Update on an already exercised gloat

[Lee Michaels]

I got one of those fancy saw guides that allows you to cut angles. Provided the board is no wider than about four inches.

The thing that always frustrated me was getting everything all lined up and having to fight it the last couple of inches. I had to bear down so hard that sometimes my efforts to hold the saw guide firmly actually caused it to move. Because the further the saw blade progressed, the less stability the saw guide provided.

It seems that your approach would actually INCREASE in stability when cutting. Is this assessment correct?

The other problem was that there was no real guide for the saw beyond about five inches. I had to hold the saw agains the guide on the back of the saw when the front began to clear the guide. I understand that you attach a wood strip to your saw guide to allow a longer edge guide so the saw does not run out of guide when cutting. Is my understanding correct on this point?

All of these things inherently add to the stability and safety of cutting with this type of guide. Which is a good thing. I am too something of a safety freak. And I guard jealously my fingers, toes, eyes, ears and other body parts.

I guess I am sort of rambling here. But I am trying to understand how this thing works and how it is different from othert things I have used or witnessed.

Keep up the good work Morris.

Lee

[Morris Dovey]

| Sure is nice to hear of some jobs being created HERE in the US for a | change ! | As SWMBO would say: "Ya done good. kid" !

Thanks - I think that if we want to create jobs here, then we'll pretty much have to be the ones to make it happen - and then to keep 'em we'll need to demonstrate (over and over again) that we can do it best and least expensively.

I'm convinced we can do that. My experience here on the wreck has made clear to me that we're really good at creative problem-solving; and especially so when we work cooperatively - and perhaps extra-especially so when there's an "attaboy" for good results.

That your SWMBO understands this definitely makes her a keeper. Ya picked good.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| Way to go Morris. Glad you found a beaten path to place your better | mousetrap!

Thanks!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| I vote for Edwin Pawlowski to cater the party. (I have lost an | additional 10 pounds since I stopped visiting his web site.)

I'd better file that away... :-D

| Congrats, Morris, and I sincerely hope that the profits will fund | any and all future projects for you.

Thanks! It's beginning to look like it might generate funding for at least the current project (a separate part of the same phone conversation).

Thanks!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| ... and Charlie Self's got a little book that'll help you figure | that out. ;)

'S a good thing. I haven't had occasion to put on that kind of celebration since I made E5. I'm a bit rusty. :-)

| Congratulations!

Thanks!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Just let me know when the royalty checks start pouring in.

[Morris Dovey]

| I got one of those fancy saw guides that allows you to cut angles. | Provided the board is no wider than about four inches.

I never came across a combo protractor/saw guide that I thought I could get along with; and have made a couple of wooden fixed-angle guides.

| The thing that always frustrated me was getting everything all | lined up and having to fight it the last couple of inches. I had to | bear down so hard that sometimes my efforts to hold the saw guide | firmly actually caused it to move. Because the further the saw | blade progressed, the less stability the saw guide provided.

This sounds like a recipe for work that'd be difficult to be proud of - and a good rationale for using a C-clamp to hold the guide in place.

| It seems that your approach would actually INCREASE in stability | when cutting. Is this assessment correct?

It seems so to me. My perception has been that I gained considerable control over the cutting process. To be strictly honest, I think you could gain exactly the same kind of control by clamping a fence of some kind to the board you want to cut. This device is just quicker and easier to use.

| The other problem was that there was no real guide for the saw | beyond about five inches. I had to hold the saw agains the guide on | the back of the saw when the front began to clear the guide. I | understand that you attach a wood strip to your saw guide to allow | a longer edge guide so the saw does not run out of guide when | cutting. Is my understanding correct on this point?

There's always a wooden rail across the front - to make it easy to position the cut exactly where you want it.

The fence has provision for attaching a wooden strip for cross-cutting boards wider than a nominal 12" (actually 11-1/2") board. With this guide, you /can't/ run out of fence before you run out of board. What you gain by adding the wooden strip to the fence is support/alignment at the /beginning/ of the cut when you're cutting _wide_ boards.

| All of these things inherently add to the stability and safety of | cutting with this type of guide. Which is a good thing. I am too | something of a safety freak. And I guard jealously my fingers, | toes, eyes, ears and other body parts.

Me too. Tell you what, Lee, order one from HI-QOL and try it out. Then do a review here on the wreck and if you don't like it, send it to /me/ (not HI-QOL) and /I'll/ refund your purchase price and shipping charges. HI-QOL would probably be willing to do the same; but I can't offer on their behalf.

| I guess I am sort of rambling here. But I am trying to understand | how this thing works and how it is different from othert things I | have used or witnessed.

The line drawings on the web page are my fault. If you or anyone can figure out a better presentation sequence, I'd really like to know what it is. :-/

| Keep up the good work Morris.

Thanks again.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| Now I will have to go and buy a new circular saw. The old Skill | (~25 years) has a baseplate so dented and bent it can't be relied | upon, no matter how good your cross-cutting guide is. | | Any advice?

At the risk of revealing my Scottish heritage: Can you make a new baseplate? If not, then this might be the opportune moment to shop for a new saw! :-D

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Han]

"Morris Dovey" wrote in news:TbjAf.122$KW.12655 @news.uswest.net:

Once upon I was a frugal Dutchman (they may be a close second to Scots in pennypinching), but I lack the ability to do metalworking of that complexity.

So off I go to buy a circular saw ...

