Yeah, you need some sort of saw, like radial arm, or chop saw, or band saw. Also, I use a milling machine for certain operations and you also need a drill press. My methods are relatively crude, but there's a limit to how crude you can go and still have adequate precision for a good fit for your camera and accurate placement of tripod attachment points (for accurate rotation about lens nodal points). If weight and cost are not major factors, you could check out the various commercial panorama heads available. These are very precise and very versatile, but not nearly as quick and convenient as my system.