What's a good straightedge/clamp?

[wildfire99]

It's time for tool upgrades again and I am looking for a new set of clamps/straightedges so I can rip full sheets of material down to smaller sizes, and do the occasional odd cut without firing up the table saw. I previously used the Tru-Grip Pro Ft'r clamps ( http://www.amazon.com/Tru-Grip-FT4TS...8670534&sr=8-2 ), which were like gifts from the heavens. Flat, straight, strong clamping, and had nothing sticking out to catch a saw on. However, it looks like the company is no longer in business.

So... what is the next best thing?

[Brian Bunge]

You can try the clamps from MLCS Woodworking. I don't have their bar clamps (I believe mine are the same as yours), but I have used their Merle Band Clamps and the Can Do Clamps and like them both very much.

http://mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/clampinx.html

[h-bar]

I've had great luck with these:

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/ps.html

When I was cutting lots of panels for a class I was teaching I made an oversized square to make it easier to line the cutting guide up perpendicular to a factory edge. I also purchased two of the PPS-B fixtures so I could mount a circular saw in one, and a router in the other. I used the following protocol for making clean edges:
1) Set up the cutting guide, using the oversized square if appropriate
2) Make a "rough" cut with a circular saw
3) Use the router to clean up the edge and make sure it's truly perpendicular to the surface of the sheet.

The guide was not moved between steps 2 and 3. I set the router to remove less than 1/16" of material and calibrated the whole system so I could predict precisely what the final dimensions would be. I was quite impressed with the precision possible with this technique and found it not to be very fussy.

hbar

[dyazdani]

I made a sawboard and used quick clamps. I had wanted to get one like you posted or the Boomer type from MLCS, but in the end I went with the no cost option. Turns out that the cuts were dead on.

[Hdale85]

I need to do something like this as well as I'm building an enclosure for a sub And we don't have access to a table saw

[CraigJ]

Hi Patrick,

I'm not sure if you're looking for 50" or a 96" straight edge. Rockler has a 50" L All-In-One Clamp Guide on sale for $29, Get an additional $10 off with code V7227.

Craig

[---k---]

I think OP is looking for something fancier than a sawboard (...and I can't say I blame him. I'm really tempted by that deal Craig posted. Will have to check it out...) But for those looking for a quicker, dirtier method, the sawboard that Danish showed works great.

Directions on how to build one: http://members.aol.com/woodmiser1/sawbd.htm

[cobbpa]

Thanks for posting that Craig. Just finished my order...I'd been planning to buy a guide soon; perfect timing!

[dlr]

How did you make the router cut?

When I was cutting lots of panels for a class I was teaching I made an oversized square to make it easier to line the cutting guide up perpendicular to a factory edge. I also purchased two of the PPS-B fixtures so I could mount a circular saw in one, and a router in the other. I used the following protocol for making clean edges:
1) Set up the cutting guide, using the oversized square if appropriate
2) Make a "rough" cut with a circular saw
3) Use the router to clean up the edge and make sure it's truly perpendicular to the surface of the sheet.

The guide was not moved between steps 2 and 3. I set the router to remove less than 1/16" of material and calibrated the whole system so I could predict precisely what the final dimensions would be. I was quite impressed with the precision possible with this technique and found it not to be very fussy.

hbar

Looking at the photo of the guide, I don't see how you can use the router without moving the guide. The circular saw cuts close to the guide. There doesn't appear to be enough room to get a router bit to the newly cut edge.



What kind of accuracy could you get for it? I've used a clamped aluminum bar and only needed to maintain slight pressure of the saw against the bar. What amount of play is there with the guide section?

Did you position the guide on the scrap section or the working section of the panel?

[JonP]

Hi Patrick,

I'm not sure if you're looking for 50" or a 96" straight edge. Rockler has a 50" L All-In-One Clamp Guide on sale for $29, Get an additional $10 off with code V7227.

Craig

Ooooh... that is a good deal!

I was going to say that Rockler and Woodside have things like this in a few lengths, though I can't imagine Woodside having a better sale price than that!

OTOH, the venerable Sawboard approach is impossible to beat if you don't want to spend much $$.

Heck, I imagine you could make both a circ saw Sawboard, and a router Sawboard...

[dyazdani]

Heck, I imagine you could make both a circ saw Sawboard, and a router Sawboard...

I didn't find that I needed a router for a clean edge (surprisingly); the circular saw did a good job.

I don't see why you couldn't make a "routerboard" - should be the same principle. The only thing you'd have to be careful with is that the board would only be precise for the bit it was made/calibrated with...

[CraigJ]

The only thing you'd have to be careful with is that the board would only be precise for the bit it was made/calibrated with...

Hi Danish,

In my experience, the "routerboard" is easy to make. You'd want to keep the same bit and make sure your router didn't spin; or turn, 'cause some router bases aren't perfectly round.

Craig

[JonP]

Yeah, a "Routerboard".... It never occurred to me till just that moment, but why not? A good point about the roundness accuracy of the base. (as well as the more obvious made for the diameter of bit that made it) It would be a good idea to put a mark on your base, and always use that as the point of contact.

I never got a edge fence with my router, have been waiting to buy one, but now maybe I'll just make one of these instead and give it a try!

[dyazdani]

In my experience, the "routerboard" is easy to make. You'd want to keep the same bit and make sure your router didn't spin; or turn, 'cause some router bases aren't perfectly round.

Craig

One of the bases on my router has one flat edge, comes in handy!

[dwk]

If the primary purpose is making the first one or two rough cuts in plywood, then I agree that a shop-made sawboard is all you'll need. The primary benefit of the sawboard over most edge guides is that it's a zero-offset technique - just plop it down on the cut line and go. I guess the downside is that you need a bit more width left of the cut to clamp the board.

There are some interesting possibilities with guided rails if you want to go beyond the 'breaking down plywood' step, though. I just pulled the trigger on the beginnings of a Eurekazone EZ guide system, which (assuming it works as advertised) can handle most workshop tasks, and appears to be a great soluton for space-constrained shops. By keeping the wood stationary, you halve the space needed for big cuts, and in my small (12x16) space this is a big advantage.
The main advantages the EZ system has as an edge guide are that it is zero-offset and that it has an anti-chip base setup so you can get finish-quality cuts on hardwood ply directly. The additional components of the EZ system such as the clamping techniques, router sled (SRK), the bridges (basically flexible 'rail holders') and the 'power bench' setup (bench with extruded rails around the perimeter) are what provide the broad flexibility to handle most things you'd do on either the TS or the router table.
Unfortunately, you don't really save much money with this approach. A full-out EZ setup can easily run you over $1k by the time you add a circular saw and router, so it's not much different than a basic 'normal' shop setup. I'm just getting set up with it, and will try to report back on real-world use once I have some time under my belt.

The Penn state unit that h-bar posted looks interesting, and might be sort of an EZ-lite. You don't have the zero-offset or zero-clearance, but with the t-slots on the bottom and the apparently strong/stiff rail, you might be able to reproduce some of the bridge-style setups that the EZ offers.

[CraigJ]

Here is some info regarding straight edges/clamps: https://www.bt3central.com/showthrea...ighlight=clamp I hope posting the link is O.K.. I find this website very helpful. Thanks to Jon for recommending the site, as well as the table saw

Craig

[Martyn]

I use a double-side saw board - one side fits my circular saw, the other side fits my router. Although this works well, I'm still irritated by the setting up which takes longer than making the cut.

Last week I bought one of these: http://www.accurip.com. I have my doubts that this will work adequately for wide rips, but it might be good enough for widths up to the size of speaker panels (I haven't tried it yet, obviously).