From: grun@intellistor.com (Paul Grun)
Subject: Re: Circular Saw recommendations
Organization: Intellistor, Inc.
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 00:40:44 GMT

In <WOODWORK%92111009520768@IPFWVM.BITNET> PH500000@BROWNVM.BITNET (Bob Pelcovits) writes:

>Could you describe the Exac-t-cut system in some detail? Thanks,


>                                  --Bob Pelcovits
>                                  Robert_Pelcovits@brown.edu
>                                  (401)-863-1432
>                                  FAX (401)-863-1157

First, I'm not certain it was called Exac-t-cut, but it was close to that.  It is
one of two or three systems on the market designed primarily for cutting sheet goods.
It consists mainly of a *very* large, special purpose T square.  There is a carrier
plate that attaches to the upright leg of the T, into which you can clamp either
a circular saw or a router.

Crude ascii:
 


   //
   //
   //
   //
   //---------------------------------------------|
   //---------------------------------------------|
   //           +------------+                          ^
   //           |      |     |                          |
   //           | -----|-    |                          |  When cutting, the T square,
   //           | |    | |   |                          |  with the saw, 
   //           | |    | |   |                          |  goes in this direction.
   //           | -----|-    |                          |
   //           |      |     |
   //           +------------+                              


      <--------- mounting plate -----------> 
    		   can move along T square



The leg of the T square is over 4 feet long in order to span a 4 foot panel.
The mounting plate is free to move
left and right on the leg of the T square (East and West in the above diagram), but 
can be locked down in a given position.  The left/right position dictates the width of
the rip cut. 

The head of the T square is designed to run in an extruded 8 foot long 
u-channel that you screw onto the edge of a table
(a piece of plywood on two sawhorses, for example).  This
allows the whole T square to move up and down (North and South in the diagram above).  
The piece of sheet goods being cut registers against the u-channel which is screwed to
the western-most edge of the table.

To use it, you clamp your circular saw onto the mounting plate (which really looks like
a very oversized version of a regular circular saw base plate), slide the carrier
left or right (East or West in above diagram) to get the width of cut you want, power up
the circular saw, and slide the whole T square North.

Needless to say, there are a million things you can do with this contraption (it slices!
it dices!) by mounting a router and making use of both axises (sp?) of movement. A plunge
router is unnecessary since the carrier plate is hinged where is attaches to the
T square.

Looked like a pretty good system to me.  I didn't pay too much attention to the price, but
I seem to recall about $200. (That could easily be +/- $50.00.  Don't hold me to it.)

Feel free to e-mail if this isn't clear.  The concept is simple, but the description
is hard to do with words and ascii.

Hope this helps.
p.s. It'd be interesting to hear from someone who has used one of these...


-- 

goes to show, you don't ever know...
grun@intellistor.com
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking