Ripping long narrow rough stock

[Les]

Any piece under 5" wide cannot be clamped using  the Festool F style clamps. I had a rough piece of cherry 4 1/4" wide x 7' long. I needed to rip this to obtain 2 pieces 2" wide. Since it had a fair size bow, I couldn't just lay the rail on it and rip.

In the below pic you can see the F style clamp cannot reach the board for clamping. Behind the F clamp and on the far end are clamps I made using Woodpeckers clamp, 1-4/20 all thread and a steel foot. The foot is the same height and width as the rail connectors. I made a trim cut on first edge in this setup.

Better pic of clamp

Now to rip to 2".

After 2" rip cut.

 

[John Stevens]

Thanks, Les--I always assumed that clamps like that wouldn't grip well enough, but now I know I was wrong.  You must've shouted EUREKA when your plan worked...or something to that effect. 

BTW, your timing was just right, because today I received my first set of four of Incra's new clamps, the ones that look like they're CNC'd out of billet.

Regards,

John

 

[Les]

John as you know, it doesn't take a lot of pressure to secure the rail to the stock so I didn't have to worry about distorting the rail.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

    Very slick idea 8)  I have those same clamps and will file this for future use.

Seth

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Thanks Les, where did you get the foot from?  Did you make it?

 

[Eli]

Nice workaround.

 

[Les]

Thanks Les, where did you get the foot from?  Did you make it?

Yes it is made from 1/4" x 1/2" steel.

 

[Warrior]

Les,

Doesnt the piece get clamped out of square to the blade? especially since the rail rests on the rubber strips and the thicker sections of the rail next to the strips?

Eiji

 

[Les]

Les,

Doesnt the piece get clamped out of square to the blade? especially since the rail rests on the rubber strips and the thicker sections of the rail next to the strips?

Eiji

No I don't believe it was. If you look at pic below hopefully you can see it looks to be flat against the rail. I softly tighten the clamps. You only need enough pressure to keep the rail from moving. Since the piece was rough stock, not planed flat, it really doesn't matter since I was trying to save it because of the bow. Final cutting didn't happen until after I planed the ripped pieces.

 

[semenza]

Thanks Les, where did you get the foot from?  Did you make it?

Yes it is made from 1/4" x 1/2" steel.

Hi,

    An  extra hole drilled near one end of a guide rail connector would work too.

Seth

 

[Les]

Thanks Les, where did you get the foot from?  Did you make it?

Yes it is made from 1/4" x 1/2" steel.

Hi,

     An   extra hole drilled near one end of a guide rail connector would work too.

Seth

You really could just use the guide rail connector by removing one of the screws and replacing with metric threaded rod. Use a a lock nut to make sure the all thread isn't able to screw into the rail.

 

[John Stevens]

Thanks Les, where did you get the foot from?  Did you make it?

Just wanted to say that I've made some things like this from oak, with a hole drilled and tapped for a 1/4 -20 bolt.  I don't use them much, but so far they've worked fine, much better at holding the bolt than you might think.  I've never feared stripping them, and I'm pretty ham-handed.

Regards,

John

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Thanks, Les, for a great workaround.  My past solution was to place additional boards of the the same thickness behind the narrow board to be cut, all of them on a flat surface such as an old flat panel door, with foamboard on top.  I could then clamp everything down at the ends of the support table.  Of course, if you don't have additional boards of the same thickness, my suggested approach won't work.  Likewise, bowed stock to be cut may cause problems.

I second the comments regarding cutting machine bolt-type threads in hardwood such as maple or walnut.  I use this approach frequently to make jigs and accessories.  I have never had a problem with the machine bolt threads pulling out.

For the "nuts" you might also be able to use the elongated nuts that are used as stops for mounting the Guide Rail cross-cut fence mechanism on an MFT.  I ordered several extras of these nuts and have a stock of washers and ?6mm? metric machine screws and bolts in various lengths to fit.

Dave R.