Update on an already exercised gloat

[Morris Dovey]

A while back I mentioned that I'd licensed a design for a circular saw cross-cutting guide, with the gloat that it'd be marked "Made in USA". I guessed that it might find its way to market sometime in the following six months...

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 on the licensee's web site

with a link at "New Item").

It's being manufactured at a plant in northern Iowa. /That/ I like!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Andy]

Congrats! Is this going to be available from any other suppliers? What material is the square made of? I do have one question regarding my saw and potential use with this jig

- on the edge of the square where the saw plate registers against the square, how tall is that little fence surface? The motor housing on my saw sticks out past the plate, and I've had problems with various jigs I've used in the past, as the motor body catches on the straightedge when trying to make a deep-ish cut. Did that make sense? Congrats on licensing a product that looks like it will be accurate and useful (and made in the USA), Andy

[Andy]

One other question - how long is the fence edge of the square? (i.e. would this be suitable for cross-cutting a 10" board? 12"?) Thanks, Andy

[Leon]

Good for you Morris. I hope they sell a million of them, this year.

[Morris Dovey]

| Congrats! Is this going to be available from any other suppliers? | What material is the square made of? | I do have one question regarding my saw and potential use with this | jig - on the edge of the square where the saw plate registers | against the square, how tall is that little fence surface? The | motor housing on my saw sticks out past the plate, and I've had | problems with various jigs I've used in the past, as the motor body | catches on the straightedge when trying to make a deep-ish cut. Did | that make sense? | Congrats on licensing a product that looks like it will be accurate | and useful (and made in the USA),

Andy...

My understanding is that it's being made of aluminum. The sample that I provided (and they liked) was type 6061 16 ga aluminum. I'd expect that the production version is the same.

The CAD drawing I provided - and that I think was used to produce the toolpaths for laser-cutting - had 3/4" tabs to be bent after cutting. If that's what they used, the fence should be 3/4" less the amount lost to the bend.

It could be a problem cutting full-depth if the motor housing is much less than 3/4" from the bottom of the sole plate.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| One other question - how long is the fence edge of the square? | (i.e. would this be suitable for cross-cutting a 10" board? 12"?)

My drawing called for a 12" fence, so as to provide an extra half inch of fence support for starting cuts in (nominal) 12" stock. Three screw holes are provided in the fence for attachment of an extension to handle even wider stock; but I don't think I'd want to cut stock wider than about 24" with a fence extension if I were trying for a precision cut.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| Good for you Morris. I hope they sell a million of them, this | year.

Thanks, Leon. If they do that, we'll need figure out where to have the celebration and how much beer and BBQ to order. :-D

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Rick M]

"Morris Dovey" wrote

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

Regards,

Rick

[Swingman]

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

Congratulations!

[Lenny]

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" !

Lenny

[Robatoy]

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

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

Rob

[Kevin Craig]

Excellent on all counts!

The only problem with coming up with such a smart but simple design, is that woodworkers, naturally being a DIY lot, will remark to themselves, "... I can make that!"

Good luck, and may you cash many royalty checks!

Kevin

[nailshooter41]

Wow... so many try, so many fail. >Congratulations< on making to the finish line of bringing your product all the way to market. I second the idea... hope you sell a million and keep a few more Americans in jobs along the way.

Great looking product!

Robert

[Morris Dovey]

| The only problem with coming up with such a smart but simple | design, is that woodworkers, naturally being a DIY lot, will remark | to themselves, "... I can make that!"

Haven't seen my web site have you? I've knocked myself out to show everybody how everything they might go there to see is made - including my primary products - and if you wander over and read you can probably make some good guesses about how those are going to evolve over the next year. I thought the trig review was bad enough - those guys are making me do it all over again with physics. 8-P

The thing that keeps me from starving is that not everyone /wants/ to make everything for themselves - and for those who /need/ to, I'm glad to be able to help 'em help themselves.

Life can't /just/ be about money - _that_ would be the ultimate impoverishment.

| Good luck, and may you cash many royalty checks!

Thanks for your good wishes! :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[tom]

Nice! Congratulations, and hope you sell a lot of 'em. Tom

[Lee Michaels]

I looked at the instructions. One point I was not clear about was that the wide part of this jig is on the other side of the board you are cutting. And as such you would be holding it there with your hand.

On all the other cutting jigs I have used, it was the other way around. Which meant that as the cut progressed, the potential for a little slippage of the jig to occur increased as the cut was made.

The approach you used would actually add to the stability of the jig as the cut progressed. It is something I never thought of. But it is a good idea.

Good design. Simple but effective. And you got somebody to make it and distribute it too.

Life is good Again, congrats Morris.

[Morris Dovey]

| Wow... so many try, so many fail. >Congratulations< on making to | the finish line of bringing your product all the way to market. I | second the idea... hope you sell a million and keep a few more | Americans in jobs along the way.

Thanks. Incidentally, it wasn't the first idea and it wasn't the first person/outfit approached with this one. It's beginning to look like one of the most important parts of the job is 'showing up'.

I'm not so optimistic as to even hope for a million sold - but any number that'd help keep the shop lights on would be great. :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| Congrats Morris.

Thanks!

| I looked at the instructions. One point I was not clear about was | that the wide part of this jig is on the other side of the board | you are cutting. And as such you would be holding it there with | your hand.

You got it.

| | On all the other cutting jigs I have used, it was the other way | around. Which meant that as the cut progressed, the potential for a | little slippage of the jig to occur increased as the cut was made. | | The approach you used would actually add to the stability of the | jig as the cut progressed. It is something I never thought of. But | it is a good idea.

It might help if I said that when I built the first of these I was a /total/ newbie to woodworking and was absolutely terrified of my circular saw. As far as I could see, my sawblade didn't have teeth - it had fangs. I wanted _control_. I did try it the other way around - /once/. One of the reasons for choosing to make it that way was so that I could hold it with a C-clamp.

| Good design. Simple but effective. And you got somebody to make it | and distribute it too.

Well, I paid a machine shop in Minnesota to make 15. Fourteen walked away ("Let me try it out and get back to you.") and I just happened to show the last one to the right guy. Tho it looks like I might have to do a little growling to get /this/ one back...

| Life is good Again, congrats Morris.

It is - and thank you.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Morris Dovey]

| Nice! Congratulations, and hope you sell a lot of 'em.

Tom...

Thanks!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Han]

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?