Lamello Zeta P2 & Clamex connectors

[Ajcoholic]

Not sure if any of the cabinet makers here besides me have (or have been looking) at the Lamello Clamex system of KD connectors..?

I finally took the plunge after about 2 years and bought the machine and a bunch of the different sizes of connectors.

If you are not familiar with the system, you should check this out.

http://www.lamello.com/en/home/join-...amex-p-15.html

I can see this being incorporated in a lot of my work in the shop. One of those things I probably should have gotten sooner but there are so many things on my "list" lol

[Plyoboxwarehouse]

So how much was that bad boy?

[Ajcoholic]

Well, the machine retails in Canada for $1850 with the diamond tipped cutter, and $200 less for the carbide one. I bought it through a Canadian Lamello importer in Alberta (Ibex Industries) who sold the machine to me with the diamond cutter and the Systainer box for $1650.

I have used a genuine Lamello biscuit machine since I was a teenager (on my 4th unit, a Top 20 I bought in 2010 for $1100) and they are top notch. We lost our original one in a fire, and wore out the armature on a second one after 20 years of daily use. I left the other behind in my old shop when I sold it in 2010.

The Clamex is going to be a game changer I believe in the way I approach a lot of things in the shop. The connectors are not cheap (almost $2 pc) but in the big picture not a big deal. I just did a job using Zip bolt connectors I paid more per unit than the Clamex, and they are slow to install. The Clamex is as fast as you can put in a regular biscuit. Plus they have sizes that allow use in as thin as 1/2" material and as narrow as 2 3/8".

And all you see is a 4mm hole for the access to tighten. And angles are a no brainer.

[jTr]

Andrew - have been curious about those machines for a while.
I assume you primarily bought it for the closet/RTA applications, as you stated a while back you're delving more into that work due to demand. Like anything else, I'm sure you're right - more opportunities to use this method of assembly will present themselves once you get rolling.
By the way, how is that edgebander treating you? It's been a handful of months - wondering if it's living up to expectations.

Thanks for sharing!

Jeff

[Ajcoholic]

Jeff,
I did buy the new Lamello machine to allow KD assembly of panels. I'm just starting to get a few jobs lined up so it spurred me to order the machine.

That being said I can see many uses for this system in my work. It's just so easy to join anything you can get a biscuit in. And it's fast, allows a bit of adjustment laterally and is strong. The cost is the only drawback compared to something like the rafix or Blum connectors. Time will tell how it works for me.

As for the Cantek edge bander, it has worked really well. I have several jobs where I used it to apply several hundreds of feet of my own msnufactured 1/8" thick solid wood edging. Also I used it to edge about a thousand feet plus of HPL strips onto solid wood. Also worked very well. I've only done a few melamine jobs but it is super for that stuff. Completely eliminates any hand work.

Since I'm a custom shop and I have been doing a lot of other work besides cabinets ( a lot of millworker, several tables, two stair and railing jobs, other furniture) in the past few months it's not running hard. But when I need it, it certainly is very fast and performs well. So far so good!

Some other work lined up in the future will test more of the melamine side of things.

The other thing I like about this bander is it heats up fast. For small work it's handy, even to edge a few PCs of work. I'm hoping to get a hand held bander in the future for curved work. If things go as planned.

[Ajcoholic]

Just showing what the clamex connectors can be used for - today I took advantage of the holiday to go into the shop and make a few shelves for my sons room. I used blue and yellow 18mm Egger melamine. All the joints including the backs were assembled using the Lamello Clamex KD fittings. They work great! I did end up putting a few of them (4) on the wrong side of my line (chalk it up to trying to go too quickly) but other than that I brought everything home flat and just assembled in the room. Sweet!

I have a closet to do soon, I will post pics, it will also be assembled on site.

Andrew

[jTr]

Thanks for the examples- simple and practical. This machine just got bumped up a little higher on my wish list.

jeff

[Ajcoholic]

Thanks for the examples- simple and practical. This machine just got bumped up a little higher on my wish list.

jeff

It really is a slick way to join stuff. I tried some examples of other KD fittings, but without a dedicated boring machine, and a means to accurately put the dowels in, it is hard to line things up. Also, with the Lamello unit you just have that small 6mm hole that allows access with the Allen wrench. You barely notice them, and you can choose which side of the panel the hole goes on.

If you see the lower bookshelf, where the shelves meet the gable in the same place - that is where you use the special connector that goes from both sides into the same location.

The only down side of the system is that you need to keep the slot positions and faces you reference from, straight in your mind. I went a bit too fast and missplaced a few of them. For a paying job I would take a little more time and not make a mistake.

The connectors really hold well. Much stronger than I anticipated.

[Ajcoholic]

So I thought I;d update this fairly old thread with some feedback on the Clamex system, after using it for the better part of a year.

I love it! I have done some smaller jobs where I've used several hundred connectors - but recently just completed (ysterday) a large walk in closet which was all done in white 3/4" melamine, and used over 500 connectors. All the gables were single meaning no double gables as in standard cabinets. I used 3 or 4 connectors per shelf, depending upon the depth. The system really works, and by making assembly jigs to position the Zeta machine, the cutting of the grooves went surprisingly quickly. In all the connectors cut, I only missplaced two - which were fixed up and youd never know.

Here are some pics of the completed job. 36 full 4x8 sheets of melamine - almost a thousand feet of 1mm edging. Thats a large melamine job since I usually work in wood.

I did cut the curved corner shelving on my Shopbot, and edged with my newish Cantek (Lematic) portable glue pot edge bander. Once you get the hang of it, it works pretty darn well.

Sharp eyes will notice the hanging bars are missing the radiused corner/joiner - and the room was SO out of whack in terms of the floor and walls being out of plumb, humped etc we did our best to install everything true but you will notice some variences. Its an older home and the owners didnt want to go to the trouble of shimming and straightening the floor and walls (I would have). The owners will finish caulking and trimming out the rest of the room.

[Ajcoholic]

The other thing was, with the exception of the drawer boxes which were assembled, the whole job was delivered flat pack and at close to 4000 pounds, it was much easier to carry up the stairs and into the room off the master bedroom (with a narrow door) all flat panels.

The pull out tray sides and fronts, and crown trim were machined from American Poplar (whitewood) and lacquered in white post cat.