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Thread: Straight line gloat

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
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    1,933

    Straight line gloat

    Since I have a cabinet door business, I've had my eye on a straight line rip saw for a couple of years now. But being an, ehem, frugal guy, I couldn't quite pull the trigger on a new one. At AWFS, I looked a a few options, including an Extrema XR-12C, which was the only saw that I opted to get a quote on.

    If you have never seen one, a straight line rip saw has a caterpillar track built into the base. The blade is above the table (on this model anyway) and there are pressure rollers to hold the wood against the cat track. The wood gets pulled through in a straight line good enough for gluing.

    But with the recent wide belt and big compressor purchases, not to mention the cost to hook them up, I figured that a saw would have to wait. I have been running an old Powermatic 66 with 4-wheel feeder for close to two years. While it doesn't exactly cut straight, it does do a decent job of reducing time and avoiding eating sawdust when ripping a few hundred BF of wood.

    Then I happened to see an ebay auction for the same saw that I got quoted in Vegas. I exchanged some e-mails with the seller, but didn't bid above my starting bid. Well it turned out that the winner flaked out on closing the deal, so the seller called me up and offered it to me for less than the original opening bid.

    We got it into place on Friday, and I spent an hour or so today getting it connected to the DC. Long story short, now I know why everyone has been encouraging me to get one of these things. The catalog lit talks about virtually invisible saw marks, which I assumed was typical exaggeration. But when I put the first board through and held it up towards the light, sure enough, I guess you can maybe just barely see some tooth marks... Wow, it is amazing what a good feed system and massive arbor with widely spaced bearings can do. At 15 HP, you can really move things through without a hiccup. We'll be experimenting to see if we can eliminate most edge jointing and secondary (finish) ripping. From the initial test, the finish is at least as good as the edge jointer.

    As a bonus, it came with a laser and half of a ProScale setup. I happen to have an extra display, so I just need to fabricate a bracket to mount to the fence. My first run at a scrap management cart is tucked in beside the saw. The double vertical conduit will act as a guide for a 12" Sawzall blade to crosscut the strips into kindling, which gets bagged or boxed.

    So here is the new saw, along with the old saw that it replaced.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    JR

  2. #2
    That should speed things along nicely.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
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    16,621
    15hp! Do the lights dim when you power her up?
    Sweet machine!
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  4. #4
    I am excited for you... I am in the process of trading my delta 18 inch bandsaw for a Extrema 24 inch with a 5 horse... it has one issue I am working to fix. It has some play in the bottom of the bearing arm that I think i can repair with a couple of set screws machined into the arm where it hooks to the saw. The real issue is I cannot find any one who has this saw to ask questions.

    Drew

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    1,933
    Drew - Extrema will give you a list of owners as part of a quote. Maybe they would do the same for your case. Or, just ask for a quote . . .
    JR

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Fayetteville Pennsylvania
    Posts
    248

    Hey JR

    If that old clunker is getting in your way, I could move it out for you. Just being friendly of course.

    Great haul on the straightline. I'm sure you have already heard this but, be careful standing around that beast. My kid brother works in a shop that recycles large beams into flooring etc and the straightline was his machine. It launched a piece of the edge waste at him and penetrated his leather apron and his hide. He has had 3 surgeries to remove sizable chunks of wood from his anatomy. The last foray was from behind to remove a piece that had been working it's way through the hip joint. It was 1½" long and a little smaller in diameter than a pencil lead. He's been keeping the shrapnel and is hoping to add on a family room this spring.

    Ed

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Sterling CT
    Posts
    2,473
    good going on the SLR. if I had the space it would also be in my shop. they are very cool saws
    best wishes

    lou

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    walnut creek, california
    Posts
    2,347
    wow JR, first the wide belt and now the straight line rip saw. do keep us posted on what it does for productivity, ok? most of us will never acquire such higher end tools!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
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    1,933
    Six years ago, I never dreamed that I would be where I am, working with these kinds of equipment. It is fun to share...
    JR

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Los angeles
    Posts
    153
    Congrats JR. do keep us up with what SLR does for your productivity.

    I always wondered about what an SLR saw would do for me if I ever setup a large shop.

    on the subject of making cabinet doors i am under tooled for making them and I hate to fabricate my own doors, I figure for me to do it efficiently I would least need two shapers with quick change spindles, a boat load of cutter heads and profile knives plus a clamp rack, hefty jointer/planer and a good table saw (or sliding table saw for that matter) and of course all the other small thing like sanders, routers and so forth.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Fallbrook, California
    Posts
    3,562
    Congratulations JR. That's one mighty powerful machine you've added to your shop.
    Don Bullock
    Woebgon Bassets
    AKC Championss

    The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
    -- Edward John Phelps

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Glendale, AZ
    Posts
    101
    I have a customer with an Extrema. He bought it new about 4 years ago and is still happy with it. With a newer blade on it the blade marks are almost nil. As the blades get older you can readily see the marks but it is still within the .003" that is acceptable for glue up.
    Scott
    Scott's Sharpening Service
    Glendale, AZ

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,247
    Nice saw, I worked at a place that had a 25HP gang rip that we used to run at almost power. (It sure was nice to have a built in ammeter).

    The only problem was, it took one guy to feed it, and three to stack the cut pieces if we were making smaller mouldings.

    The material sure flew through the saw though, and occasionally a splinter or knot would come out the infeed side even though the fingers and curtains were down.

    Regards, Rod.

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