Using a Tracksaw to cut Diabond

[Speedsterbeast]

Here I am using mine for cutting down 16 ft Lexan

Looking at your picture brings up a question.
When you near the end of the cut, do you have to remove the clamp and place it behind the saw to finish?
It looks like it would be in the way.
I've read and seen reviews that say the track stays put without clamps, but I'm sure on Dibond or acrylic it would be more prone to sliding around.

 

[jhimes]

I cut .040 to .080 on my panel saw all the time and don't have any chatter problems.

also bosch has a track saw but no dust collection. i'm about to knock down a bunch of 3/8" acrylic. and i can't imagine the mess i'd be dealing with if all that ended up on the floor.

a track saw and a panel saw are not the same. yesterday i joined a frame a bit catty cornered. i was a few degrees off 90. and the next piece didn't quite fit. needed to shave 0" at one end and about 1/16" at the other. that won't happen with a panels saw. not to mention the sheet was .030 aluminum. a panel saw would chatter that to pieces. a track saw is a fabricators dream. and when i need to i can clamp three sheets of 3/4" substrates together and cut them all at once, no problem. not to mention, i can keep the whole stack clamped, run around it and keep cutting. i guess you can clamp sheets and put them in a panel saw, but maybe it's not quite as easy. also, the weight. i'd rather move a track at 10lbs instead of a sheet at 75lbs. i'd use a panel saw to make crates. but it's just not ready for high end fabrication.

 

[artbot]

as far as clamping that thing stays put. the saw is like scissors. that is why it's good for cutting laminated stock. the saw pinches all the layers together tightly at the cut point. the blade pulls backwards up into the saw creating force against the track. i cut 3/8" acrylic for an hour last night and never got out the clamps. the clamps are for splitting timber where there is a lot of grunt going on. or something tall with which the ends of the track are just cantilevered off the edge. in that case when you start the cut there's no support for the weight of the saw and your track "might pop a wheely".

(the cut is so smooth on acrylic that the edge is already optically clear coming out of the cut. there are some lines from the triple chip, but there's no frosting.) it leaves a reflective clear edge.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

as far as clamping that thing stays put. the saw is like scissors. that is why it's good for cutting laminated stock. the saw pinches all the layers together tightly at the cut point. the blade pulls backwards up into the saw creating force against the track. i cut 3/8" acrylic for an hour last night and never got out the clamps. the clamps are for splitting timber where there is a lot of grunt going on. or something tall with which the ends of the track are just cantilevered off the edge. in that case when you start the cut there's no support for the weight of the saw and your track "might pop a wheely".

(the cut is so smooth on acrylic that the edge is already optically clear coming out of the cut. there are some lines from the triple chip, but there's no frosting.) it leaves a reflective clear edge.

That makes sense.
Good explanation.

 

[fmg]

Looking at your picture brings up a question.
When you near the end of the cut, do you have to remove the clamp and place it behind the saw to finish?
It looks like it would be in the way.
I've read and seen reviews that say the track stays put without clamps, but I'm sure on Dibond or acrylic it would be more prone to sliding around.

The Irwin clasp clamp you see in the picture is just to secure the track at the end to reassure no slide as this was a 16 ft piece of Lexan.The underside of the track has a non slip strip that holds it in place.There are specific designed Festool guide rail clamps that I use when ripping down substrates. With a bit of practice you will not need clamps to cut down substrates.
And no there was no need to remove the clamp I had in the picture as it was over the length of lexan.The guide rail was approx 20 ft and the lexan was 16 ft.Also those two black and green items attached to the guide rail in the far end of the picture are Festool Gecko suction cups which hold the guide rail in place to certain substrates (not wood) http://www.festoolusa.com/products/guide-rails/gecko/gecko-suction-handle-set-493507.html A bit like suction cups that glass shops use just not as strong)

 

[anotherdog]

keencut steeltrack... not a saw though.
It's so clean and dust free I have it in the same room as the laminator.
Can cut up to an 84 inch width. Dibond, glass, acrylic scoring. A dream to use.
http://www.keencut.com

 

[Speedsterbeast]

keencut steeltrack... not a saw though.
It's so clean and dust free I have it in the same room as the laminator.
Can cut up to an 84 inch width. Dibond, glass, acrylic scoring. A dream to use.
http://www.keencut.com

Regarding Dibond. We are talking about the aluminum signboard with a solid plastic finish right?
How many passes does it take to cut it?
We may have a winner

Nevermind- $3,200.00

 

[fmg]

keencut steeltrack...
Can cut up to an 84 inch width. Dibond, use.
http://www.keencut.com

But doesn't Dibond come as 96" and 120" standard. How will an 84" manage this.

 

[artbot]

one other dibond/tracksaw bonus.

braking dibond. you can set the blade depth to shave off the aluminum skin on one side. then brake your substrate's edges at 90's. it's so simple my girlfriend can do it. and she has an anxiety attack around table saws.

 

[anotherdog]

Regarding Dibond. We are talking about the aluminum signboard with a solid plastic finish right?
How many passes does it take to cut it?
We may have a winner

Nevermind- $3,200.00

single pass, clean edges. perfection is never cheap.

We do a lot of half inch gator and ultraboard, perfect cuts with no little grains tenting the adhesive when we mount.

 

[Moze]

one other dibond/tracksaw bonus.

braking dibond. you can set the blade depth to shave off the aluminum skin on one side. then brake your substrate's edges at 90's. it's so simple my girlfriend can do it. and she has an anxiety attack around table saws.

...yup, or a router will work great as well. Plus you can exceed the 90° by using a wider angle bit.