Types of Woodworking Machinery

Woodworking machinery is a broad term that includes a number of tools designed to process raw wood materials into finished products. They are used for both commercial and hobby woodworking applications.

Some common woodworking machines include planers, jointers, molders, tenoning machines, and lathes. All of these devices can help you accomplish your woodworking projects more efficiently and effectively.

Planer

A planer is a tool used to flatten, roughen and face wood. The basic function of a planer is to cut wood with straight blades to a consistent thickness, usually in one pass.

It can be a valuable tool for woodworking as it allows you to use scraps of old wood and other irregular pieces of wood. It is also good for reclaiming old lumber to make it suitable for new projects.

Planers are typically a stationary piece of machinery that consists of a cutting head, an infeed and outfeed table and a cutter body. Some also have a depth stop that prevents the cutter from cutting below a certain level.

Jointer

A jointer is a woodworking tool used to flatten the face or edge of a piece of rough-cut lumber. It is particularly useful for cabinetmakers who use rough-cut lumber in their projects.

Jointers have in-feed and out-feed tables (which together form the “bed”), a fence, and a cutter head. They can also be equipped with a dust port to remove wood chips from the machine as it cuts.

The knives in a jointer’s cutter head are set dead-flush with the outfeed table, ensuring that the workpiece passes over the blades perfectly flat. The infeed table, which is slightly higher than the outfeed table, controls how much material is removed from the workpiece as it passes over the cutter head.

Molder

A molder is a woodworking machinery used to cut the different types of trim that are used in home construction. These include Colonial trim, crown mouldings, door and window casings, chair rails, and base boards.

Using a moulder to make trim requires some skill and practice, but the results can be impressive. Some molding machines use computer numeric controls (CNC) to automatically repeat cuts on different blanks with no difference in tolerances.

Molders typically work indoors and with other workers. Their duties are physically demanding and can involve standing, stooping, lifting, and carrying heavy loads.

Tenoning Machine

The tenoning machine is a type of woodworking machinery that is used to create tenons, projections that fit perfectly into mortises. These joints are widely used for a variety of different projects, including furniture and building materials.

Using a tenoning machine, you can cut these joints quickly and accurately. These machines are especially useful in large woodshops that have a set production rate for products that require tenons.

There are two basic types of tenoning machines: single-end models and double-end ones. Single-end tenoning machines allow you to cut on only one end of a wood piece at a time, while double-end models allow you to cut both ends at once.

Lathe

The lathe is a type of machine used to turn wood and other materials. It consists of four main parts: the bed, the spindle, the turret and the tailstock.

Depending on the tool you use, the lathe can perform many different types of machining. These include outer diameter machining, inner diameter machining, end face machining, thread machining and groove machining.

The lathe can also be used to produce duplicates of items that have been previously made. This is called reproduction machining and can be done on several kinds of lathes.