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Superaccurate Saw Runs on Tracks
Wall Tracks guide the cut of this precision plywood saw. The
saw carriage is counterbalanced by weights hidden in the rear track. The outer track
frame, hinged at the top, can be clamped against the stock to be cut by applying
foot pressure at the bottom. Rollers set into a narrow shelf (at lower left, above)
support work.
Plywood is rolled into place under the saw and clamped with
the top track. The saw can be hand-fed or will cut by gravity if a one-pound weight
is hung on it. As the work-supporting shelf and saw track are at right angles, the
cut is sure to be square.
Ripping Plywood the long way is easy, too. By loosening a couple of clamps, the
portable saw can be turned at right angles to the track. It is clamped at a height
that will rip to the desired width, and the work is fed in on the roller shelf by
hand.
If he had not bought a new house two years ago, Ira E. Price of Cleveland probably
wouldn't be an inventor today.
The house gave him space for the home workshop he had always wanted. In building
the new furniture he had promised his wife, Price found it hard to get accurate
miter cuts on his bench saw. By the time he finished, he was sure he could build
a more accurate saw.
What Price calls his complete sawing machine cuts to hairline accuracy - with-in
1/256 of an inch, he claims. Instead of the five- or six-inch protractor head of
the ordinary miter gauge, it has a hoop of almost 24-inch radius on which the degree
marks are fully half an inch apart. This makes it easy to set the angle by eye within
a fraction of a degree. Any portable electric saw can be used. It runs on tracks.
The work is clamped under it.
For Crosscutting, a portable saw slides along the upper track
of this general-purpose machine, Price's first invention. The work, aligned against
a fence at the rear, rests on the lower track and is clamped down by the upper one.
Both tracks can be set either square to the fence or at any angle up to 45 degrees
by a big graduated hoop in front.
Not stopping there, Price adapted the same idea to the awkward task of cutting
large sheets of plywood. He mounted vertical tracks on the wall, counterbalanced
the saw, and built a roller track for the plywood. He has applied for patents on
both saws.
For Ripping, the upper track is swung back and the saw mounted
at right angles to the lower track. A spring holdback and a splitter help hold work
against the fence. Stock up to 11 3/4 by 2 3/4 inches can be ripped.
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