Way Too Cool Idea Award
Hall of Fame |
What, you may ask, is a "Way Too Cool Idea"? Simply put, it is one of those notions that comes along that, when you hear of it, you slap yourself on the forehead and ask, "Why didn't I think of that?". The answer, as harsh as it may sound, is very simple. You just DIDN"T think of it!
Every month we will select the most innovative woodworking, machining, carving or CNCing idea, invention, or process that we hear of, read about or stumble over. If we, in our sole discretion, find it worthy of a forehead slap, it will be entered into this prestigious Hall of Fame for all the world to admire.
If you run across an idea that you think deserves such widespread acclaim, let us know about it by sending it to Way Too Cool Idea.
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May, 2012 |
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As many of you may be aware, at the beginning of 2011, a lot of Bosch-Colt (PR20EVS) routers appeared on the market with bore taper-angles outside of the range measured prior to our designing the Colt compatible spring-collets. This change resulted in a LOT (almost 20%) of Bosch-Colt routers that were incompatible with our BOPG, BOHG and BOSG nut / collet system.
Since we knew what the pre-2011 taper-angle was to fairly high precision (±0.050°) and, since we like to think that we are reasonably familiar with high-speed angle grinding, we KNEW we could conquer this. So, we sat around, consumed a lot of caffeiene, and came up with all kinds of possible ways to address the problem.
Like any self-respecting group of CNC dudes, we figured we could mount a high-speed die grinder to a rotary table with simultaneous X-Y-Z-A positioning at a right angle to a 1" thick aluminum plate on which the Colt was mounted and, slick as a whistle, grind the bore-taper to any desired angle. With our decades of expertise, lots of spare components and no lack of self-confidence, we calculated that we could do all of this for just under $5,000.00, a mere pittance in the carbide grinding world.
Bill solved the problem with a block of wood and a $14.00 diamond-file. Of course, HIS solution is NOT Mach III compatible like ours would have been.
Nonetheless, hats off and a forehead slap to Bill Kurtz. |
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