Halmccoyii
Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2012
- Messages
- 24
After several years of use, I had a spill on my mft top which caused a bow in it. I flipped it over and tried to flatten it but really couldn’t solve the problem. I decided to get a new one. I use my top to regularly rip boards with my Seneca parallel guides. What I hate is I end up with multiple rip cut lines in the top. While not a problem with wide boards as you rip narrow pieces the wide gaps in the top keep the boards from being totally flat.
I think I worked up a solution and thought I would share. They were easy to make and I think improved my workflow. I also believe my cuts are more accurate and I solved the problem of every once in a while a board and rail slides on the table on me a little bit.
I wanted to keep my rip cut line the same all the time and have it be between a rows of holes. I built two support pieces out of Baltic birch that the previous house owner left in my attic and has basically been used for all my small jigs. The support pieces are designed such that they sit on the mft around my Precision dogs and have support from tipping over while allowing the rail to float up and down against it. While most of what I do isn’t much taller than .75” it could support almost 2” tall material and still not impede the track saw. I considered something to hold the rail against the stops but so far it hasn’t been a problem and I can lift the rail up and put a new board under and push back against the stops and things seem to stay put well.
Also while maybe not needed when my new top is in and very flat again, I built a stop at the end of the table to keep pieces from sliding.
Overall pic with guides and pieces in place. When I get my new top I will probably cut mostly closer to the front of the table though I can move it to either depending on the width of the boards.
[attachimg=1]
Rail support stops (need a better name). Stops slide over precision dogs. They are snug but can swivel so the rail can always be flat against them.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
End stop. Again used a piece of scrap Baltic Birch and some ¼ ply
[attachimg=4]
I built a small table and needed several 1.25” – 2.25” wide boards X 18-24” long. After cutting all of them plus several other random boards my cut line is basically one kerf wide. The cuts on the narrow boards were better than ever I believe because of the flat surface below the cut.
[attachimg=5]
As a note, one issue I have so far is the supports work great with cutting pieces narrower than the guide rail. That is what I need mostly. I’m working on a set that would hold the rails in place for cuts between 8 and probably 18”. When I get to 24” I normally don’t cut them on my mft. It’s a little more complicated though I think it’s pretty solvable. I just didn’t need it now.
I think I worked up a solution and thought I would share. They were easy to make and I think improved my workflow. I also believe my cuts are more accurate and I solved the problem of every once in a while a board and rail slides on the table on me a little bit.
I wanted to keep my rip cut line the same all the time and have it be between a rows of holes. I built two support pieces out of Baltic birch that the previous house owner left in my attic and has basically been used for all my small jigs. The support pieces are designed such that they sit on the mft around my Precision dogs and have support from tipping over while allowing the rail to float up and down against it. While most of what I do isn’t much taller than .75” it could support almost 2” tall material and still not impede the track saw. I considered something to hold the rail against the stops but so far it hasn’t been a problem and I can lift the rail up and put a new board under and push back against the stops and things seem to stay put well.
Also while maybe not needed when my new top is in and very flat again, I built a stop at the end of the table to keep pieces from sliding.
Overall pic with guides and pieces in place. When I get my new top I will probably cut mostly closer to the front of the table though I can move it to either depending on the width of the boards.
[attachimg=1]
Rail support stops (need a better name). Stops slide over precision dogs. They are snug but can swivel so the rail can always be flat against them.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
End stop. Again used a piece of scrap Baltic Birch and some ¼ ply
[attachimg=4]
I built a small table and needed several 1.25” – 2.25” wide boards X 18-24” long. After cutting all of them plus several other random boards my cut line is basically one kerf wide. The cuts on the narrow boards were better than ever I believe because of the flat surface below the cut.
[attachimg=5]
As a note, one issue I have so far is the supports work great with cutting pieces narrower than the guide rail. That is what I need mostly. I’m working on a set that would hold the rails in place for cuts between 8 and probably 18”. When I get to 24” I normally don’t cut them on my mft. It’s a little more complicated though I think it’s pretty solvable. I just didn’t need it now.
