# Panel cutoff



## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

I am building an altar table for our chancel. The table top is wide and a bit unwieldy. I need to cutoff the waste ends to properly dimension the top so that I may begin the final prep work for finishing. I was going to cut of the excess using a handheld circular saw but the cut quality isn't nearly as good as the fine, smooth cuts I obtain using my Forrest crosscut blades on my tablesaw. My solution is this: cut a runner out of hardwood (apitong is my preferred wood for runners); attach the runner to the underside of the tabletop much like one would to make a panel-cutting sled measuring the proper length carefully to the blade; and run the behemoth through as though it is a 'sled' for cutoffs.

Does anyone have any other workable solutions that you might offer? I very much appreciate the great help I've received here thus far and hope to be able to reciprocate one day soon.


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## Tinbasher (22 Dec 2012)

New blade for your circular saw?


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## Phil Pascoe (22 Dec 2012)

Cut it as best you can, and run a good sharp router cutter over it?


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## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

The circular saw blade is a Forrest on a worm-drive - it doesn't have the speed of the table saw. I like the idea of cutting the panel proud and then paring it back with the router. Thank you Phil!


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## MickCheese (22 Dec 2012)

For large unwieldy panels I use my track saw.

Leaves a clean edge that just needs a plane or sanding to finish, can burn a little if you get the speed of cut wrong though.

Mick


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## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

MickCheese":36gmg5is said:


> For large unwieldy panels I use my track saw.
> 
> Leaves a clean edge that just needs a plane or sanding to finish, can burn a little if you get the speed of cut wrong though.
> 
> Mick



Thank you Mick - I wish I owned a Festool Track saw but it's out of the budget - the tablesaw was expensive for me so I try to maximize its use. I've seen those cuts with the track saw and I must admit they are impressive with the right blade setup.


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## MickCheese (22 Dec 2012)

I'm afraid my budget doesn't stretch to the Festool, I have a Makita but for my 'hobby' use it's perfect and for dimensioning sheets it's a godsend.

Mick


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## beech1948 (22 Dec 2012)

Before track saws there was what ?
look here

[urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2hypJNYRQ][/url]

Al


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## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

MickCheese":1bjy9qy4 said:


> Before track saws there was what ?
> look here
> 
> [urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2hypJNYRQ][/url]
> ...



Thank you Al. I've done that before too. What I find fascinating is how he made the first straight cut to get the narrower piece of plywood that he screwed down to the base sheet. I know that's a strange thing to think about but having wrestled with plywood and being a less than perfect sawyer with a circular saw...well you can imagine how my brain went there. Woodworkers are a frugal lot and appreciatively so - I look at pallets and other thrown away wood and wonder how I can use them to build something...


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## Eric The Viking (22 Dec 2012)

I have to say Rev, I love my Makita too. 

It's just done a rather large T+G chipboard (particle board) floor, unfortunately where every board (only 4' long) had to be trimmed because of the joist spacing. The blade is now pretty blunt (see another thread), but despite the obvious need for it to work harder, the cut is still brilliant and there's negligible wear on the rubber strip.

If you haven't got one, can you borrow or hire? It would be worth it, as those things just work.

E.

PS: I think the new Festool has a slight edge on the Makita for quality, but if you're cutting bevels, the Makita rails have a handy anti-tip feature the Festool doesn't have.


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## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

Eric and Mick I truly didn't know that Makita had a track saw now I'm going searching. Thank you fellows I do appreciate your input a lot!!


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## revwayne (22 Dec 2012)

Okay I just found a video on th SP6000K Makita Plunge Saw 6 1/4 with 55" guide rail - $430...good tip on that miter cut not tipping. A lot cheaper than Festool. Awesome!!! Guess I'll be talking with my wife...

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-SP6000K-2- ... B001MEK8WS


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## Eric The Viking (23 Dec 2012)

You won't regret it (and they're made in the UK - that still amazes me, in our post-industrial culture!).

