cutting plywood

[Tom Bussey]

I tried putting plywood with 2x4s under it and getting on my hands and knees. I have actually tried several different ways. Then I built a torsion box style of table and put folding legs under it. The table is 41 1/2 inches wide 84 inches long and 3 inches thick. I put a sheet of OSB on it and my wife and neighbors use it as a table for garage sales. I do not pay real close attention to the depth of the blade because I cut into the table. Been doing it for about 24 years . I only cut maybe 10 sheets a year so it will still be going strong when I am gone. If I were to build another table I would make it smaller and only about 2 inches thick. It has gotten a lot heavier as I have aged.

I do my cutting outside, summer or winter and saw dust is not a concern so I do not worry about dust collection. Usually I open the garage doors for a little more room around the end of the table but my wife's baby is in the garage so the door was shut. I get the truck just off the street and pull the plywood out of the truck onto the table .

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I showed this because I do not need a rocking table for x amount of hundred dollars so I can lift a sheet of plywood from vertical to horizontal or to roll it into my shop. I don't need a big sheet of 1 1 /2 pink foam on the floor so I can cut on my hands and knees. Yes I have to store the table but one would have to store the foam board also.

I bought this set up and have been using it for over 24 years also and I am quite happy with it, except for the fact that I have to hunt down an extension power cord. It clamps to the plywood and guides the saw just like a track saw. I add 1 1/4 inches to the dimension mark the two point on the wood line it up and cut.

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I found that the blade was quite dull and I decided to get a new on. But then I though I do have a battery powers circular saw from Menards I don't use it much but it does have a new blade on it so I decided to retire the old saw and mount the battery saw to the plate. It will be lighter and no cord to chase down. The most important part of the job is getting the blade straight with the plate so it cuts straight, if not straight it will pull to one side.

Will I get a track saw? No. In my opinion a track saw will never replace a table saw. I have a very good table saw. I also have (I feel a very good ) setup for braking down plywood and getting it to manageable sizes so I can handle it at the table saw.. There are other items like being able to square up a piece of plywood but if it clamps on there is room for arrow. So there is a lot of expense after just the purchase I won't be duplicating what I already have.

Believe me I have though about one. I am on the Makita battery platform so I would like a Makita but the cost is out of sight for me. If I didn't have what I have I would buy the Wen battery track saw and comparable track in a heart beat.. Don't need all the bells and whistles.

Believe it or not I am looking forward to reading your responses

[stephen thomas]

Nice, practical set up.
Smart getting the wife bought in on the space it takes in the garage, too!

It has gotten a lot heavier as I have aged.

Didn't some physicist prove that gravity is getting stronger, or something?
That's my excuse.

[Tom Bussey]

Never considered gravity getting stronger, but there is merit in that philosophy. If I was into mussel cars my wife would make sure I had any parts I would ever dream of. As it is I just work on it.

[Cameron Wood]

Nice set up aside from being on the heavy side and taking some room to store.

I have Makita battery saws, but mostly use a Makita worm gear one with a guide for that kind of thing.

[Tom Bussey]

24 year old technology and or but, I am not on my hands and knees. The table does come into play at other times but yes it takes up room. But no matter what you use it takes up room. I have a friend who just has Home Depot cut it for him . I prefer to cut my own and half the time their saw is out of order. I live 17 miles from the nearest stop light and 60 miles from a big box, and my luck their saw would not be able to be used. I would consider a centipede but then there is more price involved. I do not think a 2x4 centipede would work so a bigger one adds even more cost. 25 years ago I would have jumped at a centipede and a Wen track saw, but they weren't available at the time.

Just trying to give some people some ideas.

[Jim Becker]

One of the purposes for my flattening table other than flattening is for long rips on sheet goods with the tracksaw. In theory, it's adjustable height because the Kreg horses it lives on are adjustable, but doing that and then tweaking back to flat in all directions would be cumbersome. I do have Centipedes, but they are not practical for a single person to be able to throw a piece of heavy sheet goods onto them...two people required there for best results. With my table setup, I can just flip the sheet up on top with an easy lift at the center. I put a couple of scrap boards on the floor before leaning the sheet so I can get my fingers under the edge.

[Tom Bussey]

Thank you for stating a Centipede is a 2 person operation. Mine is definitely a one man job.

[Jim Becker]

Thank you for stating a Centipede is a 2 person operation. Mine is definitely a one man job.

They can hold tremendous weight vertically, but they, um...wiggle. So to put a sheet of heavy material on top of one, you have to "do the lift"...which is easier with a helper. Not so for a sturdier support structure where the structure is "more fixed" due to its own weight.

[stephen thomas]

I think i learn a new term, or a re-application of an old term to a new woodworking app almost every day on this site. Sometimes twice a day.
Had to google, but now i know what a centipede is.
Not inspired. Maybe if i was still going on far away jobsites long term.
There is not enough space in my shop to be spreading work support stuff around.

[Patrick Varley]

I used a setup I got from a Nick Engler article in Popular woodworking (https://www.popularwoodworking.com/a...d-and-plywood/). Knocks down to store away on a pretty small footprint. I was very happy with that solution but got a Centipede as a gift last year. Honestly, I can't say it's better than my old setup. Stores away in a slightly smaller space, and it's definitely easier to setup/takedown. But as Jim says, getting a sheet of plywood onto it as a single person can be annoying as it is prone to shifting laterally. Also, the cutting grid was nicer as it relates to not needing a sacrificial sheet on top (both for support between contact points and not cutting into the pads).

As for a track saw, I do have one. My feeling is that there are enough bargain versions around that it can make sense to get one just for breaking down sheet goods. As fo replacing a table saw, I do think it's possible to do much of that with a track saw. It would just likely mean investing in the right setup (quality saw, MFT table with a hinge, bench dogs, etc.).

[Jim Becker]

I think i learn a new term, or a re-application of an old term to a new woodworking app almost every day on this site. Sometimes twice a day.
Had to google, but now i know what a centipede is.
Not inspired. Maybe if i was still going on far away jobsites long term.
There is not enough space in my shop to be spreading work support stuff around.

I have two of them that I bought many years ago to provide simple, temporary work surfaces for finishing, etc. On sale, they were about $35 each and the take up nearly zero space when not in use. They do have their applications. (Bora has several sizes available) Here's an example where I used them to support a couple of slabs that became a large dining table for a client. I did a lot of the prep work out on the driveway in front of my old shop building. They had already been surfaced at Bucks County Hardwoods

[Tom Bussey]

I looked at Engler's cutting grid and when the piece he is cutting off is complete he is going to have to catch the board, guide and saw with one hand. But he got paid for doing the article. And because it is in print in a magazine it must be the only way to go. My router table and planners are on wheels and and my table stores right behind them, up against the wall.
I do not have a track saw so I do not know for sure but if I have a 2 /1/2 inch wide board 3 feet long and I want to cut it to 2 inches wide I do not know how a track saw would work. Me, I set the fence turn on the saw and cut. I don't see the need for a MFT table with a hinge and a quality saw. I would have to store the table some where. Yes if I were going to make my table again I would build it smaller but but storing my table and storing the MFT table fall under the same head line, do they not? Storage is always a problem and although different shops are set up differently the all suffer from work room and storage.

I looks like a lot of marketing goin on. Make you afraid of a table saw, then you need all this other stuff so you can cut a board. Then you need to set up your router table so you can cut a Dato. If you invest in the right set up you have well over a couple of thousand dollars invested and I do not see a lot of applications preformed routinely on a table saw.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, I made my flattening/cutting/clamping table modular so that it can break down into easy to handle and store pieces when it's not needed or I need the space where it lives for a larger finishing area. Heck, one could make rectangles of plywood that "half lap" together to make extremely portable supports for sheet good cutting where storage space is at a minimum.

[Patrick Varley]

I looked at Engler's cutting grid and when the piece he is cutting off is complete he is going to have to catch the board, guide and saw with one hand. But he got paid for doing the article. And because it is in print in a magazine it must be the only way to go. My router table and planners are on wheels and and my table stores right behind them, up against the wall.
I do not have a track saw so I do not know for sure but if I have a 2 /1/2 inch wide board 3 feet long and I want to cut it to 2 inches wide I do not know how a track saw would work. Me, I set the fence turn on the saw and cut. I don't see the need for a MFT table with a hinge and a quality saw. I would have to store the table some where. Yes if I were going to make my table again I would build it smaller but but storing my table and storing the MFT table fall under the same head line, do they not? Storage is always a problem and although different shops are set up differently the all suffer from work room and storage.

I looks like a lot of marketing goin on. Make you afraid of a table saw, then you need all this other stuff so you can cut a board. Then you need to set up your router table so you can cut a Dato. If you invest in the right set up you have well over a couple of thousand dollars invested and I do not see a lot of applications preformed routinely on a table saw.

Admittedly that photo is probably staged, so not the best way to make that cut. If you turned the panel 90 degrees it would work better. Even so, speaking from experience using it, it's likely supported "enough" to not fall by the other sawhorse.

And I never said that it was the "only" way to do it. As with anything, there are innumerable ways to accomplish the same goal. Simply providing my experience on cutting platforms, comparison to Centipede and opinion on a track saw. I have a track saw and a table saw, and I find them complimentary. The track saw isn't necessary, but I disagree that you can't get them to replace much of the functionality of a table saw if you had the reasons to do so. For many people, that isn't worth it but there can be situations where it may be one of the better options. Specifically for those with space limitations or who need to be mobile from site to site. And yeah, an MFT table (and hinge, etc.) isn't necessary if you have a table saw. But if you were trying to replace a table saw, they would be a helpful part of the solution.

[Michael Burnside]

Very practical and useful setup Tom. I agree, working on your hands and knees just isn't fun. It's not an age thing, it's a working harder not smarter thing.