A Length Stop System for a RAS

[jteneyck]

If you have a typical RAS, the table is not very wide.  On my larger Dewalt GA, it's only 16 - 18" on the left side of the blade.  It's wider on the right side but that side is unsuitable for a length stop system, at least for short parts, because there's no way to hold the stock with your hand when the sawhead is pulled out to cut it.  I can't add a table extension on this saw because of where it sits in my shop, so I needed a length stop system that can be added only when needed and then removed.  

I came up with a simple approach.  It uses a piece of 1/2" wide stock on top of which I applied a R to L tape measure.  That piece of stock fits into a dado cut into the top of the fence.  Friction holds it in place, but it can be slid as needed to align with the edge of the kerf in the fence





A simple wooden block with a thumb screw is locked to the fence for whatever length part is needed.  With the fence in its normal position there is about 16 - 18" to the left of the blade.  When longer parts need to be cut, the fence is pulled to the left and the tape is slid to the new kerf position.  



With this tape I can cut parts up to 36" long.  A longer fence and tape could be used for even longer parts.  The portion of fence missing to the right of the blade can be replaced with another piece of stock if more support is needed on the right side.  

John

[FrankAtl]

That should work well. I've got one of the old (1950's vintage) 9" Dewalt RAS that is currently stored away because of room constraints. All of your posts are making me want to set it up again. I've got a nice SCMS but I always enjoyed using a good RAS.

[jteneyck]

That should work well. I've got one of the old (1950's vintage) 9" Dewalt RAS that is currently stored away because of room constraints. All of your posts are making me want to set it up again. I've got a nice SCMS but I always enjoyed using a good RAS.

The 9" MBF and 925 series Dewalts are terrific saws.  The dado function alone is worth getting it out of storage.  And with one of my rotary miter tables installed, it is superior to any miter saw.  I'm still thinking about an easy way to make it easy to use in the compound miter function, though.  Hopefully, more to follow on that.  

John

[Hank Knight]

John, that's a nice stop block design. Years ago, I installed my RAS in a permanent long bench and use it exclusively for 90º crosscutting. I built a fence with stop blocks from a design in a long ago Wood Magazine that has worked well (photo below).

I'm curious about your chip catcher for your dust collector. It looks like it completely encloses your saw blade when it is in its retracted position. Do you make angled cuts with your RAS and if so, does the chip catcher move to follow the saw to the new angle? I haven't figured out how to do this, so my saw is dedicated to 90º cuts.

Photo of my set-up:

[jteneyck]

John, that's a nice stop block design. Years ago, I installed my RAS in a permanent long bench and use it exclusively for 90º crosscutting. I built a fence with stop blocks from a design in a long ago Wood Magazine that has worked well (photo below).

I'm curious about your chip catcher for your dust collector. It looks like it completely encloses your saw blade when it is in its retracted position. Do you make angled cuts with your RAS and if so, does the chip catcher move to follow the saw to the new angle? I haven't figured out how to do this, so my saw is dedicated to 90º cuts.

Photo of my set-up:

That's a great setup Hank.  Like you, I want to leave my saw set at 90 degrees, so I came up with a device I call the Rotary Miter Table as an add on.  I even have it for sale in the Classifieds section.  

Here's a link to a post I did about it:  Rotary Miter Table

And here's a link to how it's used for cutting bevels and compound miters:  Compound miters on a RAS

To use the rotary miter table, I have to pull the dust box back enough for the table to pivot.  



Nature of the beast.  And for bevel cuts I had to develop a new dust box that gets around the column, but it works the same way.  



In all cases, the saw arm stays locked at 90 degrees, so the sawdust is always thrown straight back.  The dust box is always straight behind the saw blade so the collection efficiency remains high even when it's pulled back.  

When I pivoted the arm to make miter cuts, I had a different type of dust box.  It worked well, but not as well as the smaller, closed ones.  



  John

[Hank Knight]

John, I remember your post recently about your rotary miter table. It's a very clever design. I might order one from you one of these days.