Accu-cut

[chris rand]

I'm building a large slab dining table that is 3" thick. I have a Kreg Accu-cut track system, but my regular 7 1/4" circular saw doesn't have enough depth of cut to cut through this slab. Does anybody know whether a 10 1/4" circular saw will work with the Kreg Accu-cut track? I called Kreg, and they would only commit to 7 1/4" saws working with it, though the guy I spoke with said he'd heard of larger saws being used.

Any help would be appreciated. The slab is super expensive, and gets here in a few days, and as of now I don't know how I'm going to cut it.

[John Kananis]

Cut as deep as you can. Flip it over and rough cut close to the cut line. Then use a router with a bottom bearing bit to clean up the excess.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you have a 10” circular saw, you can use it to cut the slab. Use a straightedge to guide the saw. You can use the edge of a sheet of plywood as a straightedge. It is straight enough to be the edge of a dining table.

[Doug Garson]

Cut as deep as you can. Flip it over and rough cut close to the cut line. Then use a router with a bottom bearing bit to clean up the excess.

Good idea, here's an additional idea to consider. Mark the cut line on one side then drill a small hole say 1/4" on the waste side of the line at each end. Use the holes to mark the line on the second side using a chalk line or straight edge.

[Edward Weber]

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is a rather simple system.
It's a self contained cattiage that you can clamp any saw plate to, so why wouldn't a 10 1/4" saw work, other than having a slightly larger footplate.
As long as (BLANK) is securely clamped to the guide carriage, it will go straight.

I will say looking at it, the carriage could be longer IMO

I hope the OP finds a solution that works for him.

[Ron Selzer]

Cut as deep as you can. Flip it over and rough cut close to the cut line. Then use a router with a bottom bearing bit to clean up the excess.

I would go with this one
UNLESS you want a 10 1/4" saw, an 8 1/4 saw will cut more than 3" and cost about half of the 10 1/4" saw.
Can aways buy the saw off of Amazon and see if it will mount up, if it doesn't then send it back.
Can cut it as deep as your saw will go and then get you hand rip saw out and cut the last 1/2"
Your going to have to plane the edge after cutting no matter which way you go.
Figure out what your tool budget will allow and go for it.
No right or wrong answer, just how much do you want to spend.
Good luck
Ron

I personally recommend the Big Foot: Big Foot Tools SC-1025SU BF-UG 10-1/4-Inch Wormdrive Magnesium Circular Saw w/ Skil Motor - Big Foot Saw - Amazon.com

[Holmes Anderson]

I'm building a large slab dining table that is 3" thick. I have a Kreg Accu-cut track system, but my regular 7 1/4" circular saw doesn't have enough depth of cut to cut through this slab. Does anybody know whether a 10 1/4" circular saw will work with the Kreg Accu-cut track? I called Kreg, and they would only commit to 7 1/4" saws working with it, though the guy I spoke with said he'd heard of larger saws being used.

Any help would be appreciated. The slab is super expensive, and gets here in a few days, and as of now I don't know how I'm going to cut it.

If I were you, I would borrow or rent a timber framing circular saw and make the cut in a single pass. Then clean it up with sandpaper or handplane. It is difficult to align the cuts with the two-cut method because the alignment is in multiple planes. It also isn't easy to blend the two cuts together. I've done it with the two-cut method and hand planes and that would not be my first choice again. If you opt for the flush cut router bit option, then you will want to use a quality spiral type bit like Whiteside sells because a regular straight-fluted bit will be difficult to control and may tearout the endgrain badly.

[Jimmy Harris]

I'd say the best method depends on what tools you have available to you. I wouldn't go out and buy a new saw for just one cut. Not unless you plan on doing something like this again.

I've done this type of thing several times in the past, and have done it several different ways, and they're all about the same. Cut it with your circular saw and the flip it to finish it off, and cut it with your circular saw and finish it with a handsaw. Both work about the same, and aren't too hard, so choose whatever you think will be easiest. I've also followed up with a sander, hand plane, and router. to even off the cut. They all have their pluses and minuses. But they can all achieve nearly perfect results. So again, go with whatever you're most comfortable with. I prefer the hand plane myself. But the router isn't too bad. You may have to perform a climb cut on one of the edges to prevent the end grain from splitting on the corner, which can be a bit dangerous and difficult, but not too bad if you're careful and take really small bites and just do it on a tiny section with lots of support.

[Patrick Morris IV]

I know this is probably sacrilege, but take a hint from the neanderthal section, cut as deep as you can with power tools, then follow the line with a hand saw

[David Stone (CT)]

In my one experience of making something that started out as a large 12/4 slab, I did all the rough crosscuts and some of the rough ripping with a 7-1/4 circular saw cutting partway through from each face--and would suggest that is probably the way to go for you. Based on that experience, even if I'd had a circular saw capable of making the cut in one pass, I'm not sure I'd want to. Even a couple inches deep is a heavy cut when you're talking hardwood and a big chunk of wood that is probably very heavy and quite possibly full of tension that could close up the kerf and bind the blade. (I switched to the bandsaw for rough rips once the boards were small enough to process that way.) Admittedly, the two cuts will not line up perfectly, but realistically most any way you do the sizing in such a thick piece is going to require multiple steps/methods to achieving a clean result--especially if making allowances for whatever distortion may happen along the way as the slab is processed.

[Randall J Cox]

Not highjacking this thread, just happen to be in the same situation. I just cut a 3" thick piece of beautiful wood that was an island (we have two) in our kitchen. It was so nice that for 18 years it had never been used (literally). We replaced it with a quartz top because my wife cooks a lot and she wanted to use it - the previous owner's wife did not cook and never used it. Anyway, after replacing it, I borrowed a circular beam saw from a friend that would cut 3.5" deep. Used a straight edge to try and get straight cuts. Turned it over so saw cut down into the top to minimize tearout. Also used 1" wide blue painters tape to cut through to also minimize tearout. Worked great, no tearout. Should have put the two pieces left (cut out sink cutout and faucet holes) back together and run the saw down the cut before i returned saw. Not smart enough to do that!! My plan is to put the two pieces back together with biscuits and turn it into a coffee table. The two cuts were very good but not quite good enough to put back together without being noticed. I don't look forward to planing 3" thick end grain. I thought about straight edge and router but worried about tearout at one end. (Edges are highly routed with multiple bits i would guess, way hard to duplicate.) Before cutting, my guess is that the top weighed about 200 lbs. Anyway, have a couple of projects ahead of this one so it will wait for at least a month or more. Randy