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Originally Posted by invertedBottles
That's a generous offer that I'd love to take you up on, but we probably won't be able to make it out anytime soon. We are also going to be at CalGames, we'll see you there. I love all the info, if I have any other questions I know who to ask for an answer! One things, regarding cutting tools, is there any one of the tools we could purchase that could perform essentially the same as other tools? Like EricH said on the previous page, a sliding miter saw can perform some of the bandsaw functions? It would not only save us space but time having to train members on only one tool vs two.
With any new tools, we will get experienced mentors or ask other teams to come out and teach us, or at least myself. It is my responsibility to see that all the tools are properly operated, so I will be willing to pass on the training. Having another student lose their fingers would be worse for me then losing one of my own!
The only problem we have with Craigslist and classifieds is the ads go up quickly, and require items to be picked up, sometimes quite far away. With out limited number of mentors, we can't really go anywhere on short notice. Plus, it's easier to point at a new product for a sponsor to purchas. We do not know if they are willing to provide direct funding yet.
Jackson and rondinol, good info. Will be kept in mind!
Thanks Cory, you have some really informational points! I've been reading that Makitas have the most accurate cuts in miter saws, but it seems you do think the Rigid works great. When cutting with the miter, what kind of clamps or other tools do you use to hold the material down? Do you have it on a dedicated stand, or some kind of table/bench/counter?
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I have no experience with Makita saws, so I cannot recommend it over a Makita, but our experience with Ridgid products in general has been very good.
In principle I am against paying $600 for a sliding compound miter saw. It's just not that much more useful than a regular miter saw, for FRC purposes. If you were framing up a house every day of the year and required the versatility and the durability of a professional grade tool it would be the right choice...but that isn't what we're doing in FRC.
I don't really see one as a replacement for a bandsaw or table saw. You can cut a 15"x15" square with a 12" sliding miter saw. I guess that's better than if it wasn't sliding, but it's nowhere near a real table saw and I'm not sure in what way it would be equivalent to a vertical bandsaw, as they are primarily used for contouring.
You should be able to find a fairly decent vertical bandsaw for a couple hundred dollars. With good blades and proper care it should cut aluminum up to 1/4" thick with no problem (inevitably people will cut steel with it, or shove aluminum through at about a zillion miles an hour and ruin your brand new blades though).
We use the clamp that came with the saw. We have a beat up folding table that we will often bolt the saw to and then wood screw down a stop to ensure repeatable length cuts for tubing that gets welded without being further processed on the mill. Otherwise we just use it on the ground.