HI,

I am a part time business owner, and I use 1/2" and 1/4" birch and maple veneer plywood all the time. I rip all 4'x8' sheets longways and make some crosscuts on the ends. Exact 90 degree straight cuts are critical to me. Working by myself it is difficult to rip tthis on my tablesaw by myself.What I am looking to do is make a horizontal cutting table much like a cnc machine. What I mean by this is having an "x" axis that travels 8' down the table, and a "y" axis that travels across the table. The cutter could be either a router or a circular saw mounted on a platform.
I also drill quite a few holes, so I would like to consider adding a drillto this as well. I know it sounds like I need a computerized machine but I don't have the money for it . I am open to comments and suggestins that you may have.

You should be able to use something like this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000224T0/qid=1104546842/br=1-9/ref=br_lf_hi_9//104-9947223-0921527?v=glance&s=hi&n=552946
and convert it to a cnc machine of sorts.




http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000224T0.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://store.yahoo.com/woodsmithstore/panelsawkit.html
I built my own design that I use to crosscut 4x8 sheets for about $150. It only takes up about 18" of wall space. I do all my ripping on my tablesaw.

Thank you for your input, I have been researching on the internet and found something that I am wanting to build. Go to www.bradind.com/bradframes.html. This is what I am trying to accomplish without the cost of this unit. any sugestions?

Are you talking about the panel king? It's basically the same thing Paul and I mentioned. I'd go the vertical route like we mentioned above. Vertical saws are far easier to load, and less space taken up. We have some large vertical panel saws at work, http://www.holzher.com/seite50.htm , that cut both horizontally and vertically.
Although it would take more space than the ones shown above, you could add the ability to move the saw in the x direction.
Not sure what your budget is, but the cost to add CNC to a machine like this probably could be done for maybe 500$ or less, depending on how fast you want to go.

Gerry, The site I mentioned above is what I am looking for because it is easier to build a solid horizontal table than it is to build a vertical one. Where could I get some tracks to to move on?

How about this? http://8020.net/Industrial/linearmotion.asp

Thanks Gerry I will call them and check it out. Let me pry into your knowledge if you don't mind, look at www.rockler.com and search T-TRACK and MITER BAR and tell me if you think this will work. The t-track is aluminum and will hold a 3/4" wide x 3/8" miter bar. The miter bar will fit tightly into the t-track. It does'nt contain any bearings but I don't know if I would need it on a table axis built to be pulled manually. Maybe you can clear up the mud on this thought. Thank you for your help.

I didn't look it up, but I know what you're talking about. I think you'd have a lot of friction, and the aluminum would start to wear somewhat quickly. You'd probably need to lubricate it, which would cause dust to build. I guess I'm trying to say I wouldn't use it. Do you have some type of design in mind? I really have no idea how you plan to do this. Are you basically trying to duplicate the Panel King? And you want it to accomodate 4 x 8 sheets? I'd go with some type of linear bearings to minimize friction.

Gerry
My idea in my original post was to build a horizontal cutting table to accomedate a 4'x8' sheet good. I just found the site for the Panel King just a few days ago, and it basicly confirmed that my thoughts are possible. I have been looking at different bearings but I did'nt know which ones to use. Should I keep looking for an aluminum channel or use a steel pipe as the rail?

I really can't tell you what would work best. It's up to you how you do it. It depends on your budget, and how you want to design it. The Panel King looks basically like a big T-Square.

Home Depot has all the pieces you need to put this together in a weekend. Even better, they have a working model onsite that you can use for piece to piece comparisons. Take a camera and snap some pics so you know how your jigsaw puzzle goes back together when you get home. We did the whole kit without the saw (ours is for a router) for a couple hundred, you can probably do it cheaper but we overbuilt for rigidty.

The pipe is 1-1/4" Electrical conduit pipe - grab 2 of the tallest ones they stock. The U-bolt is SS model 56-2046-629 - 1/4 x 2"x3" - that has about 1/4 clearance between the pipe and the U-Bolt on all sides. Over in the hardware section pull out trays you will find 3/4 nylon spacers with an internal opening of 3/8ths inch. Grab a couple of these, a short elbow of the 1-1/4 pipe and the u-bolts and assemble them all on-site to make sure your clearances are good. You can adjust pipe, bolt & spacers to suit how rigid you want this system, this is the rig that works for me.

Do not buy the the spacers at HD - too expensive, look online you can get a whole bag for like 15 bucks. You load about 15 of these spacers onto each U-bolt thus keeping it centered on the pipe. The rolling action of the spacer self clears itself of dust and you adjust the u-bolt tightness as desired.

The saw / router holder is a little difficult to explain - just checkout the one they use at Home Depot while your there. If you need diagrams let me know I'll snap some pics.

Laff Riot, Yes I do need somepics or some plan to build a trolly with to hold the saw/router. Does yours travel on an x and y axis or does it travel in just one direction? how do you control the travel of the trolley? Interested in your pics if you have any. Yhank you for your idea and comments.

Here are the pics of the original model that we patterned ours on.

The rolling carriage only slides up and down, all models operate the same way. You can see the 4 inverted U-Bolts with nylon spacers on them in the corners of the rolling carriage.

The saw itself sits on a second panel that rotates the saw from vertical to horizontal. You can see the pull knob in the 2nd pic that is pulled out, the saw rotated and the knob placed back into the indicated hole. I found a filed down 1/4" 2" long bolt with a spring around a nut up near the head to be a good alternative to the professional model.

On my version I covered the u-bolts completely with pvc pipe to help cut down on debris getting around the spacers.

To control the movement you tighten down the u-bolts to make it harder to pull down the saw. At the top of the saw carriage is a wire that runs up to a pulley weighted against the saw - we use lead weights on ours.

Notice the roller track on the bottom of the saw that the material slides on.
Also notice the metal strap that pushes the material flat to the carriage. We use a different approach but i recommend the one in the pic, it helps prevent chattering when your pushing from one end.

It loooks good. How is your accuracy on your cuts? More specificly, long 8' rips? How big did you make your horizontal table, 5'x10? or bigger? I would be interested in seeing any pics of the one you built if you have any. Thank you for the information. You may p.m. me if you like.

Just spent all weekend cleaning up for an open-house - lemme get that out of the way before I attack my dust making machine :) I have to take some shrouds off so that you can see how I have stuff connected.

My accuracy is off by 1/8th over 8 feet - this is entirely my fault from using roller wheels for the track that were too soft and got flattened out on the feed end. I used PVC sheet and cut all my spacers and wheels from it... I don't recommend that path.

What was wrong with the u-bolt set-up? It looks like most panel saws are made that way. Im getting ready to make one myself.

@Laff Riot and others, first time posting here you mates are great and this
is where i want to be.............from the great USA.. anyway i'm trying to find
plans for home made Panel Saw, as yall are. i have read the current posts here have been think on about the same ideas you mates are posting, i checked out you pics/attachments you posted, that looks like a store bought
one, i also went to Home Depot found nylon spacers you said and the pipe but
it didn't seem to look right. if your still on these forums could you please PM
me or posts if you don't mind......for more imformation THANKS mates..

TS

HI,
I am open to comments and suggestins that you may have.

I have an off shore knock off of a 10" Delta contractors table saw with a 2 1/2 HP Baldor motor. Transmission is matched v-belts with a variable pitch pulley on the motor that give's me about 5000 rpm at the blade. I have a 4x10 runout table behind the saw and supports for ripping and crosscutting ahead of the saw. I use my own plywood throat blanks and pierce them with the saw blade as necessary. The fence is a Biesemeyer. I work by myself and can rip and cross cut 4x8 sheets of material accurately and with ease. I've owned a Safety Speed Cut panel saw (just like the ones in Home Depot), I built a panel saw out of particle board just for cross cutting and I've used some of the ones you find in the big shops, the Striebig being my favorite.

For accuracy and quality of cut I'd rather use my table saw than the Saftey Speed Cut. With the table saw you can use high quality 10" industrial blades with different tooth styles for different materials. You can run the blades at higher rim speeds (SFM). You can have a more powerful motor. You can also use a blade dampener. With a fresh throat plate and sharp blade I can cut 2-sided Melamine without significant chipping on the back side. You have the mass of the table saw to dampen vibrations which aids in getting a better cut. The table saw mechanism is simple and tight. The Biesemeyer fence allows for quick and accurate dimension changes. Having proper infeed and runout tables makes handling the material particularly in the 1/2"-1/4" range quite easy. I cross cut using the fence as a guide. Diagonals on a half sheet cut are 1/32" or better. The Saftey Speed Cut was great for cutting cdx sheathing and sub-flooring but it was quite frustrating trying to build cabinets with it.

I've got a Unisaw, with a 4x8 outfeed table, but I crosscut full sheets on my homebuilt vertical panel saw. I think it cuts more accurately than a SSC saw. It's adjusted to make perfectly square cuts, and only takes up about 15" of floor space. I use a 7 1/4" Forrest Duraline HI-A/T blade http://www.forrestblades.com/hiat.htm which gives good cuts on both sides of plywood and veneered panels.

To crosscut 4x8 sheets on a table saw, you need a big outfeed table, but you also need to add a side table to support the cutoff pieces. Most people don't have that kind of room in their garages. And I can quickly cut sheets into smaller sizes that are then easy to handle on a table saw. I can also cut 2 sheets at a time with the vertical saw. :)

On ebay at the Reliable Tool store there is a 5'x10' table...still has one more day and it was under $1K.

@ger21........
thanks you guys, ger your on line...........???

yes i have a Unisaw aswell, with a out feed table to. i'm intersted in
Home Built Vertical Panel Saw, your talking about................

i usally cut my 4x8 sheets before there even in the shop.i want to build
a vertical panel saw to use my routers for cutting dadoes for my
cabinet boxes...........i'm not really going to use it for sheet cutting..

thanks again

Mine uses rollerblade bearings riding on 2" EMT conduit. Very similar to a lot of the homebuilt routers here. I got the idea from Fine Woodworking #101 where a guy built a sliding table for his table saw.

@ger21..........
thanks for the reply......
yes someone had mentioned that to me, once before about the rolllerblade bearings.
i actually have bought some, but trying to put 2and 2 together, wonder if i can find
that Fine Woodworking mag Ad somewhere....your pic are great but i can't really
see them to well. talking back at you soon......
thanks again

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6958927627&category=280&ssPageName=WD1V&rd=1

@ger21.........................

is that auction you??? the pics aren't working but anyway..........
that's the magazine with what you build in it? :banana:

No, it's not my auction. And NO, it doesn't have plans for what I've built. But it has a sliding table saw table using pipe and rollerblade bearings that I got the idea from.

ok thanks again i'll check it out......... :banana:

i'll be back............

Hi, I hav'nt posted on this in a while. I been doing a lot of searching, and what I am in the process off building is a 5'x8.5' horizontal table which will allow me to turn 4'x8' sheets in any direction to cut it. The sheets will be fully supported by the table. What I decided to use was a good guide track saw system made by Eurekazone, at www.eurekazone.com. You may think it is crazy, but this darn thing does exactly what it says it does. I have been cutting my 1/4" and 1/2" prefinished veneer plywood, and there is not a splinter nor a chip one left on the cut edge. I actually get a smoother finish than I got on my 10" powermatic tablesaw with a good 60tooth blade. I will try to have some pics soon.