# Advise needed for mass manufacturing wood product



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

I am trying to sell wooden rings, the kind people wear on their fingers.

How would something like this be mass manufactured?

I plan on using wood that is about 18"X6"X0.5" and would like to manufacture it myself if possible. What equipment would i need? The rings are circular and have a curved surface just like a wedding band (see below).

If I did send this job to a real manufacturer how much of a cut would they take and would they ship the product to wholesalers, retailers, and/or customers? I'm not sure how all that works.


----------



## mics_54 (Oct 28, 2008)

"Wood you take this man to be yer lawful......"

A small lathe.


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

mics_54 said:


> "Wood you take this man to be yer lawful......"
> 
> A small lathe.



Haha, nice play on words. Yeah i don't think a lathe will work because the material I'm using is basically a flat board 18"X6"X0.5". It specifically has to be made out of wood of this dimension, so i can't spin it on a lathe.

Do the rings have to be drilled out, or?? What about the rounded surfaces?

I need to figure out how to do it on a mass manufacturing scale.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*The shape is complex*

The shape you're proposing does not lend itself to being mass produced in wood, since the process is "removal" rather than "additive" as in molding, a much better method in plastic. Mass production is just that, making "massive" numbers of one item. Wood shapes with compound curves and undercuts in the removal process aren't suitable, even with CNC routers it would be difficult, but maybe not impossible. JMO. :thumbsup: bill
BTW what does the requirement on the board size have to do with anything? A school project possibly?


----------



## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

I would solicit someone with a laser engraver to cut out the inside and outside parts. If you are going to make for rings, you could easily program a laser engraver with different sizes for the inside ring. This would also minimize waste you would encounter by going with other methods. You will still have to round off the edges but you could do that with little effort by hand or make up a special sanding jig of sort.


----------



## mics_54 (Oct 28, 2008)

The method of making these rings would depend largely on cost limitations and market prospects.


----------



## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

Interesting. Not sure how much "mass" you plan on making, but if I needed to make a bunch, I'd probably take a board and drill a grid of 'inside' holes with a bit of the relevant size. Then maybe a "plug cutter" type bit and cut out rough blanks. Maybe cut the outside with the plug cutter first, experiment on that a little to see what works best.

Or back to the lathe:
10" x 1.5" x1.5" turning blank lengthwise, then turn the outside profile of multiple rings, kinda making the blank look like a a caterpillar. Then cut each "ring" though still essentially a solid disc, off with a saw. You could even grind your own turning tool with a profile to cut multiple ring profiles at once. Of course allow for a blade width between rings for the cutoff.

Then take the discs and drill out the centers with your drill press. I'd toy around with a holding jig you could drop the discs into for easy and quick centering. It doesn't always work out the first time, but generally just by starting to to do this stuff, other ideas and tweaks will make themselves obvious to ya. Thinking up simple jigs and fixtures will allow even small shop woodworkers to produce a surprising volume of small products with basic shop tools. 

Not knowing what sort of volume you're looking to produce, I'd be willing to bet money that I could within a week figure out how to make hundreds a day, including the finish, just by thinking up fixtures and jigs, possibly even with no other tool than a drill press. 

Maybe even have a tool and die maker make you a custom bit. Pricey initially, but often worth it. I LOVE figuring out and designing timesaving and/or quality-improving jigs and fixtures, possibly more than I enjoy making the actual products, now that I think about it.


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

*Lathe vs Drill press*



Woodcutterron said:


> Interesting. Not sure how much "mass" you plan on making, but if I needed to make a bunch, I'd probably take a board and drill a grid of 'inside' holes with a bit of the relevant size. Then maybe a "plug cutter" type bit and cut out rough blanks. Maybe cut the outside with the plug cutter first, experiment on that a little to see what works best.
> 
> Or back to the lathe:
> 10" x 1.5" x1.5" turning blank lengthwise, then turn the outside profile of multiple rings, kinda making the blank look like a a caterpillar. Then cut each "ring" though still essentially a solid disc, off with a saw. You could even grind your own turning tool with a profile to cut multiple ring profiles at once. Of course allow for a blade width between rings for the cutoff.
> ...



It would be really nice to only use a drill press for all of this. Do think a drill press could work as a lathe? Is it strong and fast enough?


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

Is it possible to make this wooden ring using a custom drill bit? Can a custom drill bit cut the curved outer surface? It seems like it would be possible to cut it from one side, but then when you go to flip the board over you would have to center it just right. Then at the end of the cut you are left with a ruff spot where two cuts meet. Any ideas?


