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When deciding on a panel saw, you should take several things into consideration before making a purchase. Efficiency of the job, amount of space the tool will take, and ease of the task are a few of those considerations.
One of the first things to think of is how it will make the job easier. Remember, working with 8 X 4 sheets is difficult enough as it is. Your machine shouldn't make the job more difficult. A vertical saw will make any large cuts much easier. No need to ask your buddy for help using a panel saw when yours is vertical. Just mount the sheet, lock it in and make your cut. Any saw capable of cutting large sheets must have a roller mechanism to make life even easier. The sheet should slide along the rollers with almost no effort, saving your back, shoulders, and quite possibly, your fingers!
A vertical saw will also be more efficient than a "normal" panel saw. Whether you're using the cross-cut or rip-cut method, a vertical saw will usually allow any cuts to be as easy as cutting butter. When rolling your sheet through the saw, the rollers guide the piece through while maintaining a smooth, straight cut. When using the hand saw attached to the panel, the saw should have the capability to rotate, making both vertical and horizontal cuts possible.
Perhaps the best advantage to a vertical panel saw is the space it saves. Think about it; if you can stand large sheets up and slide them through a saw rather than laying it flat and using the saw to cut the wood, you really don't need a lot of space. This allows you to cut very large sheets while taking up almost no space. Which means you have more room to store wood!
Fortunately, there is a vertical panel saw that meets these needs. The Milwaukee 6480-20 panel saw is really the Cadillac of panel saws without the Cadillac price. It has a horizontal handle for convenient on/off saw operation as well as a 20 amp, commercial grade paddle switch. The frame is made from tough, electrically welded steel, and its powerful 15 amp motor is mounted on a carriage that moves horizontally on graphite-impregnated nylon roller bearings, which will never need to be lubricated.
The saw can also be turned 90 degrees and fixed to make vertical cuts. Your sheets can be loaded from either the left or right side and will gently roll through the saw on a smooth acting roller mechanism. This unique saw has a cutting accuracy to within 1/32 of an inch! Do you need to cut through thick sheets? Not an issue! The thickness capacity of the Milwaukee 6480-20 is an astounding 1 3/4 inch.
In summary, when deciding on a vertical saw, one should strongly consider the Milwaukee 6480-20. It takes up almost no floor space and it allows one person to do a job that normally takes two. This saw is easier to operate, makes jobs faster, and is safer than virtually all other saws on the market today. This isn't just a panel saw... it's a sheet cutting machine!
