Sheet goods - getting off the floor

[Duct Tape]

Place the foam on the table as you do for the floor.

Do you have any pics of your work table uncovered? Are the small side “wings” adjustable? Thx. Very nice.

 

[hdv]

You might be right. But I did notice quite a lot of foam dust when a fellow woodworker demonstrated this way of sawing to me years ago. Especially with so-called "dust cuts" along edges. Since then I haven't dared to go this route myself. More so because the foam dust is so light it will get into the air with the slightest draft. I am a bit conservative when it comes to my lungs. Sadly, I have to. But maybe I have become a bit too cautious...

Anyway, I like the platform saddles regardless. Without the posts on a frame and with the posts in the dog holes of my bench. Just like this:

 

[Michael Kellough]

With dust extraction I don’t experience foam in the air. With the foam being lighter and under the material being cut my guess is the foam dust is well captured.

Tom

Agree! The lightweight foam dust is more likely to get sucked up than the wood dust. This is really the least debris spewing way to cut. You need to keep the blade in a kerf, whether foam or wood ala MFT to maximize dust collection. Cutting on an open grid sacrifices a substantial amount of the suction from the dust extractor.

When trimming an edge sometimes the outer face/teeth will run through open air and debris will spew everywhere. Simply placing an equal thickness board alongside the propose cut will substantially improve the dust collection. If the cut is truly along the edge of both the work and the support structure and there is nothing to place a board on simply taping a piece of cardboard (like part of the side of a cereal box) to the saw housing makes a huge difference. The cardboard should a bit ahead of the saw and hang an inch or more below the work. Observing where debris escapes you can refine to get very good collection.

 

[Packard]

I made my portable saw table using two ToughBuilt C700 saw horses and three pieces of 8 foot 2” x 4’ studs.

The saw horses are 23 pounds each according to the manufacturer (but feel heavier), and cost (back several years ago) $60.00 each or two for $100.00 at Lowes. Probably twice that now. Capacity of 1,300 pounds each (2,600 pounds for the pair), which should be more than adequate. I use mine with a 4’ x 8’ x 3” sheet of foam insulation. The guy in the video adds a couple of 2” x 4” pieces on top of the saw horses and can cut directly over the 2” x 4” studs.

The resin saw horses are cheaper and lighter, but I have not had good luck with them. They might have improved over the years, so that is another option.

I always clamp my track to the foam base and that has never been an issue.



Here are the components:

Sawhorse Table | Jobsite Table | ToughBuilt — TOUGHBUILT

The C700 is a serious sawhorse table constructed of 100% high-grade steel with 1300 lb. capacity alone and 2600 lb. per pair. C700, the ultimate job site table!

toughbuilt.com

 

[Allano]

You might be right. But I did notice quite a lot of foam dust when a fellow woodworker demonstrated this way of sawing to me years ago.

Do you have soft wood fibre board available where you live? Example

As you, I don't want to create plastic dust* by using a foam backing while sawing. So I have bought a couple of the fiberboards in the link. I use them for ripping plywood.

For cross cuts, I just cut into my MFT-style tabletop. All the cuts are along the same line, as my rail for the track saw is always in the same place on that table.

(*: Though I bet there is still some undesirable stuff in whatever glue they use to hold the fibres together.)

 

[hdv]

What he used was XPS I think.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

In terms of handling sheet goods, the "Crazy Horse" dolly has been really handy: https://westoakstudios.com/product/crazy-horse/

Also, the hydraulic lift tables such as my Felder FAT 500 are handy for loading particularly heavy sheets: https://www.felder-group.com/en-us/...ment-c1966/work-table-fat-p142926?vid=4096033

I've been using the RUWI support beams for supporting the work, though as mentioned earlier it certainly is liberating to treat MFT tops as sacrificial and just cutting into the work tops....

 

[luvmytoolz]

I cut 8' x 4' sheets on my MFT routinely, I have a couple of long hardwood fence pickets I stick underneath to protect the MFT top from being destroyed, and to also support the piece cut off.

 

[tjbnwi]

Do you have any pics of your work table uncovered? Are the small side “wings” adjustable? Thx. Very nice.

Sorry, just saw your post. I had uploaded the plans for the table on the old forum, I’ll see if I can find them.

Tm