Table saws, full sheets & wide pieces

[Spectric]

Use something like 50 or 70mm and the tressles with 4 by 2's and you have a workbench, buy one of these Pop Up Gazebos Archives and you can now carry on working outdoors even if it rains.

 

[Graham Brazier]

Have you looked into MFTop and associated bench dogs , guides etc

I would also get another track and join it or a longer track

There are also parallel track guides that can help for ripping to a size like wardrobes and then use a MFT panel to cut to length

Peter miller , London craftsman have quite a few videos around MFT on YouTube

Could also use a centipede type trestle and insulation board

 

[MikeJhn]

You really need one of these: Safety Speed C4 Panel Saw or an extension for your track, which would be a less expensive option.

 

[artie]

Wouldn't a longer track be much cheaper than even a cheap table saw, and give much better results.
I now use the track saw for almost all sheet cutting.

 

[T-H]

Have you thought of a vertical panel saw? They have the accuracy but not the footprint of a regular panel saws and can get them reasonably cheaply on the market (example: Ebay).
Working with large sheets always going to be a challenge as they at the centre naturally sag: also as you feed it into a table saw without a sliding carriage any left-right movement will show in your final cut.

 

[Jonm]

Here is a thread about this. Lots of advice about dismantleable work benches, mine is in there which is waterproof mdf and could have holes cut in it to turn it in to an MFT, top Is in two parts for ease of storage
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/working-in-a-small-workshop.138594/

 

[jetsetwilly]

Another name to google: Ron Paulk. Basically a home made full sheet sized flat mft-style bench that folds away. Keep the table saw for solid timber rips or rig it into the bench like Ron does.

 

[rogxwhit]

chuck a sacrificial sheet of Kingspan or similar on top of your cutting table and let your saw cut a few millimetres into it, it supports whatever you are cutting and improves dust collection

Yes, including the dust from the Kingspan ... yet more microplastic particles ...

 

[Herr Nilsson]

Alternatively, use the (free) web site CutListOptimiser (or similar) to plan out all components on full size sheets and give your cut list to the hopefully decent timber merchant you buy your sheet goods from, and they will cut it for you - for a small fee of course. Even if you only ever get sheets cut in half, your back will fair much better over the long run Vs handling 8’x4’s!

P.s. If you do like to wield around large sheets - if you don’t have one already - get yourself a panel carrier.

I got a cheap and cheerful one from Silverline for less than a tenner and the abs moulded plastic is holding up fine. There are the scissor style panel carrier grippers that grab from on top, whereby I sometimes think that one of these would have been better, although they are more expensive. However, I don’t mind the squat lift exercise, but I do wear one of those soft fabric weightlifting belts if ever I’m moving around a load of sheet goods, as it simply encourages a safer approach to lifting.

 

[housemaintenance88]

Hi I have this set up, DeWalt DWE7492 250mm Portable Table Saw with DWE74912 Scissor Stand £805 comes with the stand, has 825mm rip and full-length rack n pinion fence, plus four of these, Excel Roller Stand Heavy Duty with Adjustable Height Support £17 each I put these up as and where needed. Not just for big sheets but long thin cuts, just remember to put the furthest away slightly lower as the wood bows downward. I attached the photo because the spec shows 77mm cut but without any mod mine goes just to 80mm.

 

[Titan_uk]

could you not build a frame with folding legs that would store against a wall (or multiple sections). Top and bottom of the frame would have an inset t-track for a moveable stop and something like skate wheels rails across the middle for the board. something like:
5m Long Roller Track Flow Rail Gravity Conveyor Skate Wheel Plastic | eBay

 

[Inspector]

Many of the cabinet businesses in Canada and the US don't use saws to make cabinets, they have CNC routers instead. While most have the sheets horizontal there are vertical machines along the lines of a vertical panel saw. It does mean you need to program the machine to run it but any component you design, cabinet side for example, is always available for future use. There is more waste in the wider kerf but you don't have as much handling and mistakes from distractions or fatigue. You can make your own from scratch, use kits or spend for ready made. I suggest it as something to look into.

https://tech-labs.com/products/denford-vertical-router
https://www.maslowcnc.com
https://makermade.com/products/2021...MIr-mOxcSj-gIV8G1vBB3Ixg7pEAQYASABEgKf1fD_BwE
Pete

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Calling all table saw fans - I need some teaching, please.

I got a 2nd hand table saw to:
* make cutting sheet material quicker
* get super clean cuts that don't need further finishing
* cut to final dimensions on first pass
* achieve dead-square (or precisely angled) components such as cabinet sides & doors with ease.

