MFT dogs with FS cutting guides

rmwarren

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This thread is a re-posting of something that was first discussed at:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/tweaks-on-round-dogs/

And later expanded at:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/festool-track-saw-and-parallel-guide-for-cabinet-construction-video/

I wanted to restate the substance of the idea more concisely and avoid further hijacking Ron Paulk’s thread with his excellent “Ultimate Work Bench”, which, by the way, I purchased the plans for and highly recommend. Even if you are not planning to build the bench immediately the plans themselves are beautifully done and a pleasure to study, well worth the nominal cost.

The idea I had is for a set of 19.9mm bench dogs that are counter-bored for a hardened steel pin to slip into. There are 2 small clips that attach to the FS guide rail which secure the rail to the pins. 2 dogs are used to align the material being cut, and 2 more (w/pins) are used to align the rail, taking advantage of the precision holes in the MFT. For most 90 and 45 degree cuts this replaces the stock MFT hardware and speeds up switching from cutting to some other use on the MFT.  The pins are long enough to cut the full depth of the TS55; the system will self-adjust to any height material. The dogs do double duty for other common uses on the MFT.

Due to the # of folks who were interested I am going to make enough sets to get the cost down to a reasonable figure. The complete "set" will include 4 dogs, 4 guide pins (most likely 2 different heights), 2 rail guide clips, tee nuts and knobs. Cost is $80 including USPS flat rate shipping in the US, or $75 + actual shipping costs outside the US.

Here are a couple of photos of the system in use (so far these are prototypes, the final product will be CNC machined):

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45 degree setup, I use a scrap of material to support the near end of the guide rail:

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The dogs are low profile, the head is 6mm high and 24mm diameter, the body is 19.9mm diameter and 19mm long under the head. There is an 8mm (5/16") through hole and 12.7mm counter bore, sized for a slip fit for a 1/2" hardened steel pin. Material is 6061 "aircraft" aluminum. They look like this:

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The rail guide clip is 1/4" thick 6061 aluminum, the pin ends up offset from the rail by 20mm so that the saw blade score mark misses the holes in the MFT top. They use an M5 thumb screw and tee nut and are grooved to fit the FS rail tightly. They look like:

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I expect to finalize the design in about another week plus there is a 4+ week manufacturing lead time, so they should be available to ship mid to late January.

Anyone interested please PM me, I need to gauge interest to make sure I have enough sets made. I will put you on a list; once they are available I will figure out how to manage payment, most likely thru PayPal.

Thanks for your interest and please offer any thoughts or suggestions you may have.

RMW

PS – I am very open to suggestions of what to call these gizmos, hopefully something as catchy as “domi-plate”…  [big grin]
 
Plato-clipos

Railo-clipos

Rips-clips or "Rip-Clips"

Ricks-clips

Richards-clippards

Ok, silly, just figured I'd get it started.  [big grin]
 
RIP - Guide Dogs  8) 8)

Cross - Guide Dogs  [mad] [mad]

Silly can be good ;)
 
I can't come up with a name yet, working on it. But be sure I would like to have what you produce, please add me to your list of potentially customers.

Sal
 
"Rip Dogs" [big grin] it is,  mostly because my wife likes it. [thumbs up]

Still on track to place the order next week. So far I have about 10 folks interested, so I will probably limit the first run to 20 sets.

RMW

 
How about using the Qwas theory and they could be:

RW Dogs
RMW Dogs
Ron Dogs
etc

I'm amazed that your initial thread didn't attract more interest as I was impressed from the outset. I was trying to come up with something similar and love your implementation.

 
Update:

Finished reviewing the design for the last time, I am finally satisfied that I probably won't have to sand 120+ dogs down by hand to make them fit the pins. For reference, the pin has a tolerance of +/- 0.0001". Since this is a first-time effort for me I wanted to be sure the fit was sufficiently tight to avoid any slop whilst not being so tight they can't be easily inserted. Cross your fingers...

So far I have about 19 expressions of interest, I plan to order 30 sets so there will be a few extra if everyone who asked for a set takes them. Also, someone asked for extra dogs (in addition to the 4 that are in the set) so I was going to order a few extra and make them available.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in with suggestions and encouragement.

RMW
 
Just a question about the size of the dogs are they going to be compatible with qwas dogs?
 
mishle said:
Just a question about the size of the dogs are they going to be compatible with qwas dogs?

I am not sure how large the heads are on the Qwas dogs, there are 24mm diameter to allow them to be machined from 1" raw stock. The lower section should be the same size, 19.9mm to fit the holes on the MFT.

Can you caliper the Qwas dog head and let me know their exact diameter? It is possible I can tweak the diameter a bit to make them compatible, that would make a lot of sense.

Thanks,

RMW
 
mishle said:
I get 20.41mm for the tops of the heads on the qwas dogs

Hmmm. I see no problem making that change, it should not impact how these things function.

Any other opinions on this? I assume quite a few folks already have Qwas dogs and would rather have these be interchangeable?

Thanks,

RMW
 
Makes sense for them to be the same size so the dogs can be used interchangeably for squaring etc.
 
i think they should be exactly the same or complietely different so that you  cant mix them up  [eek]
 
Can anyone confirm the head measurement of 20.41mm, just to make sure before I make the changes? The body is 19.9mm giving only a 1.5mm total difference in diameter or .75mm all around. That looks about right based on the photos I have seen but I would like to double-check it before ordering a bunch.

Thanks,

RMW

[ Edited to remove image per copyright owner's request - Shane ]
 
From: http://www.ultimatetools.ca/products/qwas-dogs-the-first-20-mm-precision-bench-dogs

Qwas Dogs are sold as a matched pair. Each pair is inspected to assure diameters within .001 (1 thousandths) of an inch. Are you planning on using 2 pairs or more? All Qwas Dogs pairs are tested to be within 3 thousandths of an inch to each other (+.001, -002).

I think this used to be on the qwasproducts.com site but I no longer can find it.

so is .152 (3.87mm) wall thickness strong enough?

I measured the qwas dogs frozen earlier now I get three at 20.42 and one at 20.41 (66deg F.
 
Small dogs look fine for me, but Qwas rail dog's design is more precise because it has just one place for play. You added additional parts for cumulative error. 

 
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