5 Tips to Keep Your Woodworking Machinery in Peak Performance

Keeping your machinery in peak performance is essential to maintaining your production, and protecting your investment. In this article we delve into 5 easy tips to keep your machinery working, and looking, great!

Cleanliness

Keep your machinery looking like new with daily cleanings. Simply blow the dust off each machine and wipe tabletops and surfaces with a clean rag. This goes a long way in preventing unnecessary dirt and grime buildup. Keeping machinery and surrounding areas clean and free of debris improves performance and operator morale, while eliminating potential safety hazards.

PRO TIP: Keep a spray bottle of Original Krud Kutter handy. Simply spray it on tough dirt or grease spots, and wipe clean for amazing results!

Lubrication

Keep your machinery well lubricated. Parts like bearings, linear rails, and feed rollers, require proper lubrication for proper performance. Don’t wait for a “squeak,” to tell you it’s time to lubricate. Follow a regular maintenance plan. Proper lubrication is essential for peak performance, and prevents costly and unnecessary down time.

PRO TIP: Think of easy and fun ways to do your maintenance. If maintenance is unhandy or hard to achieve, it doesn’t happen, period.

Dust Collection

Ensure proper dust collection for your machinery. Insufficient suction causes unnecessary dust buildup and increased safety hazards due to airborne dust particles. Keep dust collector bags cleaned, and make sure your machines internal chambers are frequently checked for obstructions or dust buildup.

Precision Checks

Keep critical alignments checked and calibrated. Things like fence squareness, measuring stop length, and spindle to table alignment, can drift over time due to vibration, and material stress. Regular precision checks prevent cumulative errors that can lead to high scrap rates and increased safety risks.

PRO TIP: Keep precision squares and measuring instruments in key places, to make it easy for operators to do precision checks. Here again, make it as easy as possible.

Proper Parts

In the event of a machine breakdown, use the proper parts to fix it. While a “duck tape and wire” approach can seem like an attractive solution. Taking the time to properly repair your machinery with genuine parts, increases safety, and gives you a higher resale value in the future.

PRO TIP: Keep a copy of all your machinery owners manuals, and pertinent information, in an easy to find place. In the event of a breakdown, you can easily consult them for parts or service support.

Conclusion

Properly maintained machinery, will perform better, last longer, and will give you a higher ROI in the long run. Take a little time now to implement these easy to use tips, and enjoy the fruits of your labors for years to come.