I mostly use 8x4 sheets of mdf, veneered mdf or ply.

the answer is that you have the wrong tool for the job.

make cutting sheet material quicker. Answer is a quality track saw with long or joined tracks. Or a table saw with a sliding table. Or a panel saw.​

get super clean cuts that don't need further finishing the answers are the same as above​

​

cut to final dimensions on first pass the answers are the same as above​

​

achieve dead-square the answers are the same as above​

​

you have to spend enough so that the tool gives you quality results. I use a tracksaw, have for about 15 years, I use several shorter tracks and join them perfectly using a jig.

the fault is thinking that cheap tools are as good as ones several times the cost.

 

[bp122]

I'm afraid as others have mentioned, track saw (buy an additional track if required, it may be more than the table saw you bought but it is still the right tool within your budget and space limitations) is still the right choice for you

Couple it with a good DIY MFT table with bench dogs (or even a ready made top on some trestles /torsion box setup) and you will still have spare change from the compact Axminster table saw you asked about.

And the burning you saw there on your sample wouldn't happen if you have a good blade, good technique where the saw doesn't spend time on the same spot while cutting and a safe setup where you aren't weilding a large workpiece - all of which can be avoided with right length of track, bench dogs / rail clamps. Take the tool to the work rather than the other way around.

Hope this helps.

 

[Duncan A]

You can make your own track very simply with a piece of flat sheet material a bit wider than your saw, that has glued/screwed to it a length of straight wood to hold the saw against. Cut along the length of the sheet and you have track which can be aligned to your cut marks.
There was also a post on here, which I can't find at present, where someone made a very elegant cutting table out of sheets of plywood which consisted of four suitably sized sides which slotted together, plus a few cross-pieces for support of the sheet to be cut. It all broke down in minutes and could be put away very quickly. Or just use trestles as others have suggested.
Duncan

 

[sometimewoodworker]

You can make your own track very simply with a piece of flat sheet material a bit wider than your saw, that has glued/screwed to it a length of straight wood to hold the saw against. Cut along the length of the sheet and you have track which can be aligned to your cut marks.

It is very true that it is possible to make a saw guide, I have 2 I made 15 or so years ago, if they haven’t been recycled as fire wood, It is a very poor substitute for even the worst track, it doesn’t hold the saw, it must always be clamped (unlike a decent track, mine often don’t need to be clamped), it can’t be extended, it is always higher friction than a track.

I used mine until I was able to get my tracksaw. I would never voluntarily use them again

 

[LaurenceCarr]

Peter miller , London craftsman have quite a few videos around MFT on YouTube

Could also use a centipede type trestle and insulation board

I think you mean Peter Millard? Would second that. Peter has some excellent content out there on YouTube and other platforms.

 

[Seascaper]

Calling all table saw fans - I need some teaching, please.

I got a 2nd hand table saw to:
* make cutting sheet material quicker
* get super clean cuts that don't need further finishing
* cut to final dimensions on first pass
* achieve dead-square (or precisely angled) components such as cabinet sides & doors with ease.

I mostly use 8x4 sheets of mdf, veneered mdf or ply.

I used to use a straight edge and ciruclar saw, then I upgraded to a plunge/track saw. But I'm tired of sorting out support under the workpiece, repeating measurements even for identical components, and moving the track half way through the cut particularly on the 8' dimension. I always ended up with teeth marks or burn because I found it difficult to keep a super-steady pace and pressure on long pieces.

But after doing my first test cut on the table saw yesterday, I quickly found 3 big questions:
1. Are full sheets just too unweildy for a table saw - so do you have to cut them down first e.g. with the circular saw?
2. How do you handle large pieces (e.g. 2000x700 for the side of a wardrobe) without the long edge wandering away from the fence even by a mm or two for a second?
3. My fence can be set a maximum of about 200mm from the blade - so what's the workflow for cutting that 2000x700 piece. Do I have to cut to rough dimensions with the track saw, say 2010x710, and then set the table saw fence 5mm from the blade and cut the piece to final size?

I want to end up with great cuts, but I want to do it as efficiently as possible. Advice much appreciated.

Hello,
What you need are a couple of stands to support the full sheets. They have rollers on the top so that you can push the sheets through the blade. Some saws like the Kitty 419 come with large table extensions for sheet materials, with others this is an option.
Regards

 

[Doug71]

What you need are a couple of stands to support the full sheets. They have rollers on the top so that you can push the sheets through the blade.

If you go down the roller stand route it's worth looking at the ones with bearings on top, especially for sheet goods.

With the straight roller ones the wood follows the direction of the roller so if everything isn't exactly in line you can end up with the sheet pulling away from the fence etc.

 

[Graham Brazier]

I think you mean Peter Millard? Would second that. Peter has some excellent content out there on YouTube and other platforms.

LOL yep that’s the one , my bad