On Dec 22, 7:55*pm, (J T) wrote:
Sat, Dec 22, 2007, 5:14pm (EST-3) (DonkeyHody)
doth query:
snip Question is, Is this the saw I need? *snip

* * *The saw that YOU need? *Thought is was for the school? *They would
be paying for it, right? *

OK, I guess I should have said we, or even they. Right now, I'm the
only one pushing the panel saw idea. The show choir would be funding
the purchase.


* * *Probably better to buy the ply at Lowes and have them cut it on
their panel saw. *If those people are as inept as you claim, it would
take a full-time keeper to keep them from hurting someone. *That gonna
be you? *And, if it is you, who's gonna do it after your 4 years? *I'd
think a circular sa and straightedge would answer the problem better
than a panel saw, cheaper, nd probably safer too. *Actually, all they'd
need is a straight line to follow, and could probably do without the
streight edge.


You don't understand. So far, we've been through about 40 sheets of
plywood. No way the borg is going to cut all that into the gajillion
different sizes of panels we need. Besides, some of the stuff is
designed on the fly. We don't even know what all the dimensions are
until we build the prototype.

* * *Out of curiosity, you saw them using the saw like that, and just
let them proceed?

Yes, I "let" them. Though they aren't woodworkers, some of them have
been doing this for four years, and I'm the new kid on the block. I
wasn't appointed boss of the group, although they are coming to
recognize me as sort of a technical expert. I didn't take on the job
as the Safety Nazi for the group. I'd rather change the group culture
than alienate them by telling them they're stupid. I want to show
them a way to do it safely while maintaining the production they have
now. And running the sheets across the table saw is undeniably faster
than marking and clamping a straightedge for each cut.

This activity has been a paradigm shift for me too. At home in my
shop, I work at my own pace and it takes as long as it takes. If it
takes me three times as long to make a cut, I don't care as long as
it's dead-on accurate. These folks are under a perpetual time
crunch. There's always a deadline looming, and the sets have to be
ready because the show must go on.

*