[Larry Jaques]

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 19:35:35 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, "Morris Dovey" quickly quoth:

Yeah, congrats, Morris. I'm doing about the same thing with my glare guards, tees, and handy pouches. Every little bit helps.

I missed the original gloat post. Which of your products are you guys referring to?

- DANCING: The vertical frustration of a horizontal desire.

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Full Service Web Programming

[Morris Dovey]

| I missed the original gloat post. Which of your products are you | guys referring to?

You should be able to pull my original post up from here: news:dabAf.74$ [e-mail]

But if not, try going to

and clicking on "New Item". It would appear that the licensee has managed to line up dealers, produce the first batch of product, make initial shipments, and set up on line sales - and, importantly to me (and my original gloat), production is being done at a plant right here in Iowa. :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 21 Jan 2006 09:30:16 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, "Morris Dovey" quickly quoth:

It did. Hey, that's cool! Want to trade products?

Yeah, by choice, all my products are manufactured in the US, too. (Mostly by me.) One of my newest tools is an industrial sewing machine, though that was imported. I bought it used from a local US business.

[Brooks Moses]

Yeah; that's one of the first things that I thought of when I was looking at your guide -- if you could sell angled ones for not too much more than the square one, it would probably be worth the cost to buy one just for the rafters in a single roof. You'd have to stock a number of different angles, though.

Waitaminute.... I got a better idea! Intead of getting an angled "Square-Jaw" guide, just get a second square one and replace the wooden rail with a triangular piece of wood that's cut at the appropriate angle. Sure, it takes a bit of care to get the triangle cut just right, and you probably want to do that back at the workbench (or at least with a sliding miter saw), but once that's done, it's done.

- Brooks

[John Grossbohlin]

Porter Cable used to sell a saw guide that was adjustable. I've had one close to 20 years and have used it to cut 2X10s and 2X12s at angles... though usually it's used at 90 degrees.

I'll take a picture and post it on ABPW and post another note here once it's up. I think I know where it is... haven't done any roof framing or stairs in quite a while!

John

[Morris Dovey]

I got a couple of e-mails suggesting that a photo would be helpful - so have posted a shot of the one that's lived in my toolbox for 20+ years. It isn't new and pretty but it still works as well as new.

If your server didn't pass the image, you might be able to retrieve it from: until my server drops it.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Joe Barta]

First of all, let me say that I hope you sell enough to be able to retire to a tropical location and enjoy the rest of your evenings in a hottub with a handful of college age hardbodies to refill your drink, massage your feet and worship you for the tycoon that you are.

That said... why would someone buy it for $20 rather than making something like it themselves? Call me a cheap bastard, but if I were seeing such a jig for the first time I might say to myself... hey, that's a cool idea, then promptly go into my workshop and whip one up with some plywood and a scrap or two of pine.

Am I missing something?

Joe Barta

[Morris Dovey]

| Morris Dovey wrote: | || This morning I got a call to let me know that dealers had been || lined up, that the first batch had been produced, product was || being shipped, and that the guide was being offered for sale | | First of all, let me say that I hope you sell enough to be able to | retire to a tropical location and enjoy the rest of your evenings | in a hottub with a handful of college age hardbodies to refill your | drink, massage your feet and worship you for the tycoon that you | are. | | That said... why would someone buy it for $20 rather than making | something like it themselves? Call me a cheap bastard, but if I were | seeing such a jig for the first time I might say to myself... hey, | that's a cool idea, then promptly go into my workshop and whip one | up with some plywood and a scrap or two of pine. | | Am I missing something?

Why? Hmm. Probably for the same reason I was delighted to find a stainless steel framing square in my first LV catalog - and bought one in spite of knowing that I could build one with a few scraps...

There isn't /any/ sense in buying (or building) a tool you aren't going to use at all (unless, of course, you're a tool collector).

If it's something you're only going to use a few times, it might make sense to build your own. In this case, you'd need to build a new one _every_ time you changed saw blades; but I can imagine where it might still make sense.

If it's a tool that'll be used frequently over an extended period of time, then it might be worthwhile to spend your money on a tool that can be relied upon to hold up well and do a good job for that entire extended period.

FWIW, mine has already held up for more than 20 years. It's been dragged all around the country in my toolbox and been used a fair amount. I built the first several out of scraps - and would have bought a metal version if I'd been able.

Also FWIW, when I woke up to the advantages of a metal version with a changable rail, I decided that it was worth considerably more than $20 to me - I paid a machine shop $350 (their minimum job charge). For the use it's gotten, I consider the money well spent.

If you see only occasional use, then - by all means - build one from scraps. If/when you need something really accurate and more durable, you'll know where to look. :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[John Grossbohlin]

I posted a picture of the adjustable PC guide on ABPW. For most applications (read "the majority of cuts are at 90 degrees") Morris Dovey's guide would be better and less cumbersome as the PC guide is about 2 feet long and Dovey's is about a foot... better than the typical small speed square for saw guiding.

John

[Morris Dovey]

Thanks :-) What /I/ liked most about it was that made splitting a pencil line (every time!) incredibly easy - something that I had difficulty doing with other types of guides. Somewhere along the way I switched from fat ol' #2 pencils to a 0.5mm drawing pencil - and I can /still/ split the line reliably.

If I did a lot of angled cutting, I think I'd also want the type you bought - but nearly all of my stuff has been square (or curved - for which neither type is much help).

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA