cutting down a hollow cylinder with Festool Circular Saw

[Scott Felicetti]

I don't know if this can be done accurately but perhaps someone here has done it. I have a 10" long 12" diameter hollow cylinder. The thickness of the wall is between 1/4" and 1/3". The cylinder is made of maple. I need to cut the cylinder down from 10" long to 9" long. How do I remove 1/2" from each end of the cylinder using my Festool Circular Saw? The procedure is usually performed on a table saw by placing the edge of the cylinder against a fence and then spinning the cylinder slowly around the blade. I want to avoid the table saw and come up with a decent method of using the Festool Plunge cut circular saw. Ideas? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Scott

[Scott Coffelt]

Why don't you make you a jig - U shapped where you lay the cylinder in, that can accept a straight edge along the top, then turn on your sawand then rotate the cylinder.

[Vijay Kumar]

I am not sure if this is a job for the Festool. This is how I would do it.

On a table saw. Make a V Block Sled about 6-12 inch long. Mount a bar on the bottom of the sled so that it can slide on the miter slots.
Place the cylinder in the V Block. Slide the V Block as the saw is spinning. As soon as it starts cutting through the walls, stop the sled and the saw. (This can be done in the reverse order if you feel that is safer). Stop the saw. prevent the sled from moving by clamping etc. Holding the cylinder firmly turn on the saw, and slowly rotate it in the v block.

I am curious to see what other answers you might get.

Vijay



I don't know if this can be done accurately but perhaps someone here has done it. I have a 10" long 12" diameter hollow cylinder. The thickness of the wall is between 1/4" and 1/3". The cylinder is made of maple. I need to cut the cylinder down from 10" long to 9" long. How do I remove 1/2" from each end of the cylinder using my Festool Circular Saw? The procedure is usually performed on a table saw by placing the edge of the cylinder against a fence and then spinning the cylinder slowly around the blade. I want to avoid the table saw and come up with a decent method of using the Festool Plunge cut circular saw. Ideas? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Scott

[Jim Becker]

For hand-held use, I believe a jigsaw would be safer and easier than using a circular saw.

[Alfred Clem]

Sounds like a simple job for a back saw -- forget the Festool saw. I would first make a series of cuts around the perimeter of the opening, one inche deep. Nibble away with complete control and accuracy.

[Jim Becker]

Sounds like a simple job for a back saw -- forget the Festool saw. I would first make a series of cuts around the perimeter of the opening, one inche deep. Nibble away with complete control and accuracy.

With some thought, I have to agree with this...better than my earlier suggestion for the jig saw...and more controllable.

[Michael Schwartz]

Mark out a line and use a Japanese pull saw.

[Dan Clark]

Even as a fan of Festool saws, I would suggest using a Japanese pull saw. I think a decent Dozuki would the tool of choice. That would be much safer and easier than trying to use either any circular saw or even a table saw.

If you don't already have one, you can a decent one for about $30.

Just mark the line, get into a comfortable, stable position, line it up nicely, and cut.

Dan.

[Scott Felicetti]

Thanks guys. So it sounds like a Japanese Pull Saw for this job. Can I get a fairly clean straight line with this method? Any hints for marking a line equidistant 1/4" or so all the way around the bottom of the cylinder. The edge of the cylinder is not currently flat. It's a little wavy and chipped up. Again thanks for all your help.
Scott

[Ray Knight]

If this is a straight cylinder, you can get a close accurate mark, by wrapping the cylinder with large piece of solid wrapping paper, carefully aligning the edge as it is wrapped, you then have an accurate line. This is a method carpenters frequently use to scribe porch columns before sawing. You can then cut with the weapon of your choice. Ray Knight

[Jamie Buxton]

Okay, you guys who suggested the hand saw (which seems like a good idea to me too), go on to the next issue: how do you hold the cylinder while you saw it? The scheme which occurs to me is to impale it on a horizontal 4x4 or the like, but I suspect it will flop around. Better ideas?

[Dan Clark]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why not just get a couple of 2X4's, screw 'em to a small piece of plywood an appropriate width apart, and staple a little rubber sheet to each. Flop the cylinder on top so that it's suspended between the 2X4's, hold it with one hand and cut with the other. That should be very stable.

The rubber sheeting might not be necessary; just the 2X4's would probably be enough.

Dan.

[Greg Funk]

If you really want to cut it with a Festool saw you could throw together a little jig like this. You would need to rotate the cylinder 5 or 6 times but if you have one decent reference edge it should work.

Greg

[Charlie Plesums]

This job seems to cry for a bandsaw. Most (with a riser block, if a small saw) would handle the 12 inch diameter.

[Vijay Kumar]

This job seems to cry for a bandsaw. Most (with a riser block, if a small saw) would handle the 12 inch diameter.

I like this answer the best and certainly better than my answer.

Vijay

[Scott Felicetti]

If you really want to cut it with a Festool saw you could throw together a little jig like this. You would need to rotate the cylinder 5 or 6 times but if you have one decent reference edge it should work.

