The ideal cam for most wood bending is a 6” x 2.25” head with 7-degree shoulders. I have made 30 in 45 minutes, including the time it takes to set up the tools. Once the tools are ready, you could make hundreds of them in a matter of hours.
- Start with a 6” plywood rip.
- Set the miter saw to 7 degrees.
- Set the stop to 63mm (2.5”).
- Trim off the end to start the 7-degree side.
- Flip the board, set it against the stop, cut, and repeat.
- Reject any cams with long or critically located voids.
- Set in a line and set in a bar clamp, snug, but do not overtighten because the rack will bow.
- Set up 1¼ round over bit. Use a guided bearing bit if possible. Here, I have one with the guide bearing ground off, so I set up a running fence which took an additional 10 minutes.
- Block the cams from moving, router, CAREFULLY turn the rack, and route the second pass.
Now you have 30 ideal cams ready for tape up and wax.