cptully

David (baudi)

Printing a full size part on a standard 8.5 x 11 laser or ink jet printer is certainly possible. Keep in mind that as Time mentions you have to set the Camera to Parallel projection. Once that is done, choose print and make sure that Fit to Page is not selected. Now, just set the "In the Printout" and "In SketchUp" Scale values to 1 and 1, respectively. SketchUp will automatically expand the drawing across as many sheets as necessary to fit the full view you have chosen to print.

I do find that it gives a far wider margin than I would like, but this method has worked fine for me. Although it does involve a good bit of cutting and pasting for large templates, the ones that I have made came out pretty well without too much effort paid to getting things perfectly matched up...

Chris

First, as demonstrated in the video, NEVER drape an oily rag over a plastic or wooden object, as they may well reach combustion temperature BEFORE the rag!

I was lucky enough to find an unused solvent disposal trash can (heavy gauge metal with a tight fitting foot operated lid) that I use for all such waste. Since my production of such waste is relatively small, the solvents and oils usually dry and/or solidify long before it is full.

Keep in mind the flash point of your solvent or oil (should be on the can or the MSDS for the product) when deciding where to dry a soaked rag. In most cases where heating is a problem, a shady spot is to be preferred over a sunny spot to avoid the aggravation of solar heating added to the oil's heat of polymerization.

For those who do not recognize MSDS, this stands for Material Safety Data Sheet, and is a typically four page document that details the hazards associated with a product and protective gear or measured required when using it. The MSDS will include a lot of info that is meaningless to the average woodworker, but it will also include data such as the Flash Point (the temperature at which a material will spontaneously burst into flame). By law, the MSDS is freely available. The retailer may or may not have one, but the manufacturer's website or technical support line should have one that can be downloaded, faxed or emailed.

Chris

A couple of comments:

1) All who live in NC, please check out NCWoodWorker.net!
2) Regarding blade guards that are hard to put on/take off, mine doesn't even fit! I'd have to notch the back rail for my fence (factory supplied!) to make it work! I use lots of push sticks :)!

Chris

Regarding the easiest way I have seen to set the runner and square the sled to the blade, I've not tried this for a TS sled yet, but it worked beautifully for a skill saw guide that also happens to account for the width of the saw base...

1) Build the sled slightly over size, with the excess on the blade side of the runner.
2) When placing the fence, use a slot on the blade end and only attach it at either end initially.
3) Place the runner on the underside of the sled take care to keep it as perpendicular to the sled's fence as it practical.
4) Raise the blade just high enough to cut the sled base, place the runner in the track and cut off the excess from the base. Assuming that your blade is parallel to the track when you do this, the sled's edge is now perfectly parallel to the blade!
5) Using your most accurate square, tweak the position of the fence until it is square to the blade edge of the base, and then add additional screws.
6) Now raise the blade all the way and cut the fence to final length.
7) Finally, install tapes, stop tracks, etc.

Lots of steps, but very little measuring and it takes advantage of the fussy measuring you have already done in setting up the saw.