Best way to cut sheet materials

[MikeW]

my concern as usual is that unless you have lots of practice with a panel saw. getting good straight lines is difficult.

it may well be a quick way to strip the sheet down, but it is not clean
and easy, it takes lots of practice.

paul :wink:

Ah, the chicken and the egg--which came first?

Without practice, the results may be less than desirable. But without practicing, we never get better...

MDF and even ply are simply not pleasant materials to work with no matter. Which is why I suggested beer...

Take care, Mike

 

[engineer one]

yea but how do you cut straight lines in beer :lol: :lol:

i agree thought that the materials are not pleasant to work with,
but for certain types of items that we need, they offer the most
effective material to give reasonably large flat surfaces.

and over here, getting reasonable long and cheap lumps on which
to practice is not easy.

wonder whether the stuff for cleaning up router cutters would be
as or more effective for removing the "gunk", but i do agree that
someone somewhere taught me about using the reflections to try and
cut straight lines.

i am sure i read somewhere that the nib had a purpose, but not sure if
i can remember, someone somewhere must have a book that mentions it.

what you wonder though is where the term "de-nibbing" in relation to
sanding and finishes comes from :?

paul :wink:

 

[Alf]

i am sure i read somewhere that the nib had a purpose, but not sure if
i can remember, someone somewhere must have a book that mentions it.

Paul, do yopurself a massive favour and don't try to find the answer. There are lots and lots of theories but no actual proof either way. "What's the nib for?" is one of those fall back questions to get some traffic going when the Old Tools list gets quiet... :wink:

Now, panel saw. Is that in the 19thC meaning of the term, or the 18th? :-k

Cheers, Alf

 

[engineer one]

that works for me alf.

since veneers go back to the egyptians, maybe panel saws do to?

paul :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

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[gidon]

Keefaz
In my opinion, the quickest, quietest solution is to get yourself a cordless circular saw and use it with a straight edge (cheapest straight edge for full size boards is a good factory edge off a sheet of MDF or ply - you can get B&Q to slice you a few off on their panel saw ...).
Cordless saws feel safer to use to - and they are useful for lots of other things too (like chopping those long boards from the timber yard down to fit in the car!)
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Alf]

Now, panel saw. Is that in the 19thC meaning of the term, or the 18th? :-k

Cheers, Alf

Go on then. Tell us. Wossa diffrence?

Well the 18thC one in the Seaton Chest is 26" long, which is a bit longer than the usually thought of panel saw.

Oh and what's a Kataha Katebiki? Is it one of those pancakey things with noodles and sea food? Sounds jolly tasty whatever it is.

Jacob, I'm really starting to worry that they're not feeding you enough up there in Derbyshire - first Lea & Perrins and now pancakes and noodles?

Cheers, Alf

 

[bugbear]

who does believe a polished blade cuts better...

Me too. More rust resistant as well.

BugBear (0000 wire wool with Solvol Autosol)

 

[Anonymous]

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[Nick W]

yea but how do you cut straight lines in beer

It's trivial so long as you cryogenically treat it beforehand. :lol: :lol:

 

[MikeW]

Now those were some funny responses--and some serious ones...

Paul. Hey, at least I had my glasses on and didn't spell it "bears" this time <g>...

For practice sawing, just use whatever you are using for building with. I'm not one to go buy good wood and hack it apart for practice. Nearly every job involves the making of scrap in the process. Heck, some jobs I have done made a whole bunch. Like the Mahogany Shaker table tops I miscut once...

For small joinery practice, just a bunch of lines, not spaced too closely, works a treat. Larger pieces can be used for larger saws. Scrap ply can be used for practicing longer cuts using either a cross cut or a rip handsaw...but a cross cut cuts cleaner. But the excercise is following a line, not the finish.

Alf's got it. Beginning in the early 19th century and going back quite some time, saws designated as panel saws were up to 26" in length. The Kenyon "pannel" saws in the Seaton chest are both 26" in length. Properly speaking, a handsaw is a cross cut. The other long, non-backed saw in the Seaton chest is a half-rip. From what I can find in literature, this is not a designation for the style of teeth, but rather the number of teeth. But I digress...

Disston made mention the nib serves no useful purpose but is merely decoration to break the straight line of the back. He must have been clairvoyant, though, because they existed in the present form, in about the same position, for over 100 years before the firm Disston began.

But if they served any purpose other than decoration, I'm afraid the reason is lost. But Paul, if you ever do read an original text which has a different opinion, publish the finding!

Well, got to go to work...Take care, Mike

 

[Alf]

My "Sanderson & Kayser - The BRITISH Saw" (it says on the side you can just make it out under the rust) panel saw is 22" long compared to 26" for my crosscut of same name.

