Cutting random width boards . . .

[BC6738F5BCE98B4]

I have just managed, not well or efficiently, to cut a 60" piece of hard maple that had no sides which were parallel.

The piece was longer than my 48" guide and shorter than my next longest guide. 

While I was able to figure out a way to "get it done" (with a bit of sanding), I know that there must be a better/easier/simpler way of doing this.  I recall reading about such a technique, but have not been able to find it.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

      If I am following correctly- you would need to first straight line rip one edge.to make sure it is straight, and possibly to remove a bow etc.  You should use a guide that is longer than the board so that you have some extra space before and after the cut  for the saw to clear the ends. I find it helpful to place like thickness pieces under the protruding rail ends to support the rail and make the whole set up more stable when you plunge to start the cut. You would place this rail so that you take off as little as possible from one edge, but are taking off at least some wood for the entire board length. This will give you one perfectly straight edge.
      From that edge you can then measure over whatever width you need, place the rail and cut a parallel edge. Or use the parallel  stop (rip guide) running along the straight edge you just cut.
          Hope this helps

Seth

 

[BC6738F5BCE98B4]

Seth,

Thanks, several points you make will help.  I particularly like the notion of putting supports in under the guide to prevent the bending (which I had).

I am still confused (even after reading your note) on the following. . ..

When making the first cut (to make sure that at least one side is straight), I had no problem a) clamping the wood to the mft or b) clamping the guide to the mft.  The problem I tried to deal with was clamping the guide and the wood (to each other or seperately) so that neither would move with respect to the other and both would remain stationary with respect to the surface of the MFT. 

My "just get it done" solution resulted in the guide and the wood being clamped together (mostly) but there was some slippage as to both of them with respect to the MFT.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

      Hmm, well I am guessing that the board is longer than the MFT? Which will make it somewhat harder to add supports under the rail ends. Unless you have some stands or something.
      I also take it that the board is not wide enough to place extra clamps on the edge you are not cutting to hold it tothe MFT?
    For clamping how about placing one clamp in the guide rail with it slid in a few inches and up to the end of the board. Move the board and the guide up to one end of the MFT and clamp both to the bottom of the MFT profile so that the clamp is holding all three together. Make this the ned you are starting your cut at.
      Then place another clamp in the other end to hold that end to the board. It won't reach the MFT on that end but... a bench dog or something similar in one of the MFT holes one the left of the board (edge on the back side of the guide Rail) will kep the whole affair from sliding sideways as you push the saw and the one end clamp will keep it from sliding away from you. 
    Make sure everything is secure and look it over before you actually make the cut just to be sure. I think this may work. If you put extra supports under the rail ends make sure to leave space for the blade to plunge if it is something like a metal stand etc.

  BTW can you post pics of the set up? It usually helps so that responders are not guesing or trying visualize what you are doing.

Seth

 

[Eli]

yep, need picture. All I know is you's tryin to cut sumpin you can'ts cut.

 

[BC6738F5BCE98B4]

I regret that I do not even own a camera, much less know how to take a picture and post it here.  In light of your comments I may have to learn.

Seth's guesses were correct.  The board is longer than the MFT and not wide enough to place extra clamps on (it is about 5" wide). 

I am going to print out Seth's suggestions and take them to the shop with me and see how they work.  I suspect that they will solve the problem and/or provide an opportunity to purchase more and/or different clamps. 

 

[semenza]

Hi,

   And please just be careful to look over the set up to make sure it is safe. Also with a five inch board you might not be able to get the guide rail clamp on the board. Another opton is to clamp a second board of the same thickness next to the one you are cutting to provide support for the rail. Then you just need something to keep the board you are cutting from sliding away from you. This would be especially helpful if the second board is long enough to support the rails entire length even if the one you are cuting is shorter.

Seth

 

[BC6738F5BCE98B4]

I used the suggestions and they worked reasonably well. 

