Slider Questions

[Dan Schmidt]

1 - for those of you who use sliders to rip 4x8 sheets, is such a support on the sliding bed necessary (shown here with red arrow) to support the back left corner of the sheet?

2 - for those of you with Felder units specifically, do you have the new swing-away overhead blade guard as shown (green arrow)? Experiences good/bad?


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Dan

[Jim Becker]

"Highly recommended". You want to be able to keep the sheet from deflecting...even with it clamped down, there's a bit of weight that could cause it to move off accurate. On my MiniMax slider, I have a miter bar setup in that position (factory supplied) and it serves the purpose when I'm working with a full sheet. I just adjust it's position so it supports without binding. A miter bar in that position is actually quite handy...when doing delicate cross cutting of things, pushing through the blade gives better support and doesn't require clamping.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

1. Yes. Even cutting full-size 5x5 BB plywood is troublesome without the infeed end (near your standing position) support. No experience with full size, longitudinal 4x8 sheet cutting (K3's 79" limit), but can imagine that it would be just as bad without such a support.

2. I'd get it. I have the Euro II saw guard on my saw. It works OK, but I can't use a riving knife that is lower profile. I have to take off the standard riving knife and the guard every time I use the blade to make a kerf-size dado. Annoying!

[David Kumm]

Also go the airtightclamps.com and look at the pneumatic clamps. Felder makes some too but I think the Airtight are more flexible. Not cheap but if you are into a new Felder you are used to that. Dave

[Erik Loza]

...for those of you who use sliders to rip 4x8 sheets, is such a support on the sliding bed necessary (shown here with red arrow) to support the back left corner of the sheet?...

In my opinion, yes. It is standard with with all Minimax panel-length sliders, by the way. Not sure about other vendors...




Regarding overhead saw guards and speaking only for my customers, most with 315mm saws don't order that option. It's standard (required) on any saw over 350mm but from a usability standpoint, I don't it necessarily better or faster than the regular plastic guard.

Erik

[Kevin Jenness]

I have never seen the rear panel support used in commercial shops. It's easy enough to support the left rear sheet corner with your left hand for the first dust cut and subsequent rips require less support at that point. I'm sure it could be handy, but not required in my opinion.

[Joe Calhoon]

We worked for years without the rear support. We have one now, nice when I remember to use it but for sheet goods you can get by without. Mounting a parallel fence to those supports is a good thing though.
As Dave mentioned the Airtight clamps are the biggest improvement we made to our slider.

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Usefull for jobs like this though
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[Dan Schmidt]

Lot's of agreement about Airtight clamps. I can only assume the real benefit here is for high volume / commercial applications. I can see how pneumatic clamps would be faster for repeat operations. For a serious hobbiest, I don't see the value, but I'm also learning a ton, so.....

[Kevin Jenness]

And for a cheapskate's alternative...

[Joe Calhoon]

Lot's of agreement about Airtight clamps. I can only assume the real benefit here is for high volume / commercial applications. I can see how pneumatic clamps would be faster for repeat operations. For a serious hobbiest, I don't see the value, but I'm also learning a ton, so.....

Dan, we are only a 2 man shop with every job one off. Not speed but they add safety and accuracy. You don't need stuff like this right away. Make a clamp like Keven shows or get the Felder manual clamp. The Fritz and Franz jigs will take you a long way for working with solid work. They are easy to make.

[Jim Becker]

Dan, here's a photo of my slider with the rear miter gage that I also use to support "that end" of a full sheet for ripping.

[James Baker SD]

I have the most recent green painted version of the KF700S. I have the old style overhead blade guard, love it and would never trade it for the mount on the riving knife guard. My only complaint is it I wish they had come out with the pivoting version earlier.
Another endorsement here for Mac's clamps. I use them for safety, not for speed. In slave mode though, they are probably quite a bit faster than manually throwing two mechanical clamps at each end of the table for large sheets or long rips.

[David Kumm]

Agree, the clamps are about safety but also make the hobby even more fun. Hobbies are about what makes you relax and in my world, good machines ( not necessarily new ), clamps, and auto blast gates make me feel good. Clamps on a slider also serve to keep the ply tight to the table. Not so huge if you use scoring, but very helpful when making dados as they are hard to keep at the same depth. Mac's are adjustable to slant towards the fence +- to eliminate the tendency of the clamp to move the stock from the fence. Dave

[Jim Becker]

I agree about clamping. Safety is obvious, but the quality of the cut is improved when the material is held fast to the wagon through the cut. "glue line" quality.

I also find that stuff like that helps slow the pace a little and that means less chance for accidents and a lower incidence of, um...mistakes...

[Dan Schmidt]

Thanks guys. I'm a tinkerer at heart so I will have fun playing with the Airtight clamps someday. To start I'll use manual sorts until I get the feel of the beast.
Thanks for the pic Jim. I think Felder offers an optional / shorter miter bar at that end. It sits on top of the short extension I highlighted in my original post. I'll certainly be adding that option. Ugh... options options options.... I'm going to need to cut this off soon..... :-)