cutting birch plywood/tripping breaker

[bkallen5]

I bought a 510 at a garage sale a couple of years ago, & upgraded to the 520 with all the bells & whistles, the new fence is a great improvement. But cutting large sheets of ply is a challenge & I agree for us average woodworkers cutting to manageable size with a circular saw makes life easier, especially with the help of the wife!
This may be blasphemy, but I found that a Forrest Woodworker II blade was a great investment when ripping Birch Ply.. Also a 20Amp circuit is almost essential.
BKA

[army1ret]

I have to agree with the majority on this one: This sounds a lot like overloading and a fence not parrallell with the blade. Check your manual to fix that fence, and talk to an electrician about upgrading your electrical service. That should solve the problem.

You shouldn't be getting what I like to term as "blade capture" with plywood. By its very nature, plywood doesn't move or act like standard wood.

Good luck!

[Greenvilleguy]

This topic has been covered very well and I agree that the SS can do a great job of cutting plywood or MDF when properly alligned, on a 20 amp circuit, fitted with a general purpose or plywood blade and with the pieces supported. In my younger days, I could wrestle them up there all by myself.

However, now my shop is in my basement with no good way to drive around to the door. Carrying the full panels is very hard on my back so I "rough cut" the panels to approximate size in the driveway by setting up saw horses with a sacrificial piece of flake board (the foam board mentioned above sounds even better) on them right behind by SUV. I can then slide each piece of plywood, particle board or MDF out of the car on to the cutting platform without actually lifting them and hurting my back. I cut them up there, carry the smaller (lighter) pieces down to the shop and trim them to final size on the SS.

As far as the cutting goes, I use a very old circular saw and a homemade cutting guide (a piece of plywood 6" wide glued to a piece of hardboard. The hardboard is then trimmed to width by running the circular saw along the plywood fence.)

[popstoyshop]

Hi folks,

I always cut sheet goods down to a size I can handle. I use the wide Tru-Grip "Bigfoot" 8 ft. for the long way & the shorter 52 in. across. My Skill Model 77 worm drive saw will cut anything.

I am the mentor for Shopsmith in my woodworking club. I've owned & been around Shopsmiths since the 7th grade (I'm now 67). When someone asks me what is the weakest of the 5 basic tools I always tell them the saw. Why? It's underpowered & the fence front to back has accuracy problems. Last the SS has a tilting table which is a real problem making compound cuts. This is why I now own a General builder's saw with a 2hp. motor & a Biesemeyer fence.

I also sell tools & accessories part time. As far as blades the Freud blades are good, Forrest blades are good & Tenryu blades are the best blade on earth (These guys started with samurai swords). From my experence, ANYTHING beats a Shopsmith blade. Mine hang on the wall as back-up.

Applying helping hands to larger stock is always helpful. You're RIGHT! Those roller stands fall over at just the right time to leave you holding something you don't know what to do with.

Bill G.

[dusty]

Hi folks,

When someone asks me what is the weakest of the 5 basic tools I always tell them the saw. Why? It's underpowered & the fence front to back has accuracy problems. Last the SS has a tilting table which is a real problem making compound cuts. This is why I now own a General builder's saw with a 2hp. motor & a Biesemeyer fence.

Bill G.

I guess I agree with some of your criticism of the Shopsmith but I'm not with you on the fence. What model Shopsmith is your criticism based on? I had a 510 which has been upgraded to the 520. The 510 fence wasn't as easy to use but I don't believe it was inaccurate, if setup properly. I really don't see the 520 fence as inaccurate. Mine is accurate to .002" front to back; that's the way it was received from Shopsmith.

In your mind, what constitutes an accurate fence?

It's underpowered IF you are doing a lot of heavy cutting. 1" stock is the heaviest I normally work with. With a sharp blade, the Shopsmith handles it nicely.

I use a Shopsmith, thin kerf, carbide combo (555958) for almost all of my work. I find them quite satisfactory. Tenryu, I have NO experience so I cannot comment. Freud and Forrest ... GOOD but also more expensive, about 30%-50% more expensive.

Who manufactures the "Shopsmith" blade that you don't care for?......I've heard that it is a Freud....I don't know.

How much are you willing to pay for a good blade and how long do you expect it to last?