I have been thinking about building this machine for a while now based on the plunge capability of the TS 55 saw. A little background. I have been a professional cabinetmaker/installer since 1986. I owned and operated a custom cabinet shop in northern NJ until 1992 when we moved to the Orlando Fl area. I did not open my own shop here but began working for a small kitchen cabinet company running their small shop. Since 1997 I have installing high end custom cabinets in mostly new homes for the same company. In the fall of 2008 that business disappeared here and in many other places. I therefore went out on my own building and installing custom cabinets.
Since I was only installing cabinets I did not need a "shop" . The jobsite was my shop. All my tools were portable and easily movable from job to job.
I first came across Festool at IWF in Atlanta about 10 years ago. I bought the CDD 12 Drill. A short time later I bought the predecessor to the TS 55, the CT 22 and the MFT. I sold the old saw to a friend and bought the TS 55. These all served me well at the job.
Now I need a shop again. Most of my jobs involve cutting between 15 and 30 sheets of 4x8 material, mostly plywood but some melamine board. I have been using the TS55 and the guide rails together with my portable table saw. While ok I was not happy with the speed or the accuracy from part to part.
I decided to build a vertical panel saw modelled after a Holz Her 1265 Which I had owned and operated in my NJ shop (google "holz her 1265" and you will see what it looks like) with the TS 55 as the saw.
I have always liked cutting with a vertical panel saw. Some people do not. It takes up very little floor space and allows a large panel to stay fixed and the small saw to move.
Here are some pictures
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The foundation of the machine is the solid and accurate movement of the main carraige in the horizontal direction and the saw carraige in the vertical direction. This is done with heavy duty linear bearings for the vertical movement (crosscut) and V groove roller wheels for the horizontal direction(rip). The frame and main carraige are made of MDF. The frame must be level and bolted to the floor. The saw rotates from vertical to horizontal on a heavy duty aluminum ball bearing lazy susan. A 28 lb counterweight slides up and down inside the main carriage to allow for stabile positioning.
To rip, the carraige moves from side to side and the saw carraige is locked in position at whatever scale setting is chosen. The scale registers from the bottom support upwards. There is also something called a strip gauge which allows you to cut from the top down. For example if you wanted several 3" strips it would be difficult to cut them from the bottom. With the strip gauge you set the gauge to 3", move the arm on the top of the panel, drop the saw carraige to the stop with the knob and cut away. Repeat your way down as often as needed. The horizontal grid supports the panel and moves up 1" pneumatically to avoid cutting into a rail.
To crosscut, the main carraige is locked in position "0" . The scale to the left is set to your size and the saw carraige is moved down to cut. In addition, there are two other positons marked +24 and + 48. These allow you to cut longer parts than the scale is marked. For example, if you wanted a part 90" long you would lock the carraige at +48 and set the left side scale to 42".
I have been a reader on this forum for many years and have never posted until now. I appreciate all the tips and tool reviews over the years. This project was a lot of work and I know that most members would not need a machine like this but I thought I would share this design so that maybe some of the ideas may lead to future jigs and inventions.
Although I had an overall plan for the panel saw, most of the details like the locks, scales, pneumatics etc were designed as I went along. The cost, excluding the TS55 which is easily removeable, was about $900 . The most expensive parts were the linear rails and bearings and the pneumatics, mostly purchased used on ebay.
I did not go into great detail but if anyone wants more info or pictures i would be happy to share.
Bob Fasano
Windermere Fl
Since I was only installing cabinets I did not need a "shop" . The jobsite was my shop. All my tools were portable and easily movable from job to job.
I first came across Festool at IWF in Atlanta about 10 years ago. I bought the CDD 12 Drill. A short time later I bought the predecessor to the TS 55, the CT 22 and the MFT. I sold the old saw to a friend and bought the TS 55. These all served me well at the job.
Now I need a shop again. Most of my jobs involve cutting between 15 and 30 sheets of 4x8 material, mostly plywood but some melamine board. I have been using the TS55 and the guide rails together with my portable table saw. While ok I was not happy with the speed or the accuracy from part to part.
I decided to build a vertical panel saw modelled after a Holz Her 1265 Which I had owned and operated in my NJ shop (google "holz her 1265" and you will see what it looks like) with the TS 55 as the saw.
I have always liked cutting with a vertical panel saw. Some people do not. It takes up very little floor space and allows a large panel to stay fixed and the small saw to move.
Here are some pictures
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#] [attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#] [attachthumb=#] [attachthumb=#] [attachthumb=#]
The foundation of the machine is the solid and accurate movement of the main carraige in the horizontal direction and the saw carraige in the vertical direction. This is done with heavy duty linear bearings for the vertical movement (crosscut) and V groove roller wheels for the horizontal direction(rip). The frame and main carraige are made of MDF. The frame must be level and bolted to the floor. The saw rotates from vertical to horizontal on a heavy duty aluminum ball bearing lazy susan. A 28 lb counterweight slides up and down inside the main carriage to allow for stabile positioning.
To rip, the carraige moves from side to side and the saw carraige is locked in position at whatever scale setting is chosen. The scale registers from the bottom support upwards. There is also something called a strip gauge which allows you to cut from the top down. For example if you wanted several 3" strips it would be difficult to cut them from the bottom. With the strip gauge you set the gauge to 3", move the arm on the top of the panel, drop the saw carraige to the stop with the knob and cut away. Repeat your way down as often as needed. The horizontal grid supports the panel and moves up 1" pneumatically to avoid cutting into a rail.
To crosscut, the main carraige is locked in position "0" . The scale to the left is set to your size and the saw carraige is moved down to cut. In addition, there are two other positons marked +24 and + 48. These allow you to cut longer parts than the scale is marked. For example, if you wanted a part 90" long you would lock the carraige at +48 and set the left side scale to 42".
I have been a reader on this forum for many years and have never posted until now. I appreciate all the tips and tool reviews over the years. This project was a lot of work and I know that most members would not need a machine like this but I thought I would share this design so that maybe some of the ideas may lead to future jigs and inventions.
Although I had an overall plan for the panel saw, most of the details like the locks, scales, pneumatics etc were designed as I went along. The cost, excluding the TS55 which is easily removeable, was about $900 . The most expensive parts were the linear rails and bearings and the pneumatics, mostly purchased used on ebay.
I did not go into great detail but if anyone wants more info or pictures i would be happy to share.
Bob Fasano
Windermere Fl
