Carpenter I Steve Rondeau (pictured) and the rest of the carpentry shop have put efficiency at the top of their list with the purchase of a Striebig compact, a Swiss-made vertical panel saw aimed to dramatically decrease the production time of campus projects.

The machine was installed in November. The decision to buy came after a visit to the University of Michigan’s custom millwork and cabinet shop last summer.

"When we saw it there, we realized the advantages this would bring to our shop," Rondeau said.

With the machine comes the streamlining of cabinet-making. Before, MSU custom cabinet-making was subject to a four-step process involving moving from one machine to another across the shop: cut panels with the table saw, square panels up with the horizontal panel saw, go back to the table saw to cut wood to size and make clean edges on the jointer/router table. Now, the Striebig takes care of all that.

The machine is as safe as it is efficient. The saw sits relatively flat to the wall, taking up little floor space and allowing room for more work in the shop. Second, the saw blade is never exposed, guarded by a plate so no one can accidentally cut themselves. Also, rollers along the bottom of the machine allow more than 100 square feet of cutting space to be handled with ease.

The purchase of the Striebig saw is one of many moves to increase efficiency on carpentry jobs, leading to better campus customer satisfaction, Rondeau said.

"The more time you can save, the more the customer saves," he said. "And with better quality, campus customers will want Physical Plant to repeatedly do their work."

Rondeau thanked Rich Brown, alterations and improvements skilled trades supervisor, and Deb Russell, structural/paint skilled trades supervisor, for allowing the saw to be a part of Physical Plant carpentry.

January 27, 2009