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Here are my thoughts. Using a drill bit cut out a grid of holes in your ring material. Using a short circle blank attached to a board and centered under hole saw type bit you can now have perfect alignment and make the donut (ring blank). Then you need an insert that is basically a piece of round rubber slightly smaller than the diameter of the ring. A metal washer on top and bottom and a bolt and nut surrounding them (think drum sander). Put the ring on the rubber, tighten down the nut and it squeezes the rubber and holds the ring from the inside. Spin it up on the drill press and sand it to shape. You could make tons of donuts and then work the shapes one at a time as needed.


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

Leo G said:


> Here are my thoughts. Using a drill bit cut out a grid of holes in your ring material. Using a short circle blank attached to a board and centered under hole saw type bit you can now have perfect alignment and make the donut (ring blank). Then you need an insert that is basically a piece of round rubber slightly smaller than the diameter of the ring. A metal washer on top and bottom and a bolt and nut surrounding them (think drum sander). Put the ring on the rubber, tighten down the nut and it squeezes the rubber and holds the ring from the inside. Spin it up on the drill press and sand it to shape. You could make tons of donuts and then work the shapes one at a time as needed.



I think I understand what you are saying. How easy is it to find hole saw bits that can cut an inner and outer diameter at the same time? I found a photo of one, but I don't know where to buy one. I would need slightly different inner diameters for different finger sizes.









I also attached a photo of a drum sander. It shows the rubber part. I think that's a great idea. If i just have a long threaded rod and a long piece of rubber then i can slide lots of rings onto it and then sand them on a lathe or drill press.


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

I need to cut some pretty accurate inside diameters. I don't think the above hole cutter will work because they only come in basic sizes. (1", 1-1/8", 1-1/4", etc)

Most common ring sizes for men:
A size 10 ring is 0.778"
A size 10.5 ring is 0.794"
A size 11 ring is 0.810"

Does anybody know how i can cut a donut blank with these inside diameters? I would like to cut the inside and outside at the same time.

I thought this would work at first, but it only cuts large holes right?:


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Best bet will be using a 49/64" drill bit and a drum sander and a ring sizer to get the larger sizes. Other option is get special sized custom drill bits.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Specialized custom tooling, expensive*

To get that kind of accuracy you will need custom tooled cutters. Or a CNC router with a small bit. Even if you cut straight side walled donuts you still have the issue of rounding all the edges. This can be done on an air inflated mandrel, but it must accomodate the slightly differing sizes. If this were easy someone would have already done it. The shape lends itself to molding rather than a subtractive process from a solid material, JMO bill


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Just need to get a drill bit larger than what you need and get it resized at your local sharpener. Shouldn't be that pricey.


----------



## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

When I mentioned a custom bit, I was thinking along the lines of a "wheel cutter" bit I saw for sale years ago for folks who make wooden trains and such. A machine shop. It chucked in a Drill press, and you cut through half the board, flipped the board and cut through the other side, and you had a wheel. The same principle might be applied to your desired application. 

As for the inside diameters . . . . why do they have to be to such specific tolerances? For example, while these might be industry standard, I can't imagine that .775 (3/4 inch) couldn't be substituted for the .778 sizing. Final sanding would likely put you on the tolerance.

Regular twist drill bits are available in 1/64 inch increments, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get one close enough that variations in amount of finish sanding sanding would be more critical than the actual variance from the "standard" of a bit a few thousandths off.

I did a quick search and couldn't find the wheel cutter. But a standard Circle cutter like this one:
Amazon.com: Wheel & Circle Cutter: Home Improvement 

Could probably be rather easily modified to cut the outer profile you'd be looking for. Simply regrind the cutter from the standard straight cutting angle to a radius profile. 

You might be able to make a simple wood jig to clamp to your drill press table. Basically just a flat piece of melanine or ply or whatever with a little stud made from a dowel that fits snuggly into the inner hole. If you look at the hole cutter link, note the pilot bit. The center of the 'holding dowel" would have a hole the size of the pilot bit in it.

So lets say the process goes something like this:

Step 1) Take a, say 1 1/2 inch by 15 inch strip of wood the thickness of the ring you desire. Every inch and a half, drill your inner ring holes, 15 of e'em.

Step 2) Clamp on your ring alignment jig described above and chuck up your custom-bitted hole cutter. Alignment is simple using the pilot drill bit in the cutter.

Step 3) Slip the first hole over the holding jig, drill half way through (experiment a bit with cutting depth) 

Step 4) Move to the next hole in the strip, repeat fifteen times.

