Scene Shop help

[tjrobb]

As for building on-stage - our theatre never had a scene shop until a few years back. Was built as a vaudeville house and didn't need one. Man but our air filters got dirty...

 

[Van]

Prior to specing any tools or dictating any definite " This is the way to do it" advice and Way prior to deciding whether or not you need a Saw Stop or a Uni-Saw... I would ask you:
How many productions will be built per year ?
How many students will be working at a work call? How many in your stagecraft class?
How big is the room?
What is a Typical set like for your school?
There are several good resources that provide some good insights as to how to go about setting up a wood shop, some of the theatre books used to deal with mobile situations such as yours. I'm not in education anymore so I don't have a list of those books but perhaps another person here does. I think we could get you set up with a basic "roll-around" tool cart and just a few heavy based tools pretty easily.

 

[Irish]

Just need to get in on the Saw Stop option. I work at a small private university and we have one of the SawStop 10" industrial cabinet saws. I really do not feel it is a good idea for students. Between static build up, (Which Sawstop is very good about getting you a replacement if you send in your break and this is found to be the cause.) and students just learning how to use a table saw it can quickly cripple a small department with the $90 replacement cost. I usually have a budget of around 1.5 so this can add up very quickly.

The break seems to do it's job, when ours has been tripped it stops faster then you can see it, but I am not sure if this feature is worth it. Most of the time I have seen anyone hurt on a table saw it was due to Kickback, not contact with the blade. SawStop has no additional protections from a kickback.

 

[Les]

but I am not sure if this feature is worth it. Most of the time I have seen anyone hurt on a table saw it was due to Kickback, not contact with the blade. SawStop has no additional protections from a kickback.

My brother, who disfigured part of his index finger on a table saw in high school, may disagree with you .
I believe he was ripping a piece of wood which may or may not have been too narrow for his skill level (I think it was a 1"x3"x1' that he was trying to rip down to around 1"x2"x1' using a push stick). My memory may not be correct, but I believe that the saw bound up, causing the push stick to slip and sending his finger right in to the blade. There was a blade guard in place, but it was an older institutional-type saw --- I forget the make, but it was in good condition.

Surely, there were things that he did incorrectly, but something like a Saw Stop definitely would have prevented this. Even though he likely made some mistakes doesn't mean he deserved to have his finger chewed up. I agree that the cost is steep and it is probably very frustrating to have "false alarms", but if it does its job correctly even once, it has paid for itself and then some. Hopefully the manufacturer will continue to work out the kinks.

 

[DuckJordan]

But wouldn't proper supervision as well as teach be a cheaper way for a small low budget department to keep fingers?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[Van]

I Tried to do it nicely

Please move your conversation of the benefits of SawStop technology to a thread where the topic is "Sawstop-Share your anectdotes here". None of this is helpful to the OP's Original question. If you have a good idea, design or information on setting up a temporary workspace in a black box type room please share it. If not then please start another thread and debate the benefits of sawstops to your hearts content.

 

[Sayen]

I'm a big fan of panel saws, like you see at Home Depot for cutting customer orders. Very fast, very efficient, and very safe. Mine is bulky, but I was able to order a free standing unit so I can move it around when necessary, which might help you if you have a multi use space.

 

[avkid]

Panel saws are so last year.
Track saws are so much easier, especially for field use.
Plunge Cut Circular Saws - Festool