Fritz und Franz Jig complete

[Nancy Strevelowski]

All, just finished my Fritz und Franz jig last night. Works like charm really opening up the possibilities with the slider.

any comments or suggestions? Handle is gnarly, i know, what a quick and dirty, but works great and free from scraps.

Nancy

[Jim Becker]

Nancy, that's a great looking implementation of the F&F jig! My only concern is that the pusher side doesn't have a scale for setting the stop. While you can easily set it by butting it next to the other one, that might be inconvenient in the middle of processing lumber where multiple widths are a factor.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Very nice! I'm iterating on the one I built, and seeing how others have done it is giving me some good ideas for next time. For instance, my stop blocks are narrow, which I've found leads to some deflection if I'm not careful not to "push" on them, while yours seem wide enough to avoid that.

Maybe add some adhesive-backed sandpaper along the edges for grip?

[David Eisenhauer]

What gnarly? None that I can see and you will have to do gnarly better than that if you want it noticed. Looks like it will work.

[Nancy Strevelowski]

Also made a steel bar to fit into the t-slot and attached to a woodpeckers hold down. Works great. Has anyone else done this? The factory clamps for >$200 doesn’t seem worth it.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Also made a steel bar to fit into the t-slot and attached to a woodpeckers hold down. Works great. Has anyone else done this? The factory clamps for >$200 doesn’t seem worth it.

I've rarely felt the need for a clamp....using the F&F jig, there's really no need to provide much downward pressure.

That said, look at the first post in this thread for some similar ideas:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?230613-Hammer-K3-Winner-What-I-ve-learned-in-the-last-6-months

[John Kee]

Sand paper or some type of friction materials along the clamping edge really helps the grip IMHO.

[Jim Becker]

Also made a steel bar to fit into the t-slot and attached to a woodpeckers hold down. Works great. Has anyone else done this? The factory clamps for >$200 doesn’t seem worth it.
You'll find that handy to have...while it's true that many cuts don't require clamping, there are also many times where it can be an advantage to cut quality or required for safety. I was fortunate to get two cam clamps with my slider, but if I hadn't, I would have made something up. There are other instances where the threaded insert you made will come in handy beyond just the clamp, too.

[Nancy Strevelowski]

yeah, i made two, thinking into the future since i had all the metal working stuff out.

[Rick Potter]

Maybe a little dense here, but....

1: What keeps the (I assume,) stationary front half from sliding?

2: Why do you need the second stop on the pusher side? Won't the stop on the stationary side be enough?

Thanks for the post, I am finally getting my new Griz 623 slider put together after being sickly for more than a month, and this is on my list.

Rick P

[Dan Friedrichs]

Rick,

1) The front half usually is butted up against the back of the crosscut fence

2) Imagine trying to cut a very narrow strip. The "butt" ends touch the jig surfaces, but aren't enough surface area to guarantee it registers squarely. See this picture (http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=44895.0;attach=241 630;image) for an example.

[Jim Becker]

Also, the two stops work together, Rick...for example, a big use of the F&F is for parallel ripping at consistent width with the material clamped on the slider's wagon. You get an extraordinary clean, glue ready cut (if the lumber is flat). The two corresponding stops also serve to lock in small pieces for safe cutting. .

[John Kee]

Rick,

1) The front half usually is butted up against the back of the crosscut fence

2) Imagine trying to cut a very narrow strip. The "butt" ends touch the jig surfaces, but aren't enough surface area to guarantee it registers squarely. See this picture (http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=44895.0;attach=241 630;image) for an example.

Thanx for sharing the pic Dan, that's my setup I posted the to FOG a couple of years ago. F&F is definitely one of the best additions to any slider. Parallel guides are another indispensable setup in my world.

[John Sincerbeaux]

Still new to a slider, I pinch myself everytime i use it. Combined with a FF jig, i can cut the tiniest of pieces of wood with my hands and body nowhere near the blade. Truley a game changer for me.
A lot of heated “Sawstop” debates here could always be silenced by a slider and FF jig setup if guys only knew.

