Would this method work as a panel saw?

bunky1950 · Post by **bunky1950** » Sun May 18, 2008 9:25 am

Would this method of using a Shopsmith as a panel saw work, safely?

Could a jig, support be made to rip plywood/sheet goods to size?

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jg300da · Post by **jg300da** » Sun May 18, 2008 9:42 am

Holy SH!T!! That looks like a disaster waiting to happen. I hope that's not a serious question...

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun May 18, 2008 10:47 am

I don't think so!!

I'm not waiting around to see who catches the cutoffs.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun May 18, 2008 2:56 pm

bunky1950 wrote:Would this method of using a Shopsmith as a panel saw work, safely?

Could a jig, support be made to rip plywood/sheet goods to size?

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This picture comes up every so often and it scares everyone here. I hope it was a April's Fools joke. If you had a zero gravity device to hold the top piece that would slide along the ceiling it might work.

bunky1950 · Post by **bunky1950** » Sun May 18, 2008 3:11 pm

I WAS serious.

Has anyone attempted to build a lightweight support frame for cutting sheet goods? Something that resembles a commercial panel saw setup (only with the blade the wrong way) that would attach to the frame with a support base.

Anything less that a 24" rip can be done relatively easy in the normal TS mode. It would be nice to have a convenient way to break down sheet goods, accurately.

wgander · Post by **wgander** » Sun May 18, 2008 4:00 pm

Until someone has the answer...
I usually have them make the first cut for me, so I don't have to struggle handling a 4x8 sheet. Even with a helper, that can be a heavy piece of wood to handle.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sun May 18, 2008 5:01 pm

Evidently, the company, during the post WWII days thought this was a good idea! (Think that was probably Magna)

When you have sheet material cut horizontally at Lowe's or Home Depot, the top piece falls down on the kerf, just like the pictured one would. One huge difference is the mounting at the big box stores leans backward, preventing the cuttoff from falling on hands and forearms. A problem with this kind of system is (at big box stores) the end of the cuttoff gets some extra kerf.

Even if one would use rollers at the bottom of the sheet, (instead of a board, as pictured) weight of the cuttoff would be a problem even if a splitter, or riving knife is used.

Guess I'd rather use my "Skill Saw" to size the sheets. But I already have the stores break down full sheets so they'll fit in the mini-van. Have them cut with a couple of inches to spare and at home, trim with the SS or the skill saw, depending on size, and how strong I'm feeling.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Sun May 18, 2008 8:08 pm

bunky1950 wrote:Would this method of using a Shopsmith as a panel saw work, safely?

No, not as pictured.

bunky1950 wrote:Could a jig, support be made to rip plywood/sheet goods to size?

IMHO, a table system could be built, with the SS in the down (or table saw) position, but it might be impractical to build such a table system. Again IMHO, a system could be built, for the SS in the up (or drill press) position; however, it wood be costly and cumbersome, and where wood you store it when not in use?

Many members of this forum, due to having a circular saw method that they like, lack of room, lack of funds, lack of the "purity" of using SS, or for a number of other reasons, do not, will not, or can not do what I do. And that is to use a non SS table saw, with a large table, to cut large panels.

There are certainly plenty of methods to accomplish cutting panels; using the SS to accomplish the task will not be among the easiest.

bigmoe · Post by **bigmoe** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:11 pm

Use A Shopsmith MK V to mix a cake?
I seen that in some of the material that came with my Greenie. I don't think my wife would want to mix her cakes with a Shopsmith. But I am going to heat the band saw wheel in her oven to remove the old tire. When I have time I will scan that article about homemakers using a ShopSmith in the kitchen

brown_hawk · Post by **brown_hawk** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:37 am

bunky1950 wrote:Would this method of using a Shopsmith as a panel saw work, safely?

Could a jig, support be made to rip plywood/sheet goods to size?

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A horizontal jig would be easier to set up and support than a vertical jig. Also safer. As stated by others, the cut off either falling into the blade, or pinching the blade and causing a kickback is the problem with the pictured setup.

It would be faster and safer to use a Skil Saw/straightedge setup. The ONLY reson I can think of to cut ful plywood sheets on a tablesaw is for production setups, where you are going to cut multiple sheets daily. And even then, it would be a two person job.

Nick has a sawdust session on the handling of sheet goods at:

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... lywood.htm

Hawk