Step 5) Flip the "cartridge" strip, and repeat Step 3 and 4

Step 6) Finish and sell rings.

Now I just used the size of the Blank strip as a for instance. Playing around with the idea might prove something else works better. Maybe a strip of 10, or hey maybe 20-30? 

You might want to not quite go all the way to half depth, maybe setting it so it leaves just a very thin layer of wood that "holds" the blank in place for the cutting, then 'punching' it out kind of like punching out a paper doll for light sanding of the "mold line".

A custom ground cup-type bit that cut both inside and outside profile that could cut the "top half then bottom half" on the strip. would make it even easier. 

There are probably 50 different ways to get what you want, but most will involve just diving in, experimenting a little, and tweaking the basic concept a bit. Even once you get something that works, keep your head working on improvements in quality/productivity, etc.
Often while working with one concept, it'll give you a great idea that you would never have thought of if you hadn't worked on the one that "was close" but not quite close enough.

Those hole cutter bits you posted pics of are available at almost any well stocked hardware store or Home Depot and Lowes. The trick there is getting the blank out without damage, and the cut is pretty rough for what you're talking about.


----------



## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

I just found a link to the wheel cutter I mentioned above. A decent machine shop should be able to make something that works on the same principle but with your desired profile. Again it might be a little pricey initially, and you'd probably need one for each size, but you could make a ton quickly.
http://www.apworkshop.com.au/html_carbitool/35N-twc.html

Maybe a place like this could help:
http://www.orbittool.com/


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Woodcutterron said:


> I can't imagine that .775 (3/4 inch) couldn't be substituted for the .778 sizing. Final sanding would likely put you on the tolerance.


3/4" is 0.750 more than a 1/16" away from the target.


----------



## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

Leo G said:


> 3/4" is 0.750 more than a 1/16" away from the target.


Dang, Brain seizure, not sure what I did there. Anyway, how about a 49/64 bit then.


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

Woodcutterron said:


> I just found a link to the wheel cutter I mentioned above. A decent machine shop should be able to make something that works on the same principle but with your desired profile. Again it might be a little pricey initially, and you'd probably need one for each size, but you could make a ton quickly.
> http://www.apworkshop.com.au/html_carbitool/35N-twc.html
> 
> Maybe a place like this could help:
> http://www.orbittool.com/





Leo G said:


> 3/4" is 0.750 more than a 1/16" away from the target.


Wow, this is all really good information!

The best idea seems to be:
"A custom ground cup-type bit that cut both inside and outside profile that could cut the "top half then bottom half" on the strip. would make it even easier."

I like that idea because this bit would make rings of any diameter while retaining the same profile. And of course the contours of both the inside and outside diameters would be perfect (I would hope). With this method I would follow the same procedure that starts out with drilling holes in the "cartridge" and using a jig, right?

If I used a custom made toy wheel cutter styled bit, would I use the same jig setup? How would one of these cutters be better than a "custom ground cup-type bit"?

Thank you so much for all the great help!


----------



## JamesG (Nov 15, 2009)

I have a couple more questions. Do you think a circle cutter can cut a small enough diameter? On Amazon the smallest one i saw goes to 7/8" diameter which is a little too big. I guess when i cut the "custom cup-style bit" I can make sure it fits closer to the pilot bit.

Do you think one of these could be used to cut the inside contour AND the outside contour? 



It seems like one cutting edge could be for the outer contour and the other cutting edge for the inner contour. I don't know if there would be any advantages or disadvantages. It seems like this could be an alternative to the "custom cup-style bit"?


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Wood you like to use wood?*

Then consider that a straight grained wood will want to crack with the grain. A laminated piece made of thin layers with the grains crossed or alternated will be much less prone to break. It may also have more visual interest in a piece that small. A burl will also be more interesting and have no linear grain direction. Just some thoughts, after you get the how to make it process sorted out.  bill


----------



## machinistchest (Mar 3, 2008)

Ya, woodcutter is on target here. It needs to be cut with what is called a form tool. 

What I would do in your case is form the OD. bore the ID. at the same time round inside corner and part off. you`ll have a seconed opperation finishing out the rounded inside bore on the back side or you may consider tumbeling a bunch of rings in a barrel of sand, that ought to sand them down smooth, this may just fillet the corners for you.

Now, here `s a part similar to a ring however it`s got a flat bottom hole and is made from bar stock in a lathe. 

http://machinistchest.com/site/product_details.php?category_id=55&item_id=32


----------

