Byrnes Sliding Table -Input Requested

[glbarlow]

I’ve had my Byrnes saw a long time, it just makes stuff easier.  With that in mind I’m interested in comments regarding the new sliding table. Not being a woodworker beyond my modeling I’m not sure of its purpose.  What does it do I can’t already do with the sliding gauge and slide bar? Everything about his saw (and Sander which I also have) is great, how would the addition of the sliding table make stuff more easy?

[Borden]

I have a sliding top table saw, not the same type but the only advantage I can see is that the wood does not slide on the table so will not get scratched when cutting it. Use my saw for fine wood work like doors, picture frame, cupboards or other fine finished work. It is heavier and not as easy to move.

[Bob Cleek]

The advantages of the cross-cut sled on the Byrnes saw are the same as for a sled on a full-size table saw. When making cross cuts, the sled provides greater safety and accuracy, particularly when making mitered cuts and cutting multiple pieces to exactly the same length. A cross-cut sled makes perfect, repeatable crosscuts on a table saw without tear-out, which is something the modeler needs to do on a fairly regular basis. Because both the workpiece and the offcut move with the sled and are backed by a fence perpendicular to the blade, there's much less chance of kickback and blowout as the blade exits the cut.  The Byrnes sled has a metal box which covers the blade as the cut is completed. This is a very good "automatic" safety feature that prevents ever getting cut by the blade as the sled is pushed forward.

 

The Byrnes saw sled is machined to the same .001" tolerances as the saw itself, so, while building your own sled is conceptually easy, incorporating the highly accurate miter gauge of the Byrnes sled in one you build yourself is going to take some doing. Building a sled for your full-size table saw doesn't require the tolerances that making one that will give you what your Byrnes saw is capable of would demand in terms of accuracy. While anything done on a sled can also be done without the sled, the sled saves set-up time, especially with repetitive cuts. It also keeps your fingers away from the blade, which is particularly important when cutting small pieces.

 

Check out this video. It's for full-size table saws, but if you turn your volume down, you can pretend he's talking about a Byrnes saw.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Bob Cleek

[Landlubber Mike]

Bob said it all - safety, accuracy with repeatable cuts.  Is it necessary?  Probably not, but makes the job a lot easier and safer.  I'm very happy with mine.

[Maury S]

The first thing I did after buying the Byrnes saw (years ago) was to build a sled (not nearly as precise as Jim's).  I can't imagine using any table saw to cross-cut without one.  I will probably buy Jim's before my next project.

Maury

[usedtosail]

The cross cut sled is one of the best accessories for the Byrnes saw, in my opinion. I also made one when I bought the saw a few years ago but the one from Byrnes is 100 times better. I highly recommend it.

[glbarlow]

On 2/20/2020 at 5:53 PM, Bob Cleek said:

exactly the same length

Thank you for your reply.  I understand the repeatable and safety aspect, How does it make cuts the same length?  My example is cutting the very short “borders” of a square hatch, say each just 25mm in length and a 45 mitre didn’t cut, hard to do without losing a finger. Does the sliding table help with month the accurate cut and getting 4 perfect 25 mm lengths?

 

I should just buy it, but not sure I’d know how to use it. 
 

Great video, very helpful. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by glbarlow

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

Thank you for your reply.  I understand the repeatable and safety aspect, How does it make cuts the same length?  My example is cutting the very short “borders” of a square hatch, say each just 25mm in length and a 45 mitre didn’t cut, hard to do without losing a finger. Does the sliding table help with month the accurate cut and getting 4 perfect 25 mm lengths?

What I meant was that if you wanted to cut pieces of wood all exactly the same length, the sled does that very easily. If you want to cut perfect miter angles, the sled does that better than using the miter gauge on the table saw and poses less risk of your touching the moving blade.

[Jaager]

Once you have the hatch coming piece positioned on the sled - against the stops - hold it down with a large piece of wood with a hollow that just fits the coming - maybe even involve double sided tape - to keep your fingers away from the blade.  You can even form the hollow from two pieces of wood  and the tape so that you can reuse the cover piece for different sized stock.  A few extra minutes spent on safety can save a lot of time spent on healing.  I think that a table saw is about as dangerous as it gets for a motorized cutting tool.

Edited February 24, 2020 by Jaager
can not spell

[Bob Cleek]

3 hours ago, Jaager said:

I think that a table saw is about as dangerous as it gets for a motorized cutting tool.

Naw, I'd award that prize to the chainsaw. Fact is, all tools are dangerous and forgetting that is the major cause of injuries.

 

The liability insurance bean counters will tell you that the tool that sends more people to the emergency room than any other is the ladder. No kidding. That's a fact.

[RichardG]

4 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

What I meant was that if you wanted to cut pieces of wood all exactly the same length, the sled does that very easily. If you want to cut perfect miter angles, the sled does that better than using the miter gauge on the table saw and poses less risk of your touching the moving blade.

I'd use my bench sander for that. Cut close to length using my razor saw then sand the miters. Much safer. Having said that, the Byrnes saw with sled is on my "saving up" for list. 

 

21 minutes ago, Bob Cleek said:

Naw, I'd award that prize to the chainsaw. Fact is, all tools are dangerous and forgetting that is the major cause of injuries.

 

The liability insurance bean counters will tell you that the tool that sends more people to the emergency room than any other is the ladder. No kidding. That's a fact.

As to general safety, I've only twice needed stitches; once from using a box cutter, the other in the kitchen cutting a water melon. I've also fallen off a ladder! 

 

My total paranoia about power saws has allowed me to keep all my fingers and my hatred of heights kept my fall to about 4 feet.

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Ha, I recently badly cut my finger when a super sharp knife slipped cutting a watermelon.  Not sure I’ll ever buy a whole watermelon again!

[RichardG]

2 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Ha, I recently badly cut my finger when a super sharp knife slipped cutting a watermelon.  Not sure I’ll ever buy a whole watermelon again!

My teenage daughter now refuses to eat watermelon after seeing all the blood from my cut 😕. For a time I was forbidden to cut a watermelon - it's my wife's favorite fruit, so the ban didn't last long.

[Bob Cleek]

I don't know if anybody's done the research, but I'd bet cutting watermelons is one of the highest risk kitchen cutting jobs around. I always use the biggest knife I can find. The problem is the watermelon is so heavy it wants to take control in the middle of the cut. Somebody must have posted a how-to-do-it video on YouTube.

 

[glbarlow]

I think this thread has lost the plot. 
 

I now have the sliding table and was successful cutting lap joints for my hatches. I also used it it to scratch build a companion way.  Now that I’ve used it, not sure how I ever did without it. 
 

Have fun with cutting stories, I’ll try not to cut anything other than wood 🙂 

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by glbarlow

[mtaylor]

The hatches and companionway look good, Glenn.  

[glbarlow]

8 hours ago, mtaylor said:

The hatches and companionway look good

Thank you for commenting!

[shane762]

11 hours ago, glbarlow said:

 

I now have the sliding table and was successful cutting lap joints for my hatches. I also used it it to scratch build a companion way.  Now that I’ve used it, not sure how I ever did without it. 
 

 

 

 

Those look terrific.  Exactly the kind of thing I'm looking forward to trying out once my Byrnes saw comes in. 

[glbarlow]

You will love the saw - the sliding table is new, but I've had the Byrnes saw for a number of years. It and the Byrnes sander are great tools