Cutting A Lot Of Plywood

[Don Abele]

If you had a project which required a lot of plywood to cut what would you use to cut the plywood AND why?

Some thoughts:

Table saw - works, but cumbersome with full sheets.
Add slider to saw - is there an aftermarket big enough to actually work?
Panel saw - expensive, but dedicated to this task.
Guideded saw system (Festool/EZ) - expensive (Festool), time to set-up.

As always, thanks for your advice.

Be well,

Doc

[Karl Brogger]

How many sheets are we talking here. 50 sheets a day, or a half dozen full units?

My favorites:
#1 Way: Beam saw. Some hold up to 5 sheats at a time. Load unit onto a lift table with a forklift, unload parts by hand as they get kicked out. They're plenty fast and accurate. Cheap ones are about $50k

#2 Way: Panel saw. Good ones like Striebigs or Holz-Herr will allow you to rip and crosscut 3 sheets at a time. Fairly easy to manually load, but you have to make the transition from flat to vertical which can be time consuming. Easily transition the saw from rip to cross cut with out having to move the material much

#3 Way: Regular tablesaw. I'm not a huge fan of sliders. I've only used two that I thought were worth anything, but still not for what they cost, (out of probably ten or so different saws). One was an Altendorf, and I can't remember the other, but for $20k+ you're better off spending just a bit more on a good panel saw. I've seen used ones go for less than $10k though. I just really hate loading sheets onto a slider, far more so than just using a standard table saw.

[keith ouellette]

If a lot of the cuts are the same size I would stack the ply on saw horses and gang cut them. If the size was finish of the cut was very critical then I would gang cut them a little large and then re cut the easier to handle smaller pieces on the table saw.

I stacked 6 sheets of 5/8 together, squared up, clamped, attached a straight edge and cut 40 inches off the end with a saws all and a long coarse blade. Then reset my straight edge and cut another 40 inches to give me 12 40 in pieces.

These were for storm shutters though. I don't know what you are planning to do with the ply wood.

[Tom Veatch]

What I DO use is a shop built panel saw (http://www.shopnotes.com/plans/panel-saw/) to break the sheets down to manageable size and approximate dimension and then either a TS or SCMS, depending on the part, to cut to final dimension.

I had the space available so I wanted a panel saw for the specific purpose of disassembling full size sheet goods. I built instead of buying because of the expense. I'd sure hate to have to go back to manhandling fullsize sheets across a table saw or even laying them out on horses or other supports for guided saw cutting. It's amazing how much heavier plywood has become in the last 40 years.

[Cary Falk]

I am building shop cabinets that I am using a lot of plywood. I have been using one of those aluminum straight edges that the BORG sells with a circular saw to break down the sheets. I finish up the cutting on the teblesaw if it is less than 42"(the max length of my fence)

[Tom Adger]

Go to your local HD or lowes, or whatever, and get a 4x8 sheet of styrofoam, and a 2 piece straight edge, they are usually around 9' long put together. Should be about $20. Also get a couple of small C clamps, around 3". Get a good rip blade for your circular saw. I recently got a Freud Avanti, and I like it. Has a thin kerf, and rips easily.

Put the styrofoam on a flat floor. Put the ply on it, clamp the straight edge, and cut away. Two things: put masking tape on your cut line to minimize tearout. And for heavens sake, adjust your cut depth to cut into the styrofoam, but not your floor.

[Greg Crawford]

There are after market sliders, such as the Excalibur, that will handle full sheets.

[Andy Bardowell]

Table saw with a TCG blade and zero clearance insert will make for quick clean cuts. I find that there is nothing that makes short work of sheet goods like a table saw. The problem as you say is the weight to begin each sheet and 3/4 is a killer. I saw a pricey new gadget at Lee Valley that may be worth the investment if you've got a lot to do.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=62580&cat=51&ap=1

[Chris Ricker]

I do what Tom A. said, if for a few sheets, if more than that I would consider another way. If using the Styrofoam set your depth to just clear your wood and not to deep into the foam and you can use the foam many times over:)

[John Lucas]

I do what Tom A. said, if for a few sheets, if more than that I would consider another way. If using the Styrofoam set your depth to just clear your wood and not to deep into the foam and you can use the foam many times over:)

Some good responses here. I use the Festool plunge saw and guide rails. I go for the final dimensioning. All cuts go directly to assembly. I have been making kitchen cabinets with many more to do. System makes it easy...so much so that I sold my Unisaw to get the shop floor back.

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/euro-216.jpg

You can cut all your cabinet parts on the table. Takes about 23 min for a given cabinet case.

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/fest-610.jpg

There are a number of in-use how-to's here: http://www.festoolusa.com/

[J.R. Rutter]

How many sheets / day? How much available space?

There is a LOT of small/midsize cabinet shop equipment on the market right now. You should have many options depending on your needs and constraints.

[Rob Price]

I had a project recently that involved a bunch of walnut plywood with a delicate thin veneer. I used one of these:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16448&filter=straight%20edge%20clamp

and a freud 7 1/4 saw blade from the BORG with very good results. I was able to get accurate, square cuts with very clean edges using my circular saw. Once the panels were a more managable size I used my TS.

I bought the squaring attachment which allows you to attach a shooting board- a strip of wood that extends out several inches from the base of the clamp. When you make your first cut though the shooting board, you now have an idicator you can line up on your mark to make accurate cuts. You still need to use a framing square or triangle to get dead on square, the attachment is more for the shooting board. Admittedly the price of the squaring attachment is outrageous. You may find it cheaper at Amazon or something.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Don,
I'm w/John.
I bought a Festool TS55EQ last summer and haven't looked back since.
By using an assortment of jigs and other shop rigged stops I can make cuts accurate enough to go right from the saw to assembly.

For pieces small enough to go through the TS, I use a sled.

I went with the Festool for a few reasons.

Main ones:
- plunge capability. I have a need down the road for a plunge capable circ saw & the Festool fills it.
- riving knife. One of the frustrations I ran into cutting sheet good with my circ saw was/is a tendancy for the material to bind & throw the saw off track.
- lack of a decent circ saw. I looked at the prices on the better circ saws and found I was nearly half way to the cost of the Festool and still would lack both plunge and riving knife.
- dust control. Hooking a Festool vac to one eliminates all dust/debris. Hooking my Ridgid shop vac to mine, eliminates 95%.
- the old saying - "it's not the arrow, it's the Indian" doesn't hold true for me (YMMV). I'm lacking in the skills department when it comes to making a shop made guide and/or using a non captured rail system. Believe me, I've tried plenty before I bit the bullet and "bought" my skills via a captured guide system like the Festool, DeWalt or EZ.
- local avalibility. I could pick one up, look at it, smell it, taste it, etc. prior to buying it.

Re: captured rail saw systems in general.
For sheer affordable versitilty, the EZ wins hands down. Festool comes in second & DeWalt (for now) trails behind.
Both EZ and Festool can be adapted to use a router, while for the present, I don't believe DeWalt offers that.
I suggest looking at all the systems to see which one is the best overall fit. Personally, I favor the Festool for the saw - but - @ some point I do plan to add an EZ for the router. Festool routers just leave me cold.(YMMV).

Bottom line - I have three tools that have worked perfectly out of the box, have been mindless to setup and use, do exactly what they claim provided I make a little effort on my part) and deliver the goods in a manner that screams "Well Done!".
My TS55EQ, my Starrett 12" square and my Kreg pocket hole jig.

If you get the chance to see one of the GSS in action, please do so.
They are remarkable & do so much more than break down sheet goods.

@ the risk of being labled a smart a$$, I've resisted the urge to post "if you had a GSS, we wouldn't be having this conversation" in respone to more posts than I can count.

[Rob Price]

Even better, let your friend pony up for the Festool and then borrow it, works great for me :D. One of my co-workers has just about every Festool on the market.

It is a very nice system if you have the cash. I went to a demo, and out of all the features, I was most impressed by the DC. The main reason I hesitate to bring out my traditional circular saw is not the cut quality or accuracy, it's the cloud of dust it leaves behind.

[Glenn Clabo]

Doc,
I've used the basic EZ setup through a few major projects. In fact...I built the recently completed bathroom vanity never using a table saw. I chose it because I already had a saw...and couldn't rationalize the expense of the Festool system. It's extremely simple to use, accurate and really cuts down the possibility of mistakes.

