UHMW for Miter Bar or facing for rrip fence

calver · Post by **calver** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:45 pm

Anyone used UHMW for miter bars or rip fence faces. Just would like to know the pros and cons and the whats and hows of attaching.

Dave C.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:33 pm

calver wrote:Anyone used UHMW for miter bars or rip fence faces. Just would like to know the pros and cons and the whats and hows of attaching.

Dave C.

To minimize slop in the miter track, the miter bar must be milled to very tight tolerances. Once done. it works great.

Buy it thick enough so that you can bury the screw heads.

calver · Post by **calver** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:27 pm

Dusty,

How does the material respond to sawing and sanding.

Thanks,
Dave C.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:36 pm

I'm told that UHMW doesn't lend itself to straight or staying that way. I know a lot of people use it on the face of their fence but the "Experts" claim the benefits gained are outweighed by the lost of absolute flatness, thus explains the resurgence of aluminum faced fences and steel miter bars.

That said many wood working stores still offer UHMW in sheets and stock sizes that suggest use as miter rails and fence faces.

I think it comes down to each individuals thinking and what they are convinced is best for them.

My opinion a good hardwood runner or fence face that is sanded very smooth and waxed would be better and cheaper.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:49 pm

calver wrote:Dusty,

How does the material respond to sawing and sanding.

Thanks,
Dave C.

I have not cut it enough to discuss characteristics but - I cut a piece using the bandsaw and edge sanded it using the conical disk. It seemed to be very workable.

The guys on Router Workshop could tell you. They use it a lot.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:39 pm

The Rosendahls on The Router Workshop show on TV us it for fences and it seems to stay straight for them. Theirs seems to be about 3/4 thick and 1&1/2"wide.
Even so, I'd still agree with Ed in Tampa that a good hardwood would be better.....and cheaper.

reible · Post by **reible** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:30 pm

Yes I do.

Just a few things I'd like to comment on.

UHMW plastic is wonderful to work with. If you would like to see snow in July I'd say get yourself some and do some routing. The down side is that it is very light and fluffy and well you might be picking it up for a while.

It is very slick, things tend to glide along it. It is very wear resistance and seems to hold up very well for woodworking projects. It comes in various sizes and even as a tape. Without looking it up I believe 3/4" and 3" are typical widths. I have some of the 3" stuff on the bottom of various jigs so they slip along better (better then wax in at least some cases). It works well for runners but I wouldn't use it for a miter bar. It lacks stiffness so for something like a miter bar where it attaches at the protractor and then at the lock, well it would flex to much. If on the other hand you were to use it as runners on a sled it works fine. There it can be attached several times along its length and the "slickness" makes it work well. You do have to worry about mushrooming if you attempt to tighten it to tight it may bulge out.

Some of the fancy rip fences have this material attached... you have to again keep it attached more then just on the ends... well unless you go with thicker pieces. Like if you used a 1/4" thick piece it might well need to be attached to a holder to stay in place well enough but if you used say a 3/4" thickness perhaps a couple of attachment points would work.

I make ZCI out of it and it works really nice for that. I get 3/8" thick 4" wide strips 4' long. (I rip it to width, the route to fit). Depending on how the place cuts the strips the 4' can be a little short so I can get either 2 or three plates out of it (505/510/520 sized ones). If you watch for sales I can find these for about $14. So for two it comes out to $7 each or three at $4.66 each. I've forgotten the sales prices from shopsmith but I think they run about $20 each normally.

Attachment is with mechnical fasterner so most glue doesn't hold so well... I have seen glues listed that they say will work but I have never tried them. You also have the option of using joints like a sliding dovetail to hold it in place.

calver wrote:Anyone used UHMW for miter bars or rip fence faces. Just would like to know the pros and cons and the whats and hows of attaching.

Ed

Dave C.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:57 pm

calver wrote: How does the material respond to sawing and sanding.

Thanks,
Dave C.

I finally found the photo

The material responds very well to sawing, and routing. Probably sanding too, but have never had the need to try sanding. This is a photo taken before I built the sliding table and fences for the OPR. I used UHMW to make a fence for routing door frames for a six light cabinet door. It was an excellent fence, very straight and very slick (no wax needed). The second photo shows the use of the work pieces

Note in the 1st Photo - I drilled a hole in the material to hold a screw down (SS factory) fence holder. That's the black thing in the foreground of the UHMW fence. This allowed me to pivot the fence to get the desired depth of cut. Then I clamped down the other side. Can't see that clamp in this photo. Also note the routed recess in the plastic to fit the bit. This small slot allows NO tipping of the work piece into the bit, as might happen in a "normal" router fence having a wider mouth. Also note the chewed up back side of the fence. These marks were from other routing operations.

[ATTACH]3441[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]3440[/ATTACH]

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:08 pm

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL creation by Chuck.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:31 am

Chuck, you will use any excuse to show that piece off again! Can knot blame you...it is still gorgeous.