how do I cut a eight foot sheet of plywood, six inches wide, straight without one of those EZ guide. I have a table saw and a radial arm saw.
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Rip it with whatever assist, jigs you have for the table saw at 6 1/2," or 7" and then rip it to you desired 6" always with the factory edge against the fence. This will give you a manageable piece that can safely and accurately be ripped.
It can be done on a table saw with a fence, but to do it safely you need a helper to help with the weight. Even so, there will still be a bit of roughness to the cut because it is hard to push a full sheet through without it wiggling a bit. Don't raise the blade higher than necessary.
If you want a precise cut, one way is to cut the strip a bit oversize, say by 1/4 or 1/2 inch, then reset the fence and cut the much more manageable strip to the final dimension.
Another way is to use the circular saw and make a guide out of a straight board. You could use the factory edge of another sheet of plywood as the guide. Usually a 2 x 4 won't work because there isn't much clearance below the motor and a 2 x 4 is too thick to go under it. Set the blade just deep enough to penetrate the plywood by 1/4" or so. The guide strip needs to be wide enough so the clamps are out of the way of the saw motor as you pass them by.
When using the circular saw I generally set the sheet on four 2 x 4's on the ground because it is more stable, but it can be done by setting the 2 x 4's on sawhorses.
Hire a professional.
Hire a professional
LOL. That's just beatiful! It's as if Brownbagg was responding to his own post.
how is a professinal going to do it. I wish I had a panel saw.
OK, I was just trying to be you for a moment. The Presidents speech inspired me.Similar to what Andy said, but if you have a straightedge around (given all your welding, I'm thinking you must have some 8' flat stock kickin around) measure the distance from your blade to the edge of the shoe (base plate of your circular saw), clamp it and rip away. Or srew down a straight piece of 1x6 or so, instead of clamping.
I'd do it freehand using my pencil as an extension guide.
How true does the piece have to be? I suppose I could plane the edge if I didn't get it perfect.
blue
A lotta folks would just draw a line and free hand it with a circular saw, especially if I have a table saw to clean up the edge.
I don't see what is so difficult about this.
Norm, I don't even bother drawing the line. Anything less than the table width is easiest but I'm not opposed to using a stick or my pencil to create a moving fence/guide.
blue
as in sub it out???Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I was going to suggest he ship the ply to you, you would rip them and send them back. Everybody is happy and no fingers are lost.
that's a plan...
but I'm already missing fingers so we're go to go..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Get a sheet of 1/2 in. ply - decent stuff like birch or UL grade fir. Snap a line about 3 in. in from the edge and rip that chunk off, preserving that factory edge. Snap another line 12 in. in and rip that guy off.
Measure the distance from the blade of your circ saw to the edge of the base. It's probably about 5 1/2 in. Screw and glue the 3 in. wide piece to the 12 in. wide piece just a bit further from the edge than the distance from the saw blade to the edge of the base, making sure the factory edge of the 3 in. piece faces that way. Now, using the 3 in. piece to guide the edge of your saw, cut off the exess from the 12 in. piece. There's quite a bit of the 12 in. board left on the other side of the 3 in. piece, and that's to give you room for clamps.
You've now got a zero clearance rip guide for the cost of a sheet of plywood.
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Best approach is to clamp a board to the plywood and rip it a hair wide, using a rotary hand saw ("Skilsaw"). Then trim it up on the table saw, using the fence.
It's a hair dangerous (at least for the health of the saw) to use a full sheet on the table saw, since it's so easy to get the board cocked and jam the saw blade. It **can** be a bit better if you have a helper, but it needs to be someone who knows when to push/pull, how to keep things straight, etc. It also helps a lot if you have table extensions, or at least can fake some with sawhorses, etc.
I'd use a straight edge and a circular saw. I assume you have one of them in addition to the table and radial arm. otherwise I'd use the tablesaw, but that can get dicey unless you have a large table.
Depends whats on hand. If I have a nice straight board or another sheet good, I use that. Worst case cut the piece larger than you need and clean the cut on the table saw.
Personally I would never try to cut a full sheet of stock alone on a contractor sized table saw. Thats really the main thing I use my circle saw for.
