Shopsmith Forums

RFGuy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 9:08 am There are alternatives to big box stores as well. For example, where I live we have Woodworkers Source (https://www.woodworkerssource.com/), a kind of retail lumberyard might be the best description. They have a nice cabinet TS in the back and do any cutting you might require on sheet goods or lumber. Definitely better quality tools and more knowledgeable staff to handle any pre-sizing you might need. I don't know if they charge for this or not, but I do know it is available. For example, I get my Baltic Birch plywood from them. I order whole sheets, but if I needed them sized down for me for a particular project they could easily do this and with much better accuracy than a big box store.

Absolutely. Woodworkers Source - quality materials and excellent service. When I was really active I bought nearly all sheet goods from them. Even with the extra cost, baltic birch plywood (sheet goods) was the preferred.

Important Point:

When I was cutting sheet goods on a regular basis, I would cut half way (a little over 4') and turn the SS off. This allowed me to remove the partially cut sheet, flip it end for end and then complete the remaining cut. Doing it this way I never had a full sheet hanging off the outfeed side of the table. A remote on/off switch worked great. Today it would be "Alexa - saw off".

Making a saw board for any circular saw is easy. I used one like this with a $49 Black and decker saw for many years before I eventually bought a track saw.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tools/2101 ... -track-saw

oso2you,

A lot of comments already and mine will sound like a repeat. Like most that have already commented, I too find it much easier to break down 4' x 8' sheet goods before trying to cut them on any Table Saw be it my Shopsmith or other. It's a handling and control thing. The picture RFGuy posted is a good example of setting up the Shopsmith, either 510/505 or the Pro Fence (520, M7 & M4) using the floating tables for infeed and out feed support. That example may not work as well at times but using the Extension Table Bracket Set P/N 555997 https://shopsmith.com/product/extension ... acket-set/ as David suggested sets up the infeed and outfeed tables in line with the main table. I have two sets of those brackets so I can use them for both infeed and outfeed. It is the set up I used the last time I cut some larger pieces of stock. It gives me much better control both feeding the stock to the blade and provides support on the outfeed side.

As for breaking down plywood panels I use a handheld circular saw and a guide for a close to size cut and finish on the Table Saw set up. If you trust your wood supplier to do it great, if not do-it-yourself. As you can see from the responses so far the quality varies from store to store.

There's another consideration, aside from struggling with unwieldy sheets. When breaking down sheet goods on a table saw, even assuming that you can keep the edges of the sheets perfectly tight against the fence for the entire cut, you still have to be sure that at least one factory edge is straight enough to serve as a reference edge. With a good track saw, you can get nice straight clean reference edges, regardless of the factory edge condition.

Not much to add here. Even with my giant table saw it's difficult cut a large piece accurately by sliding it against a fence. I always cut the largest pieces oversize and trim them to size. I did that when I had stuff cut at the Home Depot and Lowes before, and way back when I just had a circular saw, an aluminum straight edge*, and saw horses. IME don't count on getting one of those "Make a dresser from 1 sheet of plywood" projects to work out with just 1 sheet.

If I was cutting up large sheets a lot I'd definitely get a track saw. They are inexpensive now and there are battery powered models you can take to the big box store and cut the sheets up yourself to get them home. Your track saw might be more accurate than their panel saw.

*That aluminum straight edge was great. I got it around 1980 and still have it. Two pieces of extrusion that combined were at least 100" long. They joined tightly and straight with another smaller extrusion and some screws. I would lose between 1 and all 3 parts from time to time and eventually they would show up again.

I just avoid sheet goods these days.