stack cutting

[kardar2]

When you stack cut, do you use the whole 2" capacity if you had 1/2 inch stock do you cut 2, 3, or 4 at a time what about 1/8 inch stock what would be a safe number to cut at one time thanks Karl

[Mick Walker]

Karl, I stack cut 3, 1/8" plywood or 1, 1/4" with 1, 1/8". But I usually use a 2/0, 28 t.p.i blade. Stacking too many pieces and your bottom piece won't come out very good. Try a few combinations and see what works best for you. The thicker the stack the harder your saw will have to work.

[JohnB]

G'day Karl,
There is point of diminishing return when stack cutting.
You may be able to stack four pieces of 3mm and still cut pretty quickly, but 5 pieces may slow you down and make the saw work harder, so that nothing is gained by cutting that extra piece. I find it is often quicker and easier to split the stack and cut two lots, one of three and one of two, if that makes any sense.
The above are examples only and you will have to find out where you think the diminishing return point is.

[kardar2]

Thanks, I never stack cut before but with Christmas coming up I thought I would give it a try

[Terry Jay]

On 1/8" Baltic Birch I cut from 3 to 5 pieces in a stack. For alder, maple, cottonwood, birch and cedar I cut between 1/2" and 3/4" depending on detail and hardness of the wood. Play with it and see what works best for your application. Lots of folks cut 3/4" oak stock. Tension and blade size will have a big impact on your success.

[Paladin]

I usually don't like to make my stacks any taller than 3/4".

[NC Scroller]

I have cut up to 1 inch but it does take practice and you need to slow way down in your feed rate and keep the blade speed high.

[sawdustus]

I usually stack cut ornaments (4-6) and bookmarks (10-12) and sometimes scenes or animal portraits (2-3). I never go past 3/4" high stack and my maximum is usually only 3/8 to 1/2. As Mick said, with a small blade, you need to have a shorter stack. The harder the wood, the shorter the stack.

Keep the tension as high as you can and be careful not to put side pressure on the blade or you will bevel your cut and lose detail and bridges in the bottom layer.

george

[markdavd]

I also limit the stack to about 3/4 inch. Make sure the blade is 90 degrees to the table, both on the side and, as much as your saw allows, front to back.

[Rolf]

I am in line with George,
Most of my ornaments are cut from 1/16 birch ply, I do six at a time with a 2/0 Olson even with the fine details. For the 1/8 which I rarely use it 3 to 4 layers.

[Old Dust 1]

One major point in stack cutting is to double check that your blade is perfectly square to the table.

John

Old Dust

[PatteM]

I cut a piece of 2X4 cedar into a bracelet, and it took FOREVER to cut it and I had to use a #9 blade and push really hard! For grins, I had also stack cut various sizes of wood to nearly 2-inches tall, and it, too, took forever, pushing hard. Not worth it, except that there really was no choice for the bracelet.