My Dad told me that a table saw is not for cutting plywood (I own a Powermatic 66 so it's not that the saw isn't good enough)
Get a piece of 1/4 or 3/8" ply 8-9' long. Rip a strip with a Skil saw, put the factory edge against the table saw fence and rip a strip about 8" wide. Do it again with a strip about 2-3" wide. Glue the smaller strip on top of the larger strip. They don't need to be very parallel. When you are done, you will have a sandwich that has the 2 pieces with both edges one on top of the other, and a section of the lower, wider piece hanging out to the side. THEN, take your electric hand saw (whatever that is - it doesn't matter) put your saw plate against the smaller piece on top of the bigger piece and run your saw thru. The off cut piece is waste - What is left is a rip guide that aligns perfectly with the cut line. A couple of clamps to secureit and you can cut a big piece of plywood by yourself with no risk.
Rich
PS Ask me sometime to describe the piece of plywood that hit me in the gut from a 12" table saw..... :-(
What's you dad do for a living? Engineer?
With the proper blade, you can make perfectly clean, straight, cuts in ply using a tablesaw.
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Dad died in 1992. He was a carpenter or cabinet maker most of his life. Damn smart man - Proud to be his son! )
Rich
PS He also said when you're walking carry something both ways...
No offense intended.
Merely perplexed as to why myths like the one about not cutting ply on a tablesaw persist.
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
It isn't that you can't cut plywood on a table saw. You can. It is that there are better easier ways to do it, and cutting a big sheet of ply on a table saw has a higher potential for disaster than is necessary.
RT
The tablesaw is not meant for cutting plywood?... I suppose you have certain bridge you're gonna try and sell to me now!
Same as I told the other guy. A 4 x 8 sheet of plywood is awful big, and to try to cut it alone or with a helper who is not VERY experienced has a big downside potential! It is much easier to use a homemade plywood rip fence and a skilsaw with a good blade. If the final cut needs to be perfect, cut it an 1/16" over and then run it thru the table saw.
Rich
BTW I have had and used table saws for over 40 years, so it's not like I haven't tried to use a table saw to cut plywood: It's just that I didn't like the results!
I think we're talking about two different table saws. You're probably talking about the smaller field saws which are indeed difficult to run a full sheet off on. I'm thinking about the bigger shop saws, 3 hp and up. When I had my woodshop, I had a wonderful setup for cutting lots of sheet goods, a feeder, the works. There was a mobile table that I would put the plywood onto and roll it right into position to feed it through onto outfeed and side tables the size of an aircraft carrier. You gotta have the room.
When I'm on the job I mostly do what the others say, rough cut and then clean it up on my field tablesaw. If the table saw is not around I use a saw guide that I always caryy in my truck. You can make a guide real quick in a pinch out of scrap ply and lumber. Done it many times.
Jer,
Actually, I'm talking about a Powermatic 66 w/ a Biesemeyer 50" fence. I don't have the off feed extensions at the back of the saw and that is why I don't like to use a table saw for cutting plywood. Besides, it is easier with a rip-strip portable fence and a Skil saw.
Rich
I agree if you're only doing one or two rips, but if i had a choice between the Skillsaw and a full set up cabinet saw with outfeeds I would go for the latter.
"PS Ask me sometime to describe the piece of plywood that hit me in the gut from a 12" table saw..... :-("Small tablesaw...he,he,he...Judo Chop!(well I guess it could be a hegner)
Edited 5/16/2006 5:02 am by LEMONJELLO
Don't laugh. People have been killed that way.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
O.K. It was supposed to be a joke. Not said as a smart@ss. I was picturing a tablesaw with a 12"x12" top and ripping a sheet on that. Joke police got me. Thats what I get when reading the jokes thread then looking at other threads.I truly apologize if I have offended.I myself have a Dewalt 746 Hybrid Saw and I respect it. Same as I do with firearms. Both deadly in thier own right but usefull and enjoyable if respected.
Judo Chop!
I got a nice scar the shape of a number 7 from jamming up a piece of black walnut about 12 years ago. Just last month put a hole in my garage wall doing a similar thing. Should have posted here first to ask how to use a table saw.
