Cutting sheet material in garage

[Mark18PLL]

Hi, i am going to be doing some work with sheet materials, mainly ply and want to find an easy solution for cutting to size, that can be repeated easily. It is not possible to ask the supplier to cut it for me because sizes will vary.

I already have a plunge saw and wondered if i could construct a panel saw using this?

My garage is 16ft x 8ft, any ideas?

Cheers

Mark

 

[Droogs]

What make is your saw? It may be possible to fit a guide fence from the maker or even make a big T square the you can use as a fence. Generally if you do not have a table saw then most people now a days use a track saw for sizing sheet goods. A good investment if you intend to do a lot in not a lot of space

 

[Mark18PLL]

I have a Festool TS55

 

[Droogs]

If you are going to be making a lot of repeat cuts of the same size then use a bit of ply or mdf cut to length with a small block at one end to help you place the guide rail of the ts55 and then cut.

 

[Mark18PLL]

Yes, i suppose i could have different lengths pre cut for different sizes of repeat cuts?

Thanks Mark

 

[Sheptonphil]

I too have been using a lot of 8x4 sheet ply and do the initial rips on the workbench with the t55 track saw. After which they are manageable on the table saw. If you don’t have a table saw, you Have little option of making repeatable cuts. When I was constructing the fifty drawers, I would lay three sheets of ply together, clamp together and cut all three at once. Can’t see that the t55 can be converted to a table saw effectively, and more importantly, safely.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Look at my wardrobe build on YT. I devote a whole episode to cutting sheet materials accurately and repetitively with a TS55 and an MFT.





And if you don't have an MFT, you can set up your track with a Square of Thales

 

[Mark18PLL]

Thanks for all of your help, its really appreciated.
Regards
Mark

 

[jvc26]

Also worth looking at Peter Millard (frequently here)’s videos for repeatable TS55/tracksaw cuts; but Steve’s got things covered above too.

 

[Lord Kitchener]

You could also look at my video which shows how to use an 8 x 4 MFT to do exactly what you want. You would need to get the top cut on a CNC router (many firms will do that for the cost of the sheet (I'd suggest birch ply) and maybe £60 to £100) and construct the base for it (I've got some plans on how to do that)