

[354maple]

The 1" boards are straight and true coming off the mill they get bowed when they go through the edger

[moodnacreek]

Edgers are very fustrating when cutting curves. There are so many things that can cause this the question can not be answered . I could say; put in new feed rolls absolutely square with the mandrel and new teeth, and overhead guide light and guide the board by hand.  When I rebuilt mine it did this bad. The problem was the outfeed table had one dead roll a little off.

[354maple]

Yes I was afraid that a complete overhaul was going to be the solution. My neighbor is a mechanic and I thought if there was  an adjustment somewhere he would have found it.  Maybe feeding by hand will work.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Sincerely

354maple

[moodnacreek]

I was just using the statement as an example of a 'correct answer'. That edger may have just one or 2 little things wrong. The alignment of the rolls and the condition of the saw teeth first off. A stick with a wood screw makes a perfect gage to measure from the mandrel to the rolls. Anything the board touches must be considered. I spent a lot of time changing my outfeed table builds until I got it right. Many edgers just don't cut straight until the owner and the machine get tuned up. There are ways to make a fixed outfeed fence with a shifting fence to keep the board straight but this is last resort because trash gets caught in these things.  

[354maple]

Thanks for giving me additional information to pass along to my neighbor.  As soon as I here him fire up his diesel I'll be over to see him with a printout containing your suggestions.