However, for the second board I decided to go back to my old RAS which accomplished the task with no fuss or bother. 

I need to remind myself that no tool is good at everything and to choose the appropriate tool for the task.  My conclusion is that cutting narrow width long boards is simply not a strong suit for the MFT, though obviously it can be done.

Thanks for the help.

 

[semenza]

HI,

      Yes, the MFT is short for the task. It actually works well if you have a long enough cutting surface. In fact just today I ripped 20 or so 7-8 foot long 1" wide strips. I have a ten foot long cutting table that I built a few weeks ago. Before that I was using an eight foot table on folding legs. I will be posting pics, construction , etc of the new table soon.  Below  are  pics of the set up for ripping the strips earlier today.
    You can see the end support for the rail, a stack of 1/4" hard board next to the maple to support the length of the rail when the board is too narrow.

Seth

 

[Dave Ronyak]

That is great!  Have you or anyone worked out an efficient system for cutting materials of of randon widths AND different thicknesses?  Many times I do not have another piece of the same thickness to use as a support for the rail.  So I find myself going back to a table saw to make those cuts.  Otherwise, it seems that I would need a barrel full of stock of different thicknesses.

Dave R.

 

[Corwin]

If you want something to work for varying thicknesses, you could make a jig that was 2' (or so) by however long and mount a short fence down the length that sits about the width of your guide rail in from one edge.  Now you can place you workpiece to be cut against the fence on one side and another piece of the same material on the other to level the playing field. 

Corwin

 

[Eli]

Every time you have a scrap of formica, hardboard or ply, cut them into 4" squares. Then you'll have a whole milk cra... I mean systainer full of shims.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Every time you have a scrap of formica, hardboard or ply, cut them into 4" squares. Then you'll have a whole milk cra... I mean systainer full of shims.

You can also use a pair of tapered shims (wedges or shingles) to adjust the thickness of the support. RLW hardwood often has checked ends and or crooked cross cuts so you can usually cut off some of the band end to use as suppot for the overhanging guide rail. You don't need a lot if you work carefully and keep the foam strips under the guide rail clear of dust so they grip. Tack a stop block on the table to keep the work piece from creeping. Or clamp a long thin sticks in strategic positions.

I often use a 23 gauge headless pinner for setting up temporary jigs (like stacks of shims) quickly. The thins pins are easy to pull out of softwood so the shims can be recovered. Tape works well enough too.

 

[Eli]

I love the idea of pinning them Michael!

Of course you understand now
I have to buy a pinner.

 

[semenza]

That is great!  Have you or anyone worked out an efficient system for cutting materials of of randon widths AND different thicknesses?  Many times I do not have another piece of the same thickness to use as a support for the rail.  So I find myself going back to a table saw to make those cuts.  Otherwise, it seems that I would need a barrel full of stock of different thicknesses.

Dave R.

  HI,

              The 1/4" hard board is kept specifically for this task. Along with an 1/8" piece. I will add a couple other thicknesses as the need arises. Just stack up whatever you need , sort of like a stacked dado set. The stack acts as a fence under the rail so the piece you are cutting doesn't go anywere. Also the end supports are not as critical on thickness as along as they are close. The set up works very quickly. The end supports are the width of the table and kept in place by wood dowels. This way there is no fiddling with things moving around and no resetting the supports between cuts.

Seth

 

[ZeesWoodShop]

I have cut about 2K board feet of random width with my TS-75 and 3000mm guide rail works really well

cant seem to figure out the embedding but here is a link to a video I did talking about it



Embedded using the long url link

 

[peter halle]

Zack or Zac,

Welcome to the FOG!  Good video. I will modify your post to get the video imbedded.

Peter

 

[RDMuller]

Zek -- very nice video on doing the edging.  I have found that I can slip another board of the same thickness underneath the back edge of the guide to give it support when cutting narrow boards that are not as wide as the guide.  You and I must not live all that far apart.  I'll send you a PM