[OP]
Contributor
I'm looking to make a bunch of angled & mitered dado cuts on my RAS & some of the pieces will be fairly short under 6".
I'm planning on adding some "T" track to my saw's table so I can use hold downs to keep the pieces in-place.
Just wondering if anyone has came up with a good RAS table design that uses "T" tracks or jigs for stock hold down
Doug
Member
Doug.....I modified mine like this.... I milled a T slot in the fence and only use it for positioning a stop, but would be very easy to make the hold-downs you require....
[OP]
Contributor
Yeah I've seen several designs that add T-track to the fences, But I'm not really sure if a hold down off of just the fence would be long enough? I will probably include a T-track stop to the fence, Since it looks like a good addition to the fence set-up.Originally Posted by Kurt Kintner
What I'm looking to do is install the T-track right into the top of the table!
Searching the web I've seen two versions of what I want to do, Vertical style & horizontal style!
Just trying to figure out what style I want to use?
Doug
Member
You can make an L bracket that supports a pivot shaft, then the shaft goes through a long lever with a foot to bear against the piece to be cut close to the blade and you hand at the end of the lever is well away. That way lots of cuts can be done quickly since you just raise the lever, move the next piece in and apply a bit of pressure to hold it in place.
Don't even need T track for that, just screw the L bracket to the fence which is disposable anyway...
Contributor
just cut a piece of plywood with the angle you need and use that against the RAS fence.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
[OP]
Contributor
Yeah I realize I could just make a simple jig & attach it to the fence or even the table, But that's not what I'm looking to do!
I'll still be making a jig to hold the pieces, But by using the T-track I can make it easier to adjust & set back up if needed.
Doug
Contributor
How about a simple 1X2 stick. Round one end a bit, put a dowel in the middle somewhere, drill a hole in the table, so the stick is close to the blade. Insert piece to cut, use left hand to put pressure on the piece, pull saw handle with right hand.
Hey Kurt.. does that DC setup on your RAS work well?
Rick Potter
DIY journeyman,
FWW wannabe.
AKA Village Idiot.
Member
Yes, it works very well....The only time dust gets on the table is when shaving
a little material off the end of a piece....
Member
Why not put both vertical and horizontal t track in the table? Sounds like the best of both worlds. You may have to put a gap in the tracks where they cross but that's no big deal.
c
[OP]
Contributor
Well that would just be too easy
Funny you should mention that, Since that's probably what I'll end up doing.
I have also decided to make a new table for the saw & off-set the table more to the left-hand side. Mounting the table further to the left will also give me more area to clamp items down.
[OP]
Contributor
Here's a pic of the type of shape I'm looking to cut, It would need to be held in-place pretty good to safely make the cut.
IMG_2895.JPG
The parts are for a octagon flower pot, There are 8 pieces per layer & & 7 or 8 layers per pot.
I'm looking to make 4 or more of these, So there's a ton of cuts involved.
I made the first one a few years ago using a tenoning jig & a 12" table saw, But I sold the table saw & currently only have the RAS.
IMG_2145.JPGIMG_2146.JPG
Doug
Contributor
That looks like 45 degree miter cuts, which would make sense if you are building an octagon shape.
How come the parts are small to begin with? On a RAS you can just flip flop an entire board over with an angled end stop to make those cuts. The only time it gets dangerous is when you get to the end of the board and a simple lever type clamp will solve that issue.
I dunno, I never clamp anything down on my RAS, then again I do not try to make angled cuts on short boards. If the board is short it is a better candidate for a TS.
Contributor
Gotta go along with Ted on this one. Angle the blade to the right, flip the board over and over, and just quit when you are down to an uncomfortable length.
Also agree, the RAS is not difficult for holding work. When I get down to really short ends, I use a foot long dowel with a crutch tip to hold it with my left hand, while pulling the saw with the right. Neither hand is anywhere near the blade.
On the other hand, if you feel uncomfortable about doing this...how about a simple wooden bracket, installed behind the fence, overhanging it to the left of the blade, with a straight line clamp on it to push straight down. I keep mentioning the left side, because in 40 years, I have never angled the RAS blade that direction, always to the right, which keeps it further away from your hand.
Rick Potter
DIY journeyman,
FWW wannabe.
AKA Village Idiot.
[OP]
Contributor
Yeah they're just 45 degree cuts using standard 2" X 4" lumber, then I cut a 3/4" deep 45 degree half-lap joint on each end (opposite of each other)
I rough-cut the 2" X 4" stock with the flip-flop method as you mentioned on a miter saw, Then I trued them up on the table saw using a Incra miter gauge.
I didn't have a digital camera when I made the first one, So I don't have any pictures of the assembly process. I did save a few try-out pieces to refresh my memory if I wanted to make another one. I highlighted 3 pieces of one layer to hopefully explain the outer edge, Note the inside shows the plain 2" X 4" stock finish.
IMG_2919.JPGIMG_2917.JPGIMG_2918.JPG
Doug
Member
Too late to chime in?
I added a t-track to the left of the cut by a few inches - just enough to have the star knob clear
the blade guard. I was going to add another track parallel to the fence, but
the one track parallel to the cut location worked fine.
The top of the track
is flush to the 1/4" plywood pieces left and right of the track.
P7150001.jpg
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