Simple Fence for ripping small strips

[Jesse Cloud]

Hesitated to post this as its so simple, but lots of folks seem to be looking for a way to cut small strips with the saw.  This is just a piece of aluminum angle from the Home Disappointment store held onto the MFT extrusions by a couple of bolts that pass through holes drilled in the aluminum.  Easiest way to position it is to place a piece of scrap on the mft, saw a shallow kerf, then measure the desired distance from the kerf.  Once its set up, simply place your workpiece against the new fence and let her rip.  Each piece will be precisely the same width.  And best of all, it cost about $3 and ten minutes worth of labor to make it.
[attachthumb=#1]

 

[Eli]

That's great Jesse, do the offcuts ever shoot out the front?

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Good catch Eli!  I did have a couple start to travel, but by then the saw was far enough along that I could safely put a finger on the offcut.

 

[eweber]

Thanks Jesse, Nice tip.

 

[clintholeman]

I like this one!

Elegant simplicity!  Gotta make the run to get the stuff.

 

[Hergy]

Why not just use the longitudinal stop that came with your MFT? Once your distance is set the stop can be flipped up and out of the way, eliminating any chance of trapping the material. I assume this comes with every MFT, mine did. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's part #488 564.

 

[gkeas]

Why not just use the longitudinal stop that came with your MFT? Once your distance is set the stop can be flipped up and out of the way, eliminating any chance of trapping the material. I assume this comes with every MFT, mine did. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's part #488 564.

Not sure of the part #, but my LA cost $37 US.  I would think you would need 2 of these to keep the work piece square to the guide rail.

 

[Eli]

It would do the same thing Hergy, I would think you'd need two (not sure how many you have Garry), and it does not come with the table (unless it was a special deal).

How cool would it be to have another rail mounted low on the offcut side. Once set, it would be square, held front and back and able to flip out of the way as well. Extravagant, but cool. Maybe an extra set of hinges for an LR-SYS rail, so there's less gear overlap.

 

[Tinker]

Why not just use the longitudinal stop that came with your MFT? Once your distance is set the stop can be flipped up and out of the way, eliminating any chance of trapping the material. I assume this comes with every MFT, mine did. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's part #488 564.

This whole discussion is a great idea.

i have both the MFT 1080 and the 800.  Mostly, i use the 1080 and the guide bar for the 800 remains on the shelf unused.  i have tried several methods for ripping short, narrow strips and this discussion has given some good ideas.  I think that extra guide bar with its flip stop will now be put to good use. 

thanks guys

Tinker

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Why not just use the longitudinal stop that came with your MFT? Once your distance is set the stop can be flipped up and out of the way, eliminating any chance of trapping the material. I assume this comes with every MFT, mine did. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's part #488 564.

The longitudinal stop would work mostly, but the idea is to have a large piece from which you cut many small strips.  As the original piece gets smaller, there is not much of the mft fence left to provide a reference for squaring.  Trapping the pieces, unlike on a table saw, is not a problem.

Love the multiple guide rail idea!

Love that MFT.  I'm taking a class in which we are making a Krenov style coopered cabinet.  There was a discussion on how to safely but accurately cut a curved door on a tablesaw or bandsaw.  I just quietly thought to myself, this door is getting cut on my MFT with the TS55, no problem.  Next step is to make a sanding pad for the LS 130 with the concave curve in it, should save a lot of time!! 

 

[Hergy]

I  was wrong to assume that the longitudinal stop came with the table. Mine did, so it must have been a special promotion. I got my table about 3 years ago. As far as needing 2 stops, I have found that this is not necessary. By keeping the work tight against the horizontal rail, you are assuring squareness (assuming your table is set up properly). The workpiece is not going to move any more than it would with any other kind of cut since the pressure is downward on the rail. The purpose of the longitudinal stop is not to promote squareness, it's just a positioning stop. I also don't like the idea of having the cutoff "trapped" even though the chance of kickback may be low. I guess this comes from the way I have become accustomed to working with my TS over the years.

My order of work would be something like this:

1. First, use some scrap to set up your cut (width).
2. Lift the rail and slide your workpiece up to the longitudinal stop while keeping the workpiece tight to the horizontal rail.
3. Drop the rail and make your cut. I have found that it is not necessary to keep the longitudinal stop in place while making the cut.
4. Go back to step 2 and keep repeating etc. etc. till you've got the number of pieces you need.

Hope this makes sense. As always YMMV.

 

[Eli]

Why not just use the longitudinal stop that came with your MFT? Once your distance is set the stop can be flipped up and out of the way, eliminating any chance of trapping the material. I assume this comes with every MFT, mine did. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's part #488 564.

I think that extra guide bar with its flip stop will now be put to good use. 
thanks guys

Tinker

Extra fence, or guide rail? Another fence could be rigged the same way, maybe the flip stop could keep the offcut from moving forward when cut.

I was planning on getting another 1080, maybe I'll get it complete with another guide rail. I was thinking, if you were to build a wooden auxiliary fence with some registration dowels, you could butt it right up to the aluminium one under the proper rail and cut right through it for your first thin strip. That should keep subsequent strips from shooting out the front of the cut.

 

[Tinker]

I did some fooling around today to see how the above idea would work.  I had thought at first the idea of having a fence out in front of the guide rail was a great idea.  Before today, i had experimented with an oposite proceedure using the MFS.

