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Last week I posted an entry about cutting lasagna (read that entry) and mentioned there was no YouTube video worth watching. A few days after the post, I received a note from the President of Forrest. Not the Forrest that makes the table saw blades, this e-mail was from the President of Forrest Manufacturing Company, a 50-year old manufacturer of band saw machines, based in Texas, that often gets confused with the New Jersey-based Forrest in my post.
Mr. Steve Sykes wrote, “Forrest builds large and specialty band saws for industrial users. People use our equipment to cut materials such as insulation, plastics, graphite and carbon, drywall, pipe, and frozen whales. I’m not kidding about the whales. I have never cut lasagna on a band saw, before today. But after reading your article we had to give it a try.” (Click here to watch the video)
Mr. Sykes went on explain that Forrest band saws are much larger and more expensive than would be of interest to most home woodworkers, although some might be interested in knowing about the company’s traveling tables. All Forrest vertical saws come with a traveling workpiece support table. The traveling table allows the operator to make straight cuts on heavy or awkward workpieces while keeping his or her hands clear of the blades. To check out a few Forrest machines, click here.
Upon talking with Sykes further, I found out that a traveling table requires that the machine be anchored to the floor to prevent tipping, but keep in mind Forrest tables travel around 55″ overall. The company makes two different types of machines: a cantilever style and a rail-mounted design. The cantilever style works like a drawer side. And bigger jobs require a rail-mounted saw.
So here is my question: Would woodworkers be interested in a traveling table if the blade could be accurately located so there is no blade drift? How much work do you do at your band saw that would benefit from this feature? Who knows, we might see a traveling table on a woodworking-type band saw sometime in the future.
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