1/16" strips needed

[John Terefenko]

I want to cut 1/16" strips for a project and I need lots of them and in different woods. I want to use my tablesaw for it is the most accurate saw I own. The Bandsaw does not have the right blades. I am looking for a jig of some sort that would be safe to use to cut these strips without having to move the fence after each cut. I have done those that way but the accuracy is just not there. I need dead accuracy. Anyone have a jig they would be willing to share??? Thanks

[Rick Potter]

I would make a thick push block out of 2x4 with a wooden dowel stuck in it for a handle, and a shoe hanging down the backside. Keep the blade low, and run the push block right over it with the fence at 1/16th. Insert a short splitter (store bought or home made) into the blade insert for added safety.

Rick Potter

[lowell holmes]

I cut thin strips on the table saw with the strip falling on the side away from the rip fence. This requires adjusting the fence to leave the 1/16" outside of the blade after every cut.

I have some switchable magnets and will set one to provide the clearance required. You just adjust the fence and wood to rest against the magnet and then using a push block to make the cut.

[John Coloccia]

I cut thin strips on the table saw with the strip falling on the side away from the rip fence. This requires adjusting the fence to leave the 1/16" outside of the blade after every cut.

I have some switchable magnets and will set one to provide the clearance required. You just adjust the fence and wood to rest against the magnet and then using a push block to make the cut.

Exactly how I do it. I use a magnetic feather board as the stop.

[Prashun Patel]

I've done it on both sides of the fence.

I believe it's a misconception that having to move the fence is the less accurate way.

I do it now by setting my miter gauge's fence 1/16" away from the blade on the left side, then putting my piece up against it, setting the fence, then removing the miter gauge. Repeat for each cut.

If you still want to do it on the other side, I would do it this way, with a sliding fence:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/basics/reader-devises-a-different-way-to-slice-a-thin-strip-ripping-jig/

The only thing I'd change about this jig is to make the 'foot' taller and longer and thicker. This will allow it to project to the left side of the blade and help push the waste side squarely thru the cut.

If your strips are short, like less than 20" or so, the most accurate and safest way is to use a crosscut sled with a stop block.

[John Coloccia]

Hey, that's slick Prashun.

[Sam Layton]

Prashun, that looks like the best, and safest way of cutting thin strips without moving the fence. I am going to remember that one.

Sam

[John Terefenko]

I've done it on both sides of the fence.

I believe it's a misconception that having to move the fence is the less accurate way.

I do it now by setting my miter gauge's fence 1/16" away from the blade on the left side, then putting my piece up against it, setting the fence, then removing the miter gauge. Repeat for each cut.

If you still want to do it on the other side, I would do it this way, with a sliding fence:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/basics/reader-devises-a-different-way-to-slice-a-thin-strip-ripping-jig/

The only thing I'd change about this jig is to make the 'foot' taller and longer and thicker. This will allow it to project to the left side of the blade and help push the waste side squarely thru the cut.

If your strips are short, like less than 20" or so, the most accurate and safest way is to use a crosscut sled with a stop block.


I like the second version with the added idea of a solid back fence. I think I will try this. Thanks

[J.R. Rutter]

I would make a thick push block out of 2x4 with a wooden dowel stuck in it for a handle, and a shoe hanging down the backside. Keep the blade low, and run the push block right over it with the fence at 1/16th. Insert a short splitter (store bought or home made) into the blade insert for added safety.

Ditto, but I just make these as needed and throw them away after they have a couple of grooves - 30 seconds at the bandsaw with a piece of scrap gives you a fast and safe pusher that lets you power through repetitive ripping like this. 1/16" is so thin that a bigger push block would just be in the way. I just noticed that I need to talk to my employee about blade height!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BkZGhkSwK0M/T2C34njvrYI/AAAAAAAABw0/IoYIdq7AOrw/s978/IMG_1146.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GDf45n9tpvQ/T2C35W8m3wI/AAAAAAAABw8/jpsoXRl64WI/s978/IMG_1147.JPG

[Greg Cuetara]

Have you thought of a jig like this...

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18056&site=ROCKLER

I know you said you don't want to move the fence but this seems to do the trick.

[Jeff Duncan]

I do the same as Rick and JR, moving the fence just does't make any sense at all to me. Set the fence once, use a zero clearance insert, and you can rip hundreds, if not thousands of those strips safely and without trying to re-invent the wheel.

good luck,
JeffD

[Ole Anderson]

Have you thought of a jig like this...

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18056&site=ROCKLER

I know you said you don't want to move the fence but this seems to do the trick.

That is what I use.

[Mark Salomon]

Regardless of how you set up your tablesaw--I've done it most ways and seem to using the Rockler jig most of the time now days--you won't end up with smooth surfaces using a tablesaw. If this is important to you then I'd first joint one edge and then cut the strip slightly thick. This will give you a strip with one smooth edge. Next, I use a pretty slick sanding jig called the Luthier's Friend that uses your drill press. Run these through and you'll have perfectly surfaced strips.

[Alan Lightstone]

That is what I use.

+1, though Prashun's post looks interesting.

[John Terefenko]

Regardless of how you set up your tablesaw--I've done it most ways and seem to using the Rockler jig most of the time now days--you won't end up with smooth surfaces using a tablesaw. If this is important to you then I'd first joint one edge and then cut the strip slightly thick. This will give you a strip with one smooth edge. Next, I use a pretty slick sanding jig called the Luthier's Friend that uses your drill press. Run these through and you'll have perfectly surfaced strips.

