Today in the shop (sliding mortising jig for 520)

[reible]

One of the things I did not like about making mortises with the shopsmith in vertical router position was that you need one hand on the quill feed and that leaves you with just one hand to move the stock to make the cut.

This is what I hope to be my solution.

It has a base table that secures to the 520 table using t-nuts. A second or top table has a fixed fence and clamp. The bottom table and top table have matching drawer slides so the top will move smoothly. It has a stop bar that allows the setting of the start and end point of the mortice. With the workpiece clamped in place the whole top table with workpiece move and can be controlled with just one hand.

These are pre-testing photos so the design is not frozen and I already have a few updates in mind. If you like what you see or want to build your own right now have at it. There will be no measured drawing forth coming.

I will attempt to show how it works by annotating the pictures. Keep in mind the following.

No fence is shown as the design for that is not finished.

The clamp is waiting for a mounting bracket sold by Rockler.

Several other features are not shown and or not installed yet.

Here are the photos:

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This is about it for the day. More will be added as I have time.

Ed

[BuckeyeDennis]

Slick!

And I'd wager that the cost is less than 10% of a Festool Domino. Not counting the PowerPro, of course.

[reible]

I did do a bit more work on the fence and have decided to spend money rather then make my own. Rockler sells a Multi Track #35605 and brackets #33338 that I can use for this and then move to other applications. This will spread the cost around.

I think the height of 2-1/4" will be a good height and if I need taller I can add a MDF face of what other height I wish. It has a top t-track and 2 face t-tracks that will allow for a fixed positive stop for repeat cuts. Besides the clamp mounting part #57940 is on my order list anyway, might as well and blow the budget all at one time.

The clamp shown in the photos is a Rockler item #58616. I have a pair of those for my clamping table already, Really like how they adjust and have a clamping pressure that you can set and forget.

Now I have to set back and wait for the parts.

Ed

[dusty]

I like it, Ed. I think that it'll work just as shown. Could it be done on something less than 3/4" ply to reduce weight.?

[reible]

A few more updates and of course pictures.

In the first picture we can see the bottom table. It is mounted to the 520 table by way of 4 t-bolts. There is also a travel stop that limits how for the two table can slide in relation to each other. It also fixes the amount of maximum travel of the jig. The other part of this stop mounts to the top and will be shown in a later picture.

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When you want to mount the jig I didn't want to have to separate two tables. So I allowed the top table to extend just far enough "back" to have access to the front t-nut screws in that direction.

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The rear t-nut screws are easy to access as that is the direction of the normal movement.

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The other part of the stop previously show is a plate and screw. They have to be removed if you want to separate the two tables.

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Today's photo is clearer then the one in a previous post. This shows the function of the start/stop/lock bar and collars. If the top table needs to be locked in position the two stop collars are placed tight to the eye bolt.

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When use to limit the table movement the start and stop positions are set and table is limited to that amount of travel.

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You might have noticed a few changes from the first photos due to a few small changes I made today. I'm happy with things up to this point and have it set aside waiting for parts.

I'm a little concerned if I have lost most of you on what this does and how it works..... please if you have questions ask them.

Ed

[dusty]

Worry not, Ed. You document your projects so very well. There is hardly ever any reason to ask questions. I just wait to see what comes next.

[mountainbreeze]

I like what you have done. Very ingenious! One question: Is there any slop in the slides that would allow movement perpendicular to the length of the slides and if so, what did you do to eliminate it?

[algale]

I have been following this thread with some interest and obviously will be interested in seeing the final product.

I'm curious, if one had an X-Y vice like a machinist uses and were to mount it to the table somehow, would that accomplish what you are looking to do?

[reible]

I like it, Ed. I think that it'll work just as shown. Could it be done on something less than 3/4" ply to reduce weight.?

So far the weight is not very much, mostly due to the handy panel plywood I'm using. This being a prototype many things are changing but I might want to make a nicer version using better plywood and I may want to use less of it for cost and weight reasons.

Time will tell.

Ed

[reible]

I like what you have done. Very ingenious! One question: Is there any slop in the slides that would allow movement perpendicular to the length of the slides and if so, what did you do to eliminate it?

At this point I have not noticed any movement. I just today did my first cuts and everything seems to be holding very well.

I did discover a couple of more changes I want to make so as they happen things may change???

Ed