Thread: triton v mdf sheet

A cabinet saw is a completely different animal. If we all had the same needs/wants there would be only one saw and everyone would use it.

Personally I'm frustrated with my Triton stuff and will be replacing it eventually, but I also see it's strengths and why other people have been using them for decades.

Horses for courses...

If you look at the videos that Triton produced in the 1990s about home renovation projects using the WorkCentre, it is striking how often the jobs were done in crosscut mode. IMHO that is still a strong feature of the Triton, esp when used on site. It is much more accurate than using the CS freehand and it gives accurate repeatability in crosscut.

When I upgrade to a TS, I will probably keep the Triton and use it in crosscut mode instead of a SCMS and have it around to use outside or if I go to a jobsite elsewhere.

The first thing to say is that just because you did it or your Dad did it does not mean it's a practice we should recommend here, especially to a relative newcomer who has already come to grief with a router and a circular saw.

There are probably many things that we do or have done, which we feel have been worth the risk. Should we encourage other people to do them? And don't forget you are not only encouraging Weisyboy but anyone else who comes along and reads this thread.

I think there are very good reasons why the 'official' point of view should be that it's a bad idea. Most of them already mentioned but the main ones I see are lack of a splitter or riving knife and guard.

Whenever someone asks this question, and it is asked often, people come out of the woodwork with anecdotes. They always preface it with something like "if you know what you are doing, it is safe". Personally, I think that if you know what you are doing, then you will know it's a bad idea. You might know just enough to get away with it, but you should know better than to try it at all.

Fact is, a table saw is already dangerous enough with all the safety features that they come with now, so why expose yourself to something without them? You'll be kicking yourself if you cut off a finger. Let's not even go into whether individuals are capable of setting something like this up so that it wont fall apart and cut off their foot.

Weisyboy, you've been bitten twice so far and gotten away with it. Do you really want to try your luck on a third? When these things happen, you're supposed to learn from them mate.

Originally Posted by silentC

The first thing to say is that just because you did it or your Dad did it does not mean it's a practice we should recommend here, especially to a relative newcomer who has already come to grief with a router and a circular saw.

G'day Silent,

I fully and totally agree. That's why I put some of my reply in bold italic
with an indirect inference to Weisyboy. I wasn't so direct, but SilentC is being more so and

Why would you want to make one yourself when you can pick up a SH Triton mk 3 pretty cheaply. I bought a new saw recently but I still kept my mk3 and still use it sometimes.

twice yes lets say twice.

i cant see it being more dangerous than the gmc i have or even the triton. i cant see why a riving knife could not be installed also.

i cant see it being more dangerous than the gmc i have or even the triton.

Exactly my point.

i cant see why a riving knife could not be installed also.

No reason why it couldn't. That's exactly what the first person who invented the idea did no doubt. Not saying it can't be done. Just saying I don't think it's wise to encourage people to try it. Other people will disagree, it's like the DIY wiring argument. That's my opinion, I think people should be discouraged from trying stuff like this. If they then go and do it anyway, it's their problem but at least they've thought about the risks (hopefully).

Read between the lines...

there is notning but cream between the lines.

how bout some kind of a crosscutting thing for doing boxes thats what i really need.

a tablesaw with miter slots and sleds to be used keeping meaty bits away from the blade.

For stuff like that you're better off to make yourself a guide which you clamp to the board and run the saw along it hand held. It's just a bit of ply or MDF or whatever as long as you need to be able to cut (the base), with a strip of ply, MDF or pine screwed/glued along one long edge (the fence). You make the base a bit wider than the distance from the edge of the baseplate on the saw to the blade. Then you fix your fence to the base, clamp it to the board you want to cut, and then run the saw along it holding the edge of the base plate against the fence. The first cut trims the base to the correct width, then you can use this to position the guide against your cut line for future cuts.

A variation of this for narrow cross cuts is to make a mitre box that your board goes in and then it has a fence fixed to it at right angles over the top, sort of like a cross. You locate the board in the box and then run your saw over the top to cut it off.

Both of these leave the blade facing down rather than up in the air.

i dont see that beain as accurate as you dont have a clear view of the cut and timber.

please explain further.

Keep going on the design - by the time you've gotten all the details sorted out, you'll probably discover you've just reinvented something.....

Next step is to get it so it can be mass produced cheaply enough, and branding. There's probably a surplus of orange paint these days - that's pretty eye catching.....

Originally Posted by weisyboy

i dont see that beain as accurate as you dont have a clear view of the cut and timber.

please explain further.

You don't need a clear view of the cut or the timber. The guide keeps the saw on the line. If you can't see the blade, it has to be safer, right?

It's a very common jig. Here's the first one that came up when I Googled "circular saw guide": http://benchnotes.com/Skillsaw%20Gui..._guide_boa.htm

You know I'm a self righteous opinionated git, and I know it, but I can't let this pass.

Safety isn't about guards and riving knives. It's about thinking through what your about to do and not doing it so you don't get hurt.

The first thing I did when I got my hercus home is remove the f*ing home made guards that had been added to it.

I never run a blade guard nor knife on my table saw. I WANT that blade to be sticking out in my face because it reminds me every time I make a cut that it can take off a limb. I set up so my hands never go near the blade and I'm never off balance.

I know this doesn't gell with the touchy feeling modern political correctness people like to worship these days, but I've spent most of my working life in some of the most dangerous working enviroments around, factories, building sites, mines and laboratories. I've still got all my fingers and apart from a wrecked back haven't suffered any long term injury.

Understand the process, think it through before hand and then do it with care. Don't abdicate concious thought to a f*ing plastic guard.

Originally Posted by silentC

You don't need a clear view of the cut or the timber. The guide keeps the saw on the line. If you can't see the blade, it has to be safer, right?

It's a very common jig. Here's the first one that came up when I Googled "circular saw guide": http://benchnotes.com/Skillsaw%20Gui..._guide_boa.htm

This one does narrow cross cuts: http://daveosborne.com/dave/articles/skilsawguide.php