In that method, I set a narrow piece of wood same thickness as what I would be cutting.  That went directly against the guide bar.  This extends a little into open space beyond where the saw blade will go, thus getting cut off by blade with very first cut.  The purpose will be more obvious later.

Next, i placed the squared MFS against that strip of wood. This is place square to the guidebar/strip of wood combination.  The MFS is placed exactly at the distance from rubber edge of guide rail as what i want the ripped strips to be.  (I was able to rip repeatedly at about 3/32nds of an inch in this way)

When i placed the wide board to be cut into thin strips, the uncut board is fully exposed with only the keeper piece under the guide bar.  That thin a strip could create all sorts of havoc if there is no way to keep it contained.  I do not think it would remain stable if it were not contained some how.  that is where that thin strip against the guide bar comes into play. It becomes a stop to prevent slipping or becoming a projectile.  Not very desirable, even tho the direction of flight would be away from operator.  Since the thin strip gets cut at exactly the point of saw cut, it will always be there to contain each cutoff piece. 

I did not run my experiments to see how thin a piece I could work with on the uncut (fingers) side.

I think this method will work better than to keep the dimensioned pieces to the outside of the saw cut.  There is less moving of the guide rail to give enough room for setup each time.  There is always a piece of wood to the outside of the sawblade that is "free", that being the undimensioned piece of wood.  (I did not search, but I think John Lucas used much this same method with some wider cuts in one of his demos.  If so, that is pretty much where I got the idea, I just cut a whole lot thinner than he showed)

I was able to rip 6 pieces exactly equal in thickness. I did not cut any more from the piece of wood, as the uncut piece that remained was still wide enough for a future project.

Using this method, i do not have to figure how to contain the cutoff piece that is outside of the saw blade. For me, i find this to work better.

One of these days, I will get around to attacking the problem of installing pics with a post such as this.

Tinker

 

[Eli]

I like the sound of it. It was hard to get without several readings without pics. When you do get them, edit them right into this post and save yourself some writing.

Even one picture @ 5 o'clock low showing the TS55, guide rail, MFS, offcut (which is actually inside under the guide rail if I get you), and back fence.

 

[gkeas]

Forgive my ignorance,  but could the parallel guide (edge guide) be uses in conjunction with the guide rail?  Seems like this would be another viable alternative, if it can.  (a stop placed at the end of the cut could prevent the kickout?)

 

[Tinker]

I like the sound of it. It was hard to get without several readings without pics. When you do get them, edit them right into this post and save yourself some writing.

Even one picture @ 5 o'clock low showing the TS55, guide rail, MFS, offcut (which is actually inside under the guide rail if I get you), and back fence.

I think you have the idea.  Right now i am in my busy season trying to beat the closing in of wintry weather.  Once I'm back to normal wear & tear, I'll find time to fool around with the pics. 

Tinker

 

[Eli]

Forgive my ignorance,  but could the parallel guide (edge guide) be uses in conjunction with the guide rail?  Seems like this would be another viable alternative, if it can.  (a stop placed at the end of the cut could prevent the kickout?)

Yes? Not sure exactly which pieces parts you're talking about. Try it out, post a pic.

 

[Tinker]

Forgive my ignorance,  but could the parallel guide (edge guide) be uses in conjunction with the guide rail?  Seems like this would be another viable alternative, if it can.  (a stop placed at the end of the cut could prevent the kickout?)

Yes? Not sure exactly which pieces parts you're talking about. Try it out, post a pic.

actually, you do not need the MFS to line up for square.  A stright piece of wood under the guidebar will suffice.  I just never can find a scrap to meet my purposes.  I leave my MFS jig parts set up in parallelogram at all times so all i had to do is grab it.  that in itself makes that item worth the cost in time saved not looking/searching for just the right scraps.

I have tough day ahead. since I am a veteran, i will have to work twice as hard.  I'll see what i can do with pics at end of day if i don't collapse.  There must be more of something in a day these days.  When i was 38, i could go round the clock and be ready for more of same.  Now I'm 39 (for the 38th time) I can't even look at the clock without wanting to fall over.  BUT, for you, my friend, I'll give it the old college try  8)

My problem with the pics is like with a friend of mine.  He is about the same age as me and one day he called to ask me if I knew anybody who could help him solve a problem with his computer.  He told me he is "technologically challenged" meaning he was in the same situation as I.  He knows how to punch the keys and that is about it.  I was doing a job (landscaping project) for him and i told him my son was going to be working there later in the day.  "Don't ask David.  He's only a little ahead of me in that area.  He will have his 8 year old son with him.  Ask him." 

Tinker

 

[Eli]

You old coot. Go to bed!  ;D

I was telling Garry to post pics, I wasn't trying to force you to do anything. Now I feel bad.

 

[Tinker]

You old coot. Go to bed!  ;D

I was telling Garry to post pics, I wasn't trying to force you to do anything. Now I feel bad.

Hey, are you still on USA time?  I was waiting for B&E's to cook (breakfast) when i last replied.  Just cause you and I live right next door to each other doesn't mean we are on same time schedule.  Just because you want to sleep all day doesn't mean the rest of us don't find something to do. 

Actually, i get the help started on the job, THEN go to sleep under a tree and wait for the leaves to come to me  8)

Tinker