Making Narrow Rips

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  • Sawduster
    Established Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 342
    • Cedar Park, TX, USA.

    Making Narrow Rips

    Making narrow rip cut can be scarey, and if it does not give you a bit of trepidation at the least, then maybe it is time to stop and think, because if you are not a little leery then you are looking to get injured. The folks who have been around for a while have probably seen and or read about this method as I have expounded on it before over at the Ryobi Forum.

    Making a single narrow rip is a bit scarey, but making repetitive equal width rips just makes it that much more so. You could just set the fence 1/2" from the blade and keep battleing piece through with a push stick, having your hands close to the blade for all those cuts. But what if you need to make a bunch of 1/4" wide strips? I would much rather have the wider part of the piece between the fence and blade and make my narrow pieces on the off cut side. Check out the pic.



    By attaching an auxilliary fence to the SMT fence (or to a standard miter gage) you can rig up a stop block on that side to slide the piece against to do repeated narrow rips. Slide the Miter device forward to the front teeth of the blade, attach your aux fence such that the edge is the distance from that side of the blade that you want your finished ripped pieces to be. Slide you miter device to the orientation shown in the pic and lock it down. Now set your rip fence about 1/2 kerf width less than the beginning width of your stock, and shave the piece so you've got a straight edge on the workpiece parallel to the edge against the rip fence. Unlock your rip fence and, with the workpiece against it, slide the fence toward the blade till the opposite edge of the work piece contacts the edge of your aux fence on the miter device as shown above. Lock the rip fence down and make your cut. Bring the piece back to the operator side, unlock the fence and again slide it so that the workpiece contacts the edge of the aux fence, lock the fence and make you next cut . . . until you have cut as many pieces as you need or until the workpiece becomes too narrow to repeat.

    How many times have you painstakingly set up to make a cut then realized that you need to offcut the end that needs to go against a stop block, or a piece of stock comes up a bit shy of the number of repeat pieces you need to make, so you've got to grab another piece of stock to continue cutting, but you've got to trim it straight or square before you make your cuts. Often times a set up won't allow it without making changes, but this setup has the added bonus that you can trim up the edge without taking down your set-up.

    Jerry

    "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
    ~ Thomas Paine ~





    Jerry

    \"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.\"
    ~ Thomas Paine ~





    http://www.sawdustersplace.com
  • MikeC
    Established Member
    • Mar 2003
    • 138
    • Near Atlanta, GA, USA.

    #2
    Neat idea. I just use a jig for that which allows a safe distance from the blade, and doesn't require any re-adjustments of the (rip) fence for each cut.

    --
    Just Mike. Neophyte woodworker and wannabe Renaissance man.
    --
    In the past, precision woodworking wasn\'t the domain of some power tool or clever gizmo bought from a modern scratch n\' sniff catalog. That chore was left to the skill of the woodworker, which as it should be, to separate the men from the boys. -- Patrick Leach http://www.supertool.com/layknife.htm

    Comment

    • RodKirby
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 3136
      • Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
      • Mao Shan TSC-10RAS

      #3
      And pictorially...

      Note the acrylic end - to allow the workpiece to slide.





      A Professional is someone who does what they say they will do.
      Downunder ... 1" = 25.4mm

      Comment

      • leehljp
        Just me
        • Dec 2002
        • 8429
        • Tunica, MS
        • BT3000/3100

        #4
        I vote for this to be in a FAQ archive. GREAT Explanation as well as great picts and diagrams.

        Hank
        Hank Lee

        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

        Comment

        • jethro
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2003
          • 1081
          • Newark, DE, USA.

          #5
          At the rate y'all are producing FAQ-worthy material, Sam's going to have to use some of his millions to hire a full-time assistant!

          --------------------
          jethro.
          Never attempt to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and annoys the pig. --Heinlein

          --------------------
          jethro.
          <font size=\"1\">Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. -- <i>Heinlein</i>
          http://www.jeffriegner.com</font id=\"size1\">

          Comment

          • caber

            #6
            Easy and safe narrow rips

            Hello all,
            I'm new to this forum and a brand new member to this wonderful site. I was looking around and came across the thread. It was years ago and no one may ever see this but I have a great way to make easy small rips that dont involve moving your fence. I make Mission style funiture and narrow rips are a big part of the cut list. I had a shop made push block made from a 15'' by 6'' 5/8 plywood. To hold the work I glued a scrap of cherry the same width of the push block and extending down about 1/2 inch. Consider it sacraficial.
            I found that by laying it on its side and placing the top against the fence and the bottom at the desired width of cut I could use it like a sled to rip my narrow slats. After making a cut simply place your stock back against the bottom of the sled. It yelds 100% uniform work pieces and your hands are a safe distance from the blade, that is until your stock runs out.
            I hope someone sees this and can use it.

            Bye All
            Caber

            Comment

            • Ken Massingale
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2002
              • 3862
              • Liberty, SC, USA.
              • Ridgid TS3650

              #7
              Thanks Caber. Could you post a pic or stetch, please.
              Thanks

              Comment

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