Precision Fritz and Franz Jig

[David Bedrosian]

If you own a sliding tablesaw, you are probably familiar with the Fritz and Franz jig. It excels at making precise cuts even on very small pieces and most importantly it keeps your hands well away for the spinning blade. My current Fritz and Franz jig is one that I designed over a year ago and it has been working great for me. I’ve posted about it on Instagram and thought I would show everyone here as well.

When I was designing my jig, I had the following goals:

(1) I wanted a way to reset the jig so it always has a zero clearance reference on the left side of the blade regardless of the width of the blade.

(2) I wanted adjustable flip-stops with no measurable deflection

(3) I wanted a way to easily calibrate the stops to make precise cuts.

Here’s the jig that I came up that meets each of my goals.

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To provide a zero clearance on the left side of the blade, I attached movable faces to both halves of the jig. If I use different width blades or the face gets worn over time, I can loosen the 3 machine screws and nudge the face slightly to the right and make a fresh cut. The zero reference makes it easy to align the cut so that it splits a knife line.

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Both faces are covered with hockey tape to provide extra grip for the workpiece. I often use sandpaper for better grip but decided against that for the faces since the sandpaper may dull the saw blade.


I made the flip stops from aluminum which machines easily with woodworking tools. The pivoting arm is 3/8” thick and is secured with a ¼” bolt and nylon washers to avoid deflection. I made a stop for both sides of the jig and they each ride in a T-track.



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To precisely set the position of each stop, I fastened a measuring tape to both halves of the jig and attached a piece of acrylic with a scribe line to the stop. I calibrate the jig with a 1-2-3 block against the saw blade as shown below.



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Once calibrated, if I want to make a parallel cut, I set both stops to the same value. For a tapered cut, I set the stops as needed. I can get cuts that are accurate to less than 1/128”.
Feel free to message me if you want more information on making the jig or if you are interested in me making one for you.

Thanks for looking,
David

[Lisa Starr]

Very nice, David. I threw a quickie together when I first got my slider this summer, but it has several short comings, as I expected it would. I like the idea of the adjustable zero clearance piece. I'll probably work on a new one sometime over this winter. Thanks for the write up and photos, there's good info in there.

[Chris Parks]

I have been using an F&F jig from the very first time that we saw it on this forum and built two, the first is two bits of MDF with rails under it for the table slot and no handle and the second using short Inra fences and I have never used that one at all. I cut a short piece off the main rip fence which never gets used either and put that short piece on the rip fence head and use it for a measured bump stop which has a DRO on it. The beauty of the slider is you can work the opposite of a cabinet saw and cut to your dimension on the right side of the blade. I do like the moving fence face and I will pinch that idea as I use different kerf blades and it will be handy for that.

[Steve Wurster]

I follow you on IG, David, so I've already seen your Fritz and Franz over there. But the bigger pictures here on the Creek really show it in all its glory (and precision). Very nice work!

My current F&F jig is based on Incra track (the stuff with the teeth; not just their t-track), but doesn't have an adjustable zero clearance setup. It's also designed around how far the splitter-mounted guard on my K3 extends to the left of the blade. However I literally just received and started installing an overhead guard, so a redesign of the F&F might be in order after that's fully setup in order to accommodate the size differences. My new design will have to have an adjustable zero clearance fence, and your jig gives me some ideas.

[David Bedrosian]

Very nice, David. I threw a quickie together when I first got my slider this summer, but it has several short comings, as I expected it would. I like the idea of the adjustable zero clearance piece. I'll probably work on a new one sometime over this winter. Thanks for the write up and photos, there's good info in there.
Thanks Lisa. Let me know if you need any additional photos when you are working on your new jig.

David

[David Bedrosian]

I have been using an F&F jig from the very first time that we saw it on this forum and built two, the first is two bits of MDF with rails under it for the table slot and no handle and the second using short Inra fences and I have never used that one at all. I cut a short piece off the main rip fence which never gets used either and put that short piece on the rip fence head and use it for a measured bump stop which has a DRO on it. The beauty of the slider is you can work the opposite of a cabinet saw and cut to your dimension on the right side of the blade. I do like the moving fence face and I will pinch that idea as I use different kerf blades and it will be handy for that.

The moving faces really add to the precision of the jig and should not be too hard to add to an existing jig.

