Mini Max SC3W question

[C Scott McDonald]

Hey folks,

I have a basic question on the Mini Max SC3W. Looking that the picture on the minimax-usa.com site does the slider go further forward and lock into place. Basically how do you rip regular wood? Do you have to stand way to the left or right of the blade because of the table? Looking at the picture it looks like you have to stand directly behind the blade which isnt giving me warm fuzzies.

Thanks,
Scott

[Leigh Betsch]

I have a MM ST4 and I rip most of the time from the side, nowhere close to the kick back path. But you will find that you actually figure out ways to use the slider instead of using the fence to rip. When I do rip from the end instead of the slider I stand to the right of the fence.
I'm not sure that ripping from the side is the best becasue I do find myself reaching over the blade to clear the cut off at times. Attached are a couple of pics ripping with the slider, one is my daughter.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Scott, my Felder is configured similarly, and I find that I stand behind the outrigger fence mostly. Similar to where Leigh's daughter is, just to the back side of the crosscut fence. It looks clumsy, but in practice it's not.

I agree with Leigh, you'll be suprised how often you don't use the rip fence once you get a slider.

[Jim Becker]

What Leigh said...same with my S315WS. You do need to change your position for "traditional ripping", but over time, you get away from it outside of very narrow rips. I use the wagon with the board clamped down as much as possible for safety and quality. I rarely edge joint a board any more...no need.

[Leigh Betsch]

In the pic with my daughter doing the driving, she really should have had the fence pulled back so the cut off doesn't trap between the riving knife and the fence. This would allow more room for the cut off to slide to the right away from the blade. As Steve said, much of the time I stand behind the crosscut fence rather than beside it where my daughter is. If you stand where my daughter is you have to move with the slider or else the crosscut fence will run into you. The advantage of standing where she is, is that you get a very good view of the cut. By the way she does have all her fingers, the pic just makes it look like one of two are missing.

[Jim Becker]

Good point, Leigh...I thought that, but didn't write it for some reason...

[C Scott McDonald]

Thanks for the input. I am looking for a solid sliding table saw but need a good all around saw too. I only do woodworking as a hobby and only have room and money for one table saw. It would be nice to have a saw that can break down sheets of ply and still be able to cut box joints and stuff. I understand I can get a bolt on slider, but to be honest they seem kind of flim flam compared to the Minimax.

Glad you daughter still has all her fingers Leigh! I didnt even notice until you pointed that out.

Back to the basic questions about sliders. When cutting wood like show in the picture with your daughter how do you ensure the sides of the piece stay parallel? Or is she straighting one edge of the board?

Thanks again,
Scott

[Leigh Betsch]

In the pic without my daughter, the saw is setup to straight line rip the first edge. In the pic with my daughter, the stock has already been straight line ripped and the ends square. So by referencing the already straight edge on the rip fence the new cut edge will be parallel to the first edge. I like to use the rip fence to guide long stock rather than just relying on the crosscut fence to hold them square. I then use the crosscut fence just to push the stock through the blade. This keeps your hands well away from the blade.
This really works great, dead square and parallel. And like Jim said with a good blade no need to joint the edge.
The following pic is a slider doing what a slider dose best, making easy work of sheet stock. And a couple of pics with the dado installed.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Scott, one of the many things that I like about these saws, is the big extruded rip fence. I like to be able to slide the fence back behind the blade, so that you can register the work square to the fence before you ever move the slider. This allows you to precisely clamp the work to the slider, as registered to the rip fence, but not actually use the fence to rip. More of a big parallel stop to index the cut. Hope that makes sense.

I bet Jim and Leigh would agree that a true dedicated sliding saw bears about zero similarity to an add on attachment for a non slider saw.

When you buy one:D, you'll have a bunch of options on fence length and outrigger sizes, all of which deserve a good bit of reflection on what you intend to do. There are some really great saws on the market now, and you are looking at one of the best IMHO.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Leigh, it's obvious in this photo why you are giving that lathe a new home, it's the wrong color!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=108410&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1233193698 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=108410&d=1233193698)

It'll blend in a bit better here...

http://rozmiarek.smugmug.com/photos/445149377_UGTe3-L.jpg (http://rozmiarek.smugmug.com/gallery/7096079_nhtXn#445149377_UGTe3-A-LB)

[Jim Becker]

Back to the basic questions about sliders. When cutting wood like show in the picture with your daughter how do you ensure the sides of the piece stay parallel? Or is she straighting one edge of the board?


I have a parallel jig I made for my slider wagon that I can use to register one end of the board for width and I use the small miter fence and stops for the other end. I get perfectly parallel cuts that way and again, no trip to the jointer to process the edge. The process is to straight line one side (and that doesn't have to be parallel to the sawyer's edge if the grain match would be better served with some other cutting line), flip it around and using the parallel guides, make the parallel cut. I clamp the material down to the wagon for both safety and to get the absolutely best cut.

[Leigh Betsch]

You'll probably want to set that Felder out in the sun for while to get a better color match to the Oliver.
Jim do you have a pic of your parallel jig? I know Sam Blasco built a digital readout into a parallel jig, maybe someday I'll get time to build something too.