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Dave876

Established Member
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14 Feb 2007
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Sunny Staines
Hi all,

New to this, so please excuse the dumb questions!

I am after something, but I'm not quite sure what!
I guess first off I should explain what I want to achieve - I want to cut sheet material to achieve a perfect square (or rectangle) rather than the parallelagram I often end up with due to bending wood or dodgy clamping or just plain incompetence. Not to mention the hassle of finding the clamps intefere with the saw etc. etc. etc.

So, initially I was thinking of a table saw, but I don't have much room, and I would like something portable. I will potentially be cutting large sheet material in future, so I also feel that feeding a large sheet through end to end might not be the simplest given the size, weight etc.

Then I found the stuff from Eurekazone - except it's very US Centric and the measurements are in inches - I can only work in new money! Also it's comes in at about £230 currently, including shipping - that seems like a lot of money, but I can also see that it might be worth it.
It has got a lot of good reviews - which is how I found this website!

I also found some stuff by a company called Dakota on the RUTLANDS website - can't seem to add a link for that somehow! Anyway, it looks interesting. I figure for the money I am spending on the Eureka stuff, I could get more for my money here. I still need to work out if it will do exactly what I am after.

I did also read the notes about making your own saw guide. Sounds fine in theory, but to cut a full length board needs an equally long full-length guide and a DIY guide stops being so portable then! Admittedly I guess I won't work on full length boards all the time, I just want to have the option and I can see some renovations coming up that will need just that.

So I guess my budget is about £250 top whack. I already have a circular saw, but I might invest in a new/better one at a later date.

Does anyone have recommendations? All thoughts and comments greatfully received!!

Cheers,
David.
 
Hi Alf,

Thanks for the fix on the URL - what did I do wrong? As you can see I tried a number of edits to get it working, and still failed. Shame I work in IT huh?

So you don't go a bundle on the Dakota stuff - that rules it out then! Would you have a recommendation on how to tackle this?

Thanks,
David.
 
Hi Dave and welcome to the forum.

You didn't do anything wrong with your url's - it's just that the forum runs a bit of software to catch spam. Once you've made a few posts then you'll find that your url limnks will start working. Meanwhile the kindly mods will put your links in for you.

And I bet by the time I finish this, Alf will have responded to say the same!
 
Cor...I beat her to it :D

Ok - to your specific question. This topic has come up lots of times and is pretty dear to my heart. There are quite a few threads.

This one covers pretty exhaustively the differences, pro's and con's of the Festool TS55 vs the Eurekazone. That will address what circular saw route to go down.

And this one comes at it from another standpoint.

If you already have a circular saw and money is tight then the cheapest option is a sawguide. Followed by something like the Eurkeazone or the Mafell.

I agree with Alf - those Dakota clamps are pretty duff.

Table saws -especially if you're trying to cut large sheets - are (a) very expensive and (b) take up a huge amount of space. Most people rip down the sheet first using a jigsaw or circular saw as a rough cut..freehand is good enough.and then cut to size on the table saw. A well-setup table saw does make parallel cuts much easier.

Hope that's a help to start with.

Roger
 
One just steps away from the Mac for a moment and... :roll: :lol:

David, fwiw I early on went for the homemade, er, I mean "custom built" version and yes, woman-handling the long one is a pain-in-the-you-know-where. However I simply don't use enough sheet stuff to justify anything better (on average less than one 8x4 sheet per annum in total - last bit of ply I cut I did with a handsaw anyway :shock:). But if I did use it more I'd be very seriously looking into the EZ system, mainly because it seems to have some sensible additional features and will take any saw I care to use.

Cheers, Alf
 
A sawboard is the cheapest option, as Alf said. To ensure square panels, the sawboard can be made in a T-square configuration with the cross-bar of the T at right angles to the cut line. I use one all the time for reducing sheet material to managable sized pieces. I also made a cutting rack out of 4 x 2" to support the sheet as it is cut. others recommend using foam insulation board as a sacrificial surface and cutting on that.
 
I use the festool system with the ally guide rails - perfect to use, but outside of your budget so the next best thing I would think would be the ez-stuff, the basic rail and angle-guide thingy should come out to be cheaper than £200 though.
 
To give some feedback :

Byron - I priced up the kit, and with the ez square and the smart clamps it comes just short of $300 if I recall. But a quick e-mail to them suggested that shipping will add approx. $130 to this - raising the price quite a lot!! A UK supplier would be nice, which leads on nicely to...

Roger - thanks for those links. They make very interesting reading!! Interesting debates about importing versus buying from an importer! Need to keep reading and see where the conclusions lead.

Alf - I am going to make a custom built, dismantleable (sp?) workbench for my mitre saw, so making something had crossed my mind. I may well end up doing something simple for the smaller boards, but it's the big jobbies that are a pain - as you obviously know!

Thanks again,
David.

Oh - as for the spam - find some hookers here... http://www.rfu.com/index.htm .... :lol: :wink:
 
Hi David

Welcome to the forum.

I have the Festool saw and guide and would highly recommend it.

However, for a budget start, I would recommend the Trend guides with a circular saw. You have to go slowly and keep the saw tight but it will work.

Cheers
Neil
 
Blimey - it's a tough decision this. I think like most people I really like the EZ system. The trouble is the the shipping cost and the potential VAT makes it a bit pricey, and add to that any potential support issues.