I have the kick back hole in the wall thing to...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"I have the kick back hole in the wall thing to..."
I was trying to cut a stack of small plexiglass panes on the table saw a coupla weeks ago. Yes I know, not really the best tool for this...
They caught and sailed right out of the barn door, some more than 50 feet. Good thing I was standing to the side at the time. Guess that's how you learn to respect the saw.
what's impressive is when a 2by sails 20 feet and punches a hole in a CMU....
ya leave it there as a reminder to all...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The shop at my architecture school was on the 4th floor adjacent to a parking lot. I guess after a few projectiles sailed through the windows and then down on the cars below, they put up wire mesh over the windows.
is that like trying to rip with a radial arm?
be a javelin thrower
half of good living is staying out of bad situations
never done that myself...
lack nerve I guess...
tell us about yur experience rez...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Not much to say. Years back ripping 2xs on a radial when she caught and flew into a piece of osb I had over a window opening.
Stuck in there like a dart buried in a dart board only protruding out the other side.
Not as much nerve as stupidity.
don't be one ALTHOUGH GUNNER IS:o)
half of good living is staying out of bad situations
"what's impressive is when a 2by sails 20 feet and punches a hole in a CMU...."
Whoa! Now that would be something to see (from a safe distance).
Sounds like something 'Q' would demonstrate to 007.
Snowman
I have a similar incident, I was cutting a rabbit on a piece of wood, knowing full well not to have the off fall up against the fence.
Well I broke the rules this time and when the little 3/8 X 3/8 piece of wood came out of the saw it was moving like an arrow. I was standing at the side of the saw to pull the rabbitted piece out and all I saw was a little flutter of the blanket that was hanging up over the window directly behind the saw.
I pulled the blanket back and there was a hole in the window and the piece of wood was about 30' out in the yard!
I remember that every time I start to do something stupid!
Doug
Edited 5/16/2006 2:29 pm ET by DougU
.....I have a similar incident, I was cutting a rabbit on a piece of wood, knowing full well not to have the off fall up against the fence.
I don't think that's sanitary, plus it's not much fun for the rabbit.
when you was cutting the rabbitt, did fur get everywhere.
I was cross cutting a 6"x6" piece of 5/4 cherry. I needed to take a half inch off. Too ignorant to take the ripping blade off the table saw. Heard a bang and felt something hit me in the gut. A piece of cherry hit me and flew across the room. Some blood and pain but could have been worse. That was many years ago when I was more stupid than I am today.
Now I take it slower, use the right blade, and stand off to the side. If I live to be about 120 yrs I might lose a significant amount of stupidity.
"With every mistake we must surely be learning"
Mike
I've heard of people dieing from that very same thing.
They take the hit to the gut and yea, it hurt but they brush it off only to die in there sleep later that night of internal injuries!
Sometimes I wonder how it is that I'm still alive, gotta be someone upstairs watching out for my stupid azz.
Doug
Rich.
The tablesaw was invented before the panel technology.
Your father was right.
Jer.
Howdoyoudo?
YCF
Set the fence on your tablesaw to 6"
Rip the sheet of plywood into strips.
Pick the best one.
Gord
Isn't that going to waste a lot of plywood? Why not rip one piece a bit wider and clean it up afterward? Then, you still have most of the sheet intact.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I give you good credit for the title of this thread.
what kinda ply ... what thickness ...
and what's it for.
also ... are we cutting one ... or as many 6" x 8' pieces as we'll get?
and ... exactly 6" .. or close?
in most situations ... I'd measure off 6" from each edge ... this is with the ply laying good side down on a rack of 2x4's laid over sawhorses ... the rack is for even support ...
make those tic marks bigger by penciling the speed square over them ...
then chalk line.
cut following the chalk line with the circular saw.
If I'm building cab's ... I'd use my straight edge ...
or most likely ... set up the roller stand next to the saw and one as an outfeed ...
and run it thru the table saw ...
as that's what they're made for no matter who's dad told them different.
if I don't need to conserve materials ... no roller stands ... just set the fence at 24" ...
rip it once down the middle ... then set the fence exactly at 6" and rip the strips like a man.
