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Thread: SawStop Sliding Crosscut Table

  1. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by David Kumm View Post
    Since panels aren't rectangular from the factory, what is the procedure with a track saw? Dave
    don't they have them flip fences for the table but than its like a table saw and you have to buy more fence track. I would get real tired of cutting narrow strips Dave. For $1000 i could fill my shop with sliders. not hard for me as I got a small shop but i am sure you could fill yours for the price of a new one Dave
    Last edited by jack forsberg; 03-12-2015 at 8:59 PM.
    jack
    English machines

  2. #47
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    You know me, Jack. I can't have too many sliders. Dave

  3. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Kumm View Post
    Since panels aren't rectangular from the factory, what is the procedure with a track saw? Dave
    That's the problem. To square a panel you use a square to align the track. The Festool track saw cuts as smooth as my Felder. But at least for me after the first cut you depend on your ability to align the rail to marks on the wood. It works well for many but not me.

  4. #49
    I have just recently purchased a SS PCS and the Sliding Crosscut Table. I'm overall pleased with it. My old unisaw had an Excalibur sliding table that I used for almost 20 years. Neither one have a detent stop for 90 degrees or any other angle for that matter. The Excalibur developed a detent for 90 over time through wear and tear. But the lack of a detent shouldn't be an issue for anyone considering the SS slider. What many may not realize is the fence has a magnified bubble view needle just like the one on the rip fence. Once you get your saw calibrated for 90 degrees it's a snap to hit the 90 mark without a detent. Mine was calibrated perfectly from the factory, btw. So any angle in between is easily achievable using the bubble view needle. Any miter gauge I've owned has detents but I've never trusted any of them to be accurate. The SS slider does not operate like a miter gauge does; rather clumsily. It's a smooth and precise instrument that lets you zero in on any angle very easily and precisely.


    The problem is the stops. It's not that they flex so much but it's that they're out of square. Excalibur's has but a simple L-bracket made out of machined aluminum. Why do they need to be so large? The squareness issue can easily be remedied if the surface area of the paddles are reduced. I'm going to try drilling and tapping a hole in the side of one of them down low so I can insert a machine screw to serve as a standoff for your work piece.

    16752998280_a5553f52f6_z.jpg
    Last edited by Jim Kirkpatrick; 03-26-2015 at 9:03 PM.

  5. #50
    I've seen that crosscut sled, and I would be reluctant to throw a full sheet of 3/4" plywood on it. Might get away with it every once in a while, but a few kitchens worth of cabinet cases (which isn't a lot), and I have a feeling that thing would be a pile of parts.
    I made many a cabinet with a festool tracksaw and a sheet of styrofoam sheathing, down on my knees, and got great results. Just wore me out. At first I would cut everything oversize, then finish cut it on the cabinet saw, then I got pretty confident with the tracksaw, and a crosscutting jig that I made. That & a couple crosscut sleds for the cabinet saw, and you can tackle just about anything.

  6. #51
    Thanks to everyone for their input on the sliding table. I have thought about this for my new PCS (Woodcraft called today it is in) but the price puts me off.

  7. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by joe milana View Post
    I've seen that crosscut sled, and I would be reluctant to throw a full sheet of 3/4" plywood on it. Might get away with it every once in a while, but a few kitchens worth of cabinet cases (which isn't a lot), and I have a feeling that thing would be a pile of parts.
    I made many a cabinet with a festool tracksaw and a sheet of styrofoam sheathing, down on my knees, and got great results. Just wore me out. At first I would cut everything oversize, then finish cut it on the cabinet saw, then I got pretty confident with the tracksaw, and a crosscutting jig that I made. That & a couple crosscut sleds for the cabinet saw, and you can tackle just about anything.
    I wouldn't want to sling a full sheet of plywood on the SS either. One reason I opted to mount the slider rail flush with the front of the saw. I break down my sheet goods the exact same way as you, with my TS75. Then finish up on the SS. Much easier, safer and better reults that way. I don't ever see myself crosscutting anything greater than 30" on the sawstop.

    16930089162_12377fb078_z.jpg
    Last edited by Jim Kirkpatrick; 03-26-2015 at 6:49 PM.

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Jensen View Post
    That's the problem. To square a panel you use a square to align the track. The Festool track saw cuts as smooth as my Felder. But at least for me after the first cut you depend on your ability to align the rail to marks on the wood. It works well for many but not me.
    You can use a MFT to ensure an exact 90 degree cut angle. However, I'd still want to use the Felder.

  9. #54
    I've added a new thread on how to tuneup the flip stops here:

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...09#post2397309

  10. #55
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    Today I saw this on a PCS at a local shop. It is built very well, it should perform well as a large capacity CC sled. But at $1000, no friggin' way.

