Anyone using Lamb Tools Parallel fences on an SCM/Minimax or Felder?

[Pat Rice]

Ed, the math is simple, the spacer block is 300mm, so if my desired width is 50mm, I set my crosscut stop at 350mm and parallel guide at 50mm. Whether using ruler or DRO that is easy, it has to be for me BTW, I absolutely love having all digital readouts on my slider, definitely not an inexpensive option but at this stage of life I think this is my final saw and I wanted no regrets.

[Erik Loza]

...I have the hammer - and I dont think the Felder DRO is compatible with it...

I don't have any photos of it but you could get the steel side table for your Hammer (E-shop) and mount a Jointech Clincher-type fence that. That's the old-school way.

Erik

[derek labian]

I also mentioned this earlier in the thread...Brian is the manufacturer.

Maybe I missed something, but I never saw you mention he was the manufacturer.

I believe Brian has been a member here, but I didn't check for sure.

[derek labian]

Yes Derek, I am only using one parallel guide with my DRO stop on the crosscut fence. It works great for me, I have a 300mm spacer block that I am using with the stop for closer cuts. Here are a couple more photos
Attachment 467588Attachment 467589

Thanks Pat.

I'm curious, why are people so hot and heavy on the pneumatic clamps? Seems like a small thing to use the standard clamps that come with most sliders. Do you really just save considerable time or is there another benefit?

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks Pat.

I'm curious, why are people so hot and heavy on the pneumatic clamps? Seems like a small thing to use the standard clamps that come with most sliders. Do you really just save considerable time or is there another benefit?

I wish I had a pneumatic clamp every time I cut a full sheet of plywood. I always think of them while I make the trip around the sliding table and plywood sheet to get close enough to the leading clamp to engage it.

[mark mcfarlane]

FWIW, the trailing piece of a Fritz and Franz jig can work similar to the parallel clamps. I don't remember if it is Fritz or Franz piece that sits on the trailing edge of the cut.

Downsides to F/F compared to the parallel guides:

• As the jig gets wider you have stability issues with the jig itself, the trailing piece will want to tip out of the slot.
• You also loose some 'length of cut' with a Fritz/Franz setup since the wood support goes all the way to the blade. However, the rear piece holds the wood in place negating the need for the clamp you would need using the parallel fence apparatus.

I occasionally wish I had a wider or slightly longer (up to 8') cut available with my Fritz/Franz setup.

Building a new F/F jig is on my list of shop projects.

[Pat Rice]

Mac’s Airtight clamps put a smile on my face every time I use them. I started out with one Felder manual clamp. It was hard to adjust and as already mentioned when cutting large pieces of plywood to walk back and forth to release it was a pain. I also tried using Kreg clamps which worked but again releasing them meant more trips back and forth. After buying my K500 I choked at the cost of the Airtight Clamps but everyone raved about them and after several months I took the plunge. It is the best accessory I have purchased for my slider.

[Jim Becker]

Maybe I missed something, but I never saw you mention he was the manufacturer.

Ah, you're correct...I didn't tie the name to the company via his last name in the original post. Brain fart. My sincere apologies.

[Chris Parks]

and I dont think the Felder DRO is compatible with it. So having a DRO on the lamb parallel fence wouldnt work as effectively if you also didnt have a DRO in the 2nd parallel leg. All sorts of complexities involved lol.

I have worked out how to get a DRO onto the K3 Hammer outrigger CC fence and just need to do it. I have also worked out how to make and attach the rear parallel guide to my K3 as well using a DRO.

[derek labian]

I wonder if you can do most of what you would get with a Fritz/Franz with this parallel fence and a clamp?

[Jim Becker]

I wonder if you can do most of what you would get with a Fritz/Franz with this parallel fence and a clamp?

I have been using the F&F for parallel ripping. I think that if I were doing it a lot more, a "true parallel guide" setup might be more efficient. There's zero harm in you trying that first and you'll want/need a Fritz and Franz fixture anyway.

[derek labian]

There's zero harm in you trying that first and you'll want/need a Fritz and Franz fixture anyway.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the feedback.

I tried to find a manufacturer for a nice aluminum F&F with stops, fence, and measurements but I couldn't find a production manufacturer; they seem to be wood and not that great. I considered making my own out of plate aluminum with extruded fence etc. The parallel guide with DRO seems like a good alternative I can just buy.

Sooo...

I've seen some users do tapers with F&F too but it seems like this would also be easier with a parallel guide also. Is there something the F&F does "better", INHO, than a parallel guide would do?

[Jim Becker]

I made my F&F out of scrap BB plywood, some aluminum tee track, some surplus threaded knobs and a pair of stick on tapes with dual markings (metric and Imperial) Oh, and a little sick on sandpaper on the faces. The stops were scraps of cherry. Make a basic setup, use it for awhile and then decide what the "ultimate" would be "for you".

[Chris Parks]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the feedback.

I tried to find a manufacturer for a nice aluminum F&F with stops, fence, and measurements but I couldn't find a production manufacturer; they seem to be wood and not that great. I considered making my own out of plate aluminum with extruded fence etc. The parallel guide with DRO seems like a good alternative I can just buy.

Sooo...

I've seen some users do tapers with F&F too but it seems like this would also be easier with a parallel guide also. Is there something the F&F does "better", INHO, than a parallel guide would do?

Work out what works for you, personally I can see no reason to use clamps on a slider and never have over the eight years I have owned mine. I rip everything on the sliding table using the F&F jig which I consider a sacrificial tool requiring very little effort to replace when the zero cut gets eroded away by the blade.

[Kevin Jenness]

Is there something the F&F does "better", INHO, than a parallel guide would do?

Fritz and Franz are quick to drop in and out of the table and mine have flipstops so I can straightline a piece with the stops out of the way and dimension it with stops down, compared to parallel fences that typically are less handy to set up and must be retracted or removed for an initial cut. I don't see an advantage for either one for taper cuts unless the parts are quite wide.

I have two screw clamps. The front one usually stays in place, the back one is used mainly for narrow cuts on the carriage. I can use a stick to tighten the forward one if necessary. The clamps are mainly used for material that needs to be held down to the scorer, especially for crosscutting. Air clamps would be nice but at the price I seem to have other priorities.