Jeff
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Jeff headed in the right direction by asking questions.
Just how accurate do you want it to be?
If you are wanting a perfect edge with no grain tear-out, use a router to cut the piece.
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." Voltaire
Man, feels like I just steped through the looking glass...
"a table saw is not for cutting plywood"
"use a router to cut the piece"
"do it freehand using my pencil as an extension guide"
"Rip the sheet of plywood into strips. Pick the best one."
Guess the title inspired everyone - LOL!
Yep, that's what roller stands are for - thanks, Jeff, for a little sanity!
Edited 5/16/2006 12:10 am by wrudiger
Use an axe. Make sure it's sharp.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
use the table saw...
have somebody catching if ya got somebody..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Someone to catch them or a good outfeed arrangement. Unless there's contact with the side of the blade and it wants to kick the piece back, it'll go right through. Unless I have just been lucky, I've cut a lot of sheet goods and never had a problem, either with roller stands or saw horses. Almost every time I had someone catching it, they moved it sideways into the fence or blade. This way, I can make sure the sheet goes straight into the blade."I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Having someone else catching is a big part of it. And that person has to be reasonably familiar with table saws too, so they know how to hold the workpiece against the fence.The danger of a kickback causing injury with a full sheet is probably small, due to the mass/inertia of the plywood, but the danger of jamming the blade and wrecking the workpiece and/or damaging the saw is significant, if the workpiece gets cocked at all. Especially likely if the plywood won't lay flat, or the table is so narrow (with no side extensions) so that the workpiece is trying to lift up. So you have to maintain fairly significant downward pressure on the workpiece, in addition to pressing it against the fence and pushing it forward.This complex motion also increases the danger of getting your hand in the blade, which hazard is further abetted by the likely need to remove the blade guard. Push sticks, of course, don't do much good on a full sheet.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I think you nailed it when you referred to a table that's not wide enough because it just isn't very safe to cut that way. Downward pressure in addition to whatever it takes to make the sheet go through the blade is a little more than someone needs to try to do. Kind of like patting your head, rubbing your belly and riding a unicycle while trying to read a book or sing. With 7' rails on my saw, I'm not worried when I need to rip a sheet but the amount I need to remove from its length determines the way I make the first cut. Sometimes, I'll put it on sawhorses and use a circular saw (or jigsaw- depending on what's out) and make the final cut on the TS. If I need to cut anywhere close to 1/2 of the length, I can just set the fence to the dimension since I can go to 53" to the right of the blade and catch it with sawhorses. Soon enough, I'll have an actual outfeed table that I can raise and lower so it'll be even easier.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
'Bagg, is this another one of your sociology experiments? <G>
Andy gave you the answer in post #5 (assuming you have a circ saw) that will give you dead-on accurate results every time.
And here we are at 53 posts and counting.
OK, here is another idea. Given all the well-intended concern, it's the only one that I could think of that would be faster, safer, easier, and more accurate.
Well-equipped cabinet shops will have a table saw made by Altendorf. It has a sliding table made to accomodate full sheets, and all of the settings are digitally controlled, often linked to a computer.
These saws will cut MDF to a tolerance of a few thousandths of an inch. You don't need a helper or outfeed rollers because the table slides.
Take your sheet goods to the cabinet shop with a 12-pack and ask them to cut it for you.
Just remember that the last rip won't be 6 inches wide.
How 'bout we compromise, and just buy the Altendorf?Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Oh h#ll yes!But you'll have to keep it at your place. If that's OK, that is. <G>Anybody sees me get off'n a dozer to make cabinet parts and we're gonna have a credibility problem.
Well, I might have to kick my old Grizzly contractor's saw out into the continuous New England rain, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
BTW, your dozer wouldn't be much good 'round here right now. Nothing more pathetic than a tracked machine buried in mud up to the pan. Walking through my back yard tonight, the ground went, "squish". And we're about 100 ft. higher than the nearest watercourse!Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
A sunk dozer is a sad sight (and a sad site) indeed, but here is worse;http://www.blancheequipment.com/dirty.htmlhttp://www.blancheequipment.com/dirty2.htmlStill rainin'?
