Kreg Rip Cut Guide

[conwaygolfer]

I posted last winter (I think) that I was about to purchase a track saw. Got permission from the better half to spend $600 plus dollars for a tool that would save my aching back, etc., from trying to wrestle full sheets of plywood on the table saw.
Right after that I was in Lowes and noticed the Kreg rip cut circular saw guide for $35.00 It looked like a decent guide, so I thought why not? If it works it will save me plenty of money.
I must say that it is better than I had imagined. Easy to install and remove from the saw. Makes very accurate and straight cuts anywhere from one inch to 24 inches.
The set up directions are simple and it will work on any circular saw. I make a lot of kitchen cabinets and wish I had one of these years ago.
I believe there is a video on UTube showing it working. If anyone buys one, I assure you, you will be doing yourself a favor.
I have installed a freud diablo 40 tooth blade that rips as fast as I can walk. And doing crosscuts, it cuts smooth with no tearout.
So between the blade and the guide, I have been a very happy woodworker.

Conwaygolfer

[lrr]

I may get one of these, based on your post, and some online reviews I just read. The price is quite reasonable. Although I have a Festool track saw, I still have an old heavy duty circular saw in the garage that gets some use for outdoor projects and this would be a nice add-on.

Kreg makes some nice products. I have their pocket hole jig, and they are fantastic. Really great for quick, strong builds of 2X4 benches and carts. I have not tried it yet for face frames but plan to do so on the next cabinet I build. I just used the Kreg shelf pin jig on a recent cabinet build, and it made fast work of drilling lots of holes for the movable shelves.

[conwaygolfer]

I may get one of these, based on your post, and some online reviews I just read. The price is quite reasonable. Although I have a Festool track saw, I still have an old heavy duty circular saw in the garage that gets some use for outdoor projects and this would be a nice add-on.

Kreg makes some nice products. I have their pocket hole jig, and they are fantastic. Really great for quick, strong builds of 2X4 benches and carts. I have not tried it yet for face frames but plan to do so on the next cabinet I build. I just used the Kreg shelf pin jig on a recent cabinet build, and it made fast work of drilling lots of holes for the movable shelves.

I use the Kreg pocket hole jig on all my face frames. Easy install and strong with a little added glue. I realize there are other "old school" ways of doing it, but this is how I learned and it serves me well.

Conwaygolfer

[JimD]

Kreg is a good brand. I don't think this would replace a track saw for me but it is certainly a lot more reasonably priced. It is really nice to be able to put the guide on the mark and know it will cut exactly there. The bearings and action of the track saw are better than at least my Milwaukee, I suspect other circular saws. But then it should be better for what it costs.

[raleighdave]

Other reviewers say . . .

Read a number of reviews. While some liked it a lot, others noted that both the pot metal and plastic seem more appropriate to a pocket screw drilling jig than for a saw guide. Reliability is an open question. Others noted that the T end that guides along the edge of the plywood is not very long, suspecting that it might not yield an accurately straight cut, making the guide better for rough cutting prior to a finish cut on a table saw. Maybe you get what you pay for!

[lrr]

Since these series of posts, I have used my Festool track saw to build a plywood box. It had to be a very accurate box, since it is the foundation for a tile-topped dog food bowl stand for my daughter. It is relatively small (the tile is about 8" X 16"), so any small errors in dimensions and therefore angles would show badly and be a major source of frustration during assembly.

The plywood will be covered with 6mm cherry veneered MDF on the 4 vertical sides. There are also cherry trim pieces -- outside corner molding for the 4 vertical edges, and fancy cherry top cap trim around the single tile. For a good fit around the tile, and a good fit of all the trim in general, the box had to be accurate in dimensions, and dead-on in terms of being square from face to face, and faces to the top.

The plywood box was accurate down to 1mm in all dimensions. And all cuts were tearout-free on both sides of the cut (although the plywood will not show, so this was not reall a big deal, but it made assembly nice).

I've never had this kind of accuracy or ease in assembly using my conventional saws (table, radial arm). I did use Seneca Woodworking Parallel Guides to make the cuts, so squareness and repeatability was pretty simple.

I was starting to wonder if I should just sell off the old circular saw after all, although it would still suffice for most outside projects I foresee.

[JimD]

Lee,

That Seneca guide system looks neat but it isn't cheap. I'm thinking of a home-made fence setting jig that would idex off the edge of the plywood and have a sliding block you would set so that the top piece would bumps the guide back the right amount. I'm sure this is better but I will probably try my idea before spending close to $200. But thanks for sharing! I also see less need for my table saw after getting my DeWalt track saw but I still think I want it for smaller rips and cutting joints.

Jim