Jig Knobs, Hand Wheels, Levelling Feet & other accessories

[Pantherx]

Have been hunting around for good suppliers in Sydney for bits & pieces for jigs - mainly knobs used by our members in these forums. Came across this supplier & found all sorts of stuff woodies could possibly use......................

http://www.dana-ridge.com.au/

New South Wales
----------------------
Dana-Ridge Pty Ltd
Chipping Norton
NSW, 2170
Australia

Ph: (02) 9725 6155
OPENING HOURS:

MON 08:30 AM to 05:00 PM
TUE 08:30 AM to 05:00 PM
WED 08:30 AM to 05:00 PM
THU 08:30 AM to 05:00 PM
FRI 08:30 AM to 05:00 PM

Queensland
---------------

Dana-Ridge Pty Ltd
31 Ferry Road
West End, Brisbane.
Queensland, Australia 4101.

Phone: +61 (07) 3844 7888
Fax: +61 (07) 3844 9902

Freecall (AUS): 1800 806 316 For Australian Customers outside of Brisbane.
Freecall (NZ): 0800 944 788 For New Zealand Customers.

Going to give them a call next week for a catalog & test their shipping capability. Will let you know how I go.

Cheers........................

[DarrylF]

Nice find. Definitely let us know - I was about to order a bunch of handles, knobs etc for jigs & so on from Rockler. Much rather get them local.

[Driver]

Good find, Pantherx. Thanks for the tip. Interested to see how you go with the catalogue etc.

Regards

Col

[Rocker]

It is good to hear that there is an Australian supplier of knobs, etc., to smarten up our jigs. But I find I can get by with a minimum of hardware which is available at Bunnings. I just use the bits and pieces shown in the picture below: knob with bolt extension, tee-nut, threaded rod, wing nut and lock nut, tap for tapping a 5/16" - 18 thread in wood, and aluminium and polyethelene bars for runners.

[Pablo]

Before I murder several polyethylene cutting boards to make runners for my table-saw jig (see earlier post), what do you guys recommend to cut the polyethylene? Jig-saw? Circular saw? Laser beam?

Cheers

Paul

[Ben from Vic.]

Pablo, try this for cutting your plastic....

http://www.hydro-lazer.com/

The ultimate water-pistol.


Ben :)

[Rocker]

Paul,
It is easy enough to cut the polyethelene on the table saw. You can cut the runners about 1 mm oversize; then lay them on edge on a flat workbench top against a low stop, and plane them to width, checking the width frequently with a caliper. I have found that it pays to cut your own rather than ordering them ready-cut from American suppliers like Lee Valley. The ones I got from them were slightly undersize, and had a sloppy fit in my table-saw slots.

However, I am not sure that polyethelene runners are the way to go for a table-saw sled. Since no glue will stick to them, and they would need to be attached to the sled by screws, it would be hard to fasten them in the correct position to the sled. I believe that hardwood runners, cut so that the growth lines run vertically in the table-saw's slots, are more satisfactory for a sled, since you can place them in the slots with thin laths underneath, so that the runners are about 1 mm proud of the table saw's top; put a bead of glue on the top of the runners and then lower the sled onto them, aligning it by butting the sled against the table saw's fence.

If you want to replace your existing runners, you will need to ensure that the sled's back fence is exactly perpendicular to the saw blade. The usual way to make a sled is to fit its fence after you have attached the runners, and use a carpenter's square to ensure that the fence is fitted perpendicular to the kerf in the sled's base.

You may find it easier to make a new sled, rather than attempting to replace the runners.

Anyway, if you can think of an effective way of attaching polyethelene runners to a table-saw sled, I shall be interested to know how you do it.

[Jarrah]

To keep the poly slider on the sled use csunk screws and regular intervals. If you are worried about not getting them spot on doing this then maybe rout a neat and shallow slot in the sled for them, or make another jig to hold them spot on while you drill and screw.

Cheers

[soundman]

Just as a matter of interest the bolt with a black plastic three winged knob on it is called a "tri wheel" & is commonly used in theatrical lighting.
most commonly in 3/8 ww but also seen in 5/16ww & sometimes 1/4ww.
should be able to obtain from most theatrical lighting suppliers.

Cliff electronics in brisbane also have a knob that takes a 5/16, M8 or similar bolt or nut

you drop the bolt into the body & snap the cap on to retain

very handy