DavidC Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have a few sheets of warped 3/4 Birch ply laying around and was wondering if they were worth anything more that firewood. I've been considering installing a French Cleat system for wall storage and was wondering how to safely cut these sheets on my table saw. Any ideas anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Can you break them down with a circ saw first? how bad are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Are we talking full size table saw or job site type saw. If you have a cabinet saw or similar sheet goods are easy as long as you have a good sized out feed table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidC Posted February 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Lets just say beyond use on any project - which is why I figured they'd be good for cleats (bolted to wall). I'm figuring I've got about a 1 in bow in them, in the middle. I thought about attaching something straight to them to "pull" out the bow - like a jointed 2x4 - and maybe it will straighten it out enough to keep it from kicking back in the table saw. Cutting them down with circ saw first is a good option though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidC Posted February 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Particle Board - why are all the good screen names used? Anyway. I'm using a "hybrid" saw. It's the Ridgid R4512. Basically a shop saw - not job site. The size or outfeed is not my concern. I've recently watched Marc's vid on shop safety (love it when the gods come down to our level ) and am a bit concerned about kickback. I've experienced it a few times on cutting very long boards (like 14 footers) with an inexperienced helper on the outfeed side - don't want to experience that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Speaking of working with plywood, I've been working on this lately. 576 3/4"x3/4" strips of plywood. Eventually this will be an end table, these are just glued up panels that will be re-arranged. http://instagram.com/p/k3FEJKlSCg/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidC Posted February 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 mds2 - keep us posted. that does look tedious - but in a cool way. where does you inspiration come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Honestly, I got the idea for this table when I was out running. No clue where it came from. I need three gallons of clear drying resin if anyone knows a source... for cheap. The only stuff I've been able to find is $37 a quart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 a 1" bow over 5 ft doesn't seem like that much to me. i would cut the strips with the outside of the bow facing the table saw and the bow parallel to your fence, so you can grip the back edge of your sheet. you can raise the blade high enough that you won't need to push your piece down at the end. a decent out feed table will help eliminate any variables from shop helpers if you decide to break it down with a circ saw first, clamp the bow down in the center with cauls running across/ near your cut. make several scoring cuts first to release the tension in the board or you could get kickback on the circ saw if you try to cut it perpendicular to the bow. do you still have the splitter that came with the rigid saw? that will greatly reduce your kickback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidC Posted February 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 spencer_J - yes, absolutely plan on using the splitter AND the kickback claws. It's only 48"-ish long. good advice on running it cup up and parallel to the blade. think I'm going to give that a try this weekend. (hopefully I won't be reporting back from the ER) I'm probably overthinking this - but with the price of lumber now days...I have a hard time throwing such a piece away. although I'd never use it for a project - it's probably perfect for the shop French cleat system. I'll likely cut it down into more manageable sizes before cutting 45* angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Divetta Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Have you tried weighing them down ?? If you raise the two ends and put a heavy weight or clamp in the middle so that it forces the bow in the opposite direction it might pull the warp out if your board ... Just check it every day. Like spencer said 1" in 5' doesn't seem like that much and a circular saw would ride over the outside of the curve easily, then just pin / screw / clamp your strips down to a flat surface and cut your bevel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'll likely cut it down into more manageable sizes before cutting 45* angles. i'd recommend doing so. if there is still a bow when you're ready to cut the bevel, you can make your screw holes (for the wall) and screw it down to a sacrificial straight edge to hold the baltic birch parallel to your table saw top while you make the bevel. baltic birch is pricy, you can make many nice things out of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidC Posted February 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 Baltic Birch is pricy, but the piece i'm considering is good for not much more that maybe a big bowl.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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