The Festool doesn't have the square edge of the EZ System, which is what I would most want, but as others have said - it could be made if required. Depends on how accurate you are when you come to bolt it on. Also the splicing of 2 rails together has been show to cause issues, but again there appears to be some opinions on how you can work this.

Byron - Interesting to read the thread where you were making a decision. You were strongly in favour of the EZ system and then suddenly switched to the Festool mindset. I can see the arguments on both sides, so at the end of the day I think that for me it will come down to price when I consider the costs.
A factor connected with that is the idea of buying a new CS anyway - with the EZ system there appears to be a limit on the depth of cut with a smaller CS (which I have) so that could swing me to the festool.

Except I really like the clamps and square guide features of the EZ system....
 
I've recently got an EZ.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14183&highlight=

Have a look at this thread too - for some more info on costs. As you'll see my duty was high, but I still think it was worth it the product is great.

Also on the service side my package took far longer than expected. A few emails went back and forth and they always replied the same day and quicker than most british companies even with the time delay! Also they were ready to put another one in the post and were very apologetic even though it wasn't their fault. Turned out delay was with OUR postal service and it arrived all ok :D Also the sawmill forum has a section on the product where you can ask the inventor and other users questions which is invaluable as a big part of the EZ product is thinking latterally. Indoing so antyhing is possible with it (I sound like salesman :shock: )

Only my opinion, hope it helps.
 
One more vote for the EZ as I have had mine sinces july last year and I am very happy with :D

It replaced a poor table saw and I have not looked back plus on whole I dont think you will have many ( if any big ones ) problems with support.

As Matt said if you do have questions, you can ask on sawmill ( just make sure it is in the EZ section :wink: )

I think you will also find that everyone that has it has been very happy to ( this is not to say that you will be with some thing else ).
You also have other bit you can add at a later date if you so wish :wink:

I have a few more bits than most but you dont have to get a very expensive saw as some one on here has the EZ with a white Axminster saw, plus I have found a few good ones on ebay that are going for under £50 :wink:

By the way how big is the blade on your saw and the depth of cut :)

Just before I stop this rant :roll: :wink:

The man that owns and runs EZ is also happy for people to make bits for his system if you are that way inclined. :)

This from what I have read and seen as his has sent me tools to be payed off :shock: , but he did not have to or know for sure if I would pay.
 
Just to throw another alternative in there ..........

Axminster Guide

Relatively cheap, portable (which is why I have it) over 9' length cut possible, cheap and handles a variety of saws - AND Routers if required.
 
Hi Roger,

I looked at the Axmnister one and the Dakota and Bosch, but it's the hassle of working from an off-set that puts me off. It could just be that I'm terrible at measuring, but there you go!! Both the festool and the EZ have the advantage of cutting exactly where you see the edge of the guide.

I believe the Mafell is the same in this respect, but then you can't do the full sheet runs as it is not long enough (unless I am wrong) and anyway - it looks a bit suspect to roll the guide up and put it in a box afterwards!

Thanks anyway,

David.
 
Dave

What part of the country do you live in as some people might be able to show the two systems if it would help :)
 
Hi Colin,

I'm in Staines, near Heathrow. It's a nice idea, but I don't think that seeing the two systems would help much!

Not sure on the size of my saw - it's a Skilsaw, and it was cheap. A friend picked it up for me about 4 years ago when I was desperate, and it's still got the original blade etc. so I think I will at least invest in a new blade, if not a whole new saw.

Cheers,
David.
 
Also have you looked at the smart table ( with I have ) and think it is great as, it does not take up a lot of space but I can put the 8x4 sheet on it to cut no problem.

I just got the kit and made the rest or get one of these to put it on :)
 
I was going to build myself a table to take a mitre saw.

The idea would be to use 2 sheets of ply, 1220 x 607 (don't know what that is in old money!). Braced underneath to stop flexing, and with a method of joining them end to end in the middle that is at least deep enough to run a saw through (I am thinking of a number of wooden struts).
I would have two blocks running in grooves along the top at an appropriate height to support the working piece when using the mitre saw.

Along the front edge I was planning a removable 'fence' to use as a straight edge, and maybe one at the rear too. I can then use that to butt up to for 90 degree cuts. If I do it right I can have the EZ guide butt up against them, meaning for simple cuts I won't need the EZ Square, and the saw will run along the channel in the middle between the two boards.
An extra bit would be a metal rule inlaid to the table for easy measuring - adjusted to account for size of the EZ guide (I'd take a hack saw to the end!).

The whole thing will be supported on a couple of saw horses - maybe an extra support in the middle if required.

So the extra bit for supporting work with the EZ guide is possible, but means I need an extra table. I was wondering if I could work out some kind of frame that would just sit on top when required, with some swing arms for the corners etc. Having said, that doesn't the guide some with clamps that are sufficient to support the small pieces anyway?

My only further thought was - making some kind of jig to hold the table saw upside down in the middle and being able to push work through lengthways? Need a clamp on the power switch and a remote push button power then. Also need some kind of sliding guide rail, or a method of moving the saw!

I've really been thinking about all this way too much!! I either a) need to get out more, or b) do the work I'm being paid for of c) not let SWMBO organise the wedding on her own while I blow money on new toys!!
 

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