cross cutting a wide top

track saw

Hand saw 

Skil saw and clamped fence

Re: A couple of ideas

Steve Elliott

Two methods come to mind.

One is to rough cut a little oversize and use a router and a straightedge to clean up the cut.

To get a best-possible cut on the table saw I'd tack a straight board to the workpiece so that it was nice and square and overhanging the end of the workpiece by an inch or more, then run the piece against the saw fence with the blade low enough that it would not cut through the straight board. There must be enough clearance that the waste won't get trapped between the workpiece and the fence.

For some cuts I extend the length of the saw fence to give me a longer bearing surface and better control. I've made an auxialiary fence that can be clamped to the saw fence to avoid having to put fasteners into the fence, but the fence could be lengthened by other methods too.

An outfeed table behind the saw will also make the cut more predictable, and safer.

Re: A couple of ideas

Jerry Gibbs

If the edge of the table is parallel to the blade, clamp a board to the outer edge as a guide. This would also be a use for the overhead “L” shaped fence. Double stick a guide to the workpiece and guide against the raised fence.

Re: cross cutting  a wide top

roger lance

We might have talked about this before......make some of different lengths for different jobs.....make them wide enough so that the clamps will not interfere with the saw.

Skill/track saw question

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

What blade would you use for a hardwood top? I got in trouble once with a "carpenter" 7 1/2 blade and a fence. The blade heated up in hardwood and deflected and made a mess.

Re: Skill/track saw question

Brian Holcombe

I use a 12tpi for ripping up to 2” thick and 48t for crosscuts up to 1” thick.

Re: Skill/track saw question

jesse cloud

Festool, and I imagine most track saw sellers, offer a full range of blade geometries. I usually use a cross cut blade with lots of teeth. No need for a thin kerf in this particular application.

I would think Freud or Tenryu would sell decent blades online. Wouldn't trust the box stores.

If you are using a heavily used skilsaw and a fence, it would pay to inspect the foot of the saw for burrs or other dings that might scratch the workpiece and repair as needed.

Re: cross cutting  a wide top

Barry Irby

I have done similar cuts a number of ways.

I made a sled for the table saw that worked from the far side like your reversed miter gauge. Very long hardwood rails. Worked well but was unwieldy. Could make the cut in a single pass.

On valuable pieces I cut them with a skil saw and then trimmed them with a router. Made a 5 long sled for the router that has aluminum angle

I have a guide for both a skil saw and a router like the one posted above. they work well. By trimming the guide with the saw or the router, you can see exactly where the cut will be.

Did not use a fancy blade, but was not cutting anything very thick.

I have cut off hundreds of doors. (residential doors) One thing I learned early on was to use a straightedge and a sharp knife to cut a line into the door. On birch hollow core doors the scribe line should cut all the way through the face veneer. Then you cut just on the waste side of the line. Then with a block plane, bevel the bottom of the door to blend the scribe line. This also worked on solid wood (fir) doors. Scribe deeply into styles to serve as a stop for the splinters.

I recently got a used Festool Track saw at a tool auction. I will cut 75 mm deep. Nearly 3". I wish I had gotten the 55 model. This thing is huge and I am not getting any younger or stronger. I used it a few minutes ago to cut off a door. One of the molded six panel hardboard ones. You just aly the track in place and cut. The track has a rubber strip on the edge that the saw trims the first time you use it. (Its replaceable) It does a beautiful job. No scribing cut, no tape, nothing, Just lay the track down and cut. My only complaint is Festool stuff is way too expensive.

I have seen a router bit that Is down cut on the top and up cut on the bottom. Ideal for what you are doing.

Re: Jigsaw and router

TomD

With power tools, I like to score the top, and cut it off with a sharp hand held Bosch jig saw. Trim with a razor sharp router bit and a fence. Never any tear-out, and the end grain will be polished as if it was planed.

Re: If I need a tenon...

TomD

I should point out that my method works on materials that are 8 feet long and up to 2 inches think.

The only larger pieces I have made were several benches. In those cases I need tenons for the end caps. I do use a circular saw and a fence. A router can get pulled into it, and so can hand planes. From timber work I have both right and left hand circular saw, that way the wide aspect of the base can rest on the part of the table that doesn't fall off.

^^^^What I've ALWAYS done^^^^^

Re: ^^^^What I've ALWAYS done^^^^^

John K Jordan

Same here.

Depending on the thickness I like to use the Rockwell straight edge I got to use with the tiny VersaCut circular saw (3-3/8" blade). If the wood is not too thick I just saw with the VersaCut. (Note, I didn't like using the VersaCut for this until I locked the plunge blade in the down position.)

JKJ

Re: ^^^^What I've ALWAYS done^^^^^

Barry Irby

Glad I am not the only one who has trouble with the VeraCut plunge feature. I find it hateful.

Re: cross cutting  a wide top

Christopher Fitch Memphis

As others have said - if I had one, a track saw. If not, circular saw plus cutting guide.

Back in the day, I made cuts like that with circular saw plus cutting guide. Then when I got a track saw, I made them with that.

If you want to go the handsaw route, that's fine. I'd either do one of two things:

- route a thin channel along the desired cut line. then make your cut with a handsaw using the channel as a guide.

- You can achieve a similar effect with a chisel or a marking knife or a plough plane.

Re: cross cutting  a wide top

Christopher Fitch Memphis

That's what I used to do...

Re: cross cutting  a wide top

William Duffield

Long ago, I used to do it with a skilsaw and a couple of boards glued together into a fence (as others have shown), but I hated the process, mostly because the clamps were always interfering with the saw motor, but also because the clamps were needed at all, and the setup was time consuming.

A much better method was to use a sliding crosscut sled and a pair of roller stands. My largest one will handle panels up to 32" wide.

Now, I use a Festool TS75 tracksaw. Setup is easy and quick, and the cuts are always accurate and clean, and if the cut needs to be anything other than at 90°, it is just as simple to set up and accurate as a perpendicular cut. If clamps are needed (they usually aren't), they slide into slots in the bottom of the track and are completely unobtrusive during the cut.

Ditto

JL

But with a DeWalt circular saw.