Wow. There are some things a man should never see, and the bottom of an excavator is one of them.
Well, we had sun yesterday. But it's raining again. The bright side, as I see it, is that the more riverfront property that floods and becomes uninhabitable, the more my high and dry property is worth. That's cold comfort for many, though.
I was talking to a local excavator about buying load of topsoil. He said he'd have to bring it in a tank truck.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
<<Wow. There are some things a man should never see, and the bottom of an excavator is one of them. >>As Larry The Cable Guy says, "Now THAT'S funny, I don't care who you are."I'm gonna have to borrow that line for safety briefings.Done raining there yet? Need plans for an ark?
Done raining. Calling for frost tonight now.Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Oh great.So now we have a small dozer sunk up to its top track AND frozen.See if I ever come over to your house to fix the driveway again during monsoon season.Dateline Newtown-- Two men in Southwestern Connecticut are likely facing criminal prosecution in the largest environmental catastrophe in recent memory, according to the State's Attorney Office. Apparently it all started when they attempted to repair a driveway during the recent wet weather.According to reports filed by the Connecticut State Police with the Diastrict EPA office, the men sank a dumptruck up to the frame in the driveway, attempted to pull the truck out with an antique Farmall tractor, sank that, brought a small dozer, and sank that, too. They then brought a large excavator, which was also buried up to the top track.The two men then placed timbers under the machines in an effort to free them. Unseasonably low temperatures that evening caused the mud surrounding the vehicles and equipment to freeze.Eyewitneses report smoke and small explosions the following morning, visible as far away as Waterbury. Investigators surmise that the two men ignited a mixture of diesel fuel, gasoline, and drain oil in an attempt to thaw the mud and free the stuck equipment. While the local volunteer fire company was able to contain the blaze by mid-morning, investigators say that a mixture of fuel and hydraulic oil was found in rivers up to fifteen miles from the scene.Police say they are skeptical of the mens' testimony during the initial investigation. Both men insisted that they were the only ones involved, but police say they cannot correlate that statement wth the number of beer bottles found at the scene.In an unrelated incident, a local liquor store was robbed, and while all of the imported beer and Scotch in the store was taken, the money was still in the open cash register and no other merchandise was disturbed. Investigators are particularly puzzled that the method of entry involved removing the entire front of the store. Police report that they have no leads in the investigation at this time.
Did you guys ever see the video of them trying to pull a car out of the bay somewhere? I'm guessing from the appearance of things it was somewhere in Europe. A mobile crane is brought in to raise a car (I think) out of the drink where it apparently rolled in next to a dock. The crane topples in.A big crane is brought in to raise the small crane. It topples in.An EVEN BIGGER crane is brought in to raise the big crane. Guess what? Splash!
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
In an update to the previous report, the Roxbury Inland Wetlands Commission is now seeking unspecified damages from the two men, and has revoked their passports. The IWC has classified the driveway as a seasonal wetland, and is invoking its regulatory authority.
The men face additional charges of working within 100 ft. of a wetland without the proper permits, failure to install erosion control measures, and evidently, of having clear cut said driveway.
In another local matter, the response time of the local volunteer fire deparment has slowed noticeably in the days since the wetland fire. Rumors of alochol induced malaise are flying, and an abandoned corn crib, a local landmark said to have been a favorite trysting place of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe, burned to the ground despite repeated 911 calls from a neighbor who happened not to be preoccupied with the prior incident. The fire department's 1983 American LaFrance pumper truck remains at the site of the wetlands fire, also buried to its bumpers in a slurry of mud and diesel fuel.
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Edited 5/23/2006 10:01 pm ET by Andy_Engel
We managed to get ourselves into an awful lot of trouble for a couple of guys who were just going out to fix the driveway. <LOL>
>>Well, we had sun yesterday. But it's raining again. The bright side, as I see it, is that the more riverfront property that floods and becomes uninhabitable, the more my high and dry property is worth. That's cold comfort for many, though.I was talking to a local excavator about buying load of topsoil. He said he'd have to bring it in a tank truck.<<See now, if you lived down in the bottom land you would be getting the top soil with delivery, and it would be free!
Catskinner
Those pictures are funny, maybe not for the operator but........
