I just added a few more photos to my DIY panel saw web page at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw.html - I got a bit of "play time" in
the shop this weekend. (-:

--
Morris

Don't know why I looked, since I don't have room anyhow, but the link
doesn't work.

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw/index.html

Must me nice to have access to that machine

Any suggestions on how would a "normal" person cut that 1/2 circle for the
sled?

"lincolncowhunter" wrote in
message ...

toller Wrote:
Don't know why I looked, since I don't have room anyhow, but the link
doesn't work.

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw/index.html


--
lincolncowhunter

Try this one

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw/index.html

Tina

"toller" wrote in message
...
Don't know why I looked, since I don't have room anyhow, but the link
doesn't work.

"toller" wrote in message
...
Don't know why I looked, since I don't have room anyhow, but the link
doesn't work.

My apologies to all for screwing up the URL. Tina and lincolncowhunter got
it right. Thanks to you both for posting the correction.

[Gotta stop doing all-nighters - did that and when I got to the shop, the
first thing I did was pull a rubber cap off a new router bit managing to
slice both thumb and index finger. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but after
that the day could only get better...]

--
Morris

In article ,
"Morris Dovey" wrote:

"toller" wrote in message
...
Don't know why I looked, since I don't have room anyhow, but the link
doesn't work.

My apologies to all for screwing up the URL. Tina and lincolncowhunter got
it right. Thanks to you both for posting the correction.

[Gotta stop doing all-nighters - did that and when I got to the shop, the
first thing I did was pull a rubber cap off a new router bit managing to
slice both thumb and index finger. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but after
that the day could only get better...]

--
Morris

hey, I finally had some time to peruse your advances. Wish I had the
time to PLAY like that...you're not kidding any of us..you are PLAYING!!!
Cool toys though..*G*
I can't figure out how on earth they manage to get an adhesive to stick
to that slippery plastic.
It all looks like it will work fine.
Panel saws make so much sense.
Would your vacuum pods work on that unit when ripping sheets?
Keep me posted...and drooling.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
...

hey, I finally had some time to peruse your advances. Wish I had the
time to PLAY like that...you're not kidding any of us..you are PLAYING!!!
Cool toys though..*G*

Well, I play when I can! (-:

I can't figure out how on earth they manage to get an adhesive to stick
to that slippery plastic.

I've wondered about that too. It's serious stuff, tho. Once it's stuck in
place it *doesn't* want to let go.

It all looks like it will work fine.

So far so good. Now I'm wondering how to make it wide enough to handle 16'
panels; and I'm thinking I may want to build a 16+' CNC panel saw over the
winter if there's time available.

Panel saws make so much sense.

They do if you're doing a lot of work with sheet goods. I've been using the
Veritas guide and it works well until you need to make more than a dozen or
so cuts/hour - at which point a panel saw comes into its own.

Would your vacuum pods work on that unit when ripping sheets?

That was one of their first uses - and they work well for materials that
aren't too "leaky". They work really well on stuff like lexan, poorly on
thin MDF, and not at all on something like open-cell foam (although a
serious vacuum pump would probably make a big difference - a recycled
refrigerator compressor has fairly limited capacity.) I know of a guy using
a 15HP vacuum pump and I suspect that a cat would only jump up on his table
/once/! (My low-budget system is at least feline friendly.)

With the CNC router I've found that fixturing is an important part of every
job, and designing reusable fixturing components has been one of the more
interesting challenges. When I can (probably 3/4 of the time) I just use a
pair of C-clamps to immobilize the sheet and use a down-spiral cutter which
helps to hold the sheet down, produces cleaner cut edges than a straight or
up-spiral bit, and seems to produce a cleaner cut bottom. When I can't do
that, then the vacuum clamps are frequently a good solution.

Keep me posted...and drooling.

Gladly. I enjoy the notion that some of the stuff I do in the shop might
tickle someone else's imagination. I really get a buzz from the notion that
something I do might make woodworking easier and more satisfying for other
people. (-:

--
Morris

Just wondering what the capacity of the CNC router you were using? Can
it do a 4' x 8' sheet?

BW

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
oups.com...

Just wondering what the capacity of the CNC router you were using? Can
it do a 4' x 8' sheet?

BW...

The table/workspace is just few inches in each direction larger than 4x8 and
the z-axis range is right at six inches.

In actual projects, it's possible to pause the machine and move the work.
The panel saw's 10' bottom board was drilled and counter-bored by doing just
that. To deal with projects that extend /way/ beyond the table, I built a
separate rolling table to support the work. Since the 'Bot is in the middle
of the shop, this means that I could cut away on a 25' long workpiece (if I
could muscle it onto the table.)

You can find out more about the machine at www.shopbottools.com and talk to
other users on the forum at www.talkshopbot.com

--
Morris

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 09:56:12 -0500, "Morris Dovey"
wrote:

I just added a few more photos to my DIY panel saw web page at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw.html - I got a bit of "play time" in
the shop this weekend. (-:

Looking good!

Let us know how it works when it's done- how much were you thinking of
charging for the plans? Getting the metal is easy, but it's awfully
nice when someone has already done the testing.

"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 09:56:12 -0500, "Morris Dovey"
wrote:

I just added a few more photos to my DIY panel saw web page at
*** bad url snipped *** - I got a bit of "play time" in
the shop this weekend. (-:

Looking good!

Let us know how it works when it's done- how much were you thinking of
charging for the plans? Getting the metal is easy, but it's awfully
nice when someone has already done the testing.

Congrats on finding my cleverly hidden web page! d-:

Just to show that I really do know where I put it, it's at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/panel_saw/ Now, if I could just remember where I
put my car keys...

I haven't given plan prices much thought yet - it'll probably be at least
$10 and probably not more than $25. Depends (inversely) on the number of
copies I think will sell.

There's a possibility that the people who need plans don't need (and/or
don't have room for) a panel saw...

....And I'll guess that most of those who have both need and space will just
look at the web page and either find that sufficient to build their own or
will smile and order up a gee-whiz factory-built welded aluminum product.

There's a bit of irony in this project. I think I'm about to land a project
for which a panel saw would be a really big help - but I'll be working with
4' x 16' sheet stock for which the panel saw now under construction will be
too small! Already I'm having to work out some way to add extensions. |-%

Test it I will. So far all I've mangaged to do is verify that the parts seem
capable of withstanding endless dry fitting and that the UHMWPE-surfaced
slide/linear bearing idea works pretty well. The 3" UHMWPE PSA tape is more
expensive than I'd guessed it could be (serious sticker shock) but it works
even better than I'd hoped. The slides are free-moving and there isn't even
a trace of wobble.

One of the surprises (to me) is that without the tape, there is more wear to
the aluminum [aluminium] than to the wood. I'd expected just the opposite.
With the tape there isn't any discernable wear to wood, aluminum, or to the
tape itself.

I'll post a blip to the wreck whenever I add construction pix to the web
site.

--
Morris