What tools to buy

[Chris Knight]

Chris,
I don't think the saw shown comes near what you need to safely cut 8x4 sheets accurately.

You might want to look into precut ply - several of the larger suppliers will do this (to your spec). I suggest you pm Tim, i believe he has recent experience with this and may be able to comment on whether the stuff is cut accurately enough for your purposes.

 

[Chris U]

These are what I am making. Some will have butt joints, some dovetails especially the large cabinets fitted with speakers.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v173/ ... My%20amps/?
The EZ and Festool systems look like they should do the job but I have no idea what to buy. I look at the pictures and galleries and instructions but there are so many peices, I don't know what I am looking at and what the bits are called. I need a starting point, a list of all the bits I would need to make the cabinets in my link. It's so frustrating trying to sort it out I just give up and start looking at saw tables, even then I am not sure.
So I would appreciate it if someone who knows could show me a machine or two that will do what I want, ie accurately cut 8x4 sheets long ways.
I'm tempted to just buy that Metabo PKF 255 and just cut the wood cross ways first instead of lengthways. Then if I do it that way there are probably a lot more cheaper machines to choose from.
I have had the wood cut to size by timber merchants before but at a £1 a cut it gets expensive - twice what a sheet of ply costs. Apart from that, I am having my wood imported direct to me in batches of 50 sheets to cut down costs. Cutting it myself will save me £20 - £30 on each sheet.

 

[Colin C]

Hi Chris

I would say if you get the EZ, you could what you need with

This for cutting the sheets

SRK for routing the openings and the Limit stops

Plus a saw if you dont have and one thing to add :roll:
I would also get the Smart table kit, I have it and it does make cutting bits up easier

If you still are not sure, get in contact with Dino at Sawmill and he will guide you to what is best for you.

I will not try to sell you more than you need :wink:

 

[Escudo]

What ho Chris,

Where abouts in Norfolk are you?

I am not sure I can be of much help with advising on tools / machinery although I have some idea of which are the best makes. It certainly pays to have the best tools.

I wonder if the best solution might be to visit a few of the workshops of some of our friends on this forum? Assuming they would assist.?

I found it very useful to chat at tool shows like the recent Ally Pally show, maybe you should take in a few shows.

In any event it would be nice to know if you were nearby.

Cheers,

Esc.

 

[Chris U]

Thanks for the info on the EZ system. I went to Sawmill Creek and registered in order to contact Dino but my registration was deleted because it didn't meet their membership requirements and I was refered to their terms of service. I can't see what what was wrong.

 

[Chris U]

Hello Escudo
I live in Fakenham, my workshop is in Syderstone.
I don't have time to attend any shows, I need to start work as soon as possible. I have just about decided on an Axminster C4 panel saw to handle the 8x4 sheets. I'll see how I get on with that and decide on a table saw or combi machine if I find it necessary.

 

[ByronBlack]

Hi Chris,

I like your cabs, very nice! Are they retro-fit or do you supply them direct to amp makers?

In terms of the festool (It's really the dogs nuts!) All you really need is the TS55 saw with whatever size guide-rail you want, I suggest one for the length of the 8'x'4 and one for the width. I would add a small extractor to keep dust down. You don't need the festool one for that. I have a trend one which was about half the price. Thats it really, festool I don't think can be beaten for cutting down sheet goods, the saw is amazingly accurate, and the guides are very good.

If you find your doing a lot of smaller cuts, you could add a festool MFT (Multi-function table) this will allow you to use the same saw (TS55) as a mitre and cross-cut saw, which is excellent for repeat cuts, and i'm assuming you'll need to make many batch cuts - so it would be ideal for that application.

I don't want to go down the Festool Vs the EZ debate again, but i'll say that the festool gives you a large company backup for warrenty, support and additional tools.

For example, if you bought the MFT, you can easily add one of their superb routers to it, so now you have a guide rail system for the router, i'm assuming beside the saw, a good router will probably your most used tool.

I hope that helps a little. If your ever over near essex, your welcome to pop in for a demonstration.

 

[Alf]

Thanks for the info on the EZ system. I went to Sawmill Creek and registered in order to contact Dino but my registration was deleted because it didn't meet their membership requirements and I was refered to their terms of service. I can't see what what was wrong.

They require a full name - might be the problem?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Chris U]

Thanks for the info on the EZ system. I went to Sawmill Creek and registered in order to contact Dino but my registration was deleted because it didn't meet their membership requirements and I was refered to their terms of service. I can't see what what was wrong.

