rash_powder Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 I have in the past had to cut parts from larger or longer pieces of material; either because it was the most effective use of the material or because the project needed to be that way. Example, ornaments nested tightly on a 5 1/2" wide board, or a string of text that I need the negative/waste material to position the letters correctly. These longer pieces give me troubles when rotating them for cuts - they always seem to swing into me and I have to really stretch or awkwardly maneuver to make things work. How do you all handle situations like this? I know spiral blades are an option, but they don't leave as nice a cut as a flat blade. Thanks! OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 9 minutes ago, rash_powder said: I have in the past had to cut parts from larger or longer pieces of material; either because it was the most effective use of the material or because the project needed to be that way. Example, ornaments nested tightly on a 5 1/2" wide board, or a string of text that I need the negative/waste material to position the letters correctly. These longer pieces give me troubles when rotating them for cuts - they always seem to swing into me and I have to really stretch or awkwardly maneuver to make things work. How do you all handle situations like this? I know spiral blades are an option, but they don't leave as nice a cut as a flat blade. Thanks! I have run into a few situations like that over the years. I would have to stand to do my cutting in those cases and bend over. Not the most comfortable way but needed to be done. I also use a larger 1/4" zero clearance sub table top to help support the work piece or it has a tendency to flop. I hate spiral blades so there were a couple times I actually had to bend the blade 90 degrees so it cut to the side instead of front to back. Awkward but effective. As said though spiral blades would sure be the thing to use. MarieC, Scrappile and OCtoolguy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 Spiral blades. OCtoolguy and MarieC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill WIlson Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 I'm an advocate for spiral blades, but sometimes they just aren't suitable for the piece being cut. In those cases, I do much like JT and just stand and bend awkwardly to make the cuts that are difficult to reach. I ty to avoid this situation whenever possible, but sometimes it just isn't feasible. Wichman, MarieC, OCtoolguy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 To help out sometimes I will drill a couple different holes for the same cutout area.. this way I can cut in a direction where the board is toward the back of the saw giving me more sitting / standing room at the front of the saw.. and also as JT mentioned.. bend the blade ends so they cut from the side instead of the front of the saw. barb.j.enders, MarieC, Wichman and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preprius Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 Somewhere on the village someone said they face the blade backwards. OCtoolguy and danny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 I too, stand and bend over. The belly seems to get in the way. Also, the eyesight is not as good as it was. Doctor's appointment is two months away. barb.j.enders and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wichman Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 I stand when I need more maneuverability. Sometimes I stand to the side of the saw to get a good approach angle. Sometimes you need to be a contortionist. OCtoolguy and barb.j.enders 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crupiea Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 I notice that the larger the piece gets, the less control I have plus the less intricate the designs can be. Gets less accurate the bigger it is. What I do to counter that is to cut the piece out of something smaller and attach it to the larger backing piece. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 (edited) This is a Dirk Boelman pattern that challenged my depth of my 26" RBI that I had to improvise. I made a few of these. I believe I still have a couple pieces that I cut and also the frames. The inside pattern was the challenge. Larger than you think when you spin it . but worked it out. Makes a great project. Man I look back at his patterns and I made so many of them over the years. He too was one of my favorite pattern makers. Loved his work. https://theartfactory.com/product/the-light-of-the-world/ Edited March 30 by JTTHECLOCKMAN OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rash_powder Posted April 1 Author Report Share Posted April 1 The current large project is a logo for my father in law, and the text on these sort of things can get quite long. As I said, I like to keep the negative to position the letters correctly. I ended up just cutting the board in half between two letters and making a reference cut near the partition. When it comes to assembly I will find some paper or tape that fills the reference cut and use that to shim the letters back to the proper spacing. If I were to lose about 50 lbs it probably wouldn't be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 Whenever I am nesting patterns to minimize the amount of wood used, after the patterns are all in place and attached to the wood, I make my first cuts between the lines of each pattern or follow the edge line of one of the patterns, but then out the other edge of the wood. This separates each pattern piece so that I can go back and finish cutting each pattern one at a time on the smaller pieces of wood. Why are you trying to cut patterns while they are still all attached together? Am I missing something? Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rash_powder Posted April 19 Author Report Share Posted April 19 I use the scrap or 'negative' for placement/alignment when cutting strings of text. So sometimes things get a bit long. Other times the item I am cutting is just a bit or lot bigger than what I can comfortable pivot around the blade while sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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