Board straightening jig

[Dan Kopack]

Has anyone built or know of a jig, for use with a table saw to assist with putting a straight edge on wood stock?

[Malcolm McLeod]

The simplest I know of is to screw a narrow, straight board onto one edge (call it the 'B' edge) of your stock. Locate the screws in waste area at end of stock. This straight board edge overhangs the stock 'B' edge, but leaves the other 'A' edge clear. Then run that board edge against saw fence to trim the 'A' edge of stock.

Remove the board and trim the 'B' edge parallel to now straight 'A'.

trim.jpg

[James Gunning]

What Malcolm suggested will work perfectly. If you don't want to drive screws into your stock, another way is to use a sled. Any type of clamp arrangement can be used to hold the crooked piece to the sled, while the straight edge of the sled runs along the rip fence. Google "Straight Edge Cutting jig" or "cutting crooked lumber on tablesaw". You will find endless videos and photos of how to do it.

[Dan Kopack]

Thank you, will give it a try

[Dan Kopack]

Thanks for advice

[Allan Ferguson]

I have also used a 6' level clamped to the saw fence. Allan

[Jay Aubuchon]

I have used double-sided tape when I didn't want to drive screws into the wood.

[Lee Schierer]

I have also used a 6' level clamped to the saw fence. Allan

I purchased a 6 foot aluminum square tube that I added a stop to one end. I place the aluminum tube against the fence and the board to be trued against the aluminum tube. I use shims to shim the board to be straightened away from the tube to get the grain aligned with the cut as parallel as I can get it. I hold the shims in place against the aluminum tube with painters tape. I can pull the tube and board back of the table adjust the fence to trim the opposite side of the board where I want to make the rip cut and push the board and aluminum tube across the table to make the cut.

[Dan Kopack]

Thank you all

[Bill McNiel]

Track saw works really well

[Cody Colston]

I had to straight-line-rip a bunch of rough-sawn 8' x 4/4 Pine for a ceiling in a utility shed I built. I planed and jointed one edge of a board that was app. 8" wide. I then screwed on two 1" thick x 2" x 3" blocks near each end and adjacent to the jointed edge. I screwed toggle clamps to those two blocks.

To straighten the Pine boards, I would lay one on the "sled", butted against the blocks, set the toggle clamps and run the sled with board through the TS with the sled running against the rip fence. It took less time to straighten one side than it did to type this reply. I did over 200 bf in less than an hour. After straightening the one side, I ripped them all to desired width.

[Jim Finn]

I would use a "Taper jig/sled" Like this one I made.Taper jig 1.jpg

[Pat Barry]

Obviously you need to be very careful of the possibility of kickback when rip cutting wood that has warp and / or twist in it. I recommend that you take it easy and sneak up on your final size whichever method you use.