In the market for a sliding table

J

jake28

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
490
Location
SF, CA
I’ve spent the last couple days chopping up ten sheets of plywood and would love a system that is easier on the body and still yields cabinet-quality results.

IMG_3405.jpeg

What I have right now:
- Festool tracksaw and 9’ fence for ripping
- Festool MFT table for cross cutting
- Sawstop cabinet saw that I don’t find myself using much. Because ripping full sheets solo doesn’t get me the accuracy I want.

The good: I can get consistent results to within 1/32 ripping plywood and joints that are glue-ready.

IMG_3379.jpeg

The bad: it’s a lot of shuffling boards and tools around just to make big rectangles into smaller rectangles:

- haul sheet to workbench
- measure and layout the edge
- place the Festool track in the sheet
- line up the track
- pick up saw, rip, put saw back on vaccuum
- helicopter the track
- layout again
- Line up the track
- push the ripped board onto MFT
- rip the factory edge
- helicopter the board
- layout cut line
- pick up saw, cut, put saw back on vaccuum

Etc.
And all of those steps have yielded me a single shelf.

What I’m looking for:
- the ability to put a full sheet on the saw, rip the factory edge off, rip to width, and then cross cut.
- hoping to find a saw with a small/medium footprint


School me: what models should I be looking at?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3421.jpeg
    IMG_3421.jpeg
    845.8 KB · Views: 25
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
M

mike93lx

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Dec 9, 2013
Messages
37,860
Location
Richmond, VA
there are lots of accessories for your tracks that may make this easier. have you tried any?

a huge benefit to having a track saw is not needing to handle full sheets as much. I really like setting down either a sheet of foam or a bunch of osb strips then cutting on that. plywood is too damn heavy
 
C

cgrutt

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 4, 2016
Messages
8,357
What sorta budget are you thinking about? Maybe a cross-cut panel saw like they use in the big box stores would be a good compromise. Fairly inexpensive (relatively) and takes up much less floorspace but you will probably still need to finish on table saw or your track saw. Laguna makes a pretty nice sliding panel saw but pricey and may not even fit in your space. The industrial grade saws are big dollars.
 
J

Jim C.

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
2,598
I don’t know about a particular saw to recommend, but you have a great work space with a lot of natural light. I’m envious. I think you’re on the right track by looking for a sliding table saw. I don’t know which saw or brand, but if I was making things from sheet material, I’d get a sliding table saw. I think a good quality saw isn’t going to be cheap. Many, many years ago (about 35 or so) I had the opportunity to use a Laguna sliding table saw, and it produced professional quality cuts that were spot on In terms of accuracy. The saw was extremely expensive and it used up some floor space. More so than an average Unisaw, etc. I think you have the space. It’s probably going to boil down to budget. Good luck!

Jim C.
 
K

kaymccampbell

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
29,603
Location
Upstate New York
Like @cvairwerks said. Nice cabinet saw, nice out n in feed tables/rollers, and a power feeder. And since a power feeder keeps your hands away from the blade, a conventional cabinet saw will more than do.

And for plywood manipulation, lacking an eager 20 year old, a length of superstrut, a couple rollers, a cheap winch and a DeWalt grabo would make a nice rig. Me, I've got a semi-eager 40yo.
 
J

jar944

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
5,952
Location
Northern VA
cvairwerks said:
Think you will find that a slider that will rip down an 8' sheet is going to be over 20K$ and take up half that shop space. One that will do a 50" cut is about 12' long.
Click to expand...

You can get a used 10' slider for 20% of that price (4k) or less. A older martin t71 or early t72 for 25-30% (5-6k)

Op, Sliders are nice. Used 3ph sliders are cheap, I'd recommend a 10' over shorter lengths.

You can do what you want with with a track saw, and a cabinet saw with large outfeed. Easiest to rip the plywood in half length wise with the track saw and then rip on the cabinet saw. It gives you a perfect edge to start and leaves you with a more manageable piece to start with (assuming you need 24" or a mutiple of that)

Assuming you have the space you can drop a bunk of plywood on the floor and cut it in place with the track saw (flipping a sheet up and 1" foam under each time) then walk the parts over to the cabinet saw.
20210529_155815.jpg20210529_151705.jpg

A slider is still better though, and in my experience doesn't take any more room than a cabinet saw with large outfeed, and let's you do things you can't do (easily) on a cabinet saw.

20240827_205606.jpg20240826_212036.jpg

Edit to add:

A saw shaper combo allows a few things you can't do with a saw, and the long stroke allows some things to be done easier than on a shaper alone
20241116_202815.jpg20241116_163818.jpg
Screenshot_20250426_125507_Gallery.jpg
 
Last edited:
R

rharman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
8,897
Location
SoCal
I ran many a mile of plywood through my RAS back in the day.

I was thinking a panel saw but not sure of the accuracy on most. But.... the one that @cgrutt posted above is a whole 'nuther level. That thing is awesome!

