Shorten PowerStick??

[jporter]

I currently have a BT 32 Standard with the narrow (old style) PowerStick. It is an 8 ft. version which means it is 10 ft. long. Powersticks come in 4, 8, and I think a 12 ft version. After nearly two years of owning this thing, I have never cut anything longer than 60". As you all who own these things know, there is a lot of unused PowerStick hanging out of both ends of the machine. I have recently moved from a full basement with lots of room to a two car garage and am supposed to only use half of that. I would like to cut the PowerStick down to 6ft to save some room. ShopBot doesn't sell a 6 footer. My problem is, I can just not bring myself to do any kind of cutting on my expensive, beautiful little machine or any of it's accessories. Have any of you done anything like this? Has it worked out for you? Do you have any advice or warnings or encouragement? Thanks for any replies or advise, joe

[mikeacg]

I had one of the 12 foot PowerSticks but the machine just couldn't seem to handle the weight so I took the sawsall and... I now have a 4 foot stick and a 6 foot stick. No problems cutting it and it works fine.

[jporter]

Thanks, Michael. I think that is what I am going to do. I think I will try to use the short piece to try to make me up some kind of indexer. joe

[erik_f]

So you are going to cut 2' off the thing? Seems like you could ask SB if they could make you a 6'...I'm sure it would be no big deal...but then there would be an outlay of cash on your part...where cutting is free. You have the perfect model right there...you might be able to make yourself a 6' stick for a couple hundred bucks and sell your 8'. I would use a metal chop saw if you decide to do it.

[jporter]

No, I was going to cut a full 4 ft and leave 6ft. I know that the stick needs an extra foot on each end to engage the guide wheels, but I was thinking that if I add extra guide wheels closer to the pinion of the X motor, that a 6ft stick would yield 6ft. I guess I could talk to ShopBot about a shorter stick and leave mine alone. As you say, it is a popular length and is probably worth close to what I paid for it. joe

[erik_f]

It seems like you want your cake and eat it too :). It would seem that moving the guide closer to the center would create more of a leverage problem then what is already there with the Powerstick. Maybe you are thinking of putting some extra guides in the center...but then I think you would have problems if you are wanting the Powerstick to enter and exit a set of guides.

[jporter]

Yeah, that is what I was thinking, leave the original guide where it is and add extra ones to keep the rail in line. But, you are right, with the end of the stick going in and out of the rollers could be a little troublesome. Unfortunately, you are also right about the cake. On the off chance that I ever need to cut something 96" long, I would hate to have to stand there with two pieces of expensive PowerStick in my hands and not be able to do it. Hmm, I wonder if you could splice them........Anyway, thanks for the informed reply, joe

[erik_f]

The only way I could think of making a powerstick you could splice would be to buy extra rail from BWC and some sort of scabbing plate...this way you could take the two pieces scab them together with the plate, then take off the shorter rails and put on the solid 10 foot rails. At that point might as well build a new powerstick. I really think you could put together your own stick for pretty cheap.

[jporter]

So far, I have left well enough alone. If I do make any changes, I will try to post some pictures of the completed project. (A new experience for me.) Thanks for the replies, joe