Happy New Year

[mike holden]

A lot of heated “Sawstop” debates here could always be silenced by a slider and FF jig setup if guys only knew.
Happy New Year
Check out the new Griggio "safe saw" - sawstop meets slider! Sawstop electronics and drop away blade but no brake, so blade is undamaged.
Don't know if it is available here in the states yet, but it may be a "game changer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HmMKyZlcMM


Mike

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thanx for sharing the pic Dan, that's my setup I posted the to FOG a couple of years ago. F&F is definitely one of the best additions to any slider. Parallel guides are another indispensable setup in my world.

That's funny, John - I just google imaged search "Fritz and Franz jig", and it was one of the first ones I saw showing the use on narrow strips. Very nice jig (and saw)!

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the answers guys. I had a Felder KF700 for over 10 years and never did thin or small strips on it, always reverting to a gripper push block on my Unisaw for those. Of course, I had never heard of F&F back then.

That really is inspiring for the extra small pieces. The F&F setup is what basically got me back to wanting a slider again, it looks very versatile and am anxious to get back to getting the new Griz up and running.

Rick P

[John Kee]

Check out the new Griggio "safe saw" - sawstop meets slider! Sawstop electronics and drop away blade but no brake, so blade is undamaged.
Don't know if it is available here in the states yet, but it may be a "game changer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HmMKyZlcMM


Mike

Mike that video has been for awhile, 2015 and its never been available to my knowledge. Martin uses some Griggio stuff for their entry level saws and with Festool parent corp owning Sawstop now it may be in limbo. My understanding is the european woodworking community isn't too taken with the Sawstop especially with the inherent safety of sliders in general.

[Mike Wilkins]

I utilized Nancy's idea of using hold down devices attached to some T-nuts in the sliding wagon slots. Measure the slots in each direction and go to the Grizzly catalog in the metal working section where you will hopefully find the correct/slightly undersized T-nuts for your machine. You want it to be slightly undersized to easily slide in the slot, but not so tight it will bind. You may have to change the bolt size to fit the T-nut.

[Keith Weber]

Nancy, not sure about the handle being gnarly, but I am curious about its orientation. With the handle tilted the way you have it, it would be similar to doing a dumbbell fly to keep pressure on it, and force you to walk the slider along by walking sideways - a little strange from my perspective. If the handle was tilted the opposite way (aft part of the handle to the right and fwd handle to the left), it would be more of a pushing movement (less tiring on muscles) and let you walk the slide in a more-efficient forward walking movement. Just food for thought.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I utilized Nancy's idea of using hold down devices attached to some T-nuts in the sliding wagon slots. Measure the slots in each direction and go to the Grizzly catalog in the metal working section where you will hopefully find the correct/slightly undersized T-nuts for your machine. You want it to be slightly undersized to easily slide in the slot, but not so tight it will bind. You may have to change the bolt size to fit the T-nut.

Mike, I thought about doing this (for the non-handled portion of the jig), but it seems like you'd need to "slide" it into the wagon from one end (versus just dropping it into the slot at any point along the wagon)?

I like the idea of not needing to butt one portion of the jig against the back of the crosscut fence, but not sure how this would work...

[Nancy Strevelowski]

Keith, i think you're right on this, i'll make the change!

[Rod Sheridan]

All, just finished my Fritz und Franz jig last night. Works like charm really opening up the possibilities with the slider.

any comments or suggestions? Handle is gnarly, i know, what a quick and dirty, but works great and free from scraps.

Nancy

Looks good Nancy, fancier than mine, mine doesn't have any T track or stops.

Of course mine does have the official "Fritz und Franz" green T slot molding:D

My only suggestion is that to me, the handle appears backwards, I would rotate it 180 degrees to make it more comfortable......Happy New Year........Rod.