Interesting mishap and a question

[Mike Cutler]

I am currently building a portable generator enclosure, which is nothing more than a large box, measuring 54"x36"x41".
While I was cutting the plywood panels, I must have inadvertently put too much weight on one side of the temporary table I use for plywood, and it collapsed mid cut across the 4' width. The table is an 8'x4' frame that sits on saw horses with extendable outriggers. I have been using this same setup for over a decade now.( Lot of sheetrock and plywood have been cut on this table setup.)

I must have applied too much weight somehow to the one side, 8' long side, that the side collapsed. I caught most everything with my knees, table, plywood, TS75, and rail, but interestingly enough the whole thing ended up angled up like a drafting table. About 12" difference in height across the width.
I finished the cut in this new accidental position, because I had to free up the saw and rail anyway, but found that is was much easier to cut the sheet of plywood, while it was angled like a drafting table. I don't have problems cutting across plywood normally because I'm 6'3" and have long arms, but this made it even easier. The saw felt better in my hand also. I guess just the inch or so difference in effective length was enough.

The question is;

Outside of a panel saw, does anyone have a plywood table that angles the plywood, or does everyone cut plywood while it is flat and parallel to the floor like I've always done?

I'm going to build a cutting table that angles for plywood based on this incident. It would be nice to hear if someone else has tried this.

[glenn bradley]

I could see an ergonomic advantage as long as you were able to cut "uphill". That is, it would be more comfortable for short cuts that one could reach but, maybe not so much for long cuts where one may have to stand to the side. Then again, I could be picturing it wrong. Interesting idea to be sure.

[Ken Kortge]

I use Eurekazone's EZ Smart Multiform Table Top (I actually have an earlier all plastic version), which converts a 3/4"x2'x4' piece of plywood and a few 1x's into a sacrificial cutting table (the top of the 1x's get cut) with sliding extensions. This gives room underneath for me to use clamps for improved precision. I added a banquet table leg set so that it is pretty darn sturdy/stable, folds easily, and reasonably small for storage.

http://www.eurekazone.com/product_p/ezt2300.htm

Many people talk about using a 4x8 sheet of rigid foam laid out on the floor, but my old back/legs/knees simply could not tolerate that.

A more elegant solution is to use a Eurekazone B300 Bridge to convert your Festool track into what the Eurekazone folks call a "Power Bench". Eurekazone is currently selling a limited number of B300 Bridges for only $165 w/ free shipping (normally $250!!).

http://www.eurekazone.com/product_p/ezt1300.htm

A Power Bench is simply a table of whatever size you want, with the two B300 Bridge elements on each end - usually attached using two 1 foot lengths of Eurekazone's Sliding Module Extrusion (SME) as attachment/squaring points for the Bridge elements. You also have to add some kind of fence - usually placed at the end of the Power Bench near the Bridge's handle. The idea is that you slide the ends of the Bridge so that the edge of your track is perfectly square with the fence. The squareness of the table really doesn't matter. You set the blade so it cuts through the top of the table just a bit. The Power Bench is basically a DIY version of Eurekazone's EZ-ONE Woodworking Center.

SME: http://www.eurekazone.com/product_p/ezx7358.htm
EZ-ONE: http://www.eurekazone.com/EZOne_p/ezt1000.htm

[Peter Christensen]

I always thought a drafting table could be the basis for a good saw and router station because of the vertical through horizontal tilt of the table and the drafting machine's ability to glide smoothly across the table. Using a track saw on one might be even better. When they were everywhere I had no room. Now that I have space they are scarce.

[Bill Dufour]

Tilt it too much and the bottom will be so low as to be hard to reach. I wonder how fast a panel saw would rust and become unuseable if left outside leaning against a shop wall but under the eaves.
Bil lD

[John K Jordan]

... a drafting table ... When they were everywhere I had no room. Now that I have space they are scarce.

It's a long drive from Saskatoon but I have one in the back of one of my storage buildings you can have. I could UPS it a piece at a time but it might take a while.

BTW, I've been to Saskatoon just twice - I thought it was beautiful in May, brutal in the winter. A company there licensed one of my patents and a couple of us made some integration trips. In the middle of the winter a guy picked me up at the airport and said "what? you didn't bring GLOVES???!" Hey, it was 50 deg F when I left TN, never imagined a place cold enough to freeze your eyeballs between blinks. Saskatoon was the first place I ever saw with outlets at parking spaces to plug in engine block heaters. And the mall with underground parking - that was nice!

JKJ

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Since I started on woodworking on 1980s I break panels at floor suported by some 2x2... easy, simple and direct.

[Jim Becker]

It's a long drive from Saskatoon but I have one in the back of one of my storage buildings you can have. I could UPS it a piece at a time but it might take a while.

LOL....I also have one in the upstairs storage area of my shop that's been around since the 1970s. A nice all wood one.

----

Mike, as has already been suggested, I suspect that in some circumstances, holding the panel on a slight slope might be more comfortable for certain cuts, but not so much for others. If you wanted to embrace this, something adjustable to flat is likely a good idea because of varying needs for particular cutting operations. And for a track saw, unless you're clamping the rail, you wouldn't want too much slope because that will place extra stress on the anti-slide feature that's not there when it's "flat and level".

[Peter Christensen]

Yup the winter here is not for the faint of heart. Upside is your frozen groceries don’t melt in the back of the truck on the drive home. It’s -28C right now, -38C with the wind chill. That’s -18F and -38F for those that can’t google the conversion.

You guys can keep the drafting tables for now. When I need to make a sheet of MDF into a size I can handle I put it on sawhorses unless it is 1” thick. Those I do on the floor. A drafting table would make positioning sheet goods on an angle for cutting with a track saw or router though. You won’t have to reach 4 feet or climb on top to make the cut in one go.

[andy bessette]

Using my TS 55 I break down plywood sheets on top of my 4'x8' assembly bench using 4/4-square sacrificial strips under the ply. On occasion I use the vertical panel saw.

[Mark Blatter]

It's a long drive from Saskatoon but I have one in the back of one of my storage buildings you can have. I could UPS it a piece at a time but it might take a while.

BTW, I've been to Saskatoon just twice - I thought it was beautiful in May, brutal in the winter. A company there licensed one of my patents and a couple of us made some integration trips. In the middle of the winter a guy picked me up at the airport and said "what? you didn't bring GLOVES???!" Hey, it was 50 deg F when I left TN, never imagined a place cold enough to freeze your eyeballs between blinks. Saskatoon was the first place I ever saw with outlets at parking spaces to plug in engine block heaters. And the mall with underground parking - that was nice!

JKJ

One of my college professors did a short teaching gig in Calgary one summer. He loved it and was thinking about seeing if they would hire him full time. He was interested right up until he got curious about the poles with outlets on them in the parking lots. When he learned they were for plugging in your car in the winter, he changed his mind really fast.

Coming from Montana, I am very familar with cold, nose freezing weather. We once hired a new sales guy who lived in Vegas. He came up for corporate meetings in January when the temps happened to be around -20F. I picked him up at the hotel at 7:30 a.m. to take him to the office. He was wearing every stitch of clothing he brought, plus his coat and drinking a cup of coffee. His face was blue and he could hardly talk. He had been outside for about 90 seconds but couldn't stop his teeth from chattering. Absolutely hilarious.

[Mike Heidrick]

Want build a combo face frame table, pocket hole drilling table, and tracksaw cut table on the back of the clamp rack table.

[Tom Bender]

Mike
I think you're onto something here. You can explore it by adding leg extensions to the back legs. Just bolt on some 2x s. If you like it make your table with all 4 legs adjustable.