At first I did not think it would be worth the extra but I am very glad to have it now. The operating temperature is critical, and the ability to get sometimes twice as much out of a piece of wood or buy 12x24 and still use it much less full 48x96 sheets does not pay the difference but it helps. I am finding that the extra power is still less than I would like but would hate to have less than that.
Even still, I would have them make the four cuts as noted above and then use another saw for cutting out the length you need for the project intended as many times the could be just 8 inches or it could be as much as you can fit in the basic and cut from each direction.
I bought one of those vibro tools for making plunge cuts, but it has a round blade as well. the good news also is that it does not cut anything soft that can move with it so is safer than spinning blades. the blade seems to move back and forth about a mm or so, so is much more gentle if not as fast as a spinning blade. I only wish i could have the blade on something solid and move the material.
Yeah, I’d love a pro, but I’m buying as a hobbyist, so it’s just not something I can justify. I’m hoping to make a bit of money to pay for it, though, so if that ends up taking off, I know I can always upgrade to a new machine.
The multi max is one of those vibrating saws… we actually used it to cut the flooring in my office since the ends were hidden. It’s really a poor tool for that, though.
You guys gave me a lot to think about. I was leaning away from the Drexel ultra to a different compact circular saw with a laser guide. I couldn’t decide, so I asked my husband what he thought (note that I hadn’t brought him into the discussion at all at this point) and he pointed out that he ALREADY HAS a compact circular saw that he has never once used (or mentioned)!
I’m now thinking back to numerous projects where that saw would have come in very handy. Sigh.
A good tip. I’ve definitely considered something like that. If I decide to go that way I’ll probably build one because a) I really like to build stuff and b) my space is super limited so it will have to work around everything else crammed in there; real custom solution needed.
That was my original plan - you can get the sled & stuff or even make all the parts. I found the used one for a great price so I went with that. They’re a ton safer than trying to cut sheet goods (4x8) with a table saw or a circular saw on saw horses etc.
You can also put a mini-table on the rails so you can do cuts on 2-by boards or other not-4foot stock (used to do that for repetitive cuts on foam insulation board without having to bend all the way to the bottom of the track.
The idea is you could leave a panel saw out of the way in, say, a garage, then just pull it out when needed.
I’m a bit constrained by the fact that I only have a car port, not an enclosed garage, but it has a “side” door to a hallway that’s not used for entry, so I drop my “job site” (portable) table saw inside the door, and just pull it out into the “garage” when I need it.