jim
New Member
Posts: 5 
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Post by jim on Sept 12, 2016 13:49:04 GMT -5
Hi all
I'm a brand new owner of the mt55cc plus 2 1600mm rails and 2 clamps.
I havent had a track saw before so forgive me if this seems very basic.
I've been playing with the saw for the last couple of days and seem to be having problems getting all my cuts square.
After making 4 cuts on 4 sides of a panel of plywood the same problem persists....3 of the corners are square but 1 is always off. If I trim this problem side square again the problem persists...I seem to be "chasing" the error around the panel...if that makes sense.
I've tried marking my lines with different combination squares but always the same issue.
Any ideas ?
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Post by lincoln on Sept 12, 2016 15:17:04 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum, Jim.
Sounds like the problem is the combo square - way too short to square up a guide rail. Do you have any local cabinet workshops? If so, they could cut a larger, perfectly square, triangle for you on their panel saw or CNC router. Work out a size that is appropriate for your most common cuts, or have two or three of different sizes. You could use ply, or like I have, Alucobond or similar.
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Post by lincoln on Sept 12, 2016 15:23:18 GMT -5
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Post by holmz on Sept 12, 2016 15:33:34 GMT -5
Hi Jim,
On an MFT, or freehand with the rail?
i do a fair amount of geometry, and it seems unlikely to have 3 cuts at 90 degrees and the fourth cut off of 90 degrees... Therefore I would check the square.
How much off square is it? (Mm/ meter, or thousandths/foot etc)
On the old ladies card table I have, I usually mark out a sheet with pencil, and move the rail to the line.Then I clamp the rails to the sheet, and check the measurement with a tape.
This requires that the splinter strip edge is where the saw cuts.
Then I cut it, remove the clamps and rails, and check it again with a tape measure. (And do remaining marks and cuts.... One at a time.)
I usually measure diagonally kitty-corner at the end, to make sure the numbers are the same. (Often I use the 3/4/5 to ensure the first cut is square. I only have a small foot long combo square, unless I raid the Haus Boss' craft room)
The main mechanisms I see are:
1) Splinter strip not even relative to cut.
2) rails move during cut
3) square not really square
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jim
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by jim on Sept 12, 2016 17:41:27 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies and links folks. Much appreciated.
I think you're right about the combination square being too small Lincoln, the only ones I have are over the counter 9" ones. Will defo have a look at getting something more substantial.
Holmz....my problems are when using the rail....I havent actually used the saw freehand yet. The last panel I cut was about 60cm square, and when I measured the 2 diagonals there was about 3 mm difference in the lengths. When you said 'Splinter strip not even relative to cut' what did you mean ?
By the way whats the best way to ensure the rail perfectly matches the line...I find it difficult, even with a thin pencil line, to ensure ive matched the 1600mm rail perfectly over the entire length of the pencil line. Is there a trick you guys use to achieve this?
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jim
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by jim on Sept 12, 2016 17:52:54 GMT -5
Sorry Holmz I just realised what you were asking...I dont have the MFT.....I just have the rails....so i'm using it freehand with the rail....
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Post by 7 on Sept 12, 2016 22:02:53 GMT -5
could be a few possibilities in my opinion that are causing problems
1- definitely the 9" square. A: It's way too short to be reliable on anything but 2x material B: Most squares aren't square anyway
2- A lot of plywood isn't square from the factory
You could do a 3,4,5 triangle with a tape measure to get a square cut if you know that method. More accurate than the small square for sure.
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Post by jimbouk on Sept 13, 2016 0:15:05 GMT -5
Assuming you have a shop bought kitchen take a Base cab door off. Lay it on bench and screw 3 blocks to the bench that are taller than what your cutting along 2 faces of the door. (Basically making a quick and dirty mft) push the piece to be cut and the rail against the blocks and give it a try. It will prevent rail movement and should be dead square as most kitchen's are cnc made so perfect square.
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jim
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by jim on Sept 13, 2016 5:53:39 GMT -5
Thats a great tip Jimbouk......Thank You....
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Post by holmz on Sept 13, 2016 6:20:41 GMT -5
Sorry Holmz I just realised what you were asking...I dont have the MFT.....I just have the rails....so i'm using it freehand with the rail.... ^Exactly^ The Bosch rail clamps with the OFA kit are worth having. (Ask Lincoln  ) That at combined with the 3-4-5 gets me there. so mark a line on the long edge where the cut goes. Then mark a line 80-cm (4) either side, and strike 2 arcs with a 100-cm radius(5). They should intersect 60-cm up the board (3).. You could switch 3 and 4. if you are starting with a sheet then you can usually assume that the sheet is square and just check the cut afterwards using the Pythagorean formula. or... for a square part the two diagonals should be equal. |
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Post by aas on Sept 16, 2016 15:23:28 GMT -5
Sorry to sound pedantic, but the four corners of a square or rectangle will always add up to 360 degrees - so it is IMPOSSIBLE that 3 corners are square and one is not - so this glaring error means one thing... your square is not, well... square!
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Post by holmz on Sept 16, 2016 18:37:37 GMT -5
Sorry to sound pedantic, but the four corners of a square or rectangle will always add up to 360 degrees - so it is IMPOSSIBLE that 3 corners are square and one is not - so this glaring error means one thing... your square is not, well... square! Yota says: "The force (of Euclid) is strong in ^this one^." I think we are in agreements. i do a fair amount of geometry, and it seems unlikely to have 3 cuts at 90 degrees and the fourth cut off of 90 degrees... Therefore I would check the square. |
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