03-13-2023, 05:09 PM
Well I finally managed to get a tee slot in my MDF piece. That allows me to move it forward or backwards. A lot of people just screw a sacrificial board onto the miter gauge, me included. but it causes problems if it needs to be moved. Now if I want to use it for a different cutter All I have to do is loosen a couple of nuts, pull off the piece, cut it off and slide it back on and tighten it in place. I usually make a few when I make them. I really like MDF because it cuts so easily and doesn't dull or heat up the cutters over time. A really close fitting back up piece really helps with cutter tear out. Same principle as a zero clearance throat plate on a table saw. The first picture is of the shaper jig as a whole.
Squaring the miter gage to the slot is something most people have trouble with. I have heard of all kinds of medoids including just use a plastic drafting square draft which may or may not be square. In fact Woodpeckers is now selling a miter gauge square that is supposed to be dead square. It is fixed at 90 degrees for $329.99. It does nothing but cut at 90 degrees. I used a One Way gauge that is or was made in Canada. Woodcraft used to sell then for $79 and the last time I saw it, it was $100. I do not know if they still sell it or not. I also used a 6 inch machinist square to check. It has a .002 concave in the middle. If I needed to be dead on I would have used my 6 inch Starrett solid beam square. My Starrett 12 inch combination square is within .001 in 12 inches so it is a also a very, very good choice but a little unhandy for what I was doing. I truly feel that any machinist square that would be actually used by a machinist is accurate enough. Personally I used a lot of different brands of squares from SPI, Fowler, Brown and Sharp and Starrett and I prefer Starrett when it come to squares.
I clamped the square to the jig and moved it back and forth until it read Zero at both ends of the square. it can be re-zeroed at any time. This method works on any kind of miter gauge that is capable of being adjusted. It is as accurate as the square that you are using.
Since it is my money, I would prefer to spend it on a one Way gauge and a good square verses other things marketing tries to sell you. There are lots of other applications a good square and a dial indicator can be used for.
Next I used a block I already had set up when it was a shaper. I drilled and reamed two 1/4 inch holes using a drill press. Actually I used a .251 reamer. The block had previously been mounted so I just tightened it down on the table . I started to drill the two holes with a 1/4 inch drill bit to get a drill point then I drilled out the hole with a 15 /64 drill bit, or 1 /64th undersized hole. The reamer will follow the hole so I reamed through the block. The .251 ole is slip fit so I took my ball peen hammer, put the round end in the hole and hit the other end with my other hammer. It kind of peens the hole tighter so when I put the dowel pin in I have to tap it in because it tightens on the pin and will not let then fall out. There is a correct way to put in dowel pins and that is the taper to the hole. I only have about 1.8th of an inch registering in the hole, Now I can put put it on and take it off by hand. I will also have to get a couple of threaded knobs so it can be tool less.
I positioned the MDF so that it would slide into the cutter and stopped at the bearing. And I snugged it down and finisher the cut. Then I backed it off about .005 and tightened it down. That way there would be no lateral force against the bearing. Then I set the button head screw on the block so now I can put on and take off the block easily. Since the button head screw referenced the wood to the cutter all I have to do is install the cutter and establish the cutter height and go to work. There is no setting the fence or anything. Do not need feather boards to help hold it down the weight of the sled and workpiece is enough. The sled slides in the miter slot and my right hand is on the miter gauge handle.
And lastly I have yet to cut off part of the dust collector fitting so I can collect the shaving form the cutter dust collection is important. It has to come on and off quickly and easily because of the fence which is under construction at the present. I will have to mount it and then saw off the front part.
Tom
Squaring the miter gage to the slot is something most people have trouble with. I have heard of all kinds of medoids including just use a plastic drafting square draft which may or may not be square. In fact Woodpeckers is now selling a miter gauge square that is supposed to be dead square. It is fixed at 90 degrees for $329.99. It does nothing but cut at 90 degrees. I used a One Way gauge that is or was made in Canada. Woodcraft used to sell then for $79 and the last time I saw it, it was $100. I do not know if they still sell it or not. I also used a 6 inch machinist square to check. It has a .002 concave in the middle. If I needed to be dead on I would have used my 6 inch Starrett solid beam square. My Starrett 12 inch combination square is within .001 in 12 inches so it is a also a very, very good choice but a little unhandy for what I was doing. I truly feel that any machinist square that would be actually used by a machinist is accurate enough. Personally I used a lot of different brands of squares from SPI, Fowler, Brown and Sharp and Starrett and I prefer Starrett when it come to squares.
I clamped the square to the jig and moved it back and forth until it read Zero at both ends of the square. it can be re-zeroed at any time. This method works on any kind of miter gauge that is capable of being adjusted. It is as accurate as the square that you are using.
Since it is my money, I would prefer to spend it on a one Way gauge and a good square verses other things marketing tries to sell you. There are lots of other applications a good square and a dial indicator can be used for.
Next I used a block I already had set up when it was a shaper. I drilled and reamed two 1/4 inch holes using a drill press. Actually I used a .251 reamer. The block had previously been mounted so I just tightened it down on the table . I started to drill the two holes with a 1/4 inch drill bit to get a drill point then I drilled out the hole with a 15 /64 drill bit, or 1 /64th undersized hole. The reamer will follow the hole so I reamed through the block. The .251 ole is slip fit so I took my ball peen hammer, put the round end in the hole and hit the other end with my other hammer. It kind of peens the hole tighter so when I put the dowel pin in I have to tap it in because it tightens on the pin and will not let then fall out. There is a correct way to put in dowel pins and that is the taper to the hole. I only have about 1.8th of an inch registering in the hole, Now I can put put it on and take it off by hand. I will also have to get a couple of threaded knobs so it can be tool less.
I positioned the MDF so that it would slide into the cutter and stopped at the bearing. And I snugged it down and finisher the cut. Then I backed it off about .005 and tightened it down. That way there would be no lateral force against the bearing. Then I set the button head screw on the block so now I can put on and take off the block easily. Since the button head screw referenced the wood to the cutter all I have to do is install the cutter and establish the cutter height and go to work. There is no setting the fence or anything. Do not need feather boards to help hold it down the weight of the sled and workpiece is enough. The sled slides in the miter slot and my right hand is on the miter gauge handle.
And lastly I have yet to cut off part of the dust collector fitting so I can collect the shaving form the cutter dust collection is important. It has to come on and off quickly and easily because of the fence which is under construction at the present. I will have to mount it and then saw off the front part.
Tom