Doing a large lot of them with a circular saw would be a helluva workout. I usually do it that way but never in such a large quantity. Perhaps hire some younggun to do it. Some might like the lighter weight circ saws (including myself) but for slogging thru two by's I use the Skil worm drives. First do a quick scrape of mud, crud removal. Not much to do about the ones with concrete spillage.

BTW: 6" carbide blades are dirt cheap. Anytime I see them on clearance, I stock up. Name brands - often priced under a buck each. Same for 10" carbide. I consider them all disposable and toss them out when done. It would be foolish to waste a Forrest blade on any rough task.

If doing the rough stuff like that task, use a beater table saw. I wouldn't like that crud scraping a smooth aluminum tablesaw used for other ripping or trim work. Make a sled out of MDF with a pre-set angle.

As for a portable jobsite tablesaw, I use a Craftsman with extended outboard feed and both left and right side table pull-outs. Trick is to have light enough in weight for portability, in/out truck, moving about multi-story houses. That rules out cast iron tables. It has a far better fence and miter guide than some others. Under the plastic main housing, I reinforced it with MDF. Made my own inserts for zero clearance and dado work.

The entire saw is now mounted on a heavier gauge all steel collapsible stand with large diameter wheels and a dump bag. A quality but now discontinued item from Rigid.

Rated at 3 hp. One negative is the arbor bearings are somewhat lower quality.

Here's a pic of the SawStop cartridge after it triggers. Only one tooth from the blade went through the Al, the ones behind it jammed into the Al block. Blade was sent back to Forrest. They trued it up, replaced a damaged tooth, sharpened it. Was about $80 or so, but it cheaper than tossing the blade and buying a new one. New SawStop cartridge is $65.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1424061727.jpg

Again, thank you all for your input - it is very much appreciated.

I reviewed the videos of the sliding jig, and while that has some merits, I don't think it will do the production rates I need.

After checking with suppliers and getting prices on Sawstop and Jet, as well as Bosch and I think one other, I went to the only non-DYI tool shop in my area. They, of course, have nothing to see on the showroom floor, but they told me the entry point on Sawstop is about $2K. Not a deal killer but kinda steep. I am leaning that way, but it will take about 30 days, and it still leaves a few questions.

In the meantime, the store sold me a Makita chop saw with the understanding I coould return it for a no-questions-asked refund if it didn't work out for us. I built a very temporary jig, but I am not happy with it for a couple of reasons.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1424140039.jpg

I wanted the tip to go under something so there was no danger of it kicking up. So the end/tip is inserted straight along the side "fence" and the tip gets inserted under the two perpendicular 1x's. It works, but it isn't very fast. We will try to improve on it over the next couple of days to see if we can get moving with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I should also add that I recently learned that the table saw method we were using was very unsatisfactory when it comes to safety. I probably shouldn't elaborate on it too much, but without automation I think it will be tough to meet the production rates we were getting with the old table saw method...

Could you extend your jig up taller to do more than 1 at a time? That way the time spent clamping the whole stack down with a quick clamp would still result in a high production rate.

You'd want to build the jig to hold the stack on both sides to prevent any of the stakes from escaping.

Yes, SawStop is a bit more than the other saws, but the fact that it 99% prevents lost digits, makes it worthwhile in the end. It'll cost a lot more than 2 grand or so in Dr. bills and other factors.

A table saw will cut a lot faster and safer then that chop saw set up you have there. It can be stacked two at a time without the risk kick back. The chop saw blade will climb if there's movement with the stock due to lack of a stopping point at the fence. the operator really have to hold the stock down as the blade want to climb on to the workpiece throwing it toward the back of the saw. Change the angle on the saw and change the angle on the jig. It might help. Safer for sure (because of the angle change)because the blade now wants to throw the workpiece away instead of drawing the operator's hand into the saw.

David,

Since you are in SoCal, maybe we could arrange a time for you to come out to the shop, bring a few stakes and we'll come up with a solution for you, though table saw based. I suppose I could also come down to your shop and help, though I don't think a chop saw is going to be productive.

Message me if you are interested.

Cool project.

Can you make something like this?

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/990mpkuEAWo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That thing looks like the trick....

http://www.hud-son.com/products/product-detail/air-powered-stake-pointer

Or maybe this one? <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g4m0Pktd52U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

personally I would look at a 220v radial arm saw. More power and better design for long term use