American Rotary Blog

Mountain Heart Woodworks

Woodworking

In the first of our three stops in Colorado earlier this year, we visited with Mountain Heart Woodworks. You name it and this family-owned business does it – from running a full operational sawmill, millwork, shiplap, tongue and groove, custom tabletops, finished mantles, and even supplying a large amount of lumber to the surrounding area.

For a long time, their business operated off of gas motors. However, as their business grew it didn’t take long before they realized they needed to find a more efficient way to keep up with demand. They now run their entire business off of 2 American Rotary AI Industrial phase converters running multiple motors all day, every day. Watch the videos below for their full story.

Mountain Heart Woodworks Introduction

Mountain Heart Woodworks Shop Tour

American Rotary supplies phase converters for every facet of the woodworking industry! While a single phase converter can be used to operate a single piece of machinery, woodworkers often need to start and run multiple 3-phase machines (sometimes simultaneously), which also have varying load conditions. The balanced output of American Rotary phase converters allows for the safe operation of very small, lightly loaded 3-phase machinery on the same rotary 3-phase converter as larger, hard-starting equipment. To learn more, visit our Woodworking applications page.

Garage Workshop – BBQ Smoker Build with American Rotary Phase Converters

Machining, ,

Last month we were doing some work in Tennessee when we decided to drop in to this home workshop to see what was cooking! This video contains a lot of great information for those new to the idea of using a phase converter.

If you have a garage workshop you can probably imagine the possibilities of what you can use a phase converter for to save you both time and money. For more information about what phase converter is best for your needs, click here.

5 Machining Tips For Beginners

Machining, ,

A few weeks ago some of the American Rotary team headed back to Indiana to visit Dusty Hicks at his machine shop, where we first met with him a couple of months earlier to get to know him and his work.

Dusty is a hobbyist and machinist who enjoys building (and shooting) cannons and working on other projects around the shop. He was kind enough to take a few moments to share with us his top five tips for those who are looking to get into machining and we are glad to show them with you here.

Recap: 5 Machining Tips and Tricks For Beginners:

  1. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen. It’s how you learn.
  2. Don’t be afraid to get big equipment. You can outgrow small equipment and you can still make small and intricate pieces on large equipment such as a large lathe.
  3. Use your resources. The internet is a goldmine of information for anything you want to learn. One of Dusty’s favorites to learn from on YouTube was Tubal Cain.
  4. Be creative. Everyone’s different and has a unique perspective to offer.
  5. Have fun. It doesn’t always have to be work.

We hope you enjoyed these tips and find ways to apply them to your work. Starting out in any trade is exciting and you may even discover some things on your own over time that you feel others might like to know as well. By sharing insights with others we can all help each other by paying it forward as those did who helped us.

Farm Technology at the WPS Farm Show

Agriculture & Farming, ,

In this video, we take you to the Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) Farm Show on the EAA grounds in Oshkosh, WI. Here we talk with a handful of companies regarding farm technology and how data is being used to yield better returns by minimizing expenses and maximizing efficiency.

American Rotary phase converters are built for the demands of agricultural equipment and applications from grain dryers to pivot irrigation systems.  Often, farms are located in areas which do not have access to the 3-phase power grid.  Paying the power company to bring 3-phase power onsite is expensive, and often cost-prohibitive.  American Rotary phase converters provide reliable and cost-effective phase conversion for any agricultural setting.

How To Create a Successful YouTube Channel Doing What You Love

Machining, ,

If you’re a machinist, metalworker, woodworker, or maker of any sort and have been thinking about how to share your knowledge with the world, this is the video for you!

In these videos, we talk with several YouTube channel creators to get their take on what they believe makes a successful channel.

What’s interesting to note is some of the similarities between each in addition to some golden nuggets unique to their own.

YouTube Tips – Part 1

In this first video, we give you a first-hand take on the top 3 tips for creating a successful YouTube channel from many of your favorite machinists.

YouTube Tips – Part 2

In this video, we go a little deeper and get their thoughts on how they got started, why they share video content, and how to create content people want to watch.

Whether you’re a machinist, metalworker, woodworker, or maker of any sort and have been thinking about how to share your knowledge with others, video is a great way to do it. It’s often faster than writing, it’s engaging, and you can create more of a personal connection with your audience.

Most of all, it’s really cool to see a community of people come together who enjoy making things and sharing different tips and insights with each other.

If you’ve ever been considering sharing what you do with the world, hopefully, you can find the tips here of help. The most important thing is to just get started. We all have something unique to share and you never know who else might find value in it!