Cutting thin strips -- without moving the fence

[ChuckM]

No matter what jig or method is used, as long as it involves moving the fence after a ripping, it is not fool-proof. Only a fixed fence approach can claim to be goof-proof.

This shop-made jig is so clever that it trumps other ripping methods that work with a fixed fence.

 

[luvmytoolz]

That's similar to how I usually do thin strips, with the exception I first butt a wider waste sheet of MDF against the fence and push it into the blade creating a zero clearance base, and then clamp the sheet down. Stops narrow bits or offcuts getting stuck.

The board in video to me needs a handle at lower right to make it easier to manage.

 

[ChuckM]

That's similar to how I usually do thin strips, with the exception I first butt a wider waste sheet of MDF against the fence and push it into the blade creating a zero clearance base, and then clamp the sheet down. Stops narrow bits or offcuts getting stuck.

The board in video to me needs a handle at lower right to make it easier to manage.

I may not have understood your method correctly, but can yours do long trips, say 4 or 6 feet long like the jig shown in the video?

 

[luvmytoolz]

I can. So to explain it better, I set the fence to the width I want the final width to be plus at least 100mm. Then I get  board roughly same size as the table, and run it along the fence to create a zero clearance slot. Then I get another scrap around 100mm wide, stick a sample of the exact width strip I want on the inside of the fence and run the narrow MDF through leaving a little bit at the end which I trim at 90degree with a saw.

I then have the same setup as the video, except I also have a board under it all creating a zero clearance fit.

When I machine, I tend to do a very large amount of any one process at a time, so the slight extra time doing a base board first really saves me loads of time overall, and I get a perfect safe finish so can really speed them through.

Hope that all makes sense?

I've sold my cabinet saw since but I'm now looking at the Laguna FS2, in which case I'll then make a sled with an integrated slotted adjustable fence out of perspex.

 

[peter halle]

Here is a video that I came across yesterday.  Has a similar thin strip jig.



Peter

 

[ChuckM]

I can. So to explain it better, I set the fence to the width I want the final width to be plus at least 100mm. Then I get  board roughly same size as the table, and run it along the fence to create a zero clearance slot. Then I get another scrap around 100mm wide, stick a sample of the exact width strip I want on the inside of the fence and run the narrow MDF through leaving a little bit at the end which I trim at 90degree with a saw.

I then have the same setup as the video, except I also have a board under it all creating a zero clearance fit.

When I machine, I tend to do a very large amount of any one process at a time, so the slight extra time doing a base board first really saves me loads of time overall, and I get a perfect safe finish so can really speed them through.

Hope that all makes sense?

I've sold my cabinet saw since but I'm now looking at the Laguna FS2, in which case I'll then make a sled with an integrated slotted adjustable fence out of perspex.

I'll study the details you provided to see if I get it shortly.

 

[ChuckM]

Here is a video that I came across yesterday.  Has a similar thin snip.

Peter

Peter,

I watched the part on strip cutting, but unless I missed it, the methods she described are limited by the length of the jigs because of their fixed stops, unlike the jig shown in the video I posted, which has a moveable stop.

In practical terms, it is not feasible to make a 8 ft long jig to cut a 7 ft strip, using the approaches covered in her vid.

 

[Packard]

I use a jig and yes, it limits the length of the strip to the length of the jig. It takes minutes to make, so I don’t keep them around.  About 5 feet long is the limit for easy handling.

If you need longer strips of uniform thickness, then cut them all over size and run a few at a time through the planer.

I have a planer, but I have never needed to do this.  You would probably need an infeed and outfeed table or support.  This method would yield superior thickness uniformity and probably a nicer surface.

I don’t have a drum sander, but that would probably work as well with the oversized strips.  Again, you would probably need infeed and outfeed tables as well.

 

[luvmytoolz]

I don’t have a drum sander, but that would probably work as well with the oversized strips.  Again, you would probably need infeed and outfeed tables as well.

Having a drum sander makes all the difference in the world, you can then cut the strips with a track saw and dogs on a bench, and put them all through the drum sander to get the finished clean dimension. They sound like a luxury tool, but they are an amazing time saver, and open up so many other avenues of working timber.

 

[ChuckM]

Surely, with more machines, one can plane or sand strips ripped on the table saw to final thickness, but that's extra work.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Surely, with more machines, one can plane or sand strips ripped on the table saw to final thickness, but that's extra work.

Not if you're doing hundreds at a time and want them all uniform and glue/varnish ready!

You'd be amazed at how much a time saver drum sanding can be.

 

[ChuckM]

We are talking about cutting thin strips (accurately and repetitively) to the desired thickness. Everything equal, it is much faster (and less work) to do it with just the table saw alone. When it comes to sanding with a drum sander, it is still faster to complete the sanding with the strips already cut to thickness than sanding oversized strips.

We don't seem to be commenting on the same aspect of the process.

P.S. I have yet to read your detailed reply on your method. 

 

[ChuckM]

Cutting identical short strips on the table saw (ZCI) isn't the challenge: A fence fixed plus the use of a featherboard and a couple of suitable push shoes (never push sticks!) -- which I use for resawing -- to suit the strip's thickness got these 85 strips (45 nos of 3/16" strips and the rest 3/8") done this afternoon:

[attachimg=1]  [attachimg=2]

The challenge lies more with ripping very long thin strips, say 2mm wide.