In the market for a sliding table

I’ve spent the last couple days chopping up ten sheets of plywood and would love a system that is easier on the body and still yields cabinet-quality results. What I have right now: - Festool tracksaw and 9’ fence for ripping - Festool MFT table for cross cutting - Sawstop cabinet saw that I...
www.garagejournal.com www.garagejournal.com
 
OP
J

jake28

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
490
Location
SF, CA
All thanks for the input and ideas.

@loganb a CNC is increasingly appealing.
@jar944 thanks for the tip on splitting a sheet lengthwise. I’ve never seen that done but it makes a lot of sense and quickly gets to more manageable sizes. I’ll experiment. I’ve got more boxes to build in short order.

IMG_3415.jpeg
 
J

jar944

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
5,952
Location
Northern VA
jake28 said:
All thanks for the input and ideas.

@loganb a CNC is increasingly appealing.
@jar944 thanks for the tip on splitting a sheet lengthwise. I’ve never seen that done but it makes a lot of sense and quickly gets to more manageable sizes. I’ll experiment. I’ve got more boxes to build in short order.

IMG_3415.jpeg
Click to expand...

The more you can do on the cabinet saw vs the mft/track and the less board shuffling the faster everything should go. Cutting to stop blocks rather than hitting marked lines (for mutiples) and not worrying about holding things to a mark or square is considerably faster.

Unless you really want a slider [inner voice "do it"] I would setup your cabinet saw with a large outfeed 4' deep and as wide as the saw+ extension wing. Then build a large 30" deep by 60" wide crosscut sled. Rip the sheets for a fresh edge (right on the pile) then move to the cabinet saw for final processing.
 
M

macgyver37

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
613
Location
Pittsburg, Kansas
Full discloser; I have 2 large cnc routers so I do almost all of my cutting on those. I have also never used a track saw, so...

But, I also have a few table saws and a vertical panel saw. I got the vertical in a package deal and didn't expect to use it much, but now having had it for 10+ years, it gets used often. Mine is a mid 80's HolzHer (1206 I think?) and also has a scoring saw blade on it. It is fully manual, does rips and crosscuts and the stop system is quick and easy to use and it very repeatable and accurate. It is easy to get accurate and square cuts on it. It is not small, but it is less room than a large capacity slider for sure. I can get a 5x12 sheet on it if I need to.

The reality of the situation is that if you want a stationary machine to cut sheet goods it is going to take up a lot of room no matter the method. Big sliders are awesome and if I could justify one, I'd have one. I have had the good luck to have used a brand new Martin and Altendorf at the previous job and they are great but they were large capacity and with that took up alot of floor. My vertical panel saw takes up app 3ft deep and is over 16ft long. Honestly the smallest working footprint is going to be the moving gantry/stationary table 4x8 cnc router.

My favorite is a cnc panel saw. I had a mid 90's Giben at the old job. It had 12x12ft capacity and could cut 3.5" thick. It you had multiples of the same part size you could stack them. It had air tables on it for moving the material easily. I still can't justify one though as that machine took up 30x32 ft and I just can't do it with the type of work I'm doing.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
7

72Anthony

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
296
Location
Houston, TX
Some great advice here.

I've used a track saw (Festool TS-55 with guide square and parallel guides (both from TSO Products).

The guide square makes 90 degree cuts: you only have to measure at one end, then align the track with tlyour mark. Without the square you mark both edges and then line up the track to both marks, which can take some adjustment.

The parallel guides allow multiple cuts without having to mark and measure each time.

Neither is as fast as table saw.

One other option is to see if 5' x 5' plywood would work for you projects. They are a little easier to handle on a table saw.
 
G

GrayFlattop

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2018
Messages
1,051
Location
Chicago
FWIW, I’ve been reasonably happy with my Safety Speed Cut H5 panel saw. If you spend a little time tuning it in, +/- 1/32” over the 5’ cutting width is doable & repeatable. The downside is you need a long bit of wall space. The upside is it doesn’t need a lot of floor space, and it’s pretty easy to load a sheet into it. The hold-down fingers work well for thin material like laminate.

Dust collection is so-so and cutting a lot of MDF is messy even with the vacuum attachment.

I bought it over 40years ago when I was doing a lot of cabinet work and track saws weren’t a thing at the time. I used to buy a lot of 60-61” wide panels for better yield, but I don’t quite have the strength I had back then. I think they make a smaller one with 50” crosscut capacity.

If I had a larger shop and a larger budget, I would love to have a Martin T72, but that is just a pipe dream. What I have will probably meet my needs for the rest of my life.
 
J

jar944

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
5,952
Location
Northern VA
GrayFlattop said:
If I had a larger shop and a larger budget, I would love to have a Martin T72, but that is just a pipe dream. What I have will probably meet my needs for the rest of my life.
Click to expand...

T71s are relatively cheap, not nearly as cheap as t75s though. No reason to keep it a pipe dream.
 
OP
J

jake28

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
490
Location
SF, CA
IMG_3982.jpeg

Friends, once again I find myself chopping up plywood and wondering if a sliding table saw is right for me, either to complement my sawstop or to replace it. My particular needs have not changed, but a very nice Hammer B3 sliding saw / shaper combo just came up for sale near me. And I’m a sucker for a deal.

