| 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
formatting link