The only odd thing is the depth guide: I find you have to add roughly 6mm to allow for the rail thickness, if you're trenching or similar. Apparently all saws of this type are the same (at least the Festool is, so I'm told), but the centre line about which the saw tilts is precisely aligned with the bottom edge of the sacrificial rubber strip. I've put an "add 6mm" reminder on mine in Chinagraph pencil, but when you tilt the saw, it still cuts exactly to the line! This is inconsistent, but very handy: doing the boards I've just finished, I needed to put about 20 degrees undercut on the boards at the edge of the floor so they go into place nicely. No problem whatsoever - just dial it in, add a few mm depth for the extra thickness, and cut.

It's also surprisingly quiet for a brushed motor and quite lightweight. You have speed control too so you can dial it down to match whatever you're cutting - it helps minimise burning.

To be honest though, for the one-off job, I'd just make a guide with a straight-edge per that video. The fact your saw runs slowly (worm drive) is probably an advantage. Start with a new blade, or get the current one sharpened, and go at whatever speed the saw is happy cutting at. You're cross-cutting, but I'd still use a general purpose blade, as the deeper gullets mean it will clear the dust well and not overheat. It's also worth scoring the visible surface before you start the real cut, once the guide is clamped down. 

Also, although this may be impractical with a Skilsaw effectively used freehand, Festool recommend a very, very slight toe-in with the TS55, so that the back edge of the saw disk scuffs the waste material, not the workpiece. It's only the thickness of a piece of paper. You might find just hand pressure anti-clockwise as you cut is enough to do it. Finally, I suggest you cut it long first by 3/4" to test your technique, before going for the real thing.

Hope it goes well, 

E.

PS: on the cut depth - I forgot to say that there are _two_ blade diameters. Mine came with a fine cut blade, and when I bought the GP blade (40 tooth, IIRC) I found it's bigger. It's only a nuisance if you're cutting on something you don't want to dig into, say a stack of plywood (  ), or trenching, but you do have to remember which one you're using, as the depth gauge will be 'wrong' otherwise. The Festool ones are all the same size, I think, but their blades are much more expensive, at least here in the UK. E.


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## revwayne (26 Dec 2012)

Eric The Viking":12vm70d4 said:


> You won't regret it (and they're made in the UK - that still amazes me, in our post-industrial culture!).
> 
> Also, although this may be impractical with a Skilsaw effectively used freehand, Festool recommend a very, very slight toe-in with the TS55, so that the back edge of the saw disk scuffs the waste material, not the workpiece.



Eric that is an interesting notion of the toe-in. I need to test that technique - conceptually I grasp it, however, the execution side of me is a bit wide-eyed at its prospect...it sounds as though they are saying 'crab the cut line' if I read that correctly.


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## Eric The Viking (26 Dec 2012)

You set the amount on the saw itself (the base continues to run straight on the rail - you offset the mounting to the baseplate there's an adjustment for this on the TS55 and, I think, on the Makita although I've never done mine). It's supposed to be about the thickness of 80g paper (i.e. hardly anything). 

I don't think you could freehand it safely and I wouldn't be all that keen to experiment. Which reminds me: the TS55 series have spring-loaded riving knives. The Makita doesn't. It's not all that significant, _unless_ you use the saw off the rail, in which case I'd say it's an important safety feature. And yes, you can get kickback with a hand-held saw (DAMHIK!). It's happened to me once on a rail, when the rail moved whilst cutting. It wa a bit frightening. I'm now careful to check the rail is well-bedded, or to use the rail clamps if the workpiece is short.

E.


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## revwayne (29 Dec 2012)

The saw is on it's way. I can't wait to use new tool. I will make some test cuts before I run it on the table top. Thank you for everything Eric.


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## beech1948 (29 Dec 2012)

revwayne":31fzlq5y said:


> MickCheese":31fzlq5y said:
> 
> 
> > Before track saws there was what ?
> ...



The answer is he did not make the first cut. He would have used the factory edges of the 8x4 sheets.

Al


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## Phil Pascoe (29 Dec 2012)

Al, There are millions of people out there that don't realise what a useful ad hoc square the corner of a sheet is, as well.


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