Bevel Ripping Guide

[BarryBurgess]

I have the rain today to save us from losing the cricket so I went into the workshop to try my Bevel Ripping Guide(BRA200) that I have had for 6 months and have not used it.
With the short pieces of MDF after a couple of cuts I got the hang of it but with longer (1000mm) pieces I have had to cut them twice- what am I doing wrong and are there any other tips out there.
Thanks
Barry

[Gumby]

Barry, I note a few looks at this question but no replies. Can you elaborate on your problem?

I assume you are using the sliding mitre gauge with the small pieces so there are no problems with them. The longer ones, why do you need to cut them twice ? Is it an issue with the way you are feeding the timber. There is a decent gap as the timber leaves the support bracket and passes the blade. Then it sits back on the support brackets behind the blade. You must have those support brackets adjusted so that the front one is immediately in front of the blade (almost touching) and the same with the rear one.

You have to be careful here that you don't put any downward pressure on the timber while it is in this unsupported section. Keep pressuse on the timber in front of the blade and then transfer that pressure to the after blade sections when it's past the half way point.

It isn't easy to describe.

I hope this makes sense, I read it back and I have no idea what it means

[Ausworkshop]

If Your Trying To Get A Consistant Angle?
I find that by sliding on its edge a good straight steel rule (the longer the better) along the aluminium bracket fence thingys with the blade out of the road then you can hear if the end of the rule hits the back bracket as it goes through. Its probably either hitting a little (rear bracket too high) or its missing it all together & there is a gap between your ruler and the aluminium (rear bracket too low). Fix by aligning the aluminium perfectly paralel to your ruler edge as well & you should find it cuts alot better. Also check to make sure its perfectly paralel to the blade as this can also cause tear out or under cutting & teeth marks.

Because of the increased surface area of cut with Bevel ripping, sharp blades and correct pass through speed are also very important factors.
Also, with large timber stock don't put any downward pressure on the timber, just let it stay down under its own weight and glide the peice through in a consistant horizonal movement.

I hope this has helped a bit, took me a while to set mine up but seems to be cutting nice now.

[BarryBurgess]

Gumby I will adjust the rails as you suggested.
What I found with the long (2440mm/8' by 300mm) pieces especially with 18mm plywood was not cut consistant as I was not applying pressure correctly and I was feeding too slowly as I was getting saw burn.
I found that passing the timber through again I got better results as the saw had less work to do and got the cut consistant.

Andrew if I applied no pressure as you suggested the timber just lifted.

[Gumby]

Gumby I will adjust the rails as you suggested.

It sounds to me like that will solve the problem then. Plus a bit of practice. It's not an easy one to master and always frightened the living crap out of me. You can get very close to that blade. :eek: Take it very carefully.

Our latest newsletter has a section and photos of our last meeting where Brian used the guide to make a compound mitre frame. Worth a look.

www.tritonwoodworkers.org.au

[BarryBurgess]

It's not an easy one to master and always frightened the living crap out of me. You can get very close to that blade. :eek: Take it very carefully.

Gumby it is also giving me a fright and am tempted to try the GRR-Ripper to keep my hand away from the blade. I have also removed the saw guard to get a good look at the cutting edge

Our latest newsletter has a section and photos of our last meeting where Brian used the guide to make a compound mitre frame. Worth a look.

www.tritonwoodworkers.org.au

Which newsletter? -could not find it
Thanks
Barry

[Gumby]

The Grr-ripper won't be any good on the ripping guide. It has to travel over the exposed blade and on an angle, I can't see how it could.

Mind you, the Grr-ripper is a great little tool anyway, get one.

The newsletter, um, well,.....sorry about that . I'mn still in the process of writing it

I got confused because the one I'm doing sort of sticks in my brain as the current one. It's the August edition and should be out in a week or so. Sorry about that.

[doug the slug]

You can get very close to that blade. :eek: Take it very carefully.

I, too have found myself with my fingers dangerously close to the blade when using the bevel ripping guide. its called a ripping guide yet there seems to be more workpiece support options for crosscutting (inserting the tablesaw protractor into the upper slot or the 6mm mdf with sandpapar on it in the lower slot that george shows on the dvd ) and even gumby's beloved grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrippers dont seem to be able to help. it is too easy to let the workpiece drop a bit as it passes over the gap in the support for the sawblade and hit the other end particularly with short pieces. i have usually resigned myself to cutting a longer piece than what i need and docking it to length later. a waste of material sometimes but ive still got all my fingers.

Doug

[Sturdee]

I, too have found myself with my fingers dangerously close to the blade when using the bevel ripping guide.
Doug

Ofcourse, if you build the jigs recommended in the Triton manual for the bevel ripping guide your fingers will be kept a safe distance from the saw blade when cutting smaller pieces.

Peter.

[Gumby]

Ofcourse, if you build the jigs recommended in the Triton manual for the bevel ripping guide your fingers will be kept a safe distance from the saw blade when cutting smaller pieces.

Peter.

It comes with a manual ??? I must get around to reading that......ooops too late, I've sold it.

[BarryBurgess]

Ofcourse, if you build the jigs recommended in the Triton manual for the bevel ripping guide your fingers will be kept a safe distance from the saw blade when cutting smaller pieces.

Peter
It might be great for very small pieces but if you are doing a piece of 200/250mm and longer than a 1000mm your fingers get very close and you have to keep your mind on the job in hand.
Barry

[BarryBurgess]

After about 2 hours of use of the bevel guide I am improving but the long pieces are not up to standard(1600mm X300mm doing the 300mm end).
What I was wondering, as I have a Maxi table shared between my 2 WC one with the router top in it, if using a chamfer 45 degree cutter would product better results??
The 1/2" shank go for between $70Aus to $120(in UK),depending on depth, so it could be a costly experiement.
Thanks
Barry

[Gumby]

Given the size of the pieces Barry, I can see where you'd have trouble doing the short end on the ripping guide. I think a decent 45 degree bit in the router would be the go. I have the Triton starter set of 3 bits, one being the bevel cutter. I have used it often with good results (as long as you are aware of the uneven bumps in the router table top of course). Take shallow passes, not all at once and do the end grain cuts first.

[TritonJapan]

For timber of this size, in the maxi extension table, I think you could fairly safely remove the insert ring to give you a smoother passage past the bit.

[BarryBurgess]

Thanks Gumby & TritonJapan I will order the bevel trim cutter and give it a try