I don't know about you but the strips I cut are glue ready and with todays saw blades you can get some baby bottom smooth slices. These strips will be used for a herringbone pattern and will have many different woods glued together.

I want to thank everyone for the suggestions and hopefully I should have no problem with this project now.

[Joe Spear]

I have the Rockler jig, and it works very well. Whether or not you get a smooth surface depends on your blade. With a WW II, a Freud Fusion, or a Ridge Carbide I get very smooth surfaces that need just a touch with 180-grit sandpaper.

[Jim Matthews]

This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ZYnbdHdtA&feature=related) shows a curved riving knife made from shop scraps.

If you're making a series of long strips for boat building, there's no better resource than Nick Shrade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl1FnHtpY88&feature=related). Note that he uses a mechanical feed and never puts his hands into the gap for such small stock.

I use the Rockler thin strip guide (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpfcq-QHkgk) with my bandsaw to do this. It allows me to keep the jointed side riding against the fence, and quickly repositions the stock to the waste side depth. I do not use it as shown in the commercial video. I think the guide should be set to your desired width just before the cutting edge. Note at 1:05 how the edge guide make repositioning the fence quick. I have found the Rockler guide to be solid.

Just keep it closer to the cutting edge than they show, and use a proper push block. As your board gets really thin, you'll need to exercise care to avoid kickback.

Like I say, I think this is the sort of process better done with a bandsaw.

jim
wpt, ma

[ian maybury]

The Incra TS LS positioner based rip fence seems to do this job in moments to within a few thou. Take a look at the demo of doing this job at 0.58 on the video at the bottom of this page: http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCRA_TS_LS_Table_Saw_Fence_52_Range_p/ls52-ts.htm

ian

[Mark W Pugh]

OK, I'm a little slow. How does this exactly work? Where do you place the stock in relation to the jig and which side of the blade does the cut piece end up on? Thanks.



Ditto, but I just make these as needed and throw them away after they have a couple of grooves - 30 seconds at the bandsaw with a piece of scrap gives you a fast and safe pusher that lets you power through repetitive ripping like this. 1/16" is so thin that a bigger push block would just be in the way. I just noticed that I need to talk to my employee about blade height!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BkZGhkSwK0M/T2C34njvrYI/AAAAAAAABw0/IoYIdq7AOrw/s978/IMG_1146.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GDf45n9tpvQ/T2C35W8m3wI/AAAAAAAABw8/jpsoXRl64WI/s978/IMG_1147.JPG

[Prashun Patel]

The 1/16" piece is on the fence side; so the blade is set 1/16" away from the fence. This 'jig' is really just a push shoe. The rabbet you see in the side is the result of part of the shoe riding over the blade. This insures that the 1/16" piece is fully supported by the shoe and will be pushed thru square to the blade.

JR's a pro and I am not, so I offer this with due humility:

A (better?) approach would be to make this shoe wider, so that the blade would cut a kerf in the shoe instead of a rabbet. Having more meat of the shoe on the left side of the blade will a) help push the waste part square thru the cut, and b) provide more stability when the operator pushes down on the piece.

Also, personally I feel unsafe having a 'handleless' push block as shown in the pic bkz my fingers would be pointed down close to the blade. So, I like better the idea of sticking a dowel or angled handle on the top.

He also notes that the height of the rabbet reveals that his user might have the blade set unnecessarily high. Setting it much higher than the height of the target piece means more blade buried in the block, which increases the chances for contact and kickback. On a thru cut people might prefer more blade height, which can actually decrease the probability of kickback by changing the angle of incidence at the cut. But the push block makes this a non-thru cut, so that point becomes moot, and least-amount-of-blade-above-table trumps for safety here.

[J.R. Rutter]

Prashun gave a good explanation, but let me add: The shallow rabbet on this block was cut trimming the edge off of an already narrow board where there was not room for fingers between the blade and the fence, and nothing on the outer side of the blade to support a wider shoe. The more common use is harder to see, but if you look closely, there is a slot underneath that shows that this push block was used to cut some 1/2" strips. When you cut narrow strips from a narrow board, a wider push block becomes a liability because there is nothing to support it on the outside. Normally, the blade in my shop is set so that only the carbide is above the wood at top dead center. So the kerf that this cuts through the push block is about 3/8" deep - less if you prefer. The block is high enough that your hand rides along the top of the saw fence, and the block is pinched against the fence. It isn't going anywhere. The length of the block (about 10" or more) lets you put enough down force on the work to prevent any chatter. If you have to push hard to get stock through the saw, or hold the work down, then slow down and/or sharpen your blade.

[Van Huskey]

The Incra TS LS positioner based rip fence seems to do this job in moments to within a few thou. Take a look at the demo of doing this job at 0.58 on the video at the bottom of this page: http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCRA_TS_LS_Table_Saw_Fence_52_Range_p/ls52-ts.htm

ian

I thought about mentioning this as I love mine but seems a wee bit expensive for a one off, unless you get sold on the concept like I did.

I did have one other thought. I remembered watching my uncle rip thin strips once on a Unisaur with a Unifence. On the fence you are able to pull the fence back so it just supports the right side until it gets to the far side of the blade so there is little to no chance it gets clogged up in the works. It would be easy to do the same with an auxillary fence that ended just at the trailing edge of the blade. I have never tried this but if I was planning a lot of strips I might well try it.

[Pat Barry]

If you are going for exactitude and uniformity then JRs method is easily the best. Moving the fence with each cut is super time consuming and error prone especially if your blade is something like 5/64. Try to keep the increments straight with something like that and a 1/18 " strip width and you will go crazy. For short cuts Prashuns idea of using the crosscut sled is easily the best.