plywood cutting jig
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Tough for a jig
As you have probably already discovered, one of the problems with sheet goods is the fact that they are largely unsupported when coming into the front of the blade. Unless you build a dedicated in-feed table (the best solution), about all you can do is use a good quality roller stand in front of the table to help hold the floppy sheet up (and also one at the rear if you don't have an out-feed table), use a pair of roller hold-downs on the fence. When you begin feeding the sheet make first contact against the fence with the far right forward corner of the sheet, and as you begin feeding it, push the the rest of the right edge against the fence as the sheet goes into the blade. It can still be a scary operation, and requires your utmost attention. The biggest help probably comes from having an out-feed table and a supporting roller stand at the front.
As you have probably already discovered, one of the problems with sheet goods is the fact that they are largely unsupported when coming into the front of the blade. Unless you build a dedicated in-feed table (the best solution), about all you can do is use a good quality roller stand in front of the table to help hold the floppy sheet up (and also one at the rear if you don't have an out-feed table), use a pair of roller hold-downs on the fence. When you begin feeding the sheet make first contact against the fence with the far right forward corner of the sheet, and as you begin feeding it, push the the rest of the right edge against the fence as the sheet goes into the blade. It can still be a scary operation, and requires your utmost attention. The biggest help probably comes from having an out-feed table and a supporting roller stand at the front.
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when i cut an 8x4 sheet i used 3 saw horses that were made the same height as the table, 1 each side and 1 at the back, just place them where you need them. best of luck
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23 Posts
Joe, here's the table saw work station I built for my 3650. It has provided a level of safety and work capacity that I have come to love. Previous to the entire station I just had the outfeed table attached. It alone was a major help. With it alone I had no problem handling full sheets. With this entire station it's a breeze.
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23 Posts
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I do have two router tables on this station. The idea for the outfeed table came from Bob D. on the Ridgid forum. I changed a couple of things but it's essentially the same. The workstation idea came from Wood magazine. I modified it to fit my needs. I absolutely love it. It makes things incredibly safe and provides a level of stability that my saw couldn't match before.
I don't know if you would call this a jig, but I highly recommend this solution. I ripped an 8' piece of plywood couple days ago; A fold-down table is not all that expensive to build; mostly labor!
Click on pictures to enlarge. See other picture using << >> arrow; upper right.
To support the material from the back of the saw, I use a single leg roller stand or my roll-around cart. The cart has four locking casters!
-Don
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