Stack Cutting

[CSull]

I am making several of the Alex Fox key holders for family and wanted to stack cut them. I usually avoid that because the double sided tape tears up my wood and leaves a tacky mess.  I came up with this alternative- I used blue tape on both pieces, placed a few drops of cyanoacylate glue on one piece and sprayed the other with activator and then stuck them together.  It worked great and the pieces separated easily. Thought I would pass it along. I apologize if this has already been posted.

[preprius]

tips and tricks are always welcome thank you.

[Wichman]

I like to stack cut and keeping the panels together is always a PIA, the more techniques the better.

I'm working on one now that is driving me crazy. Two 12 x 16 plaques and I didn't get them tight enough together, Now, the blades are snagging, bending inside, and breaking way too often. With everything else going on right now it's just a little to much.

[kmmcrafts]

I used to use screws in the waist area. If the screws poke through the back you can simply back them out some. when you're done you can remove the screws and save for the next project. 

I now have a pin nailer and use it for certain projects but sometimes the nail sizes are too long or short.. then the screws come in handy.

[Joe W.]

8 hours ago, CSull said:

placed a few drops of cyanoacylate glue on one piece and sprayed the other with activator and then stuck them together.  It worked great and the pieces separated easily. Thought I would pass it along.

Hmmm, I never thought of that.
I got a pin-nailer for Christmas and it works great for 1/2" or greater stack cutting, but there have been a couple times I've wanted to stack only 2 or 3 1/8" pieces where the 1/2" pin is too long.  I'll give CA glue a try next time.
Thanks for the tip.

[WayneMahler]

I have done this for other items but never thought about it for stack cutting with the scroll saw. Thanks for adding another way to accomplish a task.

[barb.j.enders]

On one of my FB pages the gals use the tape then the spray glue on the tape to stick together.  Same idea.

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, Joe W. said:

Hmmm, I never thought of that.
I got a pin-nailer for Christmas and it works great for 1/2" or greater stack cutting, but there have been a couple times I've wanted to stack only 2 or 3 1/8" pieces where the 1/2" pin is too long.  I'll give CA glue a try next time.
Thanks for the tip.

Joe, how about turning down the air pressure to your nailer? Would that keep the pins from driving so far into the wood. And also, when nailing, place the stack on a steel surface so the pins that might protrude are flattened on the steel. Just guessing here as I've not tried that yet. I'm waiting for the right deal to come along on a pin nailer. What's the shortest pin you can get?

 

[Bill WIlson]

The shortest pins my pin nailer takes are 5/8" long.    

[Joe W.]

1 hour ago, OCtoolguy said:

What's the shortest pin you can get?

 

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll try them.
The Craftsman pin-nailer I have lists 1/2" inch as the shortest it will take, but I've seen 3/8" inch pin nails on Amazon with an answered question that they would work on any pin-nailer.  I may spring for a box of them just to see if they work.  

[OCtoolguy]

10 minutes ago, Joe W. said:

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll try them.
The Craftsman pin-nailer I have lists 1/2" inch as the shortest it will take, but I've seen 3/8" inch pin nails on Amazon with an answered question that they would work on any pin-nailer.  I may spring for a box of them just to see if they work.  

Let us know if they work out. Also, which brand nailer do you have? I've been toying with buying the Banks from H/F.

 

[Joe W.]

5 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

which brand nailer do you have?

The kids got me a Craftsman combo deal from Lowes for Christmas: 
It came with Air Compressor (CMEC6150) with 3 nailers - 23 (CMPPN23)/ 18 (CMPBN18SB) / and 16 (CMPFN16SB) gauge.

I've used it a couple times for stack cutting and once for making a plywood box to hide our folding chairs in the utility room. 
The pin nailers Really came in handy for making the box.
I've got a couple other large projects I'll look forward to using them on too. 

[timelett]

1 hour ago, OCtoolguy said:

Let us know if they work out. Also, which brand nailer do you have? I've been toying with buying the Banks from H/F.

 

I have a micro pin nailer from Banks,I have had good luck with it so far.1/2 ,3/4,1 inch pins,I have stacked two parts with double sided tape, and used a heat gun to make the tape soft,then separate with thin putty knife. SLOWLY. 

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Let us know if they work out. Also, which brand nailer do you have? I've been toying with buying the Banks from H/F.

 

I have the Banks 22gauge pin nailer from HF.. smallest pins are 1/2" I mostly use the 1/2 and 5/8 which is also from HF.. I've only had it maybe a year now.. but use it quite a lot for nailing 4 - 5  1/8" BBply for stack cutting ornaments. NOTE: I nail them on the concrete floor. If I try to use a longer nail in a short stack.. the nailer will jam if trying to prevent it from going all the way through. My random orbit sander even with pretty fine paper on it will sand them flush in no time and keeps the nails from scratching the saw table.. 

[Joe W.]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

My random orbit sander even with pretty fine paper on it will sand them flush in no time and keeps the nails from scratching the saw table.. 

Another fine suggestion. . . Love this forum!

[jollyred]

I have used 3/8" pin nails in my pin nailer with no problem.  The info on the nailer says 1/2" minimum, but the 3/8" goes through with no problem.  For stack cutting two pieces of 1/8" (or 3mm), I will use brad nails in the waste areas.  If the points of the nails come through, I will just knock them back till they are flush with the back of the plywood.  Most often 3 nails will hold everything together.

Tom