Thread: Crosscutting with a slider's rip fence

Derek, using a short piece of rip fence will remove the need to move the rip fence for clearance and takes away the need to remove the overhead guard.

K3 DRO 1.jpg

Chris, of course you are correct. I could have swapped out the fence from my bandsaw (also Hammer), which is short, but I was lazy here (I had just used the rip fence to size two panels and it was set up with the JessEm guide). I reasoned that there was not much extra effort in pulling back the fence as the next cut would require a fresh set up (dimension) anyway.

Rather than use the short fence from my bandsaw, which is set up with a subfence, a quarter-length rip fence would be handy for this task. Anywhere to get this cheaply?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Derek, using a short piece of rip fence will remove the need to move the rip fence for clearance and takes away the need to remove the overhead guard.

Another alternative if you only have a full length fence is to temporarily fix a short "spacer" of timber to the fence; with normal fence graduations you have to add/remove as required the spacer thickness but if you're fortunate enough to have a DRO you simply zero it.

Thanks for clearly showing the importance of moving the fence out of the way; at my guild we used to have a Jet 12" table saw fitted with a slider and a depressingly large number of "experienced" users saw no issue with using the fence as a fixed stop; even when the blade grabbed the workpiece... We upgraded to a 14" SawStop which thankfully doesn't have a slider. On a similar theme SCMS are also often incorrectly used with fixed stop blocks for repeat cuts; I teach members to always use a simple stick as a temporary spacer between the stop block and the end of the workpiece to allow the cut off piece some space to move into.

Below are a couple of Snippits from two Guild training manuals I wrote showing both of these methods:
Fence spacer.jpg

SCMS spacer.jpg

Derek, cut 200mm off the end of your rip fence, it is way too long anyway so being shorter by 200mm will not present any problems. This pic clearly shows the length of mine.

K3_DRO_Housing.jpg

Cant you just slide the fence back clear of the blade? Most that I've seen work this way.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Derek, cut 200mm off the end of your rip fence, it is way too long anyway so being shorter by 299mm will not present any problems. This pic clearly shows the length of mine.

K3_DRO_Housing.jpg

Hi Chris

I use the full length of the rip fence. You may recall that I recently posted that the router fence is now connected to the rear of the rip fence (to take advantage of the micro adjust/DRO on the rip fence) ...



This removable, but the rip fence length is necessary ...






This really is a terrific modification.

I could use the bandsaw fence, which is 500mm long (so perfect length), however then the bandsaw is not available, plus there is a subfence on here that gets used for resawing and generally everything needing a fence (watch FWW magazine - they requested to publish the design as a shoptip) ...



Consequently, a spare short fence would be preferred.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by wood spirit

Cant you just slide the fence back clear of the blade? Most that I've seen work this way.

WS, this sound logical ... until you experience sliding back a 1200mm fence. It becomes cumbersome.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Another alternative if you only have a full length fence is to temporarily fix a short "spacer" of timber to the fence; with normal fence graduations you have to add/remove as required the spacer thickness but if you're fortunate enough to have a DRO you simply zero it.

Thanks for clearly showing the importance of moving the fence out of the way; at my guild we used to have a Jet 12" table saw fitted with a slider and a depressingly large number of "experienced" users saw no issue with using the fence as a fixed stop; even when the blade grabbed the workpiece... We upgraded to a 14" SawStop which thankfully doesn't have a slider. On a similar theme SCMS are also often incorrectly used with fixed stop blocks for repeat cuts; I teach members to always use a simple stick as a temporary spacer between the stop block and the end of the workpiece to allow the cut off piece some space to move into.

Below are a couple of Snippits from two Guild training manuals I wrote showing both of these methods:
Fence spacer.jpg

SCMS spacer.jpg

Thanks CT. These issues are even more of a problem when (a) users remove the blade guard, and (b) do not have a riving knife. There is a serious chance of the workpiece being pushed away from the fence and touching the rear of the blade. Instant kickback!!

I did consider a spacer block, and even experimented with a few designs. The spacer block needs to be clamped securely to the fence, otherwise it loses reliability when measuring with the DRO (which can be set to account for the thickness of the spacer). The problem comes in with the profile of the fence, which makes clamping anything to it difficult.

mmm ... as I write this, I recall making a fixture which had to be shaped to fit the profile. I will see if this can be utilised. More later.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

WS, this sound logical ... until you experience sliding back a 1200mm fence. It becomes cumbersome.

Regards from Perth

Derek

That is the exact reason I put a short fence on about a week after I bought the saw. I believe Felder sell a 500mm version as well to overcome the problem.

I also used a spacer as an experiment but it was a vertical round bar bolted to the fence and the fence could be moved to allow the post to be used as a spacer and the fence moved when it was not required. The problem then is the DRO/tape can only be calibrated to one position. A second DRO could be set up for both positions but I think that is getting into the ridiculous area unless it was in a production environment where doing that would actually be beneficial and not a bad idea at all.

trying to work out how this is any different to a normal table saw using a mitre gauge?

Originally Posted by havabeer69

trying to work out how this is any different to a normal table saw using a mitre gauge?

Do you think that you could crosscut this panel using a mitre gauge?



Regards from Perth

Derek

Sliders are great and supremely accurate at cutting carcase tops and sides to length and square. Specially using the flip stop. How long does the measuring bar go Derek ?
Can you extend it if you have to? Or how long does yours cut up to with the flip stop?

And whats that timber your using ?

Rob

Hi Derek,

Just curious, what timber panel is that?.

Originally Posted by auscab

Sliders are great and supremely accurate at cutting carcase tops and sides to length and square. Specially using the flip stop. How long does the measuring bar go Derek ?
Can you extend it if you have to? Or how long does yours cut up to with the flip stop?

And whats that timber your using ?

Rob

Hi Rob

The crosscut fence is 950mm wide. Mine is not extendable. I have built an extension, but may get the Felder version, which is the real deal.

The timber is a cheat on my part. My local Bunnings sell glulam panels they state as Okoume, which the Wood Database reports is a hardwood from Gabon. It feels like a straight- and finer grained softwood to me. It comes sealed in plastic, looks straight and flat, and importantly is cheap. It is flat enough to cut up and then remove any slight cupping (which is minimal).

I thought that I would give it a go and see what it is like. After all, I am only building a pair of nightstands for a spare bedroom. I do want them to look decent, so shall be testing the wood all the way.

Regards from Perth

Derek