15 - Sliding Table, страница 29

TIPS & TECHNIQUES

Cut-Off Gauge

On my power miter saw, the blade guard makes it hard to see the cut line. To solve this, I made a simple gauge that allows me to use an "offset" reference mark that's easy to see.

To make the gauge, first clamp a scrap of wood to the fence so one end extends past the blade, see Fig. 1. Then to create the refer

ence mark on the fence of the chop saw, scribe a line on the fence that corresponds to the other end of the scrap piece. Now all you have to do is cut the scrap to length and save it as a gauge.

To use the cut-off gauge, start by measuring and marking the workpiece you're going to cut as you normally would. Then align

one end of the gauge to the layout line and mark the workpiece at the other end of the gauge (this is the offset), see Fig. 2.

Now simply line up this offset mark with the scribed line on the fence and cut the workpiece to length, see Fig. 3.

Torn Bogan The Colony, Texas

0

FIRST:

clamp scrap

TO FENCE

SECOND: scribe

a line on fence

THIRD: cut

scrap to length

SECOND: scribe

a line on fence

THIRD: cut

scrap to length

Pinch Blocks

It seems that every time I glue up a panel, the boards shift when I apply the clamps. To prevent this, I slip a pinch block over each glue joint until I get the clamps set.

Each block is a scrap of wood with a notch cut in it to match the thickness of the panel. Once the clamps are tightened, remove the blocks before the glue dries.

Roopinder Tara Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Power Sanding Tip

To keep the cord on my portable sander out of the way when sanding, I suspend it from the ceiling by a chain of rubber bands. (The chain I use is made up from six large rubber bands that I collected over a period of time from <U^our Sunday newspaper.)

One end of the chain is looped around the cord (about one foot from the plug). The other end is

hook

looped over a screw mounted in the ceiling.

Now when I'm power sanding, the cord doesn't drag on my project. And when I'm through sanding, I just reach up and slip the chain off the hook. This way, it stays on the power cord and is ready whenever I'm going to sand.

Clyde Bachman Olympia, Washington

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No. 15

ShopNotes

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