Eric, I would think from your explanation that the safety guide is your main problem and would go back and readjust it to where it doesn’t interfere with the cutting of the material and cause misalignment of your material. I have used a feather board in the past and they are very helpful especially when first starting your cutting experience and be come less so after your learning curve has caught up. They work better with solid materials like wood and might cause some problems with softer stuff. The type of saw you have with a reciprocating blade are not near as prone to safety problem as a circular saw. Good luck, you’ll get it, Bill
Eric,
Looking at the saw you have it is basically a reciprocating saw turned over and placed in a table. I have been a woodworker for over 40 years. My experience with reciprocating saws is the blade will wander. The use of a feather board will or may enhance this problem and you will not get a very straight cut. I would check the fence. Clamp it down and measure at the front edge of the table to the fence and at the back of the table to the fence. They should be the same. If not then the fence is out of alignment and should be adjusted so the distance is the same. Also if the fence only clamps at one end (usually the front), push on the back of the fence (sideways) to see if there is any give. If there is then this could also be the problem as the material wants to get larger at the back of the blade as you are pushing it through the blade. My suggestion is to get a table saw with a rotating blade. Make all of the adjustments as mentioned and use a good carbide tipped blade that does not flex. Also my suggestion would be to use either Redwood or Cedar for your project. Both are rot resistant and insect resistant. If left unfinished they will both turn a nice grey color over time.
On my table saw I have ripped lumber consistently down to 1/8" (and even smaller) with no dimensional variance.
Colin
Colin,
I wanted to acknowledge your post and the sharing of your experience. I am still using the excuse of visiting family to put all the above information into a way forward! I’ll put that here before committing time or cash.
Thanks again,
Eric
Eric, thank you. I hope my post helps. In my opinion when you purchase a tool, purchase the best you can find for the budget you have. Also tools that say they take the place of other multiple tools rarely are as accurate as any one of the tools they replace. And yes Family does come first. I have really enjoyed your posts of your railroad and the involvement of your children. I wish I had had the time and money when my children were growing up to start a project like a garden railroad and get them involved as well. My kids are now 34 and 30. It wasn’t until they were both grown and out of the house that I really started my garden railroad.
Also thank you to both you and Rooster for the “thanks” for my post. I have expressed my experience and wisdom many times before only to be shot down by someone that thinks they know more on the subject at hand. That is why I do not post very often. Only when I do have an opinion that I think will help. What I dislike the most is confrontation.
Anyway good luck with your bridge and railroad and keep the kids involved.
Colin
Good advice, Colin. "Illegitimi non carborundum" (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
Haha, that’s a good one Bruce! I had to look it up, but worth it. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
And yeah, carry on Eric! I’ve got nothing useful to say, but I really enjoy your posts and family involvement.
I forget, what’s CONUS again? Related to SWMBO?
CONUS=Continental United States (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Colin Criswell said:
Eric,
Looking at the saw you have it is basically a reciprocating saw turned over and placed in a table.
Thank you for explaining what I was looking at. Never seen a critter like that before! When I looked at the picture of the saw (thinking it was a circular table saw) and reading Eric’s comment about having trouble running through the safety guide I thought “Good Lord” NO WONDER! The whole thing looked rather scary to me as a circular saw but it still looks scary even as a band saw (to me anyway).
It’s all good and keep up the work Eric as I personally enjoy your posts. Especially the pictures as they say more words than you can write.
Rooster, it is not a band saw, it is a reciprocating saw (better known as a saber saw) flipped upside down and mounted under the table. It would be useful as a scroll saw but not so much as a table saw. A band saw should give you straighter cuts that this saw.
FWIW,
Colin
Colin,
Thanks for the continued distance learning! I have used spare time during the last week to reevaluate my strategy going forward.
- The tool. I bought this “saber saw” last year as the only reasonable fit to budget and available space. I did go to YouTube, and, yes, it recommended clamping it as you described, with a slight 1/8 offset at the back.
- The material. Redwood is available, but not in pieces I can jam in my FOCUS! I will check Lowe’s later this week for smaller lengths and / or cedar. I think I saw this in the garden section.
In the worst case, I can use the material on hand and score it to look like individual timbers. I did this last year for tunnel portals (pardon the recycled photo) and a bridge sort of thing:
I have made smaller cuts of uniform width with this saw, the rest of the bridge would go together per the referenced 2003 GR article, using short lengths to form the cross bracing. The bridge is far enough back that the detail will be lost.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate drawing on the experiences of you and others. I don’t mind learning from mistakes, but it gets tedious after a while! I’ll see what Lowes has and update accordingly.
Aloha,
Eric
P.S. I’ve noticed most folks here use a tool not in my inventory called a “Brad Nailer.” I am really hoping the hand powered ARROW brand ones are good enough for most projects. My DREMEL failed, so my tool budget is in arrears.
Oh, and Cliff, I use CINCHOUSE (Commander-in-Chief House) in lieu of SWMBO. It’s a Navy thing…
Eric Mueller said:
Colin,
Thanks for the continued distance learning! I have used spare time during the last week to reevaluate my strategy going forward.
