My MFT jig for ripping narrow stock

[rmwarren]

I purchased the parallel guides just after I got my TS 55 but I have always found them to be very awkward to use, they kind of flap around when being repositioned. I don’t use them much and wanted to have a better way to rip narrow stock.

So I received my first order of 8020 extrusions and started working on a couple of the jigs I have been puzzling out at night. This is the first one, which is designed to clamp to an MFT, support either dimensional stock or sheet goods, and allow you to make repeated cuts narrower than the guide rails, basically down to 0” wide strips.

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The jig attaches to the MFT with the Festool clamps inserted from below, they fit into the groove on the 8020 extrusion. You can cantilever them out as far as necessary, which should allow you to hold a full 48” width of plywood if needed.

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The rail flips up between cuts.

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The rail is attached to 2 hinged brackets; the height adjusts with a knob thru the slotted plate at the end of the extrusion. I adjust it by slipping the stock under it and dropping the rail down to the correct height first.

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There are 2 tab stops attached by knobs, they are used to position the stock for repeatable cuts. I added some 4/4 Azek strips to the extrusion as a sacrificial surface.

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There is also an end-stop to prevent the stock from sliding as you cut it, since when cutting narrow strips there is not a lot of friction from the guide rail holding the stock in place. I have a modification in mind that will let me clamp the stock to the extrusions if necessary.

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you can also cut repeatable tapers just by positioning the stops accordingly.

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Since the brackets can be positioned anywhere along a rail the jig works with any length of rail. The limit is the length of whatever you are clamping the extrusions to. These extrusions are only about 30", I think the next set will be perhaps 40", with about 10" under the rail that length will better support a full sheet of plywood.

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I have several other ideas in the works, the 8020 stuff has a lot of uses in conjunction with the MFT and clamps.

 

[mattfc]

Very nice executed.. how did you make the end piece and the hinges for the MFT rail?

 

[festoller]

Yes, very nice! Same question on how to make the hinges and end piece. It looks DIY or did you get those from 8020!

You should offer this like Ron's Domiplate!

 

[Sparktrician]

Great idea!!! 

[smile]

 

[rmwarren]

Thanks for the compliment.

Same question on how to make the hinges and end piece. It looks DIY or did you get those from 8020!

I have a small milling machine and I made the hinges on it.  I also had to mill the long slot into an 8020 component plate. These hinged brackets are a little rough, they were my prototype.

You should offer this like Ron's Domiplate!

I have been considering this. I spent a considerable amount of time researching the various 8020 profiles and brainstorming how to piece them together to augment the MFT in particular but other tools as well. If I thought there was enough demand I could refine it a bit and produce a number of sets of all the components.

8020 is pretty commonly available over here, I assume it is in the Europe also? Shipping that stuff could get a bit pricey.

I would appreciate any suggestions for refinements.

Thanks,

RMW

 

[festoller]

8020 is not a problem in Europe there are several similar extruisions on the market from several manufacturers.

The hinge and stop are probably the key components and the rest could be bought anywhere.

You can put me down for one if the price is ok!

 

[RDMuller]

Great concept.  From what I understand in looking at the pictures, the piece that is "cut-off" to the desired narrow width is "under the guide rail".  Thus the widths that could be cut are less than 7".  Have you thought of a modification that would allow this to make wider rips up to 24"?

80/20 stuff is great.  If any of you are looking for some things to play with, they sell their surplus odd and ends on ebay.    They are located in northeast IN not too far from me, unfortunately they do not have a surplus store to go in and browse --- just ebay

 

[rmwarren]

Great concept.  From what I understand in looking at the pictures, the piece that is "cut-off" to the desired narrow width is "under the guide rail".  Thus the widths that could be cut are less than 7".   Have you thought of a modification that would allow this to make wider rips up to 24"?

80/20 stuff is great.  If any of you are looking for some things to play with, they sell their surplus odd and ends on ebay.     They are located in northeast IN not too far from me, unfortunately they do not have a surplus store to go in and browse --- just ebay

You are correct however the capacity is about 9.5" because of the added length of the hinged brackets. I was thinking about an arm that extends it out more to get to +/- 24" but I was unsure if I would use it much. Cutting anything wider than the rail itself I just drop the rail on it, the benefit I guess would be the repeatability. The reason I made this was to solve the problem of how to cut stock narrower than the rail itself, with repeatability.

All the 8020 stuff I have so far came from their eBay store. They sell their standard sizes (48" and 96" lengths) for their retail price but they also have overstock sometimes that is about 50% of the retail cost. They will also add anything you want from their catalog to the order, just use the "contact seller" option before paying, they add it to the order and send you the total. Great service.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

RMW, what's the ebay seller ID ? Your rig looks awesome.

 

[rmwarren]

RMW, what's the ebay seller ID ? Your rig looks awesome.