  11. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Tippin View Post
    I'm buying the SawStop for its safety features. I'm a software engineer by day and 10 working fingers are vital to my livelihood...
    Then Marty you'll be just fine with the slider as your hands aren't near the blade.

    I'm also assuming that you're a careful person who keeps the guards on the machine when in use.

    For me the choice was simple, if I wanted a cabinet saw it would be SS, however as I would never go back to a cabinet saw I didn't buy a SS.

    If you are however someone who removes the primary safety mechanisms during use, then yes you definitely need the secondary safety system.........regards, Rod.

  12. #57
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    Hey Marty,

    Roger Feeley from Reuters here.

    I have the SawStop ICS and would do it again in a heartbeat. The only downside is that the thing weighs a lot and it was a stinker to get out of our basement when we moved from Overland Park to Virginia last December. I had to beef up the stairs and hire riggers to move the SS, bandsaw and some other heavy iron. Cost to move those things from basement to garage was about $1000. But no one was killed and that's a good thing.

    The slider is on my wishlist but not until I get my workshop out of storage. We are building a new house with a basement shop.

    The only complaint I had about the Sawstop was that, because my saw faced away from my basement stairs, it was difficult to know if I had left the saw on (booted up) or not. I talked with SS about it and they said that most people just leave it powered up. My response was that if the electronics should be on all the time, then why was there an off switch? So I wanted a way to indicate that the electronics were one without voiding the warranty. It turns out that there is such a thing as a ground fault relay. The electronics draw about 20ma so I ran the relevent hot wire (my saw is 240v) through the GFR. When the saw is powered up (just electronics), the relay trips and powers on lights above the saw bed. It's easy for me to see that the saw is on when I leave the shop.

  13. #58
    I don't like cutting to pencil marks with my tracksaw either. I got a inca gauge that works with a .5mm pencil which helps a lot but I still prefer stops I set with a steel rule. My track setting jig lets me position the rail without pencil marks. They have stick on rules and adjustable hairline pointers. My Paulk style crosscut jig has a moveable stop. It also cuts square and works for up to 3 feet crosscuts. So a lot of the time I use my tracksaw ithout marks (sometimes I use pencil marks as a rough double check).

  14. #59
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    Marty,

    How hard is it to remove the crosscut fence so you can rip? When I looked at the slider a while back it seemed like kind of a hassle. I just looked at the SS video and verified that you have to use a hex wrench to remove the fence. I would probably replace that with a brass knob of some sort. I'm not too thrilled about having to find a tool to do a simple thing like that.

    Also, do they provide for a spot to store the fence under the slider. That would be a very SawStop type touch.

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Kumm View Post
    Since panels aren't rectangular from the factory, what is the procedure with a track saw? Dave
    There are several 'published' workflows for squaring panels with a track saw, of varying accuracy.

    Use a square and mark a line

    Make a jig

    Attach a square to the rail.

    Use Festool's MFT table and flip-down guide rail - takes ~1 minute to set up accurately using dogs to register the back fence and the rail at 90 degrees, cross cuts limited to 27" on the standard table (people have complained of a little slop in how the flip down rail registers to its 'holder' to lock it at 90-, there are workarounds, I don't have that problem.

    Use an MFT - style table with a uniform grid of holes - build as large a surface as you want - and use bench dogs to register the wood and 'long bench dogs' to hold the rail at EXACTLY 90 degrees, such as the QWAS Rail Dogs http://www.qwasproducts.com/RailDogs.html.

    There are also numerous vendors, including Festool, Seneca, Incra with some add-ons, and Woodpeckers (one-time tool that has expired) who sell 'parallel guides' for making fast, repeatable parallel cuts. These systems are probably faster than using a slider, unless maybe you have pneumatic clamps on the slider. No clamping is needed for the Festool tracks, particularly if you add another row or two of the 'sticky rubber' on the bottom of the rail.

    The MFT approach of using dogs to register the wood and the rail can be very accurate, but if you want to crosscut a 4*8 sheet you are going to need a really large table. Ron Paulk has an interesting design for a large portable torsion-box style knock down MFT style workbench.

    Some people claim to prefer using the Festool track saws to break downsheet goods to their final dimension rather than manhandling the sheets onto their slider. Slide the sheet off your pickup truck onto a raised cutting surface on the drive way, cut to final dimension, carry the lighter cut pieces into the shop. This guy shows a nice workflow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4VTxEGyU0Y

    With Festool's parallel guide extensions you can cut accurate thin strips, e.g. edge banding stock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9EoFR9UqCQ

    Like any tool, you need to invest the time in learning the tool and how to set it up properly.
    Last edited by mark mcfarlane; 07-01-2016 at 5:04 AM.
    Mark McFarlane

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