Greg

When I was originally thinking about using the festool I was envisioning something like this. I believe 99% of the time the cutting of the hollow cylinder is done on a table saw. I have a nice video of it being done on a table saw. The cylinder is pressed against the fence and rotated around the blade. I don't have a table saw so I'm looking for the alternative that will work best. The plunge cut aspect of the festool is what intrigued me most. I think I can get a nice start and stop out of it with the plunge feature. One of the biggest drawbacks with the table saw set up is starting the cut of a cylinder and ending the cut. I've been using the festool (after crazy debates a month or so back here on the Creek) for the other aspects of my projects and simply love the thing. I'm a novice compared to 99% on this board, however, I can't imagine using a saw without that plunge feature. If feels so right. I have much more control over what I'm doing.

[David Epperson]

OK. Maybe I'm dense. I've made this cut before with one of the "old standard" regular old circular saws. They usually have an edge guide attachment - essentially a fence - built into the shoe plate. Even my el-cheapos did. And I had no problem at all cutting through 18" diameter cylinders of fiberglas with 3/4" walls. Getting the first cut good and true and square was the hard part. After the reference cut it was mostly gravy.

[Dan Clark]

This job seems to cry for a bandsaw. Most (with a riser block, if a small saw) would handle the 12 inch diameter.
If you have one, I think Charlie's approach is the best. It solves a number of issues easily and safely.

As a Festoolian, I'm oriented to portable tools. Other than a thickness planer (I have a DW735) and perhaps a drill press, a band saw is one of the few traditional power tools that I think is truly necessary (and the right tool for this job). However...

There's the small issue of getting one if you don't have it. A decent one will set you back about $750. A nice Dozuki costs about $30.

Regards,

Dan.

[Rick Christopherson]

This job seems to cry for a bandsaw. Most (with a riser block, if a small saw) would handle the 12 inch diameter.Just a word of caution: if you don't constrain the column from rotating, the blade will grab it and make quite a mess of things.

[Jim Becker]

This job seems to cry for a bandsaw. Most (with a riser block, if a small saw) would handle the 12 inch diameter.

This would be a very unsafe cut without a special jig to hold the cylinder securely...many folks have been injured or suffered from "a need to change their underwear" when a bandsaw blade caught and took a cylindric object (including small logs) out of control.

Edit...I see that Rick also brought this up.

[Steve Jenkins]

Do you have a biscuit joiner?. Set the fence so the bottom of the blade is at the line you want to cut to then simply stand the cylinder on end and slide the joiner around the top. I have trimmed cylinders and table legs in this manner and it works pretty well. I climb cut to reduce tearout and of course the ends of the cylinder must be square since you are following them.

[joe greiner]

I know we all love our power tools, but this situation seems a little squirrelly for any of them, particularly with the uneven end(s). I'd go with Ray's wrapping paper to establish the cutting line, and Dan's 2x4's for positioning (WITH the rubber sheeting to preserve the surface). Cut with a pull saw, large back saw, or Jorgensen-type miter saw without the miter box. Make a shallow cut with each stroke, and rotate a few degrees for each stroke. It'll take several revolutions to cut all the way through, but there's less risk of damage to you or it. The final cut face may need a little sanding to true back to the cutting line at the surface of the cylinder. I've used this technique on smaller cylinders, using paper adding-machine tape and a hack saw, but neither would be suitable for a piece this large.

Just my 1.5 cents' worth.

Joe

[Scott Felicetti]

I know we all love our power tools, but this situation seems a little squirrelly for any of them, particularly with the uneven end(s). I'd go with Ray's wrapping paper to establish the cutting line, and Dan's 2x4's for positioning (WITH the rubber sheeting to preserve the surface). Cut with a pull saw, large back saw, or Jorgensen-type miter saw without the miter box. Make a shallow cut with each stroke, and rotate a few degrees for each stroke. It'll take several revolutions to cut all the way through, but there's less risk of damage to you or it. The final cut face may need a little sanding to true back to the cutting line at the surface of the cylinder. I've used this technique on smaller cylinders, using paper adding-machine tape and a hack saw, but neither would be suitable for a piece this large.

Just my 1.5 cents' worth.

Joe

Joe,
I think I'm going to try this method today. If each end of my cylinder is a little jagged and not perfectly even and flat how do I use the wallpaper or tape to make a straight line around the end of the cylinder? I'm only taking off about a 1/4" from each end. Both ends are not even and straight. So I don't have a good flat even point of reference to start. If I cut the wall paper to say 11 1/2" leaving a 1/4" exposed on each end and make sure the wall paper is put on the cylinder straight I should have an even line around the cylinder a 1/4" from each edge, no? Is this what people are talking about?

Second choice would be to buy an inexpensive table top table saw. 100-200 bucks? This is still the only method I see being used consistently out there. Rolling the cylinder edge around the table saw blade while standing to the side. However, if my edges are not flat to start placing the edge against a fence for cutting will not result in an even cut. I will have to sand flat on a flat table with sandpaper.

Again thanks for all the suggestions.
Scott

[Scott Felicetti]

Done. I built a quick little holder with two 2x4's and covered it in rubber as suggested. I used contact paper to get a good line around bottom edge and cut away with a back saw. Repeated procedure for other side. Then needed some sanding. Not too much work...if your Amish.