Mark V Table Capacity

BigSky · Post by **BigSky** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:30 am

Wasn't the point that some people believe that even on their stand alones they do not like to cut full sheets. This is not an issue for only Shopsmith owners.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:43 am

I can cut full sheets of plywood or MDF on my Mark V too but I don't like doing it and I think that when I do I am just begging for tractor tread marks.

Until some one gives me a Festool setup, I'll just have to continue using my circular saw and home made ripping guide.

rkh2 · Post by **rkh2** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:07 am

I have never tried to cut a full 4 X 8 sheet of anything on my SS and not really planning on trying. Like Dusty, I use my circular saw with a guide. Generally if I am making a project, I will get the material cut down to more manageable size at the big box store. Also makes for easier transportation home even with my truck. I also would give a vote for that Festool saw, but not in my budget. I used the Festool sander with their vac system a few years ago when I built a couple of Windsor chairs at Woodcraft and what a joy it was to use, but way more than I have money for nowadays. Have to put it on my Christmas "wish list"

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:30 am

dusty wrote:I can cut full sheets of plywood or MDF on my Mark V too but I don't like doing it and I think that when I do I am just begging for tractor tread marks.

Until some one gives me a Festool setup, I'll just have to continue using my circular saw and home made ripping guide.

I've seen videos of the Festool in action - Mark Spagnuolo at The Wood Whisperer is a big fan - and I just don't see how the cost is justified compared to a standard circular saw and home made ripping guide like we use. My "Skill" saw and home made guide have worked beautifully. But I've never used a Festool, so with actual use I might would change my mind about that.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:31 am

heathicus wrote:I've seen videos of the Festool in action - Mark Spagnuolo at The Wood Whisperer is a big fan - and I just don't see how the cost is justified compared to a standard circular saw and home made ripping guide like we use. My "Skill" saw and home made guide have worked beautifully. But I've never used a Festool, so with actual use I might would change my mind about that.

In my mind there is no arguement. The entire Festool line of tools is fabulous. Just like Shopsmith in their beginning, a lot of engineering went into the design and the result was a quality, reliable complement of tools. In Festools case, much of that engineering was mandated by the safety requirements that were imposed.

But why is not important. The quality is there and the tools are fantastic. In Festools case, they are just too expensive for me.

If I could drop back to about ten(10) years before retirement, knowing all that I know now, I would probably have a large array of Festool Tools in that shop along with my Mark V and the modest assortment of tools I have accumulated to support it.

major_bob · Post by **major_bob** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:22 pm

[quote="claimdude"]Major Bob,

First, thank you very much for your service to our country!

I've been a Mark V owner for 25 years. I've had the Festool TS55, rails, CT22 vac for 4 years and will never go back to the old way of breaking down plywood. Nuf said]

Jack,
Is the vacum port on the saw a standard size that work with other dust collection systems?

bob

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:13 pm

It just feels like I should chime in here! Don't know why, just a feeling.

Pertaining to handling sheet goods, I certainly agree with Ed in Tampa and Dusty and others (no slight intended).

In my way of frugal thinking, (maybe just old fashioned) there is absolutely no reason to invest in a whole set of tools just to make a few cuts in plywood, etc. If a person were engaged in large amounts of such work, a hefty investment likely may be justified. However am I the only one that can remember using either a Disston cross-cut or rip (hand) saw to cut square chunks from a plywood sheet?

There are many numerous methods to safely make smaller pieces of sheet goods from a full sheet, using hand or power tools.

Is a special investment necessary? That depends on what tools are readily available, what is the volume (future amount) of such need and/or the physical abilities of the woodworker.

Lastly, if the woodworker tends to like tools as much as he (she) likes woodworking, then an investment may be necessary to avoid the "I want syndrome".

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:43 pm

charlese wrote:It just feels like I should chime in here! Don't know why, just a feeling.

Pertaining to handling sheet goods, I certainly agree with Ed in Tampa and Dusty and others (no slight intended).

In my way of frugal thinking, (maybe just old fashioned) there is absolutely no reason to invest in a whole set of tools just to make a few cuts in plywood, etc. If a person were engaged in large amounts of such work, a hefty investment likely may be justified. However am I the only one that can remember using either a Disston cross-cut or rip (hand) saw to cut square chunks from a plywood sheet?

There are many numerous methods to safely make smaller pieces of sheet goods from a full sheet, using hand or power tools.

Is a special investment necessary? That depends on what tools are readily available, what is the volume (future amount) of such need and/or the physical abilities of the woodworker.

Lastly, if the woodworker tends to like tools as much as he (she) likes woodworking, then an investment may be necessary to avoid the "I want syndrome".

Nope, you are not. I use a Disston quite often.

[ATTACH]6111[/ATTACH]

Six Disstons and a Craftsman

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:31 pm

Dusty, that shop is waaaay too tidy.

