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Thread: 1/16" strips needed

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  1. #1
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    1/16" strips needed

    I want to cut 1/16" strips for a project and I need lots of them and in different woods. I want to use my tablesaw for it is the most accurate saw I own. The Bandsaw does not have the right blades. I am looking for a jig of some sort that would be safe to use to cut these strips without having to move the fence after each cut. I have done those that way but the accuracy is just not there. I need dead accuracy. Anyone have a jig they would be willing to share??? Thanks
    John T.

  2. #2
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    I would make a thick push block out of 2x4 with a wooden dowel stuck in it for a handle, and a shoe hanging down the backside. Keep the blade low, and run the push block right over it with the fence at 1/16th. Insert a short splitter (store bought or home made) into the blade insert for added safety.

    Rick Potter

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Potter View Post
    I would make a thick push block out of 2x4 with a wooden dowel stuck in it for a handle, and a shoe hanging down the backside. Keep the blade low, and run the push block right over it with the fence at 1/16th. Insert a short splitter (store bought or home made) into the blade insert for added safety.
    Ditto, but I just make these as needed and throw them away after they have a couple of grooves - 30 seconds at the bandsaw with a piece of scrap gives you a fast and safe pusher that lets you power through repetitive ripping like this. 1/16" is so thin that a bigger push block would just be in the way. I just noticed that I need to talk to my employee about blade height!


    JR

  4. #4
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    Have you thought of a jig like this...

    http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...6&site=ROCKLER

    I know you said you don't want to move the fence but this seems to do the trick.

  5. #5
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    I do the same as Rick and JR, moving the fence just does't make any sense at all to me. Set the fence once, use a zero clearance insert, and you can rip hundreds, if not thousands of those strips safely and without trying to re-invent the wheel.

    good luck,
    JeffD

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Cuetara View Post
    Have you thought of a jig like this...

    http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...6&site=ROCKLER

    I know you said you don't want to move the fence but this seems to do the trick.
    That is what I use.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ole Anderson View Post
    That is what I use.
    +1, though Prashun's post looks interesting.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
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  8. #8
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    I have the Rockler jig, and it works very well. Whether or not you get a smooth surface depends on your blade. With a WW II, a Freud Fusion, or a Ridge Carbide I get very smooth surfaces that need just a touch with 180-grit sandpaper.

  9. #9
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    The Incra TS LS positioner based rip fence seems to do this job in moments to within a few thou. Take a look at the demo of doing this job at 0.58 on the video at the bottom of this page: http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCR..._p/ls52-ts.htm

    ian

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by ian maybury View Post
    The Incra TS LS positioner based rip fence seems to do this job in moments to within a few thou. Take a look at the demo of doing this job at 0.58 on the video at the bottom of this page: http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCR..._p/ls52-ts.htm

    ian
    I thought about mentioning this as I love mine but seems a wee bit expensive for a one off, unless you get sold on the concept like I did.

    I did have one other thought. I remembered watching my uncle rip thin strips once on a Unisaur with a Unifence. On the fence you are able to pull the fence back so it just supports the right side until it gets to the far side of the blade so there is little to no chance it gets clogged up in the works. It would be easy to do the same with an auxillary fence that ended just at the trailing edge of the blade. I have never tried this but if I was planning a lot of strips I might well try it.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

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  11. #11
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    OK, I'm a little slow. How does this exactly work? Where do you place the stock in relation to the jig and which side of the blade does the cut piece end up on? Thanks.


    Quote Originally Posted by J.R. Rutter View Post
    Ditto, but I just make these as needed and throw them away after they have a couple of grooves - 30 seconds at the bandsaw with a piece of scrap gives you a fast and safe pusher that lets you power through repetitive ripping like this. 1/16" is so thin that a bigger push block would just be in the way. I just noticed that I need to talk to my employee about blade height!



  12. #12
    The 1/16" piece is on the fence side; so the blade is set 1/16" away from the fence. This 'jig' is really just a push shoe. The rabbet you see in the side is the result of part of the shoe riding over the blade. This insures that the 1/16" piece is fully supported by the shoe and will be pushed thru square to the blade.

    JR's a pro and I am not, so I offer this with due humility:

    A (better?) approach would be to make this shoe wider, so that the blade would cut a kerf in the shoe instead of a rabbet. Having more meat of the shoe on the left side of the blade will a) help push the waste part square thru the cut, and b) provide more stability when the operator pushes down on the piece.

    Also, personally I feel unsafe having a 'handleless' push block as shown in the pic bkz my fingers would be pointed down close to the blade. So, I like better the idea of sticking a dowel or angled handle on the top.

    He also notes that the height of the rabbet reveals that his user might have the blade set unnecessarily high. Setting it much higher than the height of the target piece means more blade buried in the block, which increases the chances for contact and kickback. On a thru cut people might prefer more blade height, which can actually decrease the probability of kickback by changing the angle of incidence at the cut. But the push block makes this a non-thru cut, so that point becomes moot, and least-amount-of-blade-above-table trumps for safety here.
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 03-15-2012 at 11:11 AM.

  13. #13
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    Prashun gave a good explanation, but let me add: The shallow rabbet on this block was cut trimming the edge off of an already narrow board where there was not room for fingers between the blade and the fence, and nothing on the outer side of the blade to support a wider shoe. The more common use is harder to see, but if you look closely, there is a slot underneath that shows that this push block was used to cut some 1/2" strips. When you cut narrow strips from a narrow board, a wider push block becomes a liability because there is nothing to support it on the outside. Normally, the blade in my shop is set so that only the carbide is above the wood at top dead center. So the kerf that this cuts through the push block is about 3/8" deep - less if you prefer. The block is high enough that your hand rides along the top of the saw fence, and the block is pinched against the fence. It isn't going anywhere. The length of the block (about 10" or more) lets you put enough down force on the work to prevent any chatter. If you have to push hard to get stock through the saw, or hold the work down, then slow down and/or sharpen your blade.
    JR

  14. #14
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    If you are going for exactitude and uniformity then JRs method is easily the best. Moving the fence with each cut is super time consuming and error prone especially if your blade is something like 5/64. Try to keep the increments straight with something like that and a 1/18 " strip width and you will go crazy. For short cuts Prashuns idea of using the crosscut sled is easily the best.

  15. #15
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    I cut thin strips on the table saw with the strip falling on the side away from the rip fence. This requires adjusting the fence to leave the 1/16" outside of the blade after every cut.

    I have some switchable magnets and will set one to provide the clearance required. You just adjust the fence and wood to rest against the magnet and then using a push block to make the cut.

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