Exactly my point Larry. Which meant that a truly straight edge was never possible on a consistent basis. And sometimes the available wood in the field didn't have a factory edge since it was left over from something else, so there isn't a "reference edge" to correct the guide to.
You have to forgive me because I'm a natural born smart ass. May I ask WHY you purchased this and then called it a piece of garbage? Didn't you realize it in the store?
Another great tip!
One thing this conference has taught me quickly - be bold with your imagination, drills, saws, and hand tools - build it, modify it, or tear it to pieces to get what you really need.
Bob
Well, I guess you could pop a chalk line and clamp it to that.
Make a sawboard.Mind the text wrapping.
A couple of good responses to this already, but I will give and answer that sounds smart-assed, but is really serious: How straight, and how much are you willing to pay? Straight-edges for 8-ft lengths can vary from an mdf shelf from the BORG to a machinists straightedge, with tolerance of .0005"per foot, for about $500, and I'm sure you can go up from there.
I seldom need anything straighter than the edge of a sheet of ply or mdf shelf in an 8' length. And I don't consider it an heirloom tool for future generations!
But these seem to be gross overkill for most woodworking use. I like the "sawboard" someone else posted. Seems that it could be made for the router as well.
John,
I bought the same saw guide at the BORG and had the same problem you did with the bowing in the middle. I liked the idea of the sawboard, so I combined the 2.
I took a nice wide 8'+ piece of MDF (3/4" stock) and screwed the Johnson guide to it. It's straight now and won't be going anywhere.
If I'm cutting a lot of pieces for a shelf or something, instead of using my ruler or combo square to set up the saw guide, I cut 3 scrap pieces of wood to the appropriate length. Clamp them to the board you want to cut (bottom, middle and top), butt the sawguide against these pieces, clamp and cut.
Perfect results everytime.
Chuck
Chuck, for many cuts it worthwhile to make a saw board wider than the shelf or piece you are cutting with a full length cleat on the bottom side. Hook the cleat over the end of the panel, clamp the sawboard in place and cut.
saw space ========= ======================================================== width of cut piece ======
I've cut over 50 pieces with the 17.25 inch one I made out of particle board and it's still going strong.
Here's the original idea, one of the best woodworking ideas I've found on the web
alexy wrote: Sawboard I
I'm a sawboard fan
This is what I do for cutting 3/4 inch dados, change the 3/4 to whatever size you prefer for a different sized bit.
Cut two pieces of straight 49 inch long stock into guides (3/4 MDF or whatever floats your boat). The width of one is from the edge of a my round router base to the far side of the 3/4 bit. The other is from the edge of the router base to the near side of the 3/4 bit.
Mark one edge of the dado on the piece of sheet goods to be dadoed, then use the appropriate near or far side guide to locate your straight edge and clamp the straight edge in place. Then run your router along the straight edge to make your router cut.
You could get by with just a the far side guide most of the time, but having both gives you more options in how you make you cuts.
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