need a good square cut on a 4" thick billet.. suggestions??

[David Coburn]

I need to make a very precise cut of a 4" x 4" x 50" glue-up. Think of it as a perfect 4by4 of hard maple that is 50" long. I need to cut both ends such that they will be perfectly square to the 50" sides. In other words I should be able to put a good combination square on the base and its' length run flat against the sides (on all four sides)...

My problem is by table-saw (where I would normally make this cut) only comes up about 3" so that won't handle it. The tools that I have available to me are as follows:
1) standard 10" cabinet saw
2) 18" Rikon bandsaw
3) Pretty decent router table setup
4) lots of hand tools and power tools
5) Planer, Jointer, Drill press, Lathe (but I don't see how these would apply)

I also can most likely find a local cabinet shop or something where I can make the cut if I have to.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks,
david

[David Peterson]

Can't you just use the table saw? First pass can get you over half way there. Flip it and finish the cut from the other side? I did this a lot before getting a bandsaw. You'll want to devise a stop of some kind to make sure the second cut is precisely in line with the first. A sled would help with that size stock. With a good sharp blade the table saw will give you the cleanest cut with a minimum amount of clean up.

[David Coburn]

That's where I'm at right now, but in all honesty this really isn't very precise, IMO... IF everything is absolutely square... blade to table (90dg), sled to blade (90), absolutely no slop in sled in slots (maybe yours, not mine), billet is absolutely parallel and flat, etc... All of the these issues (and more) just become more problematic when you flip the billet...


Maybe I'm being a bit type 1 about this, but we're talking wood here, not steel... and we're talking woodworking tools not machine tools... I just think the cut would be considerably more precise if I could do it with either a single cut or some innovative jig or approach that I haven't thought of...

I may be exactly at where you suggest in the final analysis and simply have to take great care with it... but I thought I would throw the question out there first.

thanks,
david

[Kent A Bathurst]

How's about this option:

Cross-cut as deep as you can with the TS, then finish the cut with a handsaw? Probably leave the hand-cut 1" section slightly proud, and go at it with a handplane to get the full end cut dead-nuts flat.

[Lee Schierer]

Mark your piece all the way around for your cut line. If your miter gauge is sloppy in the miter slot, then get rid of the slop by putting some UHMW tape on the sides of the miter bar. Or make a good cut off sled that fits the miter slots. Then make the first cut on your TS. Rotate the piece 90 degrees so the cut faces the blade and with the saw off carefully align the cut with the blade teeth. Make the second pass and rotate the piece once more aligning the cut with the teeth. Make the final cut and you should have a perfectly flat ans square end. Try this the first time closer to the end of the piece than where you want the finished cut to be.

[glenn bradley]

That's where I'm at right now, but in all honesty this really isn't very precise, IMO... IF everything is absolutely square... blade to table (90dg), sled to blade (90), absolutely no slop in sled in slots (maybe yours, not mine), billet is absolutely parallel and flat, etc... All of the these issues (and more) just become more problematic when you flip the billet...

If you use a stop to set the billet position, flipping the piece should be no problem. If your saw alignment and sled stability are as you describe, maybe there is a reliable machine nearby that you could make a few cuts on(?). An accurately aligned tablesaw and sled would be my choice. I clamp a stop block to my fence (or rig something else if the reach is beyond my fence) to allow an exact repeat of my blank's position.

On longer pieces as you describe I make sure I have good support all the way through the cut. Forcing your stock to "stay still" while performing a cut is a sure invitation to inaccuracy. With the stock well supported and a reliable setup "stop", I would not hesitate to cut 2-1/16", flip the blank and finish the cut.

P.s. your stop block would have to be sized to meet the entire end of the blank as I assume the end is not currently square enough to use as a reference except by the "most proud" point. That is; You want to be sure that whatever part of the blank you are referencing from is always used as the reference point.

[John McClanahan]

I agree with others on using the table saw. As you know, if the blade isn't at true 90 deg. it will leave a mark. You can minimize this somewhat by setting the blade to cut thru just over half way for each cut, rather than cutting most of the way then flipping.

[David Coburn]

Thanks everyone.... several good ideas above to integrate into the cut... Looks like the sled (improved with a little UHMW tape to get rid of the slop), cut half way, flip, finish off with my saw, plane to flat....

Don't see how I can use a stop block though since my billet is 50" long and my sled is maybe 20" to the left of the blade....

Glen, you said " Forcing your stock to "stay still" while performing a cut is a sure invitation to inaccuracy"... Could you go into this a bit more, please?

[Neil Brooks]

Count me in the camp that says -- in effect -- if your TS isn't capable of doing this (other than pure depth-of-cut reasons), that it's time to whip that thing into shape

Otherwise ... I'd like my shop to be capable of doing about 95% of what I need to do. For the other 5%, I'm happy to call the local cabinet shops and toss a few bucks and a few beers their way for things like this, if they ARE beyond the capacity of my shop.

Good luck !

[Rod Sheridan]

One of the local cabinet shops will have a 12 inch or larger sliding saw capable of making the cut in one pass.

That's what I would do...........Rod.

[David Peterson]

I would screw a 55" member to the sled to act as a temporary fence, then clamp my stock securely to that. This would provide a mount for a stop block. Supporting the outside length is going to be important. An adjustable height roller stand might help.

[Justin Chen]

How about using one of those edge clamp guides and circular saw?

Miter saw with appropriate side supports?

[Neil Brooks]

How about using one of those edge clamp guides and circular saw?

Miter saw with appropriate side supports?

I like these ideas, too.

I could easily do this with my 1956 DeWalt MBF radial arm saw, but only because I know it's dialed in for perfect crosscuts.

[Frank Drew]

You can often mount a larger blade than a saw's nominal size, it just won't retract all the way below the saw's top (but you don't care about that in this case.) You could cut a 12" disc from plywood, bore a hole for the arbor, then see if this would work on your machine.

But if this is just one 4x4, two cuts, then, as others have mentioned, the easiest thing might be to find a local shop with a saw that could handle it, accurately, in one cut.

[Steve Jenkins]

David, If you want, you are welcome to come by and I'll cut it for you. We can do it in one pass on my table saw. I wouldn't charge you anything to do it. My number is 469 742-9694. I'm about 10 miles east of McKinney past New Hope.