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Zapkut ZM from Sagetech – The Saw You Can’t Afford NOT to Use!

By Peter Brett

We have all heard stories of how investment in expensive tools is so great that you can’t afford to have any downtime on them. Well, how about a British designed and made vertical panel saw that is accurate, easy to use and is reasonably priced – so reasonably priced in fact, that small workshops can afford to buy one and find a place for it in the premises.

The saw I am talking about is the Zapkut ZM series from British company, Sagetech Machinery, a company with many years’ experience making vertical panel saws for many types of users.

The ZM series comes in two sizes – the ZM12 and the ZM16. The difference is that the ZM 12 will take sheets of material of 2500x1250mm while the ZM 16 will take a full 3100x1600mm sheet. Both saws have a 32mm depth of cut so will easily handle the standard 18-20mm thick sheet of manmade material.

What I liked about the ZM12 when I tried it was the absolute simplicity of use. On the cleverly designed, rotatable sawhead (needed for vertical and horizontal cutting) is mounted a standard Festool plunge saw, which is included with the machine. This can be connected to Sagetech’s optional excellent dust collection vacuum, so this ticks the important H&S dust safety box. Since the saws can also be tilted for mitre cuts, accurate bevel cuts come as standard with the Zapkut ZM.

So how – when we are told that British manufacturing industry can’t compete – does Sagetech Machinery produce a saw that retails at under £5,000 that has almost pinpoint accuracy every time? The answer seems to lie in clever design, maximum use of standard components and precision laser cutting and welding.

Each saw starts its life in a modern factory near Worcester where precision laser cut components are cut and shaped. Again by using lasers to produce the components, the all important top and bottom beams of the saw are accurately placed and then the rest of the framework holds them into a well-braced whole that does not move – I tried it – it is rigid!

The all important bearings and runners are off the shelf components – obviously cheaper to obtain and replace if necessary. You might also notice that the things like the sacrificial bearers are made from strips of MDF and the stops are made of steel strips with MDF sections that are simply screwed into place. This arrangement makes it easy for end users to replace worn out pieces themselves, adding to the cost effectiveness of the whole package.

With barely five minutes of explanation and a limited experience of using vertical panel saws, I was able to get a perfect right angle cut on a piece of 18mm thick MDF board safely and easily. Because operating the saw is a two handed operation, fingers are kept well away from any dangerous bits and there was no discernible dust in the air. As usual, it took longer to load and align the sheet than it did to do the cut.

The target market? I think that any “small user” cutting between 10 to 30 sheets a week would soon recoup their investment with the greater accuracy and speed that it would bring to production. Since wall saws take up very little space and are actually much safer and more accurate than using a table saw to cut sheet materials, it seems to me a bit of a no brainer to give the Zapkut range a look. It could be a very wise decision indeed.

Koolkut KF Vertical Panel Saws from Sagetech Machinery – Accurate, Capable and British Made

By Peter Brett – independent machinery tester

 Sagetech Machinery is a well-established British company specialising in making vertical panel saws – from heavy duty models that are at home in a very busy professional joinery workshop right down to the portable ZK8 that can be folded up and taken on site.

I know from questioning regular users of vertical panel saws (most often used from timber yards and joinery shops to signmakers and plastics distributors to cut up sheet materials) that they can be very difficult to load up and adjust. I have had sheets of MDF cut for me that can be as much as 10mm out of square from corner to corner – but if you read the fine print you have no comeback.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy a vertical panel saw that came at an affordable price, was inherently accurate due to the use of strong frames and robust bearings and was made in the UK? Well you can – and I was given the opportunity to try out the new Koolkut KF12 at the W16 Show at the NEC.

My first examination of the Koolkut KF range focussed on strength and rigidity of the frame. It goes without saying that any flexibility in the frame would make for an inaccurate saw. It is very clear, even to the naked eye, from the stand and frame and the top and bottom bearing runners, that strength is simply built in. The steel is thick and rigid enough to support the heavy sheets of MDF etc that will be the daily diet of these saws. This is all achieved by using the most modern laser cutting and bending methods at a factory near Worcester.

The use of lasers for precision cutting once again makes a vital difference, ensuring that the top beam and column bearing surfaces are precise, with the bottom supports exactly parallel to the top beam. In this way Sagetech Machinery is able to achieve astonishing accuracy for its machines. Of course we know that due maintenance is required to maintain accuracy, but it is comforting to know that accuracy is intentionally designed and built in.

I also examined the bearings on the sawhead closely. These are standard off-the-shelf components that are not only well tested, but also reasonably priced, making maintenance easier and cheaper.

The sawhead itself uses a Festool TS75 plunge saw with some clever but simple masking on it to increase dust collection to almost 100%. The beauty of this saw arrangement is that bevel cuts are made by simply adjusting the protractor on the saw base. The sawhead itself is made from robust pressed steel with built in adjustments that are easy for end users to make, thus ensuring ongoing accuracy in use.

Horizontal cuts are made by simply releasing the catches and turning the saw to the click stop – it really is that easy to use. While in use, hands are kept well out of the way of whirling blades because the plunge and movement mechanism requires two hands to operate it.

Another feature of accurate saws is the quality of the material supports and rests. The Koolkut KF answer is as simple as it is practical – the rests are steel sections to which MDF sections are bolted so that they are easily replaceable by end users. The supports are similar but stronger, since they carry the weight of very heavy sheets.

Typical users of the Koolkut range would be smaller workshops, shop and kitchen fitters and signmakers, it is clear that the level of investment is well within the bounds of possibility and will be easily recoverable in greater productivity. And it won’t take up loads of space in the workshop either!

Time to Google SAGETECH MACHINERY maybe?

www.verticalpanelsaw.co.uk

Tel: 0191 691 3044