Replies

1. 
   KayakGreg | Jan 15, 2005 08:02pm | #1

   Festool ATF55 and guiderail on a sacrificial panel placed on knockdown sawhorses. Great cuts, no splintering and as precise as you need. Plus, there are many other things it will do that cannot be done with a panel saw. IMHO

2. 
   nikkiwood | Jan 15, 2005 08:38pm | #2

   I haven't shopped a panel saw for a long time, but when last I looked, the good ones started at about $12-1500.

   These things take up a lot of wall space -- which most home based woodworkers would rather devote to other machinery -- espcially since there are other alternatives.

   The Festool mentioned above is an excellent system, as is he EZ guide set-up:

   http://www.eurekazone.org/products/ezsmartguide.html

   Your other alternative is to use shooting boards and a simple grid of 2 X 4's set on low saw horses.

3. 
   TomT226 | Jan 16, 2005 03:02pm | #3

   Save your $1500 for other tools and make your own.

   Buy a sheet of 1/4" MDF, and a sheet of 1/2" Baltic birch.  Rip a 1' X 5' strip of BB, and a 18" X 5' strip of MDF.  Glue and brad the MDF to the BB.  After it's dry, geet your circ saw fitted with a good carbide ply blade, raise the motor to clear the 1/2", and make a pass cutting off the excess MDF.  That's your cut line.  Use a sheetrock square to set your marks on the ply panels, clamp the unit to the ply and rip.  Blue tape both sides to cut down on splintering.

   Make several of these in different lengths.  I use a 3' to trim interior doors all the time.