Thread: Simple SHopmade Crosscut Jig for beginners

Thx for the post Lefty

I hope you follow through with your design and development and post your outcomes...............I'm really interested in how you end up going n hope you get cranking again with it. Heres a few links that you may find handy:

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=howT.../rightNavTools
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product...rings_id=10548
http://www.benchnotes.com/Skillsaw%2..._guide_boa.htm
http://www.sawdustmaking.com/Circula...cular_saws.htm
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...le.asp?id=1104
http://www.backissuestore.com/sn056.html
http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip021129ws.html
http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip040220sn.html

Hope these help

Regards Lou

Thanks for those links Lou,
As usual, they all refer to cutting large sheets of plywood, rather than real timber boards.

Hi Lou,

Well done with your design.
What I think you need to do is take all the ideas onboard and incorporate the ones that suit your requirements. Make sure the improvements work well, and when you're happy with it take the time to build the "perfect" version. Like all great jigs most are preceeded with a pile of prototypes.

Glen.

Gidday all

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread............After some thought what I have decided to do is do a post on another design quite different to the Sled type Jig we have been recently toying round with. Then do a head to head comparison.

Of note is that its Important with the Sled type crosscut Jig as per origionally posted here to make sure that you use matierial that won't move around with changes in humidity etc. I went to do some crosscutting yesterday and found that the sled for my Jig had moved round a bit (To the point that the foot of the circular saw would nor run along the sled. Now i got to do a bit of paring to get her right..................Not a huge Job but nevertheless a pain and inconvienence (Something you dont want from a JIG!!! my fault as i havent yet sealed it with lacquer or shellac)

To address this issue use:

1. Plywood for construction (Considered seasonally stable)
2. When using MDF use Glue Size a 50/50 mixture of PVA and water to seal the MDF and apply a Final finish of Shellac or Lacquer to provide an effective moisture barrier to your Jigs.

What I hope to achieve is a post for a few Jig options for all us newbies that havent got the luxury of owning a table saw or triton. Hopefully together developing an advanced Jig for Crosscutting with a circular saw. So all you would be Jig builders keep on posting

Regards Lou

Lou,

Well, I had 5hours of uninterupted shed time yesterday. Just a pity it was 35 degrees and 50 degrees in the shed. Anyway. I managed to build me a crosscut jig. Sorry I dont have any pictures yet the digicam was out of the house with SWMBO and the little lefty.

Anyhoo, It's basically the same as yours. The front and rear fences are 70x25mm pine. The base is 16mm MDF, but it's much longer than the fences, about 1m in total.

The rails for my GMC platinum saw are two pieces of construction pine. the left rail is 70x30 whiel the rightside one is much wider at 200x30. These were planed perfectly flat and equal thickness.

I screwed the rails onto the fences ad then ran a 12mm wide rebate down both rails for the saw to glide on. I kept deepening this rebate until the saw blade just-just scored the MDF base at full depth (its a 235mm inch saw).

This is where I hit snag. The back fence was screwed at each end. After the first cut it was sawn clean in half allowing it to pivot. I had to painstakingly realign it and screw it down again ad 90degrees.

It work fine for crosscuts perfect 90 degree cuts with the work simply clamped to teh fence. I then tried to cut a small piece 3mm mdf. I couldnt clamp it down and as soon as the saw touch it WHOOSHKA! it was picked up and slammed into the rails. Scared the hoboojeebees out of me.

Ok so now I had to work out a way to keep this type of stock down. I simply put a T-nut in the top of the wider rail and screwed some threaded rod through it with a piece of wood on the end similar to our homemade wonderdogs. Now I know the T-nut should be on hte underside because the clamping action forces it out but it was retro fitted so I had no choice. I had to drill a hole in a small square of mdf and glue it on top of the T-nut to capture it.

Now, safety concerns.
1) The guard lifts nicely when the saw is slid thru but the blade is exposed on the outfeed side. The box-type guard as suggested above would probably be a good simple idea.

2) More worrying though is chance of blade/thumb contact while hold the stock against the fence. For a quick cut you dont bother to clamp and you simply hold the stock with on hand against the fence. In this position my thumb will point towards the blade increasing the likelihood of it being lopped off.

So I need to either ensure that I always clamp the board and use two hands on the saw or create some sort of guard that sits eiter side of the blade and but doesnt get in the way of the stock.

3) Like you I need a place to land the beast so, as my MDF base is over 1m wide I'll make a little cradle to sit my saw with the guard down while it's still spinning. At hte moment it's either lying on it's side of balancing on the end of the bench.

A picture tells a thousand words so I'll post one asap. I was also think of adapting this to ripping. As I said I've tried it before but holding the stock down was the biggest problem..........................

Can't wait to see the pictures Lefty....................check out this link for my circular saw journey to date You might be interested in the docking bay I made for my saw:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=13045

I've come across a few interesting designs for crosscut Jigs and I'll do a post once I knock them up. There are an alternative to the Sled Type design and simpler to construct (I Hope :eek: )

Regards Lou

Gidday Everyone ,

As promised heres another version of a Crosscut Jig for Beginners with a circular hand saw that is easy to make and has the added advantage of being able to cut at 45 degree Angles.

Its made of masonite and a few scraps of Pine............. The guide rails of the Jig are made from laminated masonite and the cleats with Pine.

With this Jig seasonal movement is not an issue shes simple quick and easy to make n most of all allows a dolt like me to get consistant accurate crosscuts!!!

I'll post a few pics of this Jig in action.....................By far the easiest Crosscut Jig to use and make that I have come across to Date!!!!...............ENJOY!!!!!!

REgards Lou

And here's some results after doing 90 degree crosscuts on some scrap

REgards Lou

hi all,

thanks for the great ideas, I though I'd post a few pics of my sled type jig which used the same basic idea I found on this thread (thanks Lou).

I initially tried cross cuts using a sawboard but found it didn't give enough accuracy - the saw would tend to tip because of the big motor hanging off the side, and there was basically too much room for error to trust the jig for those big jobs.

I used aluminium angle for the rails, and it works really well - it slides smooth and straight, as you can see from the pics of the end result.

The base and sides are particle board, and the rails under the aluminium angle are scrap hardwood.

The jig is slightly shallower than was intended - only 40mm, but if I need to I can always clamp a thicker board (up to about 50mm) on the outside of the sled's side wall.

One big tip for others making similar jigs - your saw should have a small adjusting screw which lets you set the angle of the blade to the base plate - all my cuts were off until I figured this out.

One more plus, i found a use for the hopelessly-out -of alignment red eye laser! I use the first .000001mm of beam in front of the baseplate that actually matches the cut location, to line up the work while I'm clamping it. Works a charm.

This post has my version of the EZ smart guide, and several others.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...&highlight=jig

As with most others recomendation I would put the piece being cut at the back fence. The same cutting action as you get on a SCMS, and the Triton in crosscut mode.

Onte thing you might want to also get your hands on is a proper crosscut blade (the ones used in SCMS for example). The reason for this is that the teeth will actually pust the material against the fance and down so the bugger doesn't kick up at you. Not only is this safer, but also yeilds a better cut and it requires much much less force to hold the wood to be cut all nice and steady.

Ciao,

M.