Laguna Sliding Table Attachement

[Paul Sidbury]

Hi,

I do a lot of work with hard plastics and have been struggling with this for the past month. I need to do crosscuts with a router for fairly large pieces. They don't usually go over 2' wide but can go up to 6', 8' long. The problem is they need to be fine, vibration-free, clean cuts. So right now I'm not sure what the best path would be.

I purchased most of my equipment at the beginning of this year but my requirements have changed somewhat. I got a sawstop, which I love, and the biggest exaktor sliding table. Going back I probably should have gotten a used slider and did what Jim Becker did in his thread, placing a benchdog table right behind the saw blade and next to the slider. I don't want to do that now because I really like the sawstop and its already in my basement. The exaktor is okay and works fine for making nice cuts on sheets, but its just not adequate to use with a router table behind the saw and on plastic.

So I was reading some threads and saw the Laguna sliding table. It looked really nice but it was also pretty expensive. On their webpage it has a max stroke of 50", does that mean it can crosscut 50" or crosscut 25"? At 275lbs, that looks like it would be pretty strong. Does anyone have any experience with this table? They have a universal table which has a stand also.

If I got it I would place a benchdong iron router top right behind the sawstop so I could use the slider with it also. I could probably get a 2' crosscut with the router if I set it up well. Do you think the laguna will slide strong near the ends of travel?

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

[Jim Becker]

Maximum stroke refers to the max rip length. Cross cutting is limited by your space, etc.

The issue with aftermarket sliders is that they very often are not as well supported as a Euro format wagon would be, both in structure and in mass and that can affect "minute accuracy" as well as vibration. And, they are farther from the cut line which means you have a longer extension of the workpiece to support from the edge of the sliding table to the cutter; saw or router. The BenchDog top will certainly minimize vibration from the router, itself, but you are still vulnerable to the physics introduced by the slider mechanism and support. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that even with my setup, it would be nicer for the router to be closer to the edge of the sliding table than it is. (A true saw/shaper closes the gap somewhat).

What I think you're going to have to do is attach some kind of sled to whatever slider you use that can stabilize your workpieces better than just a miter fence can do.

[Paul Sidbury]

Thanks Jim,

The BenchDog top will certainly minimize vibration from the router, itself, but you are still vulnerable to the physics introduced by the slider mechanism and support.

Are you more concerned with the gap between the slider and workpiece or the slider itself being rigid enough.

What I think you're going to have to do is attach some kind of sled to whatever slider you use that can stabilize your workpieces better than just a miter fence can do.

Thinking about what your saying, it seems like it would pretty easy to get some sheet metal or aluminum sheeting, cut it to size, mill the section that will be over the tablesaw and put some uhmw strips under that side. I could use the slider's miter slots to rigidly attach the sheet and the uhmw strips should glide it over the saw's table top while the sheet/sled supports the workpiece up to the blade. I could probably even use the saw's miter slots to tighten the sheet/sled down to the table, not to guide it but to make sure it doesn't lift up at all. That actually seems pretty easy to do.

But if your more concerned about the slider's rigidity then that's a different story and would put me in the same situation I'm in now.

[Jim Becker]

Are you more concerned with the gap between the slider and workpiece or the slider itself being rigid enough....But if your more concerned about the slider's rigidity then that's a different story and would put me in the same situation I'm in now.

Exactly...the slider, itself, especially since it's going to be a distance from the spindle. The length of the moment between where the workpiece is supported (slider wagon) and the point of cut (spindle) will multiply any variance in stability for the sliding mechanism. Format sliders are absolutely rock solid in that respect. Add-ons "can" be stable, but often are not...they don't have the massive support that a format slider has.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My router is in the rear of my slider too. Its a nice place to put it. when you have a sliding table.

Plastics are funny. Usually you need to control cutter speed and feed rates and you usually need coolant flow.

I used to machine lots and lots of MethylMethaculateand Polycarbonate among other polymers.

Polycarbonate was the more forgiving of the two named but still absent coolant you could burn it easily. MethylMethaculate (acrylic) burned and chipped easily and after machining operations it required a long Anneal process to relieve the stresses induced by machining.


What kind of plastic are you cutting what cutting tools are you using and are you using coolant - mist or otherwise~?

Reading your post I am unsure what you are doing. I see you are using a cross cut approach to a plastic. Yah fine but are you making a through cut with a router, cleaning up a table saw cut using the router, putting a dado in plastic or applying some kind of profile?


The very high blade speeds of the Euro saws might not be the best thing for a plastics shop unless there are blades that allow for some cooling during the cut. But then I'd think a saw stop would be too fast also.

Coolant on a table saw is an unlikely proposition. Water based coolants are out 'cause the electronics aren't shielded. 7-11 oil could be misted and would work but what a mess that'd make~!! The whole shop would be coated with the stuff.

I'm rather curious what materials and methods you are employing.

[Mike Wilkins]

Speaking of coolants and tablesaws. I was drooling all over the Martin tablesaw catalog, and saw the optional cooling mist sprayers available for the sliders. So there must be some shielding of the electronic components to keep the coolant away if it is offered. But you are talking big bank here $$$.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Speaking of coolants and tablesaws. I was drooling all over the Martin tablesaw catalog, and saw the optional cooling mist sprayers available for the sliders. So there must be some shielding of the electronic components to keep the coolant away if it is offered. But you are talking big bank here $$$.

In a martin maybe - - but they are industrial machines and weigh in at $26-Gees for the least expensive.
They might offer a sealed electronics option.
However one is led to wonder whether that's for cutting things like aluminum plate, because one would not likely ever spray a fluid on wood while cutting it.