Thread: Hold down for sliding table saw to grip stock

Have you made a Frits & Franz jig? There are lots of variations on the theme so look around YT, I think the RUWI version is based on the original which was two bits of wood with a handle and rubber facing strip on the grip faces.



The original version

Thanks Chris. Yes, I have made the Fritz and Franz jig and use it all the time; can't imagine being without it now.
The RUWI idea seems to add another level of functionality and safety especially with angles.

I've been tinkering with my own version of the RUWI for a bit. Interrupted by the need to sort out the workshop floor.

Prototyping with whatever I had lying about - ply with recycled hardwood faces.

Ruwi jig parts.jpg

The clamp is currently a piece of pine dowel with a coach bolt through the middle. I'll redo this in tas oak dowel now that I know it works. Coach bolt ground to fit through the slider slot, rotate and then tighten. This means you can insert it anywhere along the slider, rather than needing to slide it into the slot from with end. The hardwood angled bit clamped in the jig will be the horizontal member for the eccentric clamping mechanism - another coach bolt to go in the end to form the clamp.

And of course, I needed the jig to make the jig bits!

Refinements needed... sandpaper to faces to limit slip; bit of work on the clamp to limit rotation of the bolt when tightening; probably a slot guide in one of the pieces to make it easy to clamp square - at the moment I use the crosscut fence to square the jig.

jig makes jig 2.jpg jig makes jig.jpg clamp open.jpg clamp.jpg clamped.jpg unclamped.jpg

Cleverly implemented resolution Bernmc! The main feature of RUWI is the ease of putting it on and off the sliding table. I like the way you have done it.

There are a few issues to be aware of when building an F&F jig.

After watching the first video Chris linked (by Wood Be), I note that the slider wagon in use has two slots running along its length. Mine is a Hammer and has a single slot. The issue here is that the twin slotted slider part of the F&F jig is not going to twist. The advantage of this is, of course, rigidity, but also that the zero clearance edge remains just that (which is important in my opinion).

There is a second factor here, with the RUWI-style in mind: as it twists to the side for angles, so it loses the zero clearance ability.

I think that there are better ways of cutting angles than with a F&F jig .... and to be cynical, how often does one do this anyway .... as soon as you create a Jack-of-all-Trades tool, it loses precision in specific areas.

The first better way is to simply use your crosscut fence at the angle you need, and the work piece is secured with an end stop (and perhaps a hold down).

The second way is to use a dedicated mitre gauge, which can be set to the blade ...


I have just purchased an iGaging digital protractor for setting specific angles. There are lots of work-arounds for this.

Another factor is that my K3 slider is a short stroke, which means that the crosscut fence is at the near side. This does change the game from those longer slider wagons with fences at the far end. For one, there is less real estate, which means narrower F&F parts, and this is less stability. The second is that one has to pull the work piece into the fence, rather than push it. This is more difficult. At the start I built a traditional F&F and set up a fence at the far end of the wagon. It was clumsy and required being set up each time. As a result, I re-designed the concept and reversed the F&F. The knob on the far end twists and clamps this section to the table so that it cannot move (I wish there were double slots for extra stability) ...


Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks for your comments Derek. As you say, there are other ways to achieve angled cuts especially when accuracy is paramount.
My interest is in speed and convenience most of the time rather than out and out accuracy. I also have a short format table (Holz Profi 1.2m, 2 slots in the slider). The F&F jig (fixed 90 degree) remains on the slider most of the time and functions as a short crosscut fence. The crosscut outrigger is removed most of the time due to available space; when it is on the saw I use it at the other end of the slider than your setup.

McJings sell them, check their website

I just looked on Mc Jing but couldn't find it. Many of the item on their website didn't load pictures for me. Could you give me the link please?