I’ve come to find that:
- I love the sawstop for the safety factor and it has more than enough power for my needs.
- The Incra fence system takes up a lot of real estate because of the beam that bisects the tablesaw, and I don’t ever use the micro-adjust feature.
- I’ve considered ditching the Incra system and replacing it with a Harvey fence ($1200).
- Harvey also makes a very nice sliding cross cut system ($1200)

So for $2400 I can get a fence I’m happy with, and a cross cutting appendage that gives me the repeatability and stability that I’m looking for.

Or for $4000-$5000 I can get a dedicated small slider. My dream scenario is to strip the sawstop down to a 36 inch width cutting capacity and then position it back to back with the slider, and have everything magically line up and they can serve as outfeeds for one another.

I would still be ripping full sheets down in half with a tracksaw, but like I could conceivably cross cut 24 inches repeatedly.

Is this a fool’s errand? Are there better solutions that I’m not considering?
 
M

manwithtools

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Messages
14,071
Location
Lebanon, TN
A slider is very handy for breaking down sheet goods, once you use one you won't want to go back to a standard table saw. In my experience, the longer the better, I have a 10' Maksiwa. They are available new for a fairly reasonable price compared to the big name Euro machines and the quality is decent in my experience.

One big advantage on a long slider is the ability to straight line rip rough cut lumber. Also the nature of using a slider (work clamped to the sliding table) makes them much safer than a typical table saw in my opinion. You never get your hands anywhere close to the blade if you are setup properly.

A big slider will take slightly more room than your SawStop, for a second saw to do small detail work, I chose the Festool CSC SYS 50 portable table saw. It's a baby slider if you have not seen one. While not inexpensive, the dust collection is good, it takes up very little space and is perfect for detailed smaller work. Really nice for flooring or trim projects.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the slider is excellent as a tapering setup as well. Set up some stop blocks on the sliding table and makes perfectly repeatable tapers of any reasonable length. There is also the fact that when tuned, they make perfect 90 degree cuts on material of any size. Also ripping long accurate 45 degree (or other non 90° degree) material is a breeze.
 
Last edited:
G

gahrajmahal

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
2,538
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
For those of us without such a beautiful big shop space and budget here is what I used with +/- 1/64” results. I choose to go to the store myself, select the plywood sheets, self load myself into my Ridgeline, then haul them home to my driveway. Working directly off the truck, I position my 8’ long plastic folding table behind the truck and offload one sheet at a time to the table top with scrap wood sacrificial spacers on top. I purchased this Kreg, rip-cut edge guide that clamps your circular saw to it.

IMG_1974.png

I purchased a plywood specific good blade and install it I’m my old Milwaukee circular saw saw I modified with a 12 ft. Cord. That way the plug isn’t getting in the way of the edge should you be cutting longways (8’ side).

Leaving your factory edge overhanging a couple of inches, I then clamp the whole sheet to the table with some quick clamps. Once set, the Kreg jig allows precise cutting very quickly and since I’m out in the driveway, the mess stays outside the gahraj.

My woodworking tools, Bosch table saw and Rigid 12” chop saw are all on rolling carts so they can quickly roll out into the driveway to go to work. I’ll arrange them as stations under our elevated deck for the shade. The cart with the Bosch table saw is 1” higher than my 8’ long plastic folding table. That way, it can act as a long outfeed table for the table saw if I am ripping something down, or when set at right angle can work to support already ripped panels.
 
L

Lassen Forge

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
Messages
15,387
Location
The romantic hills of central Umbria, Italy,
jake28 said:
... Or for $4000-$5000 I can get a dedicated small slider. My dream scenario is to strip the sawstop down to a 36 inch width cutting capacity and then position it back to back with the slider, and have everything magically line up and they can serve as outfeeds for one another.

I would still be ripping full sheets down in half with a tracksaw, but like I could conceivably cross cut 24 inches repeatedly.
Click to expand...

Considering that this IS Garage Journal...

Get the slider. You won't be disappointed. And you'll have another tool in the arsenal.
 
OP
J

jake28

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
490
Location
SF, CA
Welp, I haven’t (yet) added a sliding saw to the shop. I’m not yet ready to commit the space and funds that I’d rather put towards a CNC.

Three interim solutions that I’m looking to experiment with:

1. I found some stashed T track and some HDPE/Delrin so I’ll make a cross cut sled for when I’m looking to do repeated cuts less than 12”.

2. I ordered an adjustable miter gauge that can handle up to 36” I’m skeptical of the tool’s ability to maintain squareness, but I like the flip stop and microadjust. Relative to a full slider, it’s a small investment.

And in tangentially related news, I’m replacing my rolling plywood storage cart with a vertical storage rack. Turns out that rolling a dozen sheets of plywood on hardware store casters is neither pleasant nor necessary.


IMG_4034.jpeg
 
C

CGohring

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
57
Location
Las Vegas
jar944 said:
Do you mean crosscutting full sheets? Or are you using it as infeed/outfeed support when ripping?
Click to expand...
Both actually, although because the slider is offset by 22 inches or so to the left of the blade, it is better at supporting the full sheet when ripping than it is when crosscutting. - when crosscutting there is just too much weight to the right of the blade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom