I finally built my vertical panel saw

[Nathan Ginder]

Hey Guys,
My last few weekends have gone into building this vertical panel saw, thought I'd share how it turned out... I used the 80/20 series 15 extrusions with the linear bearing blocks. I'm very satisfied with the sliding action with zero slop in the linear slides - 80/20 includes a shim kit with the linear bearings to get it perfect. I decided to go a little larger than originally planned, vertical crosscut capacity is 5' and the length is 11'. Cutting thickness is limited to 1.5". I've got a few more odds and ends to finish up: installing the tape measure on my Kreg Trak length stop, also would like to install tape measure on the 80/20 rail for setting the width of rip.

The cut quality is much better then I expected, although I did step-up to the Makita track saw instead of a basic circular saw. My thought was the track saw is much nicer to plunge to my desired depth to make a score cut first (cutting backward) then plunge thru and make final cut. It actually crosscuts cuts veneer plywood with barely any chip-out on front side and that's without a score cut first... who would have thought. Pretty impressed with this Makita saw.
Today I spent time squaring the saw using the 5 cut method, which worked very nice. The fence pivots at the center point so I could make the fine adjustments needed then lock it in place. It ended up square to approx 1/64" over 48". I never had a need for a Feeler gauge set but that would have been helpful today. I used paper shims which took some time to get correct. The dust collection works well but could be better, a small amount of dust is laying on the fence after each cut. All dust from backside of cut drops into dust chamber and is sucked up.

Question for those with vertical panel saws: how often do you rip vs crosscut? I doubt I'll rip very often but was curious how others use their panel saws... Thanks


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[Mark Bolton]

Nice work. Some serious commitment there. Looks great.

[Matt Day]

Very nice work and well executed. Should prove very handy. How much did the materials cost you?

Question - why did you spend the extra money on the track saw? Seems to me you already built the track with the 80/20 parts, so a standard circular saw would have been the same. There aren't any special anti-tear out features on the Makita track saw that in an recall.

[Nathan Ginder]

Matt, I guess I decided to go with the track saw for 2 reasons. The plunge action & depth of cut adjustment is nicer than a standard circular saw. The second reason is the dust collection. The track saw has the dust port - I didn't want to modify a standard circular saw by added dust port. Oh, and the track saw is variable speed which might be nice:D

[Matt Day]

Gotcha. Good reasons. What did it all cost you?

[Keith Outten]

Honestly I'm surprised that more woodworkers don't own panel saws. I purchased mine many years ago and find it very useful, in fact it is one of the reasons that I don't use my table saw anymore. Panel saws use a lot of wall space but very few square feet of floor space which is more precious in most shops.

Generally speaking I crosscut about 75% of the time, once a panel is cut it is almost always small enough to rotate so I can crosscut the second time. When i do rip on my panel saw I use clamps when I can to keep the top piece from dropping down as I make the cut. I also cut just about as much plastic as I do wood panels.
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[Keith Hankins]

Sweet. I'd be interested in your total $$ sunk. I have the festool tracksaw and use the 2" thick insulation on floor to cut mine now. I keep watching for a comerical unit to pop up on CL.

[Nathan Ginder]

My total investment is approx. $650 plus $400 for the saw (plus my labor) but that's free since most of my woodworking is a hobby. I'd estimate about 50 - 60 hours went into this, from design to build. I could have bought a pre-owned low grade panel saw on Craigslist for less, but I doubt it could cut 5' vertically and include dust collection.

[Brian W Smith]

Looks good....

Ours is a true,XY.The "trick" part has nothing to do with the mechanical part.It utilized an existing 8' high,10' long,12" deep, storage unit.The panel saw's,verts....align directly over the existing styles.Which BTW,this was a full on,face framed,cock beaded,5" crown....and fully painted unit before turning it into the XY.

The units,"bulk" is what anchors the whole thing.Meaning,it was WELL supported.I cut plywood"inserts" that drop into a lower track,covering all the hdwr we store on the original unit.

It has performed flawlessly.Maybe 100$?And lost maybe 6" of floor space.

[Martin Wasner]

Question for those with vertical panel saws: how often do you rip vs crosscut?


I rip with mine almost daily.

[Justin Ludwig]

I rip with mine almost daily.

+1. I prefer cross cutting and can do up to 62" on my saw, but I rip a bunch too. I have shims in my pocket when I have to rip large end panels so the piece doesn't fall or pinch.

[Warren Lake]

what are 80/20 slides. I have one set up with Tompson or THK linear bearings, expensive stuff that needs to be taken apart as dust got in in its previous life. I wonder what is around that is a long track and and decent quality, would have potential for a number of uses in the shop

[Nathan Ginder]

what are 80/20 slides. I have one set up with Tompson or THK linear bearings, expensive stuff that needs to be taken apart as dust got in in its previous life. I wonder what is around that is a long track and and decent quality, would have potential for a number of uses in the shop

80/20 Linear bearings are not actually ball bearings, they are basically slides. The contact points are a very hard plastic material which they say is "self lubricated". I'd guess there's less friction with ball bearing slides but I was concerned about dust getting stuck in the small ball bearings which are covered in grease. Friction isn't really a problem for this application because I just adjust the weight of my counter balance weight.

Here's a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ajfmUNBVjo) clip with an overview of their linear motion options. The 8020.net site is extensive - so many ideas.!

[Martin Wasner]

80/20 stuff is tinker toys for overgrown children. Basically aluminum excursions that you can bolt all sorts of stuff to.

I love it and have made a bunch of stuff for the shop. The outboard fence on my main shaper rides on their rails and linear guides. I made a fence that folds up on my line bore since I don't have 14' of wall space. I've got a few projects in mind using their parts I haven't gotten around to.

[Bill Adamsen]

80/20 stuff is tinker toys for overgrown children. Basically aluminum excursions that you can bolt all sorts of stuff to.

At risk of hijacking the thread ... for those working with 80/20 ... where do you get "custom" plates fabricated? I designed some plates (see attached) and have PDF, SKP, DWG AC2K, DXF-3D ... but can't find a firm that is interested in cutting a small run.

Separately, Nathan ... very nice job and well thought out.

[Martin Wasner]

At risk of hijacking the thread ... for those working with 80/20 ... where do you get "custom" plates fabricated? I designed some plates (see attached) and have PDF, SKP, DWG AC2K, DXF-3D ... but can't find a firm that is interested in cutting a small run.

Separately, Nathan ... very nice job and well thought out.


I've had a local fab shop make some things. I think 80/20 offers a service as well

[Mark Bolton]

At risk of hijacking the thread ... for those working with 80/20 ... where do you get "custom" plates fabricated? I designed some plates (see attached) and have PDF, SKP, DWG AC2K, DXF-3D ... but can't find a firm that is interested in cutting a small run.

Separately, Nathan ... very nice job and well thought out.

I'd think any shop with a cnc would run them for you. Not sure about the price point. We'd give it a shot if you cant find anyone else.

[Warren Lake]

Thanks Martin,

that should work for me the overgrown children part