David

[David Bedrosian]

I follow you on IG, David, so I've already seen your Fritz and Franz over there. But the bigger pictures here on the Creek really show it in all its glory (and precision). Very nice work!

My current F&F jig is based on Incra track (the stuff with the teeth; not just their t-track), but doesn't have an adjustable zero clearance setup. It's also designed around how far the splitter-mounted guard on my K3 extends to the left of the blade. However I literally just received and started installing an overhead guard, so a redesign of the F&F might be in order after that's fully setup in order to accommodate the size differences. My new design will have to have an adjustable zero clearance fence, and your jig gives me some ideas.

Thanks Steve. For those interested, I'm @BedrosianWoodworks on Instagram.

David

[Rod Sheridan]

Once again I have Fritz und Franz envy, thanks a lot😉

Looks good, regards, Rod

[Chris Parks]

The moving faces really add to the precision of the jig and should not be too hard to add to an existing jig.

David

The problem with that is I can't see how it helps to have a measurement system on the F&F jig if the rip fence is used as a stop and my rip fence has a Wixey on it with a fine adjuster on the rip head. The second reason for not having the full length rip fence on the saw is I don't have to walk around the damned overhang all the time as I rarely use the rip fence, maybe a few times a year. I spent a fair bit of money building the F&F jig and it was money down the drain for the way I work. I guess I see the F&F jig as a clamp and nothing more and I did not realise that until I tried to use the Incra version I built and found it was a a two step process for setting and the rip fence bump stop is only a one step process and way less trouble.

[Kevin Jenness]

The problem with that is I can't see how it helps to have a measurement system on the F&F jig if the rip fence is used as a stop and my rip fence has a Wixey on it with a fine adjuster on the rip head. The second reason for not having the full length rip fence on the saw is I don't have to walk around the damned overhang all the time as I rarely use the rip fence, maybe a few times a year. I spent a fair bit of money building the F&F jig and it was money down the drain for the way I work. I guess I see the F&F jig as a clamp and nothing more and I did not realise that until I tried to use the Incra version I built and found it was a a two step process for setting and the rip fence bump stop is only a one step process and way less trouble.

I use the rip fence/bump stop mainly for repetitive parallel rips. I use stop blocks on the F&F for tapers, for one-offs when I don't want to walk around the end of the carriage to set the rip fence, and when I want to cut a piece too narrow to butt against the rip fence and hold in the jig at the same time. I may use the F&F for the last piece of those repetitive rips or I may use the rip fence with a push stick. I also use the rip fence conventionally for pieces longer than the carriage.

I don't think I will bother making adjustable faces. They make it easier to set up a cut to a line on the stock, but I usually work off the stops or when straightlining can get close enough eyeballing against the slightly worn jig ends. My blades are all the same kerf width so the zero point for the stops is constant. For backing up a cut I use a fresh sacrificial piece anyway.

I first made a simple clamping F&F jig like yours for straightlining rough edges and using with the rip fence. When I made an "improved" version with scales and stops I found I used it much more. I probably have $60 invested in t-track, clamp bolts and knobs, flat measuring tape and a pair of hinges. Different strokes.

[Chris Parks]

Everyone has their own individual take on our approach to working but I think most of us tend to over complicate things and be to clever for our own good. When I started out using the F&F jig it was a simple clamping measurement made in Germany to facilitate ripping and cutting on a slider and this forum grabbed the idea and ran with it. Another thing I discovered after I made mine is that there is a minimum distance between the two blocks built in by using the flip stops and that did not appeal to me at all. I hope others join in and add their ideas on these points.

[Joel Gelman]

I first made my FF using Incra and then changed to Biesemeyer. I think for the ultimate precision, it would be to use the ProStop from Accurate Technologies (proscale.com) with the new linear bearings. That gives you a DRO, and calibration is easy. One thing I do not like about using aluminum extrusion fences is not having something with friction to hold the wood in place by friction. I was thinking with the proStop one could dado a very shallow groove to fit a Festool non-skid strip used on their rail guides. I have not done that so far, but I think that would be a nice upgrade. Enclosed are pictures of my prior shop made484948484947 FF with Incra and current with old Biesemeyer stops.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Funny how this thread got re-awakened. I just now completed my first Fritz/Franz:

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Leftover 80/20, leftover flip stops from an old jig, worn out push block, leftover BBirch scraps. 3/8" aluminum blocks in groove for the occasional need to lock either one down. I have Kreg adjustable vice-grip style clamps that fit the 80/20, in case I feel a hold down is necessary.

