Longpre, Furniture Maker, Somerset

A Striebig Compact TRK vertical panel saw has lived up to its description by solving a space problem at a Somerset fine furniture makers.

The skilled cabinet makers at Longpre Furniture produce quality bespoke furniture for architects, designers and private clients. Each of them has the responsibility for making an entire piece, preparing the component parts and then assembling and finishing them.

It was Longpre craftsmen who made the Rosewood chair used by The Queen during her visit to Westminster Cathedral, an antique style music centre for famous London store Harrods, and copies of period furniture for the Earl of Devon. The company also produces commercial interiors, and recently made and fitted office and corridor furniture for a large project in the Middle East.

Vertical panel saw saves space

With extra sawing capacity needed to keep up with an increased workload, there was no room in the cramped workshops to add another beam saw without building an extension.

Said foreman Steve Gillingham: “With eight of us keeping the beam saw busy and no space to put in a second, without a great deal of expensive building work, it was decided to go for a vertical panel sawing machine.”

The service engineer who looks after the company’s machines recommended Striebig. After looking at the Swiss-made saw and two other makes, Longpre went along with his suggestion.

“The Compact had a far better build quality than the others,” said Mr Gillingham. “It was also the only one that would cut up to 10ft x 5ft panels and was able to fit in to the small space we had allowed for it.”

Supplied and installed by Striebig’s sole UK agent, T.M. Machinery Sales Ltd, of Leicester, the Compact is a small footprint vertical panel saw that comes in a choice of two cut sizes with a maximum cutting depth of 60mm.

The version chosen by Longpre for its 5,600 sq ft workshop has a maximum cut size of 3100mm x 1644mm. There’s also a larger model, measuring 4600mm x 2070mm. Among standard features in both saws are the highly efficient TRK extraction system, which keeps users ahead of even the toughest European legislation, and automatic moving backing support.

Longpre use it to cut MDF and ply sheet material and for resizing lipped veneer panels. The material used ranges in thickness from 2mm to 50mm, with the thinner panels put on in stacks.

As well as improving the accuracy of the sizing and the quality of the cut – Striebig saws perform to an accuracy of 0.1mm – it has reduced substantially the amount of panel manhandling required.

“It’s now a one man job to put even the largest panels in position on the Compact’s rollers,” said Mr Gillingham. “With the beam saw you needed two men to turn the panels flat in order to load them, and then to move them around to get different cutting angles.”

Because of the modern design of the Striebig, the operator does not have to keep swivelling his body around once the panel is in position. To change the direction of the cut from vertical to horizontal, and back again, you simply swivel the saw’s head.

Among the accessories available to improve the performance of the Compact are an electronic positioning system, a digital measuring system, an angle-cutting unit and grooving accessories for composite panels. Prices of Striebig saws are from £8,100 to £25,000.