- The tool. I bought this “saber saw” last year as the only reasonable fit to budget and available space. I did go to YouTube, and, yes, it recommended clamping it as you described, with a slight 1/8 offset at the back.
- The material. Redwood is available, but not in pieces I can jam in my FOCUS! I will check Lowe’s later this week for smaller lengths and / or cedar. I think I saw this in the garden section.
In the worst case, I can use the material on hand and score it to look like individual timbers. I did this last year for tunnel portals (pardon the recycled photo) and a bridge sort of thing:
I have made smaller cuts of uniform width with this saw, the rest of the bridge would go together per the referenced 2003 GR article, using short lengths to form the cross bracing. The bridge is far enough back that the detail will be lost.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate drawing on the experiences of you and others. I don’t mind learning from mistakes, but it gets tedious after a while! I’ll see what Lowes has and update accordingly.
Aloha,
Eric
P.S. I’ve noticed most folks here use a tool not in my inventory called a “Brad Nailer.” I am really hoping the hand powered ARROW brand ones are good enough for most projects. My DREMEL failed, so my tool budget is in arrears.
Either an 18 gauge brad nailer or a 23 gauge pin nailer. Not sure what you mean by “hand-powered”, but if that means squeeze than handle and a brad fires, then no, that will not be good. You won’t be able to hold the tool in the exact spot where you need a brad while squeezing. Either an electric or air powered nailer will allow you to accurately place each nail exactly where you need it and speed up your work immensely!
For my cedar bridges, trestles, etc. I prefer the 23 gauge pin nailer, as it will never split the wood. Also, when I make a mistake, it’s easy to pull the pieces apart if needed and start over. Years-later retrofits are easy because you can saw right through the pins. Not sure whether 18 gauge or 23 gauge is best for working with composites; hopefully David Maynard can chime in on that.
Whatever nailer you get, please follow safety instructions! Practice on a scrap of decking first. Use a pencil to mark bullseyes on the scrap and practice until you can place a nail exactly where you need it. Be sure you are comfortable with the tool before trying to fasten small parts on a bridge or trestle! Buy 2 or 3 different lengths of nails and always select the right length for your project (a nail that’s too long will extend through both pieces of the your project and out the back side - there should not be a finger there!)
Cute kid!
I didn’t pin nail my plastic bridge, but I did pin nail my cedar bridges. I used 23 gauge pins, and yea, you have to keep your fingers out of the line of fire. Also the air pressure needs to be dialed in, and it was a lot less then I thought it was going to be. My first shot I had the pressure too high, and I actually blew the end off a 1/4 inch square piece of cedar. If you use 2 pins at each joint, each set at a different angle, the pins will hold the boards without glue. But I am a glue and pin kind of guy.
Gents,
Life happened this week, and I am tardy in getting to Lowes…Thanks for saving me the aggravation of buying the wrong brad or pin nailer! In the meantime, my DREMEL died, so my next trip to Lowes is going to be a fun one to explain…
Aloha,
Eric
All,
Quick update on this project. Using the hints here and a YouTube video, I set up my saw a bit better (It has a fold down wire that braces it against the table edge. Didn’t know that until I watched the video…). The net result of proper saw set-up was four very nice 24" stringers.
The next step was to see what the saw could do with this material. What I found was that I can cut this stuff as small as 1/4"x1/4" and it works OK. Anything smaller is just too flimsy, and the material starts to deteriorate as it passes through the blade. The experimentation left a lot of scrap and the requisite 10 cross beams. There is now way, though, that I can rip this material into planks. Going forward, I think I have found a decent material for retaining walls and possibly building frames and larger timbers, but, clearly I have to experiment with actual wood for finer work.
I am debating proceeding with what I have, assembling the bridge frame, and then experimenting with either styrene, which is something I am comfortable working with, or the recommended hard wood, which is something I need to get comfortable working with, or starting the whole thing over using wood from the get-go. Regardless, I am glad to have taken up the project BEFORE the bridge collapsed as it turns out even with a set of plans, there was a lot of learning to do and to be done along the way.
The project, however, due to family obligations and a surfeit of funds due to a veterinary emergency. All is well, and the dog seems to be OK, so the money was well spent.
Have a great week!
Eric
glad to hear all is well with saw, you, and pup
Bill,
Thanks. Off topic, but Mr. Otto, or 11 year old cattle dog, collapsed on our walk and the vet gave him 48 hours. He seems to have fully recovered and is his truck chasing, kid-harassing, food-stealing self. Maybe he ate something; maybe he had some sort of seizure. We’ll never know, but we are glad to have him back.
Getting my buddy back is worth the delay in getting a new Dremel and brad nailer!
Aloha,
Eric
Same thing happened to my neighbor’s dog, Katie. Her vet said it was some kind of inner ear disturbance, and it would clear up on its own in 24 to 48 hours. Katie lived for several more years after the event, running and playing like normal.
Eric, on getting stuff to fit in your Focus, my Lowes has cedar fence boards and they are only 6’ long, might be easier to squeeze some in the caar. Also I would bet they (Lowes) will cut longer material down to 4’ , at least the ones here on the mainland have a cutting service in the back corner . They might charge a small fee per cut.