This discussion reminds me of a couple of young recent college grad guys I worked with some years ago while I was farm manager of a seed corn research farm. You couldn't have asked for two nicer guys to work with and really good at their job (agronomy majors) but they couldn't saw a straight line with a hand held power saw to save themselves.

We all wore a lot of hats at that installation but their carpenter hats didn't fit well. They were trying to cut 1/4" plywood into strips about 3" wide. They would get over 1/4" off of the line on first one side then the other sometimes crossing the line half a dozen times in the length of a sheet.

When I sawed a couple of sheets into strips they were absolutely dumbfounded. They had decided that the saw just wouldn't cut straight and were blaming it until I cut those strips. I do sometimes use a guide strip but most of the time I just cut to a line. On carpentry work I often use a chalk line.
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I have ripped a herd of sheets of plywood lengthwise on table saws and have absolutely no qualms about doing so (with supports). I had a 12' table on my old original RAS and a full length fence on it. I really liked ripping sheet goods on it. I am more cautious when cross cutting sheets and if it is needing cut pretty far toward one end I am pretty quick to use a hand held saw and sawhorses (often 3) to get it to size. I find that two Shopsmiths sat with my 510 in front and about any of the others sat behind it as an out-feed table is fine for ripping a full sheet. I use an extension table on both ends of both SS's and fences on both SS's. 3/4" stuff is about my comfortable limit but I can't really recall ever cutting any thing thicker anyway.
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For some reason I have never had the kind of problems that most guys describe about wood getting away from them. I guess that much of it is because I (besides being pretty careful) am pretty much of an ox... I am very heavy but also very strong. I never hold anything casually, usually in a death grip and if I have a good grip nothing is going anywhere. If it can't start moving it can not keep going. Once it gets away at all you have already lost control. I'm not as strong as I used to be but at 67 I can still stack 50 pound hay bales 4 layers high on a hay wagon while standing on the ground.
I love watching Norm in his shop but I am often amazed at how many times I see him making a cut and I can see from the camera's angle that the wood has lifted from the saw table on the out-feed end sometimes by almost 1/4". That is a good way for a narrow piece to get in a twist and bind. I want the wood to stay down flat on the table even if I have to stand on it...

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:52 pm

robinson46176 wrote:Dusty, that shop is waaaay too tidy.
This discussion reminds me of a couple of young recent college grad guys I worked with some years ago while I was farm manager of a seed corn research farm. You couldn't have asked for two nicer guys to work with and really good at their job (agronomy majors) but they couldn't saw a straight line with a hand held power saw to save themselves. We all wore a lot of hats at that installation but their carpenter hats didn't fit well. They were trying to cut 1/4" plywood into strips about 3" wide. They would get over 1/4" off of the line on first one side then the other sometimes crossing the line half a dozen times in the length of a sheet. When I sawed a couple of sheets into strips they were absolutely dumbfounded. They had decided that the saw just wouldn't cut straight and were blaming it until I cut those strips. I do sometimes use a guide strip but most of the time I just cut to a line. On carpentry work I often use a chalk line.
-
I have ripped a herd of sheets of plywood lengthwise on table saws and have absolutely no qualms about doing so (with supports). I had a 12' table on my old original RAS and a full length fence on it. I really liked ripping sheet goods on it. I am more cautious when cross cutting sheets and if it is needing cut pretty far toward one end I am pretty quick to use a hand held saw and sawhorses (often 3) to get it to size. I find that two Shopsmiths sat with my 510 in front and about any of the others sat behind it as an out-feed table is fine for ripping a full sheet. I use an extension table on both ends of both SS's and fences on both SS's. 3/4" stuff is about my comfortable limit but I can't really recall ever cutting any thing thicker anyway.
-
For some reason I have never had the kind of problems that most guys describe about wood getting away from them. I guess that much of it is because I (besides being pretty careful) am pretty much of an ox... I am very heavy but also very strong. I never hold anything casually, usually in a death grip and if I have a good grip nothing is going anywhere. If it can't start moving it can not keep going. Once it gets away at all you have already lost control. I'm not as strong as I used to be but at 67 I can still stack 50 pound hay bales 4 layers high on a hay wagon while standing on the ground.
I love watching Norm in his shop but I am often amazed at how many times I see him making a cut and I can see from the camera's angle that the wood has lifted from the saw table on the out-feed end sometimes by almost 1/4". That is a good way for a narrow piece to get in a twist and bind. I want the wood to stay down flat on the table even if I have to stand on it...

Francis,

I loved your story. Recently while visiting my daughter we needed to make a similar cut with only a circular saw available. Her friend tried really hard to make the cut after a pencil line was drawn. I got a big kick out of taking the saw and making a near perfect cut. He complained he couldn't find the pencil mark when I was finished. Funny how years of practice serve us. Jim