They require a full name - might be the problem?

Cheers, Alf

I used my full name.

 

[Colin C]

I don't want to go down the Festool Vs the EZ debate again, but i'll say that the festool gives you a large company backup for warrenty, support and additional tools.

For example, if you bought the MFT, you can easily add one of their superb routers to it, so now you have a guide rail system for the router, i'm assuming beside the saw, a good router will probably your most used tool.

Hi BB

I also dont want to start a EZ v Festool but how does that first comment on start one :?

Dino may be a smaller company but you still get support ( do you say the same for people that get they table saws from the US ).

Hopefully at Philly's bash we can do some side by side tests to see if the EZ is behind the Festool.


Chris

I think that Alf may have got your problem or you can go to the EZ site to contact him from there.

Good luck and I hope you get what you ned as there is a lot of choice.

 

[Chris U]

Hi Chris,

I like your cabs, very nice! Are they retro-fit or do you supply them direct to amp makers?

If your ever over near essex, your welcome to pop in for a demonstration.

The cabs you see there are built to fit readily available chassis. All those amps are ones I have built myself. I intend to make these cabinets available to DIY amp builders as well as my trade contacts.
Thanks for the offer of a demo, I recently moved from Upminster, it's a shame I didn't know then.
I considered the C4 because as I understand it, the saw position is set, the sheet is moved along it's length to cut, the saw doesn't have to be moved for subsequent cuts and all the pieces will be the same size.
The Guide rail system looks like it has to be repositioned and measured for each cut in which case I wont be able to get exactly the same result. I'm sure that can't be the case though but I haven't seen an explanation I can understand. I am not a woodworker, I don't understand the various terms used. I only relate to what I need to do to make my cabinets.
I need to be able to cut perfectly square edges and consistent sizes. Dowelled Butt joints and dovetails or box joints will be my methods.
I have seen combi machines with mortice facilities and spindle moulders, thicknessing planes etc, they sound like I could use them but I don't have a clue, ie can I use the spindle moulder to round over the edges on my cabinets once they are assembled? If not all I need is a router. I dont need to do morticing, or do I? I don't need a thicknesser unless I buy the wrong wood for the battens. I do need to find the best method of cutting out the aperture for the front panel and vent slots, so far I have tried drilling holes at the corners and cutting with a jig saw - that's hopeless, a hacksaw blade was about the best I could come up with.

 

[Colin C]

Hi Chris

As I have a better idea of what you are doing

I use the EZ and I will post some bits that will do all you need but I will have to it later, if thats ok.

 

[ByronBlack]

Chris, I would advice against a combo machine, it's a bit overkill for just making up some cabs.

Usig a guide rail system is very accurate, the only main difference with a panel saw, is that you would measure out your lines on the workpiece, and then cut out. If you want to batch cut them, you could put three pieces together (depending on the thickness) and cut them at the same time, i've done that quite a few times with the festool, and the accuracy is to within a 10th of a mill.

For rounding over edges, I think a decent router is the order of the day, it might be worth considering a router table if your going to add small moulding/profiles to the edge of the sheet goods.

Thicknesser - again, probably overkill for you as your mostly working in sheet goods, a handplane will quickly bring any battens to size. If I were in your shoes, I would concentrate on which system you prefer to cut your sheet goods, and then think about what tooling you need for the other parts of the production.

What sort of amps do you make? I was thinking of buying a new one after playing about with a Laney LC15 - nice tone for such a small amp.

 

[Chris U]

Well, I didn't realise it was 3 years ago that I started this thread.
Anyway, I bought a C4 vertical panel saw and a Metabo PK255 table saw. These have been fine for my needs - and I have not had to replace the blades yet. I also made a routing table out of a sheet of 15mm birch ply and mounted a 1/2" router to it. As I got into the swing of it, I found it a pain to keep changing router bits on my 1/4" hand router so I ended up buying 5 cheapo routers from Focus. They were a fantastic bargain at £9 each in the sale and serve their purpose well. I found a local supplier of cheap wood - water damaged etc- for making the battens, and got a thicknesser from Axminster which cleans up this old wood nicely.
Here's a link to some pics of my work http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v173/ ... /Cabinets/
Now I am trying to find out about CNC machinery, I need to be able to turn out more work in less time.