Squaring Melamine & Working myself to death - Suggestions?

[Corwin]

Sorry, but it may be some time before I can take new photos or a video.  But, I am more than happy to help describe how it works further.  It really is not that complicated at all.  The jig uses Incra Tracks as scales that are mounted to the plywood base.  Each Incra Track (the gold parts) has its own stop (in red).  Set the two stops to the same setting on each scale and then place the jig on top of your material.  Position the jig such that each stop is up tight against the edge of your material.  The guide rail will now be parallel to that edge and you can cut your material.  So, if you have set the two stops to 23-1/2", the piece you cut will be 23-1/2" wide. 

My parallel jig is sized to cut down full sized sheet goods.  Unlike the Festool parallel guides, the scales on my jig are set at a fixed distance apart -- I've made this jig 52" in length (along the guide rail).  This size works for cutting down 5'x5' and 4'x8' material very well.  I have a setup on two joined MFTs for making parallel cuts shorter than 52".  You can easily make this jig a different size to suit your needs.

 

[Corwin]

Okay, I'll try another way to explain.  My parallel jig works like the jigs shown in the more parallel guides thread.  On my jig, however, I mount the two scales onto a plywood base, and the guide rail is installed onto that base.  For smaller setups, the guides shown in that other thread are fine.  But handling a longer guide rail is easier with my jig, since you can carry the jig with the guide rail attached rather than carry the guide rail with two scales attached.  Also, since the rail can fold back while you place the jig into position, the rubber strips on the bottom of the guide rail will not interfere with your progress.  Either way, any of these parallel guide setups make far more sense to me than the product that Festool now offers because they all lay on top of your material.  The Festool offering has their scales mounted differently, they sit along the side edges of your material.  Their design seems somewhat problematic, as you have to adjust the position of the scales along the rail for the length of the material, the scales may sag at the far ends and you need to shim your material if it is thinner than the thickness of their scales.  As I see it, the only possible rationale for such a design is to accommodate their Guide Rail Extensions.  These extensions were designed to allow you to cut your material into strips that are narrower than the guide rail by cutting them to the right-hand side of the blade.  Here's were my jig shines.  Since the guide rial is attached with a piano hinge, you can first cut a wider piece, let's use a 24" piece as an example.  To cut 1-1/2" strips, you just set the scales at 25-1/2" and position the jig on that 24" piece and clamp in place.  Now, because of the piano hinge, you can fold the guide rail back and place your material up against the edge of the 24" piece, fold the guide rail back down on top of the material and cut.  Fold back up to remove your new 1/1/2" strip and repeat...  I cannot imagine a better or faster way to make narrow strips with a track saw.  Hope this explains my parallel jig a little better.

 

[rookie08]

  It took me a while but I get it now! [thumbs up]

Thanks Corwin!

 

[Corwin]

You're welcome.      [cool]

 

[Corwin]

I am getting ready to make a story stick for parallel cuts on meamine.  Can anyone explain how to use the incra track for a story stick, two 55 inch rails and the TS55?''

Jim

Jim, 

Many people find it easy to knock two joined rail out of alignment in normal use.  Using joined rails on a two-piece type parallel guide would likely be even more prone to getting knock out of alignment.  The jig I have shown will work fine for joined rails, but since you use the top T-track to connect this jig to the rail(s), you would need to not install the rail connector in the upper T-track and only install the connector in the lower T-track.  This should not be any problem, however, since the two rails will also be attached to the piano hinge and therefor well supported.

 

[hogbiscuit]

Hey Corwin,

Your guide system is awesome!  I have an Incra track I use on my miter saw and it works great.  It has a very positive stop when I push a board against it.  There is no flex to contend with like I have heard the Kreg system has.  Back to the guides.  The piano hinge idea is ingenious.  I didn't get it at first, but after reading your further posts I understand.  I am considering buying the Makita SP6000K and Makita rails, but I also want a guide system.  From what I read the Festool parallel guides won't fit because of the groove on the Makita rail to prevent the saw from tipping while doing bevel cuts.  I don't even know that I would want them even if they did fit.  So, I am looking at making my own guides.  I like your hinge idea for making narrow rip cuts, too.  I didn't understand how that worked either until I read on.  I guess you could keep a 24" or whatever size board on hand for making those narrow rips, huh?  Anywho, I have a couple of questions.  What kind of hardware did you use to connect the hinge to the rail?  How do you handle the slop or play when attaching the guide to the rail each time?  Is there something you use to register the guide to the rail before tightening it down?

Thanks,
Marcus

 

[Corwin]

Hey Corwin,

Your guide system is awesome!  I have an Incra track I use on my miter saw and it works great. It has a very positive stop when I push a board against it.  There is no flex to contend with like I have heard the Kreg system has.  Back to the guides.  The piano hinge idea is ingenious.  I didn't get it at first, but after reading your further posts I understand.  I am considering buying the Makita SP6000K and Makita rails, but I also want a guide system.  From what I read the Festool parallel guides won't fit because of the groove on the Makita rail to prevent the saw from tipping while doing bevel cuts.  I don't even know that I would want them even if they did fit.  So, I am looking at making my own guides.  I like your hinge idea for making narrow rip cuts, too.  I didn't understand how that worked either until I read on.  I guess you could keep a 24" or whatever size board on hand for making those narrow rips, huh?  Anywho, I have a couple of questions.  What kind of hardware did you use to connect the hinge to the rail?  How do you handle the slop or play when attaching the guide to the rail each time?  Is there something you use to register the guide to the rail before tightening it down?

Thanks,
Marcus

Hi Marcus,

Thank you for your complement.  I looked at a diagram of the Makita rails and they look like they should work with the parallel guide I have made.  So, to answer you questions:

• You will need some material the same thickness as the piece you are attempting to rip when that rip will be narrower than the guide rail.  I just used 24" as an example.
  
• The piano hinge I use are 1-1/2" wide.  I use Woodpecker's 13-M010 1/4-20 Rectangular Nuts and 1/4-20 x 3/8" bolts with washers (one washer between each of the 3/8" bolts and the hinge because the bolts were a tad too long) to attach hinge to the guide rail -- needed to drill out the existing holes in the piano hinge for the bolts to fit.
  
• The hinge is attached to the base of the jig such that when folded back 90 degrees (up), the hinge is flush to the edge of the base and nothing hangs over that edge.  I install the hardware (bolts, washers and rectangular nuts) and leave in place on the piano hinge.   When I am ready to mount a guide rail, I place the jig on my cutting table, fold the hinge back and slide the rail onto the rectangular nuts feeding each nut into the rail's T-track as I proceed.  Once I have slid the rail onto all the nuts and have it about centered with the length of the jig, I lay the rail down flat.  I push the guide rail tight to the edge of the jig to remove any slop and hold it snug to the jig as I tighten each of the bolts -- this registers the rail with the jig.  Very quick and easier to do than to describe.

Hope this answers your questions.  Feel free to ask anything further, if needed.  And, please let me know how this works for you.

 

[hogbiscuit]

Thanks Corwin,

That's exactly what I wanted to know.  It might be a while before I put something together, but I will post some pictures if and when I do.  I will most likely make a two piece system so I can use it on varying material lengths and I might try to use Incra t-track plus instead of the tracks to save weight and money.  Thanks again for the info.

Marcus

 

[Corwin]

You're welcome, Marcus.  I also have some of that T-track Plus and some 1" Flip Stops.  These will mount a little differently onto a base, but will also work.  I thought that the Incra Incremental Track and the Shop Stops were too bulky too, at one time, and wanted something smaller and lighter.  But, they really aren't a problem and these parts do work better than anything else I've tried -- the adjustability in the Shop Stops is what really makes this setup easy to make, simple to calibrate and versatile to use.