Which is why it mattered which meaning of panel saw you meant. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[engineer one]

well, nick with all this concern about producing "cold" beers
these days i guess it is only one step along to the cryogenics.

mike as usual we seem to have a complimentary sense of humour.

as for the nib, i wonder whether it was originally designed to strengthen
the front, and stop it wobbling a bit, could be completely off as usual, but
its another thought

as for practice i understand that you always get scraps from the jobs you do, but what about the first job??????

i guess that is why i use power saws in the first instance and then
hope for more help from things like handplanes to get me through to the end, think i must go back to improving my skills and producing work :twisted: :?

i wonder whether about 26inches is the longest you can make a
saw that does not have a back, and would be controllable in terms of
weight, and flex, when you use a reasonable thin piece of steel to make
the saw.

anyway now colin c has sharpened my TOGA, i learn to use it.

i think for many of us the problem is the surface we use to cut on,
so i guess it is the best excuse for building the more proper work bench.

paul :wink:

 

[MikeW]

Hi Paul, the catalogs show Disston, those before him and during his time made saws regularly up to 30" in length. My S&J rip is just over 28". I have a Geo. Bishop cross cut that is 30". The one I use the most is also a Geo. Bishop 28" cross cut.

As for weight, the Kenyon "pannel" saw at the link below is considerably heavier than a comparable mid-19th century saw of the same physical size. The weight is very beneficial.

Schwarz's blog

I have been asked to make some saws for a person in Norway. These will be even heavier saws for use in timber framing. But the really fun part of the order is the 5' long pit saw...

Take care, Mike

 

[engineer one]

come on mike you no playing fair ,

just when you have blown us away with a decent saw, you do it again
with something else.

just when i had gotten used to the basic feel of a the 12inchblade backed
saw, i wonder how much a really long would feel. i have never used a
panel saw, so i guess i was comparing it to the modern kind of rip saw
you buy in a shed, and the whipping that does.

to know that years ago people made them over 30 inches long
is mind blowing.

now where did i put that tuit box with the money for a hand made
saw :?

will be really interested in the norwegian saws, are they for cutting up
polar bears??? :lol: :lol:

i have in the past used a long saw for cutting some stone, and
there is an old slate building in North Wales called Jerusalem
which was a slate dressing factory, the saw pit is sooooooo deep
you wonder whether the guys ever got fed down there.

so now i have sorted so off cuts of 2x and will start practising the
straight cuts, then move on.

by the by how come you have been up for 24 hours???? :twisted:

good luck to the bear, did you give him back his pizza? :?

paul :wink:

 

[MikeW]

come on mike you no playing fair ,

just when you have blown us away with a decent saw, you do it again
with something else.

just when i had gotten used to the basic feel of a the 12inchblade backed
saw, i wonder how much a really long would feel. i have never used a
panel saw, so i guess i was comparing it to the modern kind of rip saw
you buy in a shed, and the whipping that does.

12 inches?
Chris' blog again...
:lol:

by the by how come you have been up for 24 hours???? :twisted:

good luck to the bear, did you give him back his pizza? :?

I slept for a couple hours. Now it is the never ending ordering of supplies. And then the shop. And then paperwork tonight. And then...

No way. Pizza is not good bear food. Makes them want to move in, live on the couch. Pretty soon, they think they are Yogi...

Did I ever mention I once shot a grizzly that was almost 8' long at about 20 feet from me? At a full run when I shot...I wouldn't give him our pizza either :wink:

Ever enjoyable. But I gotta go beat some brass for a few of those things at the linky.

Take care, Mike

 

[engineer one]

brings a whole new meaning to a take away pizza i guess.

as you know to fill time tv companies have animal programmes
showing the strange things that beasts other than us do, and
what the bears do is really strange at time.

love it when they roll around in the waste bins.

you really know how to dampen my spirits though a 19inch back saw :?

what does chris schwarz have that i don't :twisted: :twisted:
anyone would think he had a magazine to publish

paul :wink:

 

[Alf]

Pretty soon, they think they are Yogi...

Sitting under a tree and dispensing mystical wisdom? :-k

Cheers, Alf

Sillier than the average bear :wink:

 

[engineer one]

not that yogi alf, this was better than the average bear ccasion5:

however you do wonder whether you could learn more
effectively from a bear than a yogi :twisted: :twisted:

paul :wink:

 

[Paul Kierstead]

Did I ever mention I once shot a grizzly that was almost 8' long at about 20 feet from me? At a full run when I shot...I wouldn't give him our pizza either :wink:

Holy rubbish!!! Or it would be in my shorts. Was it in a full run *at you*? If so, its a wonder that by sheer momentum it didn't end up on top of ya... (ok, sorry bit of physics there, but still...)

I do quite like grizzly and generally have no fear (respect in heaps, but not fear) of bears except the polar bear who have no fear of me, nay just curiosity, so them I fear of. But I will admit grizzlies seem just difficult and ornery enough to worry me and get even a little more respect then most.

PS: You had better be prepared to make more of those big-assed tenon saws. And have some walnut left.