Amazing Festool panel saw!

[Samo]

Yeah  [unsure]

I think the track saw systems out there really make the panel saw obsolete?  Unless maybe you own a factory full off lazy guys who want to go out on disability from bending over.

 

[Jalvis]

I'm perplexed by some of the comments.

Building a business with a Track Saw is one very hard task.  Good luck making more than a wage. 

The saw in the video is also a low cost option and I can say that not knowing the price.  Real panel saws start in the 10k-50k range and that saw is not one to be sure.

As for dust collection on a Vertical Panel Saw my experience is in the 90% and thats with a low cost dust collector.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Jalvis, can this be bought in the states and do your know how much? Also, there must be a way to toogle clamp the piece from above, to keep gravity from causing any binding? I didn't see any binding in the video.  Is there something in this set-up that prevents binding from occuring? Questions, questions.

 

[peter halle]

I suppose there are different definitions of what makes up a real panel saw.  Safety Saw Cut and other manufacturers offer panel saws that are calibrated to within 1/32" at starting prices less than 5K with a saw and a router, or considerably less without a router.  You can go upwards from there.  Comparing a 50K panel saw to a 1K rail saw setup better show a payback or else it is a waste of money.

A track saw and a panel saw setup have similarities but are indeed different.  One allows for portability and the other doesn't.  One relies on taking the work to the tool and one doesn't.  Etc, etc.  In defense of panel saws, cut quality based on what you see at a Home Depot or Lowes isn't real or fair to the panel saw.  My guess is that the budget for blade sharpening or replacement is minimal.

MY experience is that the Festool system works for me as a mobile contractor.  Everyone's situation will be different.

My Festool setup rides inside my truck or trailer.  My panel saw is rusting in the driveway.

Peter

 

[Slappy]

Agreed Peter ,
If one has a high production shop , the space , employee safety issues , the need to cut  multitudes of sheet stock quickly  one after another
then a panel saw is for you , your production levels will dictate the level of features/price .
I know of more than a few who do speaker cabinet work like is "part" of what I do , who have a panel saw to break down sheet stock more than 3/4 of them say they wish the thing was more useful & the other wish they'd never got the thing for the amount of space it takes up vs how many times they actually use the thing .
In my case in a 2 car garage it's just not gonna happen  due to  available space & expense .
a Track Saw offers a guy like me to do panel saw type work AND most importantly offers me a tool that will function in many "other" different work applications with the added benefit  of fitting into a small  12" x 16 " box & placed out of the way when not in use , the rails go on a wall taking up a 3/4" x 7"  of  wall space .
Priceless to me  [tongue]

 

[stevep]

Jalvis, can this be bought in the states and do your know how much? Also, there must be a way to toogle clamp the piece from above, to keep gravity from causing any binding? I didn't see any binding in the video.  Is there something in this set-up that prevents binding from occuring? Questions, questions.

You don't get any binding, at least not enough to worry about. On a 2440mm sheet, with a 3mm kerf, and maybe a segment of the blade about 150 mm long doing the cut, the cut will only start to close up when you get near the end of the cut, and it can't close up much - with the figures above it will only be approx (3*150)/2440 - less than 0.2mm until the point where the cut breaks through the end of the board. I had some shuttering ply cut today on a vertical panel saw, and I couldn't detect any sign of binding or innacuracy by eye.

 

[Jalvis]

I suppose there are different definitions of what makes up a real panel saw.  Safety Saw Cut and other manufacturers offer panel saws that are calibrated to within 1/32" at starting prices less than 5K with a saw and a router, or considerably less without a router.  You can go upwards from there.  Comparing a 50K panel saw to a 1K rail saw setup better show a payback or else it is a waste of money.

I bought the top of the line Safety Speed Cut.  Had the router attachment, worm drive, commercial stop system.  Kept it for three months and sold it!  10K machine and not worth it for fine woodworking.  It would work good for someone who builds face frame cabinets and only needs one side of a sheet to be cut clean.  

The saw system in the video looks nice since the table can drop down which would allow one to use a track for clean cuts on all sides when needed.  Plus who doesn't need an extra work table.

Most guys have more than one system to meet the needs of the application.  I have a track system as well but its mainly used for installs or rip cuts over 9 feet.

As for space savings it doesn't get better than a Vertical Panel saw.  Even if you think a track system is better its not.  There is no way one could keep up or maintain repeatability to a panel saw.  

All this being said we are talking about "efficiency" which is really only important to those making money with there time and tools.  Even a small project requires a lot of material.  For example one of the closets a built this year took 20 sheets of material and that wasn't even a large walk-in.  Or I built two 6'x24" book cases and it tool 5 sheets.  Small projects but it takes far more material than one would realize.  If your not living from the product you produce consider keeping a log of all your time including the time getting materials.  Then figure out the price you would need to charge to cover your personal expenses, overhead, and profit.  It won't take long before that track gets put away.

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

I'm perplexed by some of the comments.

Building a business with a Track Saw is one very hard task.  Good luck making more than a wage. 

The saw in the video is also a low cost option and I can say that not knowing the price.  Real panel saws start in the 10k-50k range and that saw is not one to be sure.

As for dust collection on a Vertical Panel Saw my experience is in the 90% and thats with a low cost dust collector.

Although I'm not a huge fan of vertical panel saws, over here in Switzerland 90% of my colleagues use them,  serious setups will give you serious results. Still I prefer horizontal.

I've looked at the BMI in the video up close long ago when still in Holland. It gets sold by what I know to be a very serious woodworking tool shop, you can find a link here:

http://www.teygeler.nl/product-2444-horizontale-platenzaag.html

I also know it has a dealer in France:

http://www.restol-machines.fr/

Nice guy, I think he resides here on the FOG. You can ask him for prices.

Trying to find more info on the saw is hopeless, that video is about the best thing you can get. They were a small company when I first saw the product 10-15 years ago, I assume they still are.

Still, I believe it's a nice product, I might just pull the trigger on one some day.

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

Btw, there is a thread on the FOG of this guy that built one in his garage, amazing stuff. Looked like a lot of work though, the BMI will be lots quicker to get going.

 

[Rocky]

Compared to cabinet saws with added outfeed tables and sliders, my panel saw takes up less space and when I'm done I roll it out of the way.  It hooks up to my CT 26 and if I wanted to transport it I fold it up and put in the bed of my pickup.  It has repetitive setups.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Michael, is it possible to post a pic of it?

 

[Rocky]

Michael, is it possible to post a pic of it?

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Thanks, Michael. That's a very cool tool! If you could take the saw off and fold it in half, vertically, then it would be real portable!