: Hi All..

: I saw a post here (a while back), that linked a woodworking forum which
: showed a fixture for ripping which was basically an adjustable stop
: consisting of a screwhead which was screwed in or out to set the strip
: thickness, in which the saw fence and material were then slid over to the
: screwhead stop, and the strip was then ripped off the OUTSIDE of the
: board. It looked like a good idea to me.

: But never being one to just accept a good scheme and go with it, I thought I
: would try a possibly more elegant solution. So far the scheme pictured
: here has worked beyond my expectations. (1) The thin strip when cut simply
: falls away from the blade instead of being trapped between the board and
: fence. (2) There is only one adjustment to make for each pass (move the
: fence and material over to the bearing and lock) (3) On my tablesaw insert
: there is very little space between insert and blade on the strip side so
: there is no tendency to dive (although I fully intend to make a zero
: clearance insert with a splitter)

: When I was testing this thing I ripped some of the tiniest little pieces from
: some little scraps that I wouldn't consider doing the conventional way.
: Since I've only been hanging around this board for a while, I apologize
: for possibly covering old ground. I was reminded by some postings I saw
: recently that sometimes the quality of the journey is more important than
: the destination.

: happy trails
: ron

Hi Ron

I don't mean to rain on your particular parade, as I've seen several lately and would like to dampen them all.

I don't know, but, It seems my time has passed. What ever happened to just setting the fence to 1/4", locking it down and just running your wood through it.?? ONE set up, NO adjustments. These are, for sure, beautiful jigs and fixtures and take some real thinking, and I'm sure they do a wonderful job, but, it takes too much time. By the time you have set these things up, locked them down, adjusted them and start running your wood, I've got two boats worth of strips cut out. The idea of useing jigs and fixtures used to be making a tool do something it wasn't specifically designed to do by itself. The table saw WAS designed specifically to do what you are doing, without any aid. Just set the fence and cut the wood. ???

The only problem you would encounter would be the wood pinching your blade and if it starts to tighten up, you will hear the motor bog down. If you do, just lift it up in the back until it clears the blade. Then, just atart again.

For the 25 years I worked in shops and on my own, I never had anything but my hands, eyes, the saw and the common sense to pay attention to what I was doing. I did just fine. If you put pressure with your left hand to keep the wood against the fence, and feed with the right, it all comes out in the wash. Just pay attention to what you are doing and DO IT!

You are doubling or even tripling your work by having to continually adjust or move jigs and fixtures or the fence for each cut.

Again, I don't mean to beat you up on this, but, it just seems to be a lot of " To Do " over nothing. It kinda goes back to the old saying " Don't Fix What Ain't Broke ".

Rehd