[Kevin L. Pauba]

Used a table saw as a kid but now love the EZ system. With the Repeaters (or Cabinet Maker) and the Smart Square makes for quick cabinet work. I'm looking forward to getting a 10 1/4" Makita where I should be able to use my Bridge (B300) to gang cut 3-4 sheets at a time. Hey, looks like you can have yourself a beam saw for a fraction of the $50K mentioned earlier!

[Jerome Hanby]

I would build a cutting table out of 2x4s and a set of banquet table legs (Fine Woodworking's site shows one). I would get a PSI portable panel saw (Amazon about $108). If you don't already have one, buy a decent circular saw to use with the PPS (I use an Hitachi from Lowes about $80) .

I think that PPS is the best thing for the money since sliced bread. Has two rails so you can actually cut a full diagonal across 8' x 4' material. If you drill a few holes and attach a little hardboard, then you don't even have to worry about any measurements on setup, just line up the hardboard to your lines and let it rip (pun intended).

I wont argue that the EZ and Festool systems might be a little nicer, but for more $$$...

[Byron Trantham]

I can't manhandle full sheets of plywood safely. My shop is in the walkout basement and there isn't enough room to manage full sheets with my table saw. Mt wife came up with idea of making a "cutting table" in the garage. After a little thought I decided the idea was brilliant! The table is a 2x4 frame and legs with a 3/4" thick sheet of cheap plywood for the surface. The legs fold up and the whole assembly is raised to the ceiling of the garage via a manual pulley system. The surface isn't attached to the frame. Its held in place with wood clips at each corner. Surface gets too cut up, no problem, remove it and insert a new one. My cutting guide is one of those 8' long guides for ripping and a 4' one for cross cuts. I use a Milwaukee 7 1/4" saw equipped with a Forrest veneer blade. I go get a load of sheet goods and back the truck up the garage door and slide one sheet at a time onto the table and subdivide the sheets. The parts are numbered and hauled (safely) to the shop. Now I don't have to lift a single full sheet!:D I cut up 16 sheets yesterday and this morning I am cutting nice light pieces with the table saw and SCMS.

[frank shic]

i recommend an aftermarket sliding table like the exaktor if you are strong enough to lift plywood sheets by yourself. it's nice to be able to get FINISH cuts without having to trim them down afterwards and to constantly worry about making square cuts which is a problem i've experienced with the EZ cutting system and which i'm sure exists with the festool system as well. using the fence is a lot more efficient than fiddling around with adjustable locators or trying to cut to a pencil mark.

[Paul Johnstone]

If you had a project which required a lot of plywood to cut what would you use to cut the plywood AND why?

Some thoughts:

Table saw - works, but cumbersome with full sheets.
Add slider to saw - is there an aftermarket big enough to actually work?
Panel saw - expensive, but dedicated to this task.
Guideded saw system (Festool/EZ) - expensive (Festool), time to set-up.

As always, thanks for your advice.

Be well,

Doc

If you were making a lot of cuts that had to have the same width, then I think a table saw is clearly the best way.

The thought of making a shelving units and cutting up 5 sheets of plywood, each into four 11 3/4" wide strips using a track saw just seems to be a huge PITA. All the measuring and double checking to make sure they are all the same width would be a nightmare, although I'm sure it's possible.

Just build an infeed and an outfeed table for your tablesaw. There are several jigs which will assist with keeping the plywood against the fence. I made one with a large spring, some wood, and a lawnmower wheel.. keeps the plywood against the fence really well. Other people like board buddies, but I have not tried them on a tablesaw. Get a second person to help you move the plywood sheets on to the infeed table if you can't do it alone.. My infeed table is simply my router table (made at the same height as the TS).

[Don Abele]

Excellent input guys - THANKS!

OK, I'm talking about a kitchen remodel that would involve about 20-30 sheets that would need to be knocked down into the cases. A lot of same sized pieces.

While I don't work a lot with plywood, having something that works well is really what I am looking for. Timeliness, ease of use and set-up, accuracy, and repeatability are key factors.

Oddly enough, the one tool that I thought fit all of these and was the logical choice has not been given a lot of attention - a dedicated vertical panel saw. Though expensive and a space hog, it seems to fit the bill.

And I'm done with using a tablesaw. My back just ain't what it used to be. However, I'm all for using the TS to get them to a final dimension (and all the same).

The slider seems to be out as it has the same drawbacks as just using the tablesaw.

The guided systems are what most are advocating. But...how easy is it to get them to be accurate, in regards to squareness? How much time is involved. I don't want to spend 10 minutes on each sheet laying out the cut lines, then aligning the straight edge. Also, for circular saws, I have two Craftsman - one about 5 years old (plastic) and one about 20 years old (metal). While they work very well for knocking down stuff quickly, I don't think they are accurate enough to give final dimension quality. I'd need a new saw (and definitely some quality blades).

As for the Festool - I know I get the added benefit of the plunge and awesome dust collection, but to get a saw, 55" & 106" rail, and clamps is over $1000 (and that's without the dust extractor). The Milwaukee vertical panel saw is only $1300.

Time really is of the essence, because IF I do this project I will have VERY little time to get it done.

Keep the ideas coming, I really appreciate it.

Be well,

Doc

[Ben Franz]

I've used a cutting frame clamped or screwed to sawhorses and a Skilsaw to rough cut, then finish breakdown and final sizing on tablesaw. The frame has sacrificial support pieces made from utility 2x4 stock. I unload stock from the truck right onto the frame to minimize full sheet moving. I think this is as fast as most other methods and doesn't require shop space or great expense. I can still handle full sheets alone but I'm noticing that they are getting heavier each year. Maybe it's all the industrial waste metal the Chinese plywood mills include for free. My $.02 only, YMMV.

[frank shic]

don, industrial vertical panel saws work great but not the cheaper less than $10,000 DIY'er versions. using the guided circular saw system will definitely burn more time with laying out the cuts unless you use something with adjustable stops like the previously mentioned EZ cabinetmaker but despite my best efforts, i've yet to get consistently square parts. however, if your back is not up for hefting them on to the table saw, that is perhaps your best option. if you live in the northern california area, i'd be more than happy to sell you my EZ gear.

[Vince Shriver]

How about this: order them from your lumber supplier cut into quarter/half sheets. May be a few cents @ft more, but sure would solve lots of problems. Mose lumber yards sell quarter sheets.

[Dino Makropoulos]

don, industrial vertical panel saws work great but not the cheaper less than $10,000 DIY'er versions. using the guided circular saw system will definitely burn more time with laying out the cuts unless you use something with adjustable stops like the previously mentioned EZ cabinetmaker but despite my best efforts, i've yet to get consistently square parts. however, if your back is not up for hefting them on to the table saw, that is perhaps your best option. if you live in the northern california area, i'd be more than happy to sell you my EZ gear.

Frank,
In case you don't know, eurekazone (we) offers free upgrades on all ez tools.
If you have any problem with any of our tools, you can :
A. Send it back for a full refund. (30 days with no questions asked)
B. Replace it with another (Lifetime )
B. Replace it with the latest version at no charge.
( Free lifetime upgrade policy)

And here is the good part. You don't have to be the original owner.

Thanks
YCF Dino
Eurekazone.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Doc, my prefered way would be to stack a pile of sheets on the Felder slider, and go to work. This class of slider is practically nothing like a regular tablesaw. Of course they are quite pricey, but if you are looking for the best and fastest method, there you go. If cost is an issue, one of the other advocated options will work ok, but as efficient, accurate and quick as a slider they are not.

IMHO, there is not really any good way to avoid a bit of a workout building cabinets. You will lug all those components around far more times than you expect. Why on earth would you want to add another move to them and rough size on one machine, then trim to final size on another? The best way to get accurate, quickly is a table saw. Bias to crosscuts with a slider, rips with a traditional saw.

If you really want to buy efficiency, get a good cutlist program, and plan your cuts for maximum efficiency.

[Steve Clardy]

No matter what you use, your are still lifting and moving that plywood around.

[Karl Brogger]

No matter what you use, your are still lifting and moving that plywood around.

hmmm, I probably shouldn't do this. :eek:

1. unload and rack by hand because I don't have enough room for a forklift.
2. rip to size, lean against wall.
3. Crosscut to size lean against different wall near dado saw
4.1 In the case of base's do all of the similar machining at once i.e.bottom dado in all the sides
4.2 dado for stretchers
4.3 dado for cleates (to be fair I usually just stack all the parts on the outfeed table when I'm bulk maching base parts.
5. lean up against wall/bench near line bore
6. drill shelf holes, lean up somewhere else that will probably be in the way.
7. sand parts, lean up near bench
8. assemble parts
9. move assembled cabinet to staging area (which probably means moving a couple more times to make room for other cabinets).
10. load into trailer
11. unload from trailer and get them semi close to where they need to be
12. set em'

The way I do things parts get handled at least a dozen times, so yeah don't add insult to injury. Just had another horrible thought, that's if its going into a house unfinished. Add two more loads and unloads from the trailer for trips to the finishers.:o

[Jason White]

Festool plunge cut saw.

I have a very small shop (1 car garage) and there's nothing better when dealing with full 4x8 sheets by myself. I set the plywood on the workbench, draw layout lines for all my pieces, and cut them to final dimensions right there on the workbench. Much better and easier than trying to horse a full sheet through the tablesaw, which I've done many times.

The Festool is worth every penny I paid for it!

Jason



If you had a project which required a lot of plywood to cut what would you use to cut the plywood AND why?

Some thoughts:

Table saw - works, but cumbersome with full sheets.
Add slider to saw - is there an aftermarket big enough to actually work?
Panel saw - expensive, but dedicated to this task.
Guideded saw system (Festool/EZ) - expensive (Festool), time to set-up.

As always, thanks for your advice.

Be well,

Doc

[Tom Veatch]

industrial vertical panel saws work great but not the cheaper less than $10,000 DIY'er versions. ...

Frank, I have no intention to start any contentious debate, because you may well be right for production shop applications. Since I've never had the opportunity to use a >$10,000 industrial panel saw I'm in no position to argue the point. But I will testify that my <$300 DIY version (not including the circular saw) works great for my hobbyist application with a much smaller investment. When I first built the saw, I used it quite successfully to cut pieces to final size.

I've moved it around the shop a couple of times since then and haven't taken time to realign and tune it, so it's a little out of adjustment. As a result, cuts across the full width of the sheet vary from a true square cut up to about 1/16". But for my purposes, those are great results. My only complaint is the dust collection is poor to non-existent and I didn't make it tall enough to handle 5' wide Baltic Birch sheets. Next time, I'll address those failings.

Since I don't normally keep an inventory of full size sheets, I'll typically offload from the truck directly onto the saw. That way, most of the time I only handle 4x8 sheets one time.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Don,
Yes - a Festool TS55EQ or TS75EQ is a significant investment.
No disagreement there at all.
The only thing I consider way out of line w/it though is the tacky clamps.
@ > $15.00 ea. for the cheap ones, they are grossly overpriced & in no way shape or form do they reflect Festool quality.

Should you go the Festool route, get the better (twice the price) set of quick release ones.

I'd also recommend scanning both the EZ forum here & the Festool owners forum for some in depth information on what a GSS is capable of doing.
There's an endless assortment of jigs and fixtures for both systems which make most of the setup chores a simple matter of building the right jig.

You might also want to contact a local Festool dealer to see if they do in store demo's.

[Loren Hedahl]

I start with a stack of plywood in the back of a pickup truck, backed up to the garage door.

I use a couple of short pieces of small diameter plastic water pipe that I slip under the top sheet of plywood to help in sliding it off the pile.

I also use four roller stands to assist in sliding each sheet onto a 2 x 4 grid cutting table mentioned above.

All plywood cuts are made with a Festool guided circular saw and vacuum cleaner.

To set my guide rails I accurately cut two spacer sticks with a chop saw, a set for each width of cut needed. Where it is a one time cut, I use the razor blade system described by John Lucas.

I have a portable bench top table saw, a DeWalt 745 for ripping thin components such as cabinet door framing, rails, etc.

That's pretty much the bulk of it!

[frank shic]

the last time i built a batch of shop cabinets, i asked the delivery man to help me unload about 14 sheets of 3/4" melamine on to a table that i had set up next to my tablesaw/exaktor. after that, i'd slide each sheet off on to the tablesaw. if the OP really wants to save time and effort, consider outsourcing to a CNC source like cabparts.com or some place similar although it takes some of the fun out of the project.

[Rob Diz]

I compeltely redid my kitchen, built the cabinets myself. I have a Uni with a 30 inch fence, and a single car garage that is dedicated to my tools.

I pretty much ignored what I had and chose simplicity and space.

I rented an F150 and picked up 20 odd sheets of ply.

I had my three ring binder with my cut list and a system to label each piece on the edge when it was cut to identify which cabinet it went with (I think from Lang's book).

I backed my pickup up to my outside work area - I propped up two saw horses and used a cutting table of 2 x1 on edge - the one that EZ sells. I slid the sheet of ply on to the cutting table, and cut with the EZ rails, labled each piece, on the edge with markie the placed the pieces on moving dollies I got at HF.

It was a dusty day or so, but everything was cut.

I liked being out of my shop because I wasn't banging into things moving around with my cut ply.

I really liked the EZ system. Measure twice, cut once and you are done.

the table saw would have been a kickback disaster.

I did not need to trim up my pieces on teh TS. All was cut w/in tolerances.

I used a PC Mag CS. If you go with EZ, call Dino (the owner and inventor). he can point you to a saw that will have a depth of cut to go through two sheets of ply. With the base affixed to my saw, I could not do that, which slowed me down a touch - but it wasn't worth it to me to buy another CS.

BTW, I used blum leg levelers. My cabinets went in flush to each other, and the granite guys did not need to use a single shim when they installed the top - quite unusual for them.

good luck with the project.

[Andrew Joiner]

don, industrial vertical panel saws work great but not the cheaper less than $10,000 DIY'er versions. using the guided circular saw system will definitely burn more time with laying out the cuts unless you use something with adjustable stops like the previously mentioned EZ cabinetmaker but despite my best efforts, i've yet to get consistently square parts. however, if your back is not up for hefting them on to the table saw, that is perhaps your best option. if you live in the northern california area, i'd be more than happy to sell you my EZ gear.

Frank,
I had a basic Safety Speed Cut vertical panel saw for years. It cut perfectly. Now my homemade vertical saw has cut up over 200 4x8 sheets all perfectly square.

I do agree the guided saw systems take lots of time to get square repetitive cuts because it's hard to use stops.

Don,
If you have 2 people a cabinet saw cuts a lot panels fast and square. For 1 person I'm a big fan of vertical panel saws.

The Milwaukee vertical panel saw is only $1300. You would have to put a 10' long fence it for ripping 8' long. A straight 2x4 should work.

I think there is a reason that lumber yards use vertical panel saws rather than "guided saw systems". Could be they are fast , accurate and durable.

[frank shic]

no matter which system you go with to cut the panels, i would highly encourage you to do some research on building the cabinets in the euro fashion using every piece of hardware that you can to simplify and speed the process: levelling legs, euro hinges, metal drawer boxes and cabinet hangers. bob buckley has a wonderful book on this process although it's not exactly an intro text and has only a few black and white photos.

[Tom Adger]

I go back to my earlier post, lay it on the floor, with a piece of styrofoam under it, and cut it into managable sizes. Cut a little oversize, then go to your table saw. Try not to reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of expensive jigs and stuff out there that many folks are happy to recommend to you. In my 67 years, this is one of the things I learned early: in some instances take the tool to the work, and in some, take the work to the tool. Happy woodworking. I hope your cabinets turn out great.

[jud dinsmore]

there are a lot of cabinet shops with not much to do that could do what you want without requiring a capital investment. we'll all agree that purchasing equipment is a fun experience in itself but you should weigh new purchases against future work projections. i've had a hard time sticking to this myself but it is good advise.

i've got a 10' slider and have a contact with a cnc shop if you are interested.

good luck,

jud

[Don Abele]

...i've got a 10' slider and have a contact with a cnc shop if you are interested...

Jud, thanks for the offer - but the house is in Boston.

I'm in the Navy and was transferred to Virginia last October. We have been unable to sell our house, so my family are still up there while I am down here in Portsmouth. We have been considering a kitchen make-over as it's the only room in the house that we didn't get to. I've already looked into outsourcing and in the area my house is in, it's over $15K for the cabinets alone.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I have about a month to make up my mind...still caught between a GSS, the styrofoam method, and a vertical panel cutter.

Be well,

Doc

[Steve knight]

cone on now you need a cnc router and a tilting top panel mover. you can drill and dado and all of it at once.

[ron hokenson]

Hi Don..Moving 4X8 sheets of plywood is alot harder than it used to be for me. This is how I do it.

Purchase plywood and have it loaded in my truck with the plywood I will cut first loaded in the truck first.

Back the truck into the front of my garage.

I have 5 of the foldup plastic sawhorses that I put inline to stack the plywood on. Each sawhorse has a 1X2 taped to the top so I won't forget an slice into the sawhorse. The ones I use are "cencor workhorse" and have a weight rating alot higher than I will ever need. They are 29" high.

I slide the plywood off the truck and onto the sawhorses. The last plywood for my project will be on the top in the truck and will be loaded on the bottom of the stack on the sawhorses. I think 10-12 sheets of plywood is the max or me as the height of the worksurface would be too high if I did more. I cut 3/4" or 1/2" usually.

The next thing I do is slide some scrap 3/4" from past projects between the top sheet and the one below it to make sure I cut only the top sheet with no damage to the one below. 1X2's would also work.

The cutting itself is easy and quick with a staright edge and circular saw.
I Just clamp The straight edge( a 10 and 5 foot piece of aluminum 1/4" thick) and use it as a guide. The cutting done this way makes it so the plywood can be cut down to manageable pieces without having to man handle them.

I recently(this year) started woodworking again and am doing about the same thing but have purchased a festool system that is even easier than the aluminum straight edge I used in the past. It is easy to be very accurate and even more important, the festool system eliminates most of the dust related to saw cutting. The only time I have much dust is when I shave a thin slice off a piece. I also purchased a festool worktable that makes the smaller cuts very easy, accurate and safe.

It only takes one time handling plywood in the wrong way and it could result in a back injury that could last a lifetime. You are smart in looking ahead to the most effective way of doing your project... Good luck with it.

...ron

[Jerry Jaksha]

Cutting plywood on a tablesaw is much easier with feeder rollers keeping the wood down and against the fence, just like mouldings are kept against shaper cutters. Power feeders on a saw are a pain to set up, and expensive, but are great for production.
For a fast setup and great holdover friction, the sandpaper rollers on the Grip-Tite magnetic hold down work well. The manufacturer claims 10 -15 pounds (x2 grip-tites) hold over power. When done with the plywood, I use them on my router to hold 3/4" x3/4" x10' edge moldings against the router fence.

Jerry

[Ron Bontz]

Track saw or Festool thingy. If nothing else it's a good excuse for a new toy err tool. I simply used plenty of support rollers around my unisaw to make things easy. Once your set up it's good to go. My ply was 1/2" and 3/4" ply. Worked well for the kitchen I just did and I did not have a lot of money tied up in extra goodies. 20-30 sheets may seem like a lot. But it is a one time deal. Yes? Those rollers work well for the occassional sheet as well.:)

[Jason White]

Tablesaw for lots of rips that are the same width.

Festool-type guided tracksaw for just about everything else.

Jason


If you had a project which required a lot of plywood to cut what would you use to cut the plywood AND why?

Some thoughts:

Table saw - works, but cumbersome with full sheets.
Add slider to saw - is there an aftermarket big enough to actually work?
Panel saw - expensive, but dedicated to this task.
Guideded saw system (Festool/EZ) - expensive (Festool), time to set-up.

As always, thanks for your advice.

Be well,

Doc

[Rob Damon]

Don,

Don't know if you are still looking for methods.

Couldn't you buy the plywood here and precut all the cabinet carcasses now, then just rent a U-haul and haul the precut, pre-dado pieces up to the house in Boston. Then just do the assembly/finishing at the house in Boston?

Rob

[Scott Coffelt]

I stick built a bar with my GSS system, in about a day and 1/2. I am building my kitchen cabinets with it as well. No need to cut twice, just measure and cut and I am done. No issues with time or repeatability using some simple measuring sticks. I get good clean cuts and edges. Much easier to take from truck to the saw horses. I do use my TS for the drawer material, but the cases themselves are all done via the GSS.

My brand of choice is Festool, but others work as well.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

If you had a project which required a lot of plywood to cut what would you use to cut the plywood AND why?

Components of your question that have not been made clear:

Do you mean a machine that I own or a machine that I'd purchase?

And cut to what tolerances?

