Cutting pickets for a fence with a TS 75?

[Charles Wilson]

First off, I do not have a table saw and am not really looking into buying one. 

I am interested in cutting pickets for a picket fence that I am going to build.  I am not really overly concerned with the speed of getting the cuts done (it would be significantly easier on a table saw) but I am looking for precision and repeatability eliminating the need for copious amounts of measuring.

Provided is a link for the fence: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/home_clinic/1276551.html

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chuck

 

[Brice Burrell]

Chuck, you've got two choices to make this easy, the parallel guide or the parallel guide set. The first one is the guide for the saw at $51 USD and the second are the guides for the rail, $325 USD.

 

[Corwin]

Or, a third choice would be to start out using 1x3 material.  Now, all you need to do is cut to length.  Plenty of methods to cut a large number of pickets to the same length.  Got an MFT with a stop?  Better yet, a chop saw?  If not, you could make a jig specifically for this operation.

If you insist on performing all those rips, I would also recommend making a jig for that process.  What I have in mind is much cheaper than the Festool 'parallel guide set' and much faster to use.  If interested, I can provide further details on making either type jig.

 

[nclemmons]

If you purchase the wood at the right width, all you have to do is cut it to length.  That could be a TS55 Saw with an MFT or a Kapex.  You could also use a TS55 or a Jigsaw with a Speedsquare.  I'd recommend buying at the right width if possible to minimize waste and give you the best productivity.

If you are just starting out, I'd recommend the TS55 and MFT as they will give you a lot of versatility.

If you need to cut the pickets to width as well as length, I agree with Brice on the parallel guides.

If you can provide a little more detail, we can narrow the choices for you.

neil