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Wooden stop blocks don't inspire precision, but things are nice and snug, including the Alu flip-stop, so I can rely on a firm footing there, with adjustability of the hairline cursor. First test was accurate to .0005". Yep, that's 3 zeros between the decimal and the 5. That'll do.

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Here's the advantage to running wooden stops: Extra stock for future replacement and additional stops I don't even know I need yet. But there is one more thing:

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Thanks to a Youtube video, I stole this idea for an adjustable center-finder, used for 4 sided leg tapers, which is why I finally needed to build a long overdue set of Fritz/Franz jigs. Who knows what next, but I'm ready with the extra stop block material.

No padding on the faces yet, but likely to use some 3M anti-slip tape that has a nice crepe texture and no harmful abrasive grit, though the hockey stick grip tape may be the best idea yet. BBirch edge is not super slick, so I'll se what kind of mileage I get before applying a treatment there.

Jeff

[Chris Parks]

Unless your F&F is locked into the table slot hold downs don't work but I am doubtful that a hold down would ever be needed as the F&F jig is the clamp. Looking back at what I have posted in the past I guess the difference of how I work to others is that I measure to the right hand side of the blade where most posting here measure to the left side. That could be because I fitted a Wixey DRO to the rip fence and prefer to use that mainly for repeatability & precision reasons and combined with the fine adjustment rip head it is a great combination eliminating the bump and hope method.

[Joel Gelman]

Unless your F&F is locked into the table slot hold downs don't work but I am doubtful that a hold down would ever be needed as the F&F jig is the clamp.

I personally find it beneficial at times to have the security of a hold down other than relying on grip and pressure of sandwiching the wood between Fritz and Franz. Easier to apply pressure when feeding than when pulling the slider back after the cut. Other than the option of an Automaxx or other clamp rigged to fit in the T slot of the slider, one can use something like what for me are must have Airtight air clamps made by Mac Campshure. I included a pic showing the back clamp that can be positioned to clamp on the wood between Fritz and Franz. Same can work with the clamp towards the front fence-jig.


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[Jeff Roltgen]

Well, my point was, I had a job to do, and the superfluous nature of what I came up with has indeed proven worthy of the time invested. In fact, even that fluff about a clamp turned out to be a good bit of intuition:

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Since I have an SCM, there is about .875" reach from edge of slider to blade = these blanks were not as stable as needed when riding through the cut. Based on the angle, the F&F death grip was also greatly compromised. This meant, either put a hand on that workpiece, putting fingers within an inch of the blade :eek: or, slide that V-G style clamp in place and enjoy safety and cleaner, more accurate cuts. Clamp dialed down to only a hand-hold level of pressure.

So you are correct, though some of us may get a little over the top, our needs and methodology are a matter of personal taste and workflow. And that's why this craft is such a blast!

It's worth noting, I could have just drawn lines on all 16 legs and walked over to the bandsaw. :D

jeff

[Kevin Jenness]

7/8" from the carriage edge to the blade is like the Grand Canyon. I wonder why your saw is designed with such a large gap. The sliders I have worked with (SCMI SI12, Griggio , Martin, Paoloni) all have gaps around 5-6mm. The larger the gap the harder to work with small pieces.

Are your F&F jigs keyed into the slot with a t bolt or runner? I use independently anchored screw clamps with a long reach. In any case clamps are very helpful to keep narrow parts anchored flat on the carriage. When the workpiece is narrower than the clamp pad I will add a block the same thickness to the left and bridge across it.

[Jeff Roltgen]

7/8" from the carriage edge to the blade is like the Grand Canyon

Yes, I wish it weren't true. I just received in January - SCM si315es. Not sure why it's such a large space there. Throat plate / insert has a stretcher across to fill the gap = must remove screws and plate for blade changes. Single crappiest thing about the saw. Considered a Felder at the time of ordering, but wait time was close to or beyond a year at that point.

And yes, as mentioned with initial pics, I made T-bolts for locking the jigs in place, keyed into slot with delrin strips, so they can run as traditional or torque down if desired.