Hi,
I wanted to give some details on a shooting board that I just made from about $20 of material. I needed to cut some butcher block countertop into shelving, but couldn’t justify the cost of the Festool circular saw kit or the less expensive alternative. (Sorry, Dino.)
The trick was to use some Pergo-style click-together flooring as the main component. I got the flooring at Lowe’s; they had some pieces out of the carton that I was able to negotiate a per-piece price of about $3. These are about 8″ x 51″ each.
I clicked two pieces together lengthwise, and then for the fence, I stapled onto one side a piece of 2″ x 1/2″ poplar trim that was lying around. I ran the circular saw down the fence to trim the pergo to width. So far, pretty ordinary.
The trick came when I tried to clamp it to the butcher block that I was planning to cut. Of course, the clamps got in the way of the saw. But by cutting a couple of scraps of the pergo, and then clicking them into the side of the shooting board, I was able to clamp out of the way of the saw. The added benefit is that the clamp pieces can be positioned anywhere along the length of the board, for different length pieces of material.
I am debating whether to cut this ~100″ fence into two 50″ pieces. Cutting through just the poplar fence would allow me to unclick the flooring and have a combination that can cut either 4′ or 8′ sheet stock. But it would require some sort of reinforcement at the connection point.
Anyway, I thought it was a decent solution that was worth sharing.
Any comments or questions?
Happy New Year,
Alec
Replies
Alec
Good idea, thanks.
am debating whether to cut this ~100" fence into two 50" pieces. Cutting through just the poplar fence would allow me to unclick the flooring and have a combination that can cut either 4' or 8' sheet stock. But it would require some sort of reinforcement at the connection point.
Why not use a 3rd piece of laminate and click it at the joint. That would bring everything into perfect alignment.
Rich
Nice idea. Will try it. Thanks.
Cargin,
I did as you suggested, and used a third scrap of pergo to hold the two pieces in alignment, and now it works great for short or long cuts. Don,
How do you send in an idea to the magazine. I have to admit that I let my subscription lapse a while ago.Alec
How do you send in an idea to the magazine...
Go here:
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/fh_contact.asp
Good luck. I tried once (so far) but I guess I just wasn't clever enough for them.
Yeah, submit it. I submitted a related jig that I rigged for fitting stair treads. They gave me $150 smackers for it!Aitchkay
I remember that jig for treads. Very slick.Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Alec
That's great. I'm glad it worked.
Rich
Good idea - and I've already got a few pieces laying around gathering dust just waiting...
-Paul
I like the take-down feature.
How about four pieces of Pergo instead of just two? Glue 'em lengthwise, but leave the ends dry.
8" wide is a little skinny anyway for a wooden cut-off jig. I usually start with a piece of lauan no narrower than 12".
Maybe stagger the ends so it always snaps together the same. Depending on how stiff the snap action is (it'll loosen up) maybe stagger the ends as much as 6".
The extra width combined with the stagger would make it go together straighter and stiffer, and then it'd be wide enough to clamp.
Snap-together Pergo for the fence, too?
AitchKay
Nice tip.
Maybe you should consider sending it in to the magazine for their tips and techniques section.
Sorry, but I just gotta' say this.........."Smart Alec!" ;0)
Kidding aside, way to go. Great idea. I'm going to try it on some sheet goods I have to cut.
Thanks.
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Edited 1/11/2009 7:11 pm by oldbeachbum
Alec-
Great idea!
More pics to come perhaps?
94969.19
In the beginning there was Breaktime...
94969.1 Photo Gallery Table of Contents
I have more pics, will post tonight.
Rez,
Here are a couple of additional pictures of the modified shooting board per Cargin's suggestion. The closeup picture shows the joint between the two lengths of the pergo. I beveled the edge of the poplar trim so that the pieces can be lifted up to connect and disconnect, while still maintaining relative continuity on the fence. The other shot shows how the middle piece of pergo scrap joins the connection between the two lengths and aligns the whole thing, while also allowing for an extra clamping location.The whole thing breaks down pretty nicely too!Thanks to all for their help and encouragement about this simple-to-make jig. Alec
you're taking away any excuse for me to freehand trim anymore:)way cool idea
Nice jig Alec.
Hi,
I wanted to give some details on a shooting board that I just made from about $20 of material. I needed to cut some butcher block countertop into shelving, but couldn't justify the cost of the Festool circular saw kit or the less expensive alternative. (Sorry, Dino.)
Don't feel sorry for Dino.
Once a week a custom build industrial ez system is delivered to a lucky customer.
Today's price tag for the latest custom ez system was $23.000.00
It was designed and build in two weeks to solve a major production problem in a large plastic extrusion factory.
Estimated savings for the customer was $4500.00 daily.
can you see this picture? ez tool in progress.
View Image
david.
Edited 1/12/2009 10:30 pm ET by davidwood
hi Alec,
Chuck Miller here at the Fine Homebuilding tip desk. I think your shoot board could make a good tip for the column. Can you shoot me some additional pix?
I'm at:
[email protected]
We're always on the lookout for clever ideas like this. I invite all you Breaktimers to dust off your digital cameras and send in your jobsite brainstorms. They'll make the magazine that much better...
CM
Nice idea.
I have the festool TS55. I got it for $735 with the CT 22 extractor two years ago right before the spring price increase. I think after the coming price increase in a month or so the same thing will be $1000. I could justify the $1k for the dust collect, speed, quality, etc. but they are really pricing themselves out of the market.
The festool guide rails have foam strips on the bottom for anti slip and they have a rubber piece on the cutting edge for anti chip. EZ is is similar I believe. You could add those two things on yours to get the anti chip on the cut side at least. I know festool sells replacements, Ez probably does or you could find something similar.