Parallel Guide use for breaking down sheet goods

[sroxberg]

I need some help on the best way to assembly line this process.

Task: I have ten sheets of 4 x 8 plywood that I need to rip 15"" wide pieces that will be 8 feet long. I need to clean up the first edge of each sheet and currently I'm removing the guides, ripping off 1/2 an inch, and then reinstalling the guides and ripping the three 15" wide pieces. I don't want to handle each sheet twice so this is the process that I'm using

Is there a better way? I don't like removing the guides and reinstalling but it doesn't take that long. I have the guide accessories that allow the thin rip from the edge but I have the rip dialed in really good and don't want to move the depth stops.

Anything I'm missing or do I either handle each sheet twice, or continue doing what I'm doing?

 

[TOOLTOWN]

How about you rip all the thin strips, then install the parallel guides and do all your 15 inch rips second?

This at least eliminates multiple install / break down steps of the guides.

Ken

 

[tjbnwi]

I don't own parallel guides, so I'm wondering why you have to remove them to make the cleaning cut? Why can't you just rotate the rail 180° so the guides point towards the center of the sheet, rotate 180° so the stops contact the cleaned edge.

When I make a cleaning cut I use the "tab" that is on the anti kickback device that comes with the saw to gauge the rail off the edge.  

Tom

 

[ccarrolladams]

Here is my approach to accurately breaking down sheets of plywood using a TS55EQ saw, a guide rail and parallel guide with extensions.

Normally one long edge of the sheet needs a clean-up cut. I usually select the edge without a serial number to be cleaned.

I use a 118" 3000mm rail for 8' material and a 5000mm rail for 10' sheets.

I slide the parallel guides outward so the rail will be flush without interference from the parallel guide.

My long experience is that it is not necessary to waste 12mm or 1/2" for the clean-up it can be done wasting less material.

I set up my cutting table so that I can work from any of the four sides.

After I make the clean-up cut, I rotate the rail 180 degrees and slide the parallel guide back to its normal working position, allowing about 10mm total gap between the inside of the parallel guide and the work.

At that point I would make the 3 cuts for the 15" strips. What remains will be a scant 3" strip with one factory edge.

Usually it takes less effort to rotate the long rail and parallel guides than to rotate a sheet of plywood.

Another approach I have used is to install the parallel guide on my 3000mm rail and to make the clean-up cuts using my 2700mm rail. That is not long enough to make the 8' cut with the parallel guide but more than long enough to make a clean-up cut with a TS55. The advantage to using two long guide rails is that neither needs to be rotated.

In woodworking we do what we can with the equipment available. I broke down as many as 100 sheets a week this way for years. So as soon as I was confident to invest in a large shop the first major machine I purchased was a CNC pressure beam saw, which starts each operation by making a clean-up cut along one edge. Mine has a laser to check the edge to be cleaned so as to waste a minimum of material. From then on it references the cleaned edge as it rips the full sheet. After that the cut strips are rotated 90 degrees and fed again to be cross cut in my operation. 

 

[sancho57]

What Carroll said,

I only take off just enough to clean the edge of, maybe a mil or 2 (1/8-3/16)

I use that edge to register the PG stops on.

 

[sroxberg]

Thanks, I only have the 2700 rail so that's the problem, it won't allow me to slide the guides out wide. Oh well, I'll just keep with the program and see where I get.

Might be my excuse to pick up a 3000 rail.

 

[fshanno]

Thanks, I only have the 2700 rail so that's the problem, it won't allow me to slide the guides out wide. Oh well, I'll just keep with the program and see where I get.

Might be my excuse to pick up a 3000 rail.

This is why the stops on the parallel guide should be flip stops.  Wouldn't that be cool?  I think I've seen that on some of the homemade lay-on-top rip guides.

And this is the reason I'm always looking for a repeatable ripping system that doesn't require fastening anything to the guide.  Ain't no such animal on the market as far as I know. 

To tell you the truth I try to find a way that I can hide that stray factory edge.  The back of the case,  buried in a dado, something.  But of course, that's cheating and cheetahs never prosper.

As far as the dust cut goes I like your idea of cutting 1/2" off.  I might even go more because you've only got 3 kerfs to worry about and you've got an extra 3" or so.  Here's why.  Even when using a vac a thin cut is going to spray more dust at me than a cut that's completely buried.

Two long rails.  That would be nice.  But you have the right guide for ripping 8' sheet goods.  Aside from this one problem, the 106" guide is perfect because it does have room for the parallel guides and it doesn't have any extra overhang to bang on something when you are moving it around.  The problem is that Festool should provide flip stops for the parallel guides.  Like on the MFT and on the extensions for the Kapex.