We are an entry door and engineered flooring manufacturing company.

We are trying to build a gang rip saw for speeding up ripping of engineered panels.

Typical panel dimensions are 2-1/2" thick x 32" wide x 96" long and saw needs to cut material 2-1/2 deep".

Would like to check on a suitable blade for setting up a gang rip saw up-to 15 blades maximum.

I am thinking of using a 8 feet long 40mm stainless steel arbor with two keyways for this.

I am thinking of using 15 blades from Frued gang rip saw thin kerf (1.7mm) blade LM0814 model for this set up.

Motor is a 10hp motor.

Is 40mm stainless steel arbor with two keyways OK for this set up?

Thanks

I'm not a mechanical engineer, but a 10 hp motor seems vastly underpowered for 15 blades cutting 2.5" deep.

I'm afraid I can see all kinds of problems here.

1) 10 hp as mentioned above is probably woefully inadequate. I good 10" table saw will have a 5 hp motor and even that is going to be pressed hard on a 2-1/2" single-pass cut.

2) 8' long arbor ?? It that really what you meant? I'd think at 8' long a 1-1/2" (40mm) shaft would have significant whiplash.....and that's without the blades cutting 2-1/2" thick material. I'm not a mechanical engineer either but I'd think you would need something more on the order of 3" to 4" diameter, and perhaps hollow (think pipe) as vs. a solid arbor due to the weight.

3) Stainless steel arbor......why? Extremely difficult to machine to needed specs vs. steel.

I'd like to know if you actually end up building this as described so I can make sure I'm not in the same state when it is started up for the first time....chuckle. In all seriousness though I think you need to have this designed by a professional. Or, better yet, purchase a machine made for the job.

Good luck,
BH Davis

Why stop at 8'? 24' would cut 3 times as much material. A few carrier bearings and you are good to go. Of course, you will need a hoist or small army to push those 24' wide panels thru the saw.

A typical Straight line Diehl or equal will have a 20hp motor, up to 30 hp. The gang rips like Merreen Johnson have 60 hp direct drive motors.

I would very much like to see this built. It sounds entertaining. Please post the youtube link, and be sure to update your will and life insurance policy.

Where's my popcorn?

60+ hp. Minimum 3"dia. shaft with outer carrier bearing. Hydrolic feed. No chains. This is a dangerous machine to build if you dont know what youre building.

I would recommend against trying to "design and build" your own. This is a job for a mechanical engineer. You put your life, your employees lives, and your entire business at risk. If OSHA walks into your plant and sees something that is obviously not engineered by experts, without all the proper safeties in place, you can expect heavy fines.

A 40mm x 8' arbor will sag under it's own weight. Let alone handle blades under that kind or load.

A 12" Mereen Johnson has a 3 1/8" arbor w/ a 50hp direct drive motor.

A 24" MJ still has a 3 1/8" arbor but has an outboard bearing to support it.

I have seen a 60" MJ come up on the used market that was set up to rip particle board into strips.

Just here stop jump on the "this is a terrible idea" bandwagon.

Paul makes a panel gang rip saw for this very purpose. They have models that will rip close to 3" thick.

They can be had used if you watch the auctions.

I don't think it is practical to make a machine like you are talking about. First off what happens when the material binds on the blades? What kind of kick back safety is that going to lead to? There is a lot more to think about other then just getting an arbor and put a motor to it. You are better off in the long run to just purchase one of these machines used. The machine will have some resale value later, the one you make won't. Not to mention what happens to you when someone at your place gets hurt.