I grew up working on a farm and everytime I got a tractor stuck, which was often enough, the farmer would tell me, "40 acres to turn around in and you had to pick this spot."
I've gotten some tractors stuck pretty bad but never like those pictures.
Doug
Speaking of tractors, have you ever seen the video of a tractor flipping because someone wrapped a tow chain around the axle? Folks think they can stop the tractor if they notice the nose lifting, but the thing's flipped over on it's back in the wink of an eye -- no time to react.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
When I was just a high school kid I was working for a farmer. The farmer owned some very hilly area, when plowing up the hill the front end of the tractor would lift, made for some scarry times. I'd raise the plow out of the ground and only turn over maybe two or three inches of dirt but I wasnt going to flip back.
And you know, no matter how hard you lean forward, that damn tractor aint dropping down!
I personaly know two farmers that lost there life due to fliping the tractor backwards on themselves, not pretty.
Doug
Yeah, but with the plow is that it's self-limiting (one hopes) since as the front end rises it causes more weight to be transferred to the plow, taking the weight off the rear tires. Of course, if the 3-pt hitch were to suddenly suffer a failure it could get interesting.Probably experience with the wheels lifting while plowing, etc, makes people a little less wary of the chain around the axle thing.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Don't cha listen to all this crap about circ saws and such.
Set the plywood on the saw horses, measure 6'' from the edge you want, put the table saw on the plywood upside down, with the blade retracted and ON the line you measured...nail a good 2x4 to the plywood along the edge of the table saw.
Turn on the saw and lower the blade...by now it might just follow the 2x4 all by its self. Don't try to turn off the saw, that might be dangerous..wait till it hits the ground and unplug the christmas lights that you used for an extension cord.
(G< D and R)
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Damm, I miss that stuff
Sphere, I do that all the time. I dont worry about stopping it because it pulls the cord out itself when it's done!
blue
I should not have read these posts. In a previous life I administered anesthesia in the OR and I'll never forget the two patients that I lost on the table, middle aged farmers that had tipped their tractors and were crushed.
We could tell how long you had worked as a log cutter by the number of fingers lost, one lost every five years.
Please be careful out there.
Those pictures remind me of spending a winter building trail with a mini-excavator in the pacific northwet. Spent about a quarter of every day extricating myself from wet, slippery clay. Flipped the machine once, but it was small enough that it could be righted with a couple grip-hoists.zak
"so it goes"
how do I cut a eight foot sheet of plywood, six inches wide, straight without one of those EZ guide. I have a table saw and a radial arm saw.
Buy your lumber where they have a panel saw (like Home Depot). They'll do it for free.
If you actually take this advice, make sure that they're measuring properly. The Home Depot where I shop usually cuts within 1/4" and considers it good. I don't usually ask them for precision, but the last time I was there I had them nick the edge so I could re-measure. They were off by about 1/4". I had them re-adjust the panel saw and this time they were only off by about 1/8". I didn't ask for any more precision than that because I don't think they understood how to get there.
Next time, I will add at least 1/2" to my requirement and re-cut.
-Don
Andy Engels way is the most accurate without an EZ guide. I've used this method for years and the cut is dead on. Good luck!
Cheap, too!Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Have you seen this brownbagg?
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/hvt041.asp
Good stuff there! You're very own EZ-Guide and it's made of WOOD!
D
yep, the whole thing boils down to the question of ease and simplicity in ripping straight cuts in sheetgoods.
Used to use a straightedge and measure over the needed widths to match the marks with the sawblade.
I tried the EZ Guide and now after getting the sheet on the table what is involved is placing the guide on marks and running the saw down the length, often times not even needing the clamps. If one hasn't ever tried it just use one once. Slick as snot on a doorknob.
I can understand the controversies surrounding various straight railguide systems and costs involved. Not discussing futher potentials of the systems and attachments but just the idea of a simple straight sheet cut, can say that it is very efficient, safe, easy to use. precise and thus recommended.
But then again, if someone doesn't cut sheet goods that often, a 2x or straight edge can get the job done and good enough.
be whatever blows yer dress up sweetie
half of good living is staying out of bad situations