Presenting: The RAS Miter Table

[gboot]

John,
 That is a very innovative device you crafted. I consider myself pretty clever but i would never have been able to figure that out. Keep me posted, I would be interested in a kit if you take it that far.
Gene

[jteneyck]

John,
 That is a very innovative device you crafted. I consider myself pretty clever but i would never have been able to figure that out. Keep me posted, I would be interested in a kit if you take it that far.
Gene

Thanks very much.  Will do.  

John

[jteneyck]

So here's how it works to cut a square frame.  For a 10" frame I started by cutting a board into 10-1/16" pieces. 



I set the fences at 45 degrees and put a square between them to verify they were 90 degrees to each other.  To aid in setting the length stops I cut a piece of wood to 10" long.  Then I put a small piece of wood behind the fences at the cut line and slid the 10" piece until it just touched that piece of wood.  Then I clamped a length stop on the outboard end.  I repeated that on the other fence. 



 

Then I cut the pieces, first right, then left, though it doesn't matter.  







The parts fit together fine but the problem I found was holding the parts on the right side, since the motor is on that side.  The relatively wide parts made it that much harder.  I need to develop a clamping system for short parts.  Brian Weekley's method makes holding the parts easier since all the parts are cut on the left side.  The downside is having to pivot the saw arm to the correct angle and having to install the broken fence.  And it doesn't work unless the sides of the parts are parallel. No method is perfect.  

John

[greenacres2]

LOL, i use the same Custom Irwin Scrap Clamp System on my RAS. In most projects i do, the absolute length of the parts is not as crucial as making all the lengths identical. I wonder if a section of t-track and a cut-down flip-stop (Kreg or Powertec) could be used. Wouldn't be any easier to set-up than the scrap-clamp, and more likely to get in the way though.
Like what you're doing there!!

[jteneyck]

I have solved the last two problems on the table, holding really small parts and a length stop system, both of which will have clearance on the right side.  

I installed a T-track in a dado I cut in the right fence, and fashioned two devices that clamp to it.  One is length stop, the other looks a lot like some CNC hold down clamps, which might actually work if I can find a small enough one.  They look like this:




Both have a "quick disconnect" feature to they can be removed without having to remove the thumbwheel that holds them in place.  In use, the length stop looks like this.



The hold down looks like this.  



I used a small piece of rubber to add friction.  A rubber coating on the end, or a commercial clamp if it fits, would work just as well.  This worked great and held the workpiece securely in place.  I even did it with a part only 2 inches long.  



It held securely and the cut was nice and clean.



Of course, both the clamp and length stop can be used together.  

I think the RAS miter sled might be the real deal.  I can see changing the T-Track to a wider one that has room for a measuring tape.  I'll need to move the hold down knobs to do that, but that's an easy change.  What else do you folks see to improve it?  Thanks. 

John

[Tapper]

Looking good John! My guess is that either Rockler, Woodcraft, or Lee Valley has the stops and hold downs that work with that T-track.

[RogerD]

Thanks very much.  Will do.  

John

John,

Your Miter Table looks great!

When I bought my Craftsman radial arm saw in 1970, I also bought a Miter Top accessory.  See attached picture.

[jteneyck]

John,

Your Miter Table looks great!

When I bought my Craftsman radial arm saw in 1970, I also bought a Miter Top accessory.  See attached picture.

Oh, that's interesting.  As typically is the case, someone was WAY ahead of me.  The circular scale is clever and helps reduce the overall size, for better or for worse, depending upon the scale of your projects.  It also allows you to cut any angle, if you can figure out how to hold the workpiece when it's almost parallel with the blade.  

One benefit of the linear scale on my unit is the increased accuracy.  I think Duby recognized that when they developed it.  

Thanks for posting that.  Do you use it?  If not, why not?  

John

[jteneyck]

Fred, this one's for all you segmented bowl makers!  

It finally dawned on me how to make a simple, effective, and safe fixture to use with the miter table for cutting segmented rings.  

The left fence is set at the desired angle and the right fence is removed.  A simple auxiliary table and fence is placed along the fence and clamped to the table.  There is a stop block at the far end of the auxiliary table.  Its position is set to give you the length of the segments desired.  The fence can project out the back of the saw as far as desired if you have enough depth, although I would have to modify or remove the DC box I have right now to do so.  





The sawblade is set so that it cuts into but not through the auxiliary table.  The fence and table fully support the workpiece so you get clean cuts on all edges.  

The workpiece is flipped for each new cut, so there's no waste.  



Flip.





Flip, next piece.



Repeat.



Done.






I think that about covers it.  

I'm pretty excited about what all can be done with this thing.  

John

[fredhargis]

That would work quite well, clever!