I have a compound miter saw attached to its own cart that quickly folds out with extendable rollers for holding long pieces of wood. It's a very handy tool and makes installing trim a breeze but every so often a piece will need a length cut which requires setting up a table saw with a guide in order to get a clean straight cut.
This system works well other than the fact that the wood needs to be supported front and back, for one person to cut a long piece without some difficulty.

What I propose is a compound miter saw that swivels a full 90 degrees to the bench and then un-locks and swings underneath itself 180 degrees so that the blade and guard are now upside down, (this will keep the teeth of the saw from grabbing the wood you are cutting and maybe dragging your hand in with it). If the back guide of the bench then unlocks and folds down flat, you've now got a table saw that will let you rip cut anything, even sheets of plywood easily when working alone.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 25 2007

Circular Saw Guide http://www.benchnot...tting_guide_boa.htm
portable table and crosscut saw [nuclear hobo, Feb 27 2007]

That is exactly what I meant. Turn it in-line with the length of wood, Flip'er upside down, drop the fence and it's a table saw. Somebody must have thought of this by now and I can't understand why it isn't on the market already.

Doh! Compound Mighty Saw would have been good allsaw.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 26 2007


Don't sliding compound miter saws meet this need rather effectively(with the exception of sheet goods of course)
-- jhomrighaus, Feb 26 2007


Sliding compound miter saws can make a longer crosscut on the trim, but are not useful for rip-cutting your trim. The advantage of a table saw over a hypothetical all-saw would be more stability and less vibrations which makes for a straighter rip cut.
-- quantum_flux, Feb 26 2007


I can't imagine a simple and sturdy mechanism that would accomplish the contortions described. Stationary power tools must be very rigid to perform safely and accurately. The tool described reminds me of the old style radial arm saw in which the saw could be rotated 90 degrees, locked and use for ripping. Not the best quality cut, and quite hairy to actually use in this manner due to the uplift and kickback effect of the blade, the lack of rigidity caused by having the saw head extended on an arm and the exposed nature of blade.

A table saw with a sliding table provides all of the necesary functions, but handling lengths for end cuts becomes an issue. The best all-in-one saw is simply a portable circular saw ('skillsaw') with a guide that allows one to rip, miter and crosscut either perpendicular or with a bevel as set on the saw.
-- nuclear hobo, Feb 26 2007


Except for making the cut from underneath instead of from above, this sounds suspicously like a radial arm saw. They can be positioned for rip, crosscut, or compound miter.
-- MechE, Feb 26 2007


That's the problem with a radial arm saw. They will do every cut you have described but they can be dangerous when cutting with the length of a piece of wood, because the blade is positioned above it wants to drag the lumber into the teeth.
They are bulky too and no joy to drag from job to job.

I also do not see a problem with designing a swivel table that will lock into a rigid enough position for precision cutting.
Mark my words. This adaptation is the next step for the existing compound miter saw.

I just wish I was set up to be able to run with it.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 27 2007


My radial arm saw is designed and labeled such that the proper feed direction while ripping is feeding into the blade's rotation, exactly like a table saw (rotated 180 from the way you are describing).
-- MechE, Feb 27 2007


Cool. How portable is it?

I'm sure we could rig up a lathe using a cordless drill and some coat hangers.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 27 2007


//One circ-saw for all your powersawing needs, be they stationary ... or freeform!//

Otherwise known as a saw guide, an easily made, mulitpurpose fixture for guiding a circular saw for rip, cross and miter cuts. Works for bevel cuts, too. See link.
-- nuclear hobo, Feb 27 2007


I think I saw this recently on facebook or youtube
-- pashute, Jul 11 2021


Just dreaming, If a router bit could be spun independantly (at high speed, a solid momentum) and controlled in the 3 axial dimensions by magnetic fields. Any which way could be cut.

[2fries] You like your spin don't you?
-- wjt, Jul 13 2021


Only if there's no doctor attached.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 13 2021


I suppose with years of tiling, [2 fries], you can instantly see the intrinsic level of the tiles. I wonder if the is also an intrinsic 'spin', a miniscule, unseen curvature in the offset of the tiles in relationship to each other that you pick up on?

It is all curvature after all, all virtual straight lines on universal curves.
-- wjt, Jul 18 2021


I'm not sure. If you are asking if I visualize the final result of tile layouts before ever starting a job... then yes.

Since straight lines meet at infinity, I suppose curvature must be a factor.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 18 2021



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