haha, I hear that!
I use my handheld circular saw to rip a couple times a year, not as easy as a nice table saw, but when thatâs all you have you learn to make due
I disagree. I will be lasering out measuring marks on door molding to mark off the kidâs height.
Fair enough. I donât have kids, though, and at 6â4" the piece Iâd need to laser to mark my own height can fit in the basic model.
that would be resawing(hard to do with a 1/4 inch thinkness, or a whole bunch of passes through a planer
Iâve done ripping with a table saw, a circ (including a homebuilt zero-clearance sled) and a bandsaw. OK, tried it with a saber saw once too⌠Unless youâre ripping something thatâs not very wide, youâre going to need to plane it to final thickness anywayâŚ
But the one thing I think many of us are missing (including me much of the time) is that laser cutters are mind-bogglingly precise compared to most of our other tools. So if you adjust for the kerf you can stack multiple pieces and have them come out to your final measurement.
I donât suppose you have pictures of that laying around?
Ok, so I have a use case: Chain-link fence privacy inserts.
These could be up to 9â tall, about an inch and a half wide (not sure about this, will check when I get home), and must be fairly thin. So ripping down 2x4s would probably work (one would have to calculate the time involved to see if it saved $$ over just buying thinner stock to start with. but saving money isnât always everyoneâs goal) Using the passthrough, and a sliced-up photograph/design one could engrave an image that stretched the length of the fence, or wrapped around an entire yard, or even around an entire playing field!
Lattice board might work, but itâs typically kinda spendy. And you can rip 2x4 really thin (I have made offcuts that are almost translucent). It might be worth investing in a thin-kerf blade, though, because otherwise youâre making as much sawdust as you are boards.
Random thought: instead of lasering the slats (which would be very nice but perhaps too subtle), use the laser to make a set of detailed stencils? You could then apply paint in whatever colors you chose â possibly with multiple stencil layers â and get some really cool results.
Oh, and the sled wasnât much â just a piece of one-side-smooth 1/4" masonite with holes drilled to match the tapped holes on the bed of the circ, and measured for a specific offset. It rode against a smooth-ripped edge of some hardwood or other. If Iâd been doing it right, I would have glued on some hardwood blocks with threaded inserts to set things up for an adjustable side piece faced with umhw tape â have I mentioned how much I love that stuff.
IMO a radial arm saw is very versatile, crosscut, ripping, molding, planning, sanding and even drilling with the PTO.
Killed the saw years ago, but if I were to buy another, it would probably be a radial arm.
Awesome awesome awesome idea!