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FINGER JOINT CUTTERS
Wisconsin Knife Works was founded in 1926 in Clinton, Wisconsin and immediately found a major role in the manufacture of cuttershead and knives for the woodworking industry. On June 25, 1929, the company obtained United States Patent #1,718,325 for the Lock-Joint Grooving Head - known today as the finger joint head. |
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The WKW style of finger joint cutter has been copied by several companies but the basic design has remained unchanged for the most part since 1926. Whereas tolerances and machining precision have improved greatly over the years, the basic principle of the WKW style cutter (sometime referred to as the "circle-bit") is the same. Finger jointing requires that the profile being cut is both consistent and close-fitting. The "circle-bit" cutters allow a very precise cut and at the same time, give the user the ability to sharpen the cutters easily and set up to cut the exact pattern time after time. Brazed or solid "wing type" finger joint cutters may at first appear to be cheaper, but they offer much shorter life due to the inability to be resharpened as many times as the WKW cutter. In addition, the accuracy of WKW cutters is seldom equaled by other cutters. Traditionally, most finger joint cutters have been made from High Speed Tool Steel, often the high Molybdenum M-2, as most finger jointing has been in softwoods. Some species of hard woods have been successfully jointed using High Speed Steel (HSS) cutters, but very abrasive woods may require the use of WKW OPTI cutters. WKW Carbide Cutters or another variety of WKW cutter. In addition to the abrasion and corrosion problems that abrasive woods cause, the increasing use of man-made wood products has necessitated specially designed cutters. Composite materials consisting of wood fiber and glue usually require WKW Carbide finger joint cutters. |
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OPTI ® Cutters - The OPTI ® process is a patented proces that produces an ultra-hard surface on the cutter. Unlike the coatings used by other manufacturers will not chip, peel or flake off. |
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WKW Hydro-Loc™ Cutterheads are affixed to the machine spindle by means of a pressurized inner sleeve. The inner sleeve is compressed onto the spindle by charging or pressurizing the sleeve with a special high pressure grease gun. Locking collars are always recommended as an additional measure of safety. |
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