How do you make short, repeated cuts with the Kapex?

[Grasshopper]

I unboxed my UG set today and got right to work.

I am making several plinth blocks from 5/4" stock that are 8" tall.  I was really excited to see the Kapex flag stops in action, but didn't realize that they really don't help with making cuts as small as 8" repeated.

So what I ended up doing, was putting the extension wing on the left, and clamping down some scrap as a makeshift stop.  Doing this, i could run the stock from right to left and it would butt into my stop and cut 8" pieces very quickly and repeatably.  As I did this, I used the Hold Down Clamp on the right side to hold the stock down, and it rested into the stop block.

As I did this, i wanted to know if this operation was safe.  See the picture below and let me know if you think it looks safe.

I know that clamping both sides of what you are cutting on a miter saw is a huge no-no, and is a way to get into trouble if the saw binds, etc.

It got me thinking if using a "clamped" stop block to the left and the hold down clamp to the right poses similar risks.  (I am hoping not, because the stock just butts up to the stop block in a similar way the flag stop would work, and I can't think of a better way to make repetitive shorter cuts on the Kapex).

I figured this was worth posing to the FOG.  And if you have better ways to make repeated cuts on the Kapex that are too small for the flag stop to be an option, I'd love to hear them.

See my setup below:

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[tjbnwi]

Yes, it is safe as long as you don't rack the head as the saw comes up. Let the saw come to a stop before you raise the head.

Cut a 45º bevel on your stop block, you need some place for saw dust to go as you slide the material against it.

Tom

 

[Corwin]

Why not mount an aftermarket hold-down clamp onto a base and clamp instead of your stop block?

 

[tjbnwi]

Why not mount an aftermarket hold-down clamp onto a base and clamp instead of your stop block?

I don't understand??

Tom

 

[Corwin]

Why not mount an aftermarket hold-down clamp onto a base and clamp instead of your stop block?

I don't understand??

Tom

There are aftermarket hold-down clamps on the market that you could mount onto a board -- like the board to the left in the OP's photo that is held down with the Quick Clamp -- such that the new aftermarket clamp holds your workpiece in place, and the board it is mounted onto serves as the stop.

Is that any clearer?

 

[tjbnwi]

Why not mount an aftermarket hold-down clamp onto a base and clamp instead of your stop block?

I don't understand??

Tom

There are aftermarket hold-down clamps on the market that you could mount onto a board -- like the board to the left in the OP's photo that is held down with the Quick Clamp -- such that the new aftermarket clamp holds your workpiece in place, and the board it is mounted onto serves as the stop.

Is that any clearer?

A De Sta Co toggle clamp.

Tom

 

[Corwin]

Or something like this:

Amazon: Bessey Horizontal Auto-Adjust Togle Clamp

I just setup my new Kapex today, so this is something I'll have to try for myself too.  [big grin]

 

[hopper]

Why do you have to clamp down the stock on the right side of the blade? If anything, I would clamp down the 8" piece and not he other.  In your picture, you are creating a situation where the 8" piece could bind between the blade and stop.  I wouldn't clamp down either piece.  Just hold the 8" piece down, make your cut, slide the original piece to the stop, make your cut, slide, etc, etc. Just my opinion. I've done this type of cut many times.

 

[Stoli]

Cut yourself a 10" spacer block.  Then it should be pretty easy to use the flag stops to get a fixed measurement with simple math.  I have a metric fence system and have a 500mm spacer block to make the math dead simple.

 

[tjbnwi]

Or something like this:

Amazon: Bessey Horizontal Auto-Adjust Togle Clamp

I just setup my new Kapex today, so this is something I'll have to try for myself too.  [big grin]

DeStaCo was the first on the market. I call them all DeStaCo's, kinda like Bondo and Kleenex.

Tom

 

[DrD]

Great question, with good answers. 

I am still a bit confused.  In the Kapex Supplemental Manual (written by Brice Burrell, I think), he clearly warns when using a clamped stop to clamp the off-cut side of the piece being cut.  I assume from this that the off-cut side would be the side against the stop. 

For small pieces, as in your question, that may not be possible.  For that reason I have mounted a Bessy Clamp on my FastCap Stop - as mentioned by Corwin.  The longer, off cut side would be supported, in your case, by the Right Fence of your UG set-up. 

Is this correct?  Thanks!

 

[Walk On Wood]

Hopper said it perfectly. Clamp down a stop block, slide your piece to it, and cut. I've done roughly 3500 cuts in the last 3 days like that for a custom floor.

 

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I love the ideas of clamping a stop block with a "loose" stop block that I can remove after clamping on the right side (this way I can cut  without having my hand on the stock, and not worry about the blade binding as well).

I also like the suggestion to clamp the stop only and not worry about a clamp on the right side.  I could see that being good depending on how long the piece i am cutting is.

Thanks to all who took time to weigh in on this!

 

[Corwin]

DeStaCo was the first on the market. I call them all DeStaCo's, kinda like Bondo and Kleenex.

Tom

Fair enough. I just call them 'toggle' clamps -- I do, however, own a number of what I call 'Crescent' wrenches while I know full well that this is simply a brand name for an 'adjustable' wrench.  [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

This question has been bandied around for years as this old post will attest. Recently I needed to cut several 2" lengths of a 1-3/4" diameter dowel. I was looking for each dowel to be a fairly repeatable length so that I could use both ends of each dowel as a datum for further registration duties. I've always been an advocate of using hard stops or story sticks to create pieces that are equal in length.

I set up a simple positive stop on the Kapex and cut 5 dowels. The length of each dowel is written on the end. So, 5 dowels with a spread of .004". Nothing fancy was done, just move the dowel into position, clamp and cut. I didn't remove the fuzz from each cut or sand down the end before I re-registered the dowel for the next cut. Simply a register-cut-register-cut process.

If I was looking for closer/tighter repeatable lengths, I'd have used aluminum stops and trimmed the fuzz from each cut end. This is just an example of how repeatable results can be if you use hard stops.

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[waho6o9]

View attachment 1

I like using a zero clearance fence with stop blocks.
YMMV

All the best. 

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I use the Kreg top trak stop system on my miter saw station, flip-stop on one side and solid stop on the other. Because of the nature of the sliding fences of the saw itself, you can only get so close with the beginning of the fence/track. I use a 20" spacer block, to get any dimension less than that.
The hold-down is kind of a relative thing. Some brands of saw are far more cumbersome it that respect than others. Using it is "supposed to be" an every-time thing, in practice it depends on the size of the piece being cut.
The one rule to never brake though is simple. Clamp the piece that is between the stop and the saw. This is where the potential bind takes place. The other piece is "loose", so no bind exists there.

Much like [member=7659]waho6o9[/member] I also add some wooden zero-clearance back stops. Sometimes I screw on some short straight pieces for that. Other times I just pop on a simple L shaped platform to perform the same function. I usually do that for angled cuts, to not kill my 90 degree pair.

 

[rmhinden]

I have a very low tech method for doing this.

I put three layers of blue tape on the right side at the correct distance from the blade.  It is thick enough so I could slide the board up to the tape to feel it get the right length, but avoided any kind of binding issue.  Some pictures below.

Bob

View attachment 1View attachment 2

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have a very low tech method for doing this.

I put three layers of blue tape on the right side at the correct distance from the blade.  It is thick enough so I could slide the board up to the tape to feel it get the right length, but avoided any kind of binding issue.  Some pictures below.

Bob

View attachment 1View attachment 2

You also have one of those "million dollar sticks" in there too, no "clamp".  That is what I do with smaller parts too, except mine is wood (and shop-made) It is rare that I use the clamp (for parts anyway) I mostly use it for holding jigs/fixtures, like the 45degree stop

The tape is ok, but not as "positive", plus you have to struggle with moving it to the exact point. Micro adjusting is not so easy either.........price is very attractive though.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip
The one rule to never brake though is simple. Clamp the piece that is between the stop and the saw. This is where the potential bind takes place. The other piece is "loose", so no bind exists there.Snip

When this "rule" can't be followed (e.g., due to workflow consideration), I use a spring-loaded flip stop:

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I've seen that rule broken by some YouTubers, and viewers who unknowingly copy them are at the mercy of the kickback God.