Ripsaw help please?

[woodshop]

http://www.rip-saw.net/beamkit.html ...that will take you right to the guide beam page. They do sell just the beams themselves, they come in 5 ft sections, and thus 2 are usually plenty for most of what I do. The whole kit though, which includes the brackets etc to attach to a log (needed) will set you back buck seventy five plust $35 for shipping, and for that you get two sections and all the hardware needed to use on a log. Pricey... but you get what you pay for, these work and work well. I use them for my csm also.

 

[BIG JAKE]

about Ripsaw. I was afraid they had gone under because of the website issue. I stumbled across the link a few days ago (I googled it I think). I seem to remember the website calling the guide rail an aluminum extrusion so it may be a custom made extrusion for Ripsaw. Might be hard to find something with the same performance of the OEM rails, maybe not. I don't have a ripsaw nor have I used one so can't give you any help on the functionality of their rails. Just a thought, you might use some unistrut or superstrut setup like BobL's with the 2 rails connected laterally by allthread. If a single rail isn't stiff enough you could double them (2 struts bolted together back to back, I'm going to do this with some 20 footers I have). Superstrut at Home Depot here is about $18.00 for a single 10 ft piece. 4 of them would be $72.00. Might work until you could find something better. I use superstrut for my GB mill with a 395 and a 42 inch bar and don't have any problems with it deflecting over a 10 ft length. Just thinking off the top of my head here.

Scott

Today I ran into a longtime friend I used to fish bass tournaments with he works at the company I do-anyway he got layed off monday. So that's part of why I'm making a big deal out of the rail options and trying to keep more of my money in the bank. BTW I one of Bob's behind the scenes followers and other guys on here. Thanks for the input Scott

 

[BIG JAKE]

I missed a couple of points in my last post. Looking at the RipSaw site I see they sell the entire guide rail system which includes the two rails and all the necessary mounting hardware for $210 shipped. That is a good price. Their rail system works very well. It is very rigid because of the way the two rail lengths come together. One issue with buying 8' or 10' rails has to do with how you plan to haul them to your site. It is easier to haul two 5' sections than one 10' under most circumstances but if your mill is stationary then it is academic. I'm sure you can come up with a shop built for a few bucks less. The question is whether you have time to do so. I think RipSaw sells parts and accessories for a fair price given the cost of raw materials today.

Al thanks for gauging out the rail for me. I can get the equivalent of 5 rails for about the same cost of their kit if I buy a 25ft length. But not all the goodies and attachable etc. I'd have to fabricate those if I went that route. That you like the rails and comments on rigidity etc is what I wanted cause if the system is nothing special then that would way in on the ultimate decision here. My trailer will handle 16ft long but I like the attachable rail idea as logs are odd lenghts at times. Good food for thought thanks.

 

[BIG JAKE]

http://www.rip-saw.net/beamkit.html ...that will take you right to the guide beam page. They do sell just the beams themselves, they come in 5 ft sections, and thus 2 are usually plenty for most of what I do. The whole kit though, which includes the brackets etc to attach to a log (needed) will set you back buck seventy five plust $35 for shipping, and for that you get two sections and all the hardware needed to use on a log. Pricey... but you get what you pay for, these work and work well. I use them for my csm also.

I'm kinda leaning towards what you and Al said. I don't have Bob's access to equipment and I can always add another plank or two later when I don't have a concern about things. I've used beams up to 24 feet long but not that often.