Thanks. 8020's eBay store is:

http://stores.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale?_trksid=p4340.l2563

 

[RDMuller]

Great concept.  From what I understand in looking at the pictures, the piece that is "cut-off" to the desired narrow width is "under the guide rail".  Thus the widths that could be cut are less than 7".   Have you thought of a modification that would allow this to make wider rips up to 24"?

80/20 stuff is great.  If any of you are looking for some things to play with, they sell their surplus odd and ends on ebay.     They are located in northeast IN not too far from me, unfortunately they do not have a surplus store to go in and browse --- just ebay

You are correct however the capacity is about 9.5" because of the added length of the hinged brackets. I was thinking about an arm that extends it out more to get to +/- 24" but I was unsure if I would use it much. Cutting anything wider than the rail itself I just drop the rail on it, the benefit I guess would be the repeatability. The reason I made this was to solve the problem of how to cut stock narrower than the rail itself, with repeatability.

All the 8020 stuff I have so far came from their eBay store. They sell their standard sizes (48" and 96" lengths) for their retail price but they also have overstock sometimes that is about 50% of the retail cost. They will also add anything you want from their catalog to the order, just use the "contact seller" option before paying, they add it to the order and send you the total. Great service.

The advantage on going up to 24" is the repeatability. 

 

[RONWEN]

Very nicely done!

 

[EvilNuff]

I'd also be interested in the hinge and stop depending on price if you can make more...

 

[ScotF]

This is awesome!  Great job designing and implementing!

Scot

 

[rmwarren]

Have you thought of a modification that would allow this to make wider rips up to 24"?

RDMuller:

I took your suggestion and made some modifications to the layout to allow me to cross-cut up to 48" ply and load a full sheet onto the MFT and set stops for practically any width for repeatable cuts.

I basically re-thought using the 8020 extrusions but re-used the hinged brackets assembly. They originally mounted to the end of the 8020 with on screw, now they mount to either the slot on the 8020.

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An added benefit is that now I am not cutting over the 8020 and I can eliminate the sacrificial strip and the clamps can be used if needed.

I had been planning to make simple brackets to mount the 8020 to the v-groove on the MFT, I mocked them up out of maple and plan to mill some from aluminum soon. they just drop over the edge and get fastened with a t-nut. It takes 30-seconds to install or remove one.

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The slotted material stops can mount either on the MFT or on the 8020.

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By adding short sections of 8020 I can mount the hinges at the end of the FS 1400 and get over 50" of clearance between the brackets.

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They can also be mounted directly to the MFT if all I need to do are the narrow rips I originally designed it for.

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I don't own a longer rail but I don't see any reason you could not mount one this way and basically rip up to 10.5" from a full 96" sheet of plywood. I am going to make an extension arm for the hinged brackets to take the capacity up to 24" rips, again as you suggested.

Thanks for the great ideas!

RMW

 

[terrystouf]

Great work, nice to see your flexible evolution , into exactly what i was thinking when I saw your hinges ,the dust pickup will be so much better with the work piece fully supported underneath too.Im sure you could sell the hinge assemblies,looks like many ways to use them.

 

[Charles Wilson]

RMW,

Do you have a parts list for your project?  Approximate cost of the parts?

Also, are you considering milling any more hinges?

Thanks,
Chuck

 

[tms0425]

It definitely is a natural fit to join up the 8020 stuff to the MFT and you've been very creative with it. I sure hope you'll be able to make some of the custom pieces available at some point. I drive by 8020 on the way to work and just order seconds or standard stock off of ebay and pick them up right at their dock, so it's easy for me. Great ripping solution!

Tom

 

[RDMuller]

Your second design is also very innovative for big sheets.  If you had one of the longer rails, you could incorporate the use of 2 MFT tables to help support the long sheets.  I would assume that part of the components you have designed would be on the right table and the others on the left.

I have found 2 tables either joined or spaced a distance apart to be extremely handy on large projects

 

[rmwarren]

Do you have a parts list for your project?

Chuck, are you looking for the 8020 part info? if so, I am using the 4040 metric profile along with the various brackets and fasteners.

Approximate cost of the parts?

Also, are you considering milling any more hinges??

I sure hope you'll be able to make some of the custom pieces available at some point

I am considering making more of the hinges and the brackets for the 8020 to attach to the rails but it there would need to be enough demand to justify the time to get it all together. My initial thought is I would need to make a minimum of 20 - 30 sets to make it worth while and I am not sure there is that much demand.

The other issue is cost,  I would expect to have to price a set of components for between $120 and $200, depending on the items included. I was surprised when I went back and costed out the various knobs, nuts, etc that made this up, I initially thought the price would be about 1/2 of what it turned out to be.

If there is enough demand expressed then I will take it to the next step and develop pricing and more detail on the various components. If you do express interest please be specific on what you might be interested in.

I am also curious if anyone sees any real utility in the 8020 extension arms, especially from guys making a living with their MFT? I use them but my situation may be unique.

Thanks,

RMW