But Paul G. brings up an excellent point (at least I think it was him) what about table mounting a router? IMHO, a table mounted router would be at least as dangerous, if not moreso because of the rpm that the cutter is spun at, as a table mounted circular saw. I admit that I am partial to SOF's and I have only read one book on strip building a canoe (Featherweight Boatbuilding) and the author recommends using a table mounted router to rout the cove and bead profiles. Therefore, I assume (dangerous, I know) that that is the same advice given to others (even novices) who choose to rout the cove and bead themselves.

BTW, I am all for safety as much as the next guy, however, I hear and read how dangerous such and such is (expecially in reference to RAS's) and find that most of those opinions are based on ignorance. In your case, Rob, I know that that is not the case and I do respect your opinion since it is based on experience, however, as others before me have written, I respectfully disagree. I do feel, however, that it should be recommended that before any novice WW build a boat of anykind (or even attempt building a piece of furniture for that matter) that he/she should take at least an introductory course on woodworking and WW safety at a local WW specialty store, such as Woodcraft which is in my area and offers various classes. The better idea is to take a course at the local community college/votech or adult HS education classes. I would not recommend a novice even buying a table saw until he/she has at least some idea of proper safety training either through a WW store offered class or taking a regular class because even a dedicated table saw is extremely dangerous and has probably claimed more injuries than most other woodworking equipment.

Also, I would disagree with Paul G. on one point, he says that moving the circular saw is more dangerous than solidly mounting it in a table top and keeping it stationary. However, my disagreement is limited to the panelsaw he brought up. I would think that a dedicated panelsaw would be equally as safe as the table mount for a circular saw. It may be worth investigating making a modified panelsaw strictly for strip cutting, though I am picturing the length of strips limited to 8 or 10 feet to keep the panelsaw reasonable sized for breaking down and storing.

Paul

: My responses here are on the basis of advising the novices lurking in the
: wings.

: All the best,
: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.laughingloon.com