Cutting station for radial arm saw?

[Jason White]

I need to bang together a work station out of 2x material and plywood for my radial arm saw, which I plan to use for a big siding job. The siding comes in 12-foot lengths, so I need something kinda long. I'd like to also have something at the rear for catching dust (will be cutting fiber cement so this is critical).

Anybody got any pics of a RAS "workstation" they can share? If not, have you seen any plans for one?

Jason

[Louis Rucci]

If you're talking about cross cutting vinyl siding, there's an easier way. I took a 4x8 sheet of plywood layed on top of two saw horses. I then took two 1x4's and rabbeted one side. I screwed them, rabbet down facing each other, the width of the siding. I took two pieces of aluminum angle mounted perpendicular to the guides for the saw. This has the benefit of keeping the saw in place, and your hands from the blade.

After building, use the saw to cut the kerf. You can make a simple stop block attachments for repeat cuts.
All I had to do was slide the vinyl to the cutting line and cut. Make sure you us a steel plywood blade installed backwards. This way it'll cut smooth.

As a additional safety benefit, the two siding guides keep the vinyl secured in place. My fear is the siding would flap around on the Radial Arm table and be a nightmare to hold in place with that exposed spinning blade. :eek:

I first used this technique 5 years ago, remembering that a friend built a beautiful addition to his house with a similar, but larger setup. He cut all the framing and siding with a circular saw. So impressive I remembered that 20 years later.

[Rick Levine]

Jason,

My setup is much more elaborate than you probably want but just for future reference here's mine.

[Lon LeBlanc]

Very nice setup, Rick. Looks like an adaptation of Norm Abram's miter/radial work station.


Lon

[Tom Hargrove]

The dust generated by cutting fiber cement siding can be as bad or worse than dust from MDF, and the silica content makes it more dangerous than wood dust. Fiber cement siding tends to flop around, so I think building a dedicated cutting bench such as the one described above, would work out better in the long run. You could move it around the house easier than you can a RAS, and dust collection would be better, especially if you can utilize a circular saw with a good dust port and a collection system.

I would not cut fiber cement inside a building absent good quality dust control.

[Jason White]

Not vinyl siding, fiber cement.

JW


If you're talking about cross cutting vinyl siding, there's an easier way. I took a 4x8 sheet of plywood layed on top of two saw horses. I then took two 1x4's and rabbeted one side. I screwed them, rabbet down facing each other, the width of the siding. I took two pieces of aluminum angle mounted perpendicular to the guides for the saw. This has the benefit of keeping the saw in place, and your hands from the blade.

After building, use the saw to cut the kerf. You can make a simple stop block attachments for repeat cuts.
All I had to do was slide the vinyl to the cutting line and cut. Make sure you us a steel plywood blade installed backwards. This way it'll cut smooth.

As a additional safety benefit, the two siding guides keep the vinyl secured in place. My fear is the siding would flap around on the Radial Arm table and be a nightmare to hold in place with that exposed spinning blade. :eek:

I first used this technique 5 years ago, remembering that a friend built a beautiful addition to his house with a similar, but larger setup. He cut all the framing and siding with a circular saw. So impressive I remembered that 20 years later.

[Jason White]

I will be cutting outside.

JW


The dust generated by cutting fiber cement siding can be as bad or worse than dust from MDF, and the silica content makes it more dangerous than wood dust. Fiber cement siding tends to flop around, so I think building a dedicated cutting bench such as the one described above, would work out better in the long run. You could move it around the house easier than you can a RAS, and dust collection would be better, especially if you can utilize a circular saw with a good dust port and a collection system.

I would not cut fiber cement inside a building absent good quality dust control.

[Jason White]

Sweet! Looks just like Norm's.

Yes, a little bit elaborate for my short-term needs. Think framing lumber and CDX plywood on top of sawhorses. I need a "get er done" workstation.

Anybody else?

Jason


Jason,

My setup is much more elaborate than you probably want but just for future reference here's mine.

[Jason White]

bumpity bump bump

bumpalicious!


I will be cutting outside.

JW

[Ed Jolin]

Sorry, no pics because I just took it down, but I needed a similar setup while constructing two garden sheds (still in progress....). I log rolled a table out from my shop to the rv pad, and loaded my MBF on it. I airnailed a 2x4x10 to the back of the fence to make an extended fence, and supported the other end of it with a roller stand I picked up from woodcraft for $25 bucks. Then I made an L-bracket that lipped over the 2x10 as a stop block, and used a C-clamp to hold it where I set it. Took me 30 min to get it all set up, and has been my sawstation for several weeks as I've progressed through the project.

Not fancy, and not pretty, but worked great, and so much nicer than a chopsaw, imo.

Until, of course, the MBF died. Appears to be a dead cap on the motor; probably from the 100 degree heat sitting outside for weeks. Luckily, I had a 925 that I picked up cheap from CL but never used :D. I wish I'd used it from the start; much more power.

I didn't use any dust collection, but if I needed it, I'd probably cut up a 4x8 sheet into 3 pieces 16" wide, airnail together into a 'U' shape and stand it up behind the saw (secured to the table?), which would contain most of the dust to a 16"x16" area on the ground behind the saw, which would be easily cleaned up.

Just a couple ideas -

Have fun!
-ed