Am I Zoned to Operate a Sawmill?
December 6th, 2008Hope So
I took my new sliding miter saw out of the box and stuck it on the woodworking table today. It’s HUGE. I’m going to have to have the table a few inches out from the wall in order to use the saw. That’s not a problem, though, since I have to move the table out to get clearance for any wood I care to saw. I haven’t tried putting it on the Workmate yet. I may do that.
The other day I complained that I was going to need outfeed support for my tools. People suggested some roller doodads. I know I will irritate toolheads when I describe the solution I found. Kelly Mehler’s table saw video confronts the issue, and Mehler uses a sawhorse with a top surface half an inch lower than the saw table. You may wonder why he doesn’t use fancy rollers. He said rollers steer the work. The wood will naturally move perpendicularly to a roller’s axis. That means you have to have the roller aligned at a perfect right angle to the direction of the wood’s movement on the saw table. With a sawhorse and two-by-four, you don’t get this problem. And the total cost is about five bucks, plus scrap wood. Rollers are considerably more expensive.
The big miter saw should be a great convenience. The vast majority of cuts I make are short, and this thing goes up to 13.5″. You aren’t supposed to rip with it, though. Bummer. I wonder if I can get away with it for short rips, with the wood clamped in there real good. I’ve gotten away with it with my smaller miter saw.
A radial arm saw might have been a better answer, but try to find a nice used one in this area. And they say it’s easy to julienne yourself with a radial arm saw.
I think once I have a band saw and a drill press, I will feel like I can cope with almost every tool problem I am willing to face.
Of course, I am not known for my realistic expectations.
December 6th, 2008 at 2:12 PM
We had a radial arm saw, and it scared the crap out of me. Plus, it was hard to get and keep it aligned properly.
A good, powerful tablesaw is what you need for serious ripping; I love my wife’s 5Hp Delta for that purpose. Of course, you can do light ripping on a bandsaw, or even heavy-duty ripping (resawing) with the proper blade.
If you’re not properly zoned for a sawmill, move to where you are.
December 6th, 2008 at 3:17 PM
The radial arm saw was designed specifically for removing fingers. Ripping on one is a disaster in the offing. Yes, it can be done.
(Doing stupid things is still legal in most of the US.)
If you need to do accurate ripping, a decent table saw with an outfeed table is not only accurate, but fast and fun. Since you have 220v handy, get one with a minimum 15W 220v motor, and you’ll never look back.
Gerry N.
December 6th, 2008 at 3:19 PM
Okay, now I’m jealous. My son called the other day to see what I wanted for Christmas. Why didn’t I think to say I want a sliding miter saw? I don’t know, sometimes I just don’t think straight.
December 6th, 2008 at 3:51 PM
I use the sawhorse outfeed method sometimes, too. Cheap and fast.
What I have found that works better is a roller setup that uses large ball bearings. There is no friction from the horse and you don’t have to worry about marking up delicate material. Moreover, you don’t have the “perpendicular problem” with them.
http://toolmonger.com/2008/02/04/keep-on-rolling-with-ball-bearings/
They also make these with adjustable stands.
And if you do get a band saw, the bearings work great when cutting large curved items.
December 6th, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Tools: shoes for men 🙂
December 6th, 2008 at 5:51 PM
Two problems with using a bare wood surface like that for outfeed support.
1. It scratches the workpiece (which you may or may not care about)
2. The increased friction can cause, or increase the tendency towrds, kickback; especially if you catch on a flaw in the workpiece etc..
If you want to avoid both problems, just use a piece of high pressure laminate; as it’s a smooth low friction surface.
If you want to be fancy, you can use a bearing board (a board with a bunch of roller bearings on top) instead of an outfeed roller. You can even make one for not very much money.
December 6th, 2008 at 6:54 PM
You still need a truck (preferably a small dump truck) and a Bobcat with backhoe attachment.
And a lathe
And a planer
And a scrollsaw
And…
December 6th, 2008 at 7:49 PM
I am really reluctant to question anything I saw in this video. Look at the incredible work this guy does. I used to dream of making original furniture, and if I keep looking at this stuff, I’m afraid I’ll end up trying to do it.
http://www.kellymehler.com/newsite/furnitureportfolio/furnitureportfolio.htm
December 6th, 2008 at 9:00 PM
The cheapest way to get a low fricton surface for your outfeed is to build a sawhorse with a two by four top rail and before you nail the legs on slide a piece of four inch pvc pipe over the two by four that is cut the length of the top rail and fits well between the end braces. (How’s that for minimal punctuation?)
December 6th, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Do it man. Just freaking build something. You will screw up some, and learn some, and get ideas, and some of them wont work and some will. So freaking what. Just step up, pick something, and build it.
I use a roller ball outfeed from rockler. It works fine.
Again 90% of doing anything is just doing it.
It doesnt matter how you do it, you will figure out what works for you, just like you did on the reloader. I have no clue how to use one, but you figured it out. Its just that simple.
Build a crazy doghouse with router work, build a night stand, start somewhere and thats that. You will do fine, or we will call you Stevie 3 fingers afterwards.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:32 AM
A radial arm saw is God’s own answer to “what is awesome”. That said, you don’t really need one, if you have the 3 or 4 other tools that I radial arm saw could replace. The shame is that you can buy those tools for less than the cost of a radial arm saw.
December 7th, 2008 at 5:41 AM
Slotted PVC across the top of scrap wood isn’t directional, is relatively frictionless, won’t scratch the workpiece, and is inexpensive (essentially PVC is an improvement on Kelly Mehler’s outfeed; otherwise, it’s the same idea …which is a cheap on-the-fly outfeed).
December 7th, 2008 at 11:23 PM
For an outfeed support I use a sawhorse set at exactly the height of the table saw, but on the top is fastened a piece of 1/4 inch Masonite that runs the length of the support and is about 5 inches wide. It curves down so the leading edge is about 2 inches lower than the top of the table saw, and on top of it I have fastened a strip of aluminum flashing. The result is that you can set it 5 feet away from the saw when ripping long pieces of wood, and even though the wood sags as it leaves the saw, it catches the flashing and effortlessly rides it up to the level of the saw. No scratches, no perpendicular movement. You can even easily rip plywood with this setup. (I use another identical infeed support to hold up the plywood until the table supports it.) When crosscutting long pieces of wood, the second support is placed alongside the saw. As it is the same height as the saw table, this works very well.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:01 AM
I don’t know how many HP my wife’s delta is, but I also am very fond of it.