Dear Donkey,

(Always wanted to say that)

Kudos to you for your support of youth activities. They all need more
folks like you.

Another parallel idea.

I had a class that did some work with Habitat for Humanity, which
makes a habit of working with unskilled volunteers for construction.

Their power saw of choice was a miter saw. I was impressed. It's a
lot safer than a circular saw or a table saw, and the design
practically prevents kick backs.

A panel saw (frame type) could be made too, I think I've seen numerous
shop tips about how to do it, and I'm sure would be safer than the
present lash up.

Another thought would be to identify the panel saw as a "SERIOUSLY
DANGEROUS WEAPON" and allow only properly safety briefed (oops, the
mental picture of that isn't what I meant) persons to operate it.
Lesser lights could cut the plywood pieces to length, and assemble
them.

Merry Christmas

Old Guy



On Dec 22, 7:14*pm, DonkeyHody wrote:
I got sucked into helping build sets for my son's high school show
choir. *I was truly frightened by what I saw. *People with little to
no experience were wrestling 4x8 sheets of plywood across a little
jobsite table saw to rip strips about 18" wide. *Then they'd crosscut
the strips they had ripped - no sled or anything - just put the end
against the fence and go at it. *Only the large size of the panels and
the low power of the saw saved them from being hurt by the several
kickbacks that occured. *But they just stayed at it.

The sets change each year, so this is an annual project. *I expect to
be involved for four years. *Something's got to change. *I think the
answer is a dedicated panel saw like the ones they use at the borg to
cut plywood. *Milwaukee makes one that seems to go for about $1,500.
Our budget is pretty generous, so I think I could talk them into the
investment. *Question is, Is this the saw I need? *Anyone have
experience with Milwaukee's panel saw? *It's marketed as a commercial
use rig, but it's still about half of the cost of Powermatic's panel
saw. *Are there others I should consider?

DonkeyHody
"Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him." - Thomas
Carlyle