The Germans must be reading Bill's plans

[Rune Bivrin]

I just got me a Makita SP6000. The rail was back ordered, so I'm getting that on Monday. However, just using the saw in itself is a vast improvement over my old Black & Decker. That didn't have the blade parallel to the base plate, so I was constantly getting cuts that strayed from the designated line.

The Makita cuts beautifully, and it has a soft start which keeps it from jumping out of your hands when you start it. 90 and 45 degrees are spot on (which is more than I could say about the B&D). But it is a powerful sucker, so two hands holding it is a must. That's what the manual says, and I believe it's true.

I think the guide rail will improve the situation. It will make any cut, regardless of blade angle, exactly at rail edge.

I'll still use my table saw for cutting strips, but that's all I'll do with it from now on, I think. Manoeuvring a full plywood sheet on that wasn't fun.

[Rune Bivrin]

Status update!

This Monday I collected the guide rail for my Makita SP6000 and resumed work on two DR250-s. I can attest that this is the bee's knees!

Measure.
Align rail.
Optionally fix with designated clamps.
Adjust blade angle.
Cut.
Assemble.

The only time this doesn't really work is when you're cutting from a too narrow piece. You need enough to rest the rail on, but in a pinch you can pad with a spare piece of wood.

At first I was really careful to clamp the rail before cutting, but now I'll just lay the rail flat and drop the saw on it. The rubber strips on the back of the rail really hold it in place without problems.

[chaywood]

Check out the Maffel saw... it has a unique cutting guide of steel that rolls up for travel or storage....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lKYXnVS ... re=related

CH

[shane2943]

Dude, that thing is sweet!

[jswingchun]

I ordered a EZ Smart setup from eurekazone.com last week. Haven't received it yet, will report when I do.

[chaywood]

Hey jswingchun,

Here's my "cheapie smart" system... all homemade from plywood and giant aluminum rulers. Has zero clearance antichip on all edges just like the EZ Smart. The shorter units are also squares, 24", 36" and 60". Also have repeaters that attatch to the 8ft unit. Cuts smooth as silk. Everything rests on an expandable cabinetmakers table that adjust from 2' by 5' to 4' by 8'.

CH

[jswingchun]

Here's my "cheapie smart" system... all homemade from plywood and giant aluminum rulers.

That's pretty clever, a poor man's version of the EZ Smart. Do you still have to clamp your track on from above? One of the nice things about the EZ is the groove underneath the track allows for clamping from below.

[chaywood]

Hey jswingchun,

On the bottoms I glued a few strips of 320 sandpaper and the guides stay nicely in place. I can also clamp anywhere along the left edge since the guide is wider than the saw plate. I usually clamp each end with a spring clamp when making an 8' cut. Since the guides are wood you can screw jigs and stops to them also or screw them to the wood. I had the 8' ruler already ($19.99), so I purchased 2 additional ones, 60" for $9.99 each at HD. Cut one to 24" and 36". $40.00 plus some scraps of wood and you can cut exact to the line and smooth as silk with no tearout.

CH

[jswingchun]

I could see where the sandpaper would work well for longer cuts using the squares like you show on your pics. I was thinking about it last night and if you wanted to you could you could make a shorter one and install t-track in the bottom of the guide board and put clamps on the t-track. Then you could use it for doing shorter taper cuts and such.

[chaywood]

You can drill a hole anywhere on the wood part and put a countersunk bolt through. Use a wingnut and scrap of wood to hold the work in place.

ch

[Harley]

You can drill a hole anywhere on the wood part and put a countersunk bolt through. Use a wingnut and scrap of wood to hold the work in place.

ch

Your wing-nuts look pretty

[Tom Smit]

Harley......you baaaaad!

[UROK]

Seems like a good tool the T55. One question: when making multiple cabs and you want the panels to be the exact same width how would the individual measuring with this tool compare with setting up the rip fence on a table saw? Wouldn't the table saw ensure a smaller margin of error rather than individually measuring the width of each panel? I am one of those thinking about buying a table saw so...

[Rune Bivrin]

I've achieved extraordinary precision with my SP6000. It's very much a question of being consistent when you measure. I always use a steel ruler, align the measure with the edge of the plywood and then draw with the pencil at the end of the ruler. I find that to be much more precise than laying the ruler with zero at the plywood edge and then eyeball the correct place to draw a marker. I'm at 1/64" with that method.

If you want exactly the same measure place two pieces of plywood on top of each other and cut once. As long as your saw is true 90 degrees that will be optimal.

[chaywood]

To make repeated cuts as in ripping out pannels you use a "story stick" as shown in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/user/peweuk#p/a/u/1/L2SwVuFmkZk View at 5:45.

CH