London’s Imperial War Museum has upgraded its woodworking technology to assist it in the production of exhibition panels and other items.
A Striebig Compact 5207 vertical panel saw was bought to size MDF, solid timber, perspex and aluminium sheets.
The unit replaced a 25-year-old German vertical saw which had reached the end of its working life.
Dave Booker, the museum’s exhibition workshop senior craftsman, said the museum had a limited budget to spend on purchasing a new saw.
“We looked very closely at several makes but in the end bought the Striebig largely on the recommendation of the service engineer who looks after all of our woodworking machinery,” he said.
The saw was available from stock at Leicester-based TM Machinery Sales and delivered and installed within two weeks, with operator training provided.
A new exhibition is staged at the museum every six months, requiring a variety of different-sized display panels.
The Compact is also occasionally used to prepare materials needed for other items such as exhibition plinths and desking.
The museum workshop also produces display materials for the underground Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall and HMS Belfast, both of which are part of the museum.
Striebig says the manually-operated Compact has a cutting range of 4600x2070mm together with a cutting depth of 60mm.