What does a "lot of plywood" mean?




Table saw - works, but cumbersome with full sheets.Not if you build the saw inside a larger table ( lots of guys do this) so that you are never struggling to balance it while it's being cut


Add slider to saw - is there an aftermarket big enough to actually work?Some guys like these things. I've heard they are quickly knocked out of alignment and gamey in use.


Panel saw - expensive, but dedicated to this task.If you mean a sliding table saw it is not dedicated. Sliders happen to process sheet stock extremely well. But they are far from the most efficient.

Stand up type panel saws come in all flavors from the type they use at the BORG to break down your plywood for you to CNC Gladiators like the Streibig.


Guideded saw system (Festool/EZ) - expensive (Festool), time to set-up. I've spent too many years clamping boards to plywood to break it down using a hand held circular saw to even consider this option.


If I were going to make a living cutting plywood or MDF and precision and speed were important I'd be looking at a Streibig. http://www.csaw.com/striebig/advant.html
There is nothing that competes with a CNC Streibig when it comes to prtecision and fast panel procesing. .

IF it were merely a domesticated volume that one might undertake to build one's own kitchen or such then I'd use that as an excuse to get a Felder or Hammer sliding saw.

[Dino Makropoulos]

I've spent too many years clamping boards to plywood to break it down using a hand held circular saw to even consider this option.


.

Hi Cliff.
Please, don't take this as another VS this and VS that.
Today's systems are much better than a usual straight edge.
Today's circular saws are very well made.

Here is a video that can help us all understand today's track system.
I know that I'm jumping into a fire but if I don't provide the correct info when the info from the other side is not up to date...it's simply not right.

Here is one of the latest videos that may help more people to be up to date with the ez system and very soon with others.

Cutting panels on the EZ PBB track saws vs tablesaw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLwfUluwj4I&feature=channel_page

Cutting tapers on the ez PBB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LgyejS7A5I

thanks
dino makropoulos
eurekazone

[Dick Sylvan]

#3 Way: Regular tablesaw. I'm not a huge fan of sliders. I've only used two that I thought were worth anything, but still not for what they cost, (out of probably ten or so different saws). One was an Altendorf, and I can't remember the other, but for $20k+ you're better off spending just a bit more on a good panel saw. I've seen used ones go for less than $10k though. I just really hate loading sheets onto a slider, far more so than just using a standard table saw.

I certainly don't like loading plywood onto anything, so what's new. If you think sliders aren't worth anything, then I would scratch my head and wonder if the rest of your comments are worth anything either.

[Jason White]

Don, if you're in Boston you're more than welcome to come over and play with my Festool saw for a bit to see if you like it.

Jason


Jud, thanks for the offer - but the house is in Boston.

I'm in the Navy and was transferred to Virginia last October. We have been unable to sell our house, so my family are still up there while I am down here in Portsmouth. We have been considering a kitchen make-over as it's the only room in the house that we didn't get to. I've already looked into outsourcing and in the area my house is in, it's over $15K for the cabinets alone.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I have about a month to make up my mind...still caught between a GSS, the styrofoam method, and a vertical panel cutter.

Be well,

Doc

[Jason White]

Dino, if you're going to advertise, please don't do it here!

Spend the money and do it someplace else.

Moderators??

Jason




Hi Cliff.
Please, don't take this as another VS this and VS that.
Today's systems are much better than a usual straight edge.
Today's circular saws are very well made.

Here is a video that can help us all understand today's track system.
I know that I'm jumping into a fire but if I don't provide the correct info when the info from the other side is not up to day...it's simply not right.

Here is one of the latest videos that may help more people to be up to date with the ez system and very soon with others.

Cutting panels on the EZ PBB track saws vs tablesaw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLwfUluwj4I&feature=channel_page

Cutting tapers on the ez PBB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LgyejS7A5I

thanks
dino makropoulos
eurekazone

[Dino Makropoulos]

Dino, if you're going to advertise, please don't do it here!

Spend the money and do it someplace else.

Moderators??

Jason

Jason,
People come to the forums for up to date info and new methods.
The reality is that you never know who is who and who they work for.
At least, you know me and I provided real visual info that may help others and future threads.
I deserve the right ( By US LAW and forum fairness ) to post and correct anything that provided wrong info about my tools.

thanks.