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Lonely Raven · 19th January 2010

I got a little work done over the weekend...well, pretty much all done today.

Before I go on with my usual photos and verbose descriptions, a helpful tip:

Don't go changing settings or methods mid stream. I wound up throwing out 8 fins and dealing with a little bit of waviness in my fins due to deciding to slot 8 fins at a time with the new jig. Plus, I removed my setup from the table saw to I could build a small sub box for my fiance's car yesterday. So two changes to the setup meant I ruined a few fins till I got my settings back on track.

So, if you're going to build it, make sure you've got enough wood, and do each stage in ONE go. Or, if it takes a few days, don't change anything till your done with all the cuts. Then go to the next step or next project!

OK, back on track. I'm tired, so I'll try and be brief and let the photos do most of the talkin.

OK, stack of fins cut. This is about 1/3 what I cut today.

Another photo of the new jig:

And chop chop chop, I make lots-o-fins. The one that's missing I actually had to break out. It was just slightly off by enough that it threw the whole unit off. I snapped it out, and made a replacement. I think I eventually had to do this for 3 fins due to changing setups in mid stream.

Ohhh, cosmic and artsy!

OK, new tile cutting jig. I wasn't very creative here. It's just a variant of the fin cutting jig. The MDF in the jig is what I'm about to cut. It's a cutoff from one of the fins. The "C" Clamp is used in place of my finger. What I mean is that it's there to hold the 1/8" MDF piece down while I run the jig forward into the blade, and back to me. The round "nose" on the C Clamp is just the right shape for the job. I can run the whole jig with one hand, and that hand never leaves the miter during the actual cutting process.

So basically I take any scraps I may have that are a hair over 1" X 1" or better, then I square off the end in the jig so I have a nice sharp working edge, then I push it under the nose of the C Clamp, push the jig into and back from the blade, and I have a 1" deep by *whatever* the scrap is wide. Turn the cut off 90 degrees and run it through the same process, and now I've got 1" X 1" tiles.

Technically they are about 1.084" X 1.084" give or take .01
I really wanted to be more accurate than that, but I'd need a more accurate miter and some T-slots and other stuff I just didn't feel like spending money on. This should do fine. A couple hundred turned out in about 45 minutes. Only about 1300 more to go!!

19th January 2010	#47
Lonely Raven Gear maniac Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bolingbrook, IL Posts: 230 Thread Starter	I got a little work done over the weekend...well, pretty much all done today. Before I go on with my usual photos and verbose descriptions, a helpful tip: Don't go changing settings or methods mid stream. I wound up throwing out 8 fins and dealing with a little bit of waviness in my fins due to deciding to slot 8 fins at a time with the new jig. Plus, I removed my setup from the table saw to I could build a small sub box for my fiance's car yesterday. So two changes to the setup meant I ruined a few fins till I got my settings back on track. So, if you're going to build it, make sure you've got enough wood, and do each stage in ONE go. Or, if it takes a few days, don't change anything till your done with all the cuts. Then go to the next step or next project! OK, back on track. I'm tired, so I'll try and be brief and let the photos do most of the talkin. OK, stack of fins cut. This is about 1/3 what I cut today. Another photo of the new jig: And chop chop chop, I make lots-o-fins. The one that's missing I actually had to break out. It was just slightly off by enough that it threw the whole unit off. I snapped it out, and made a replacement. I think I eventually had to do this for 3 fins due to changing setups in mid stream. Ohhh, cosmic and artsy! OK, new tile cutting jig. I wasn't very creative here. It's just a variant of the fin cutting jig. The MDF in the jig is what I'm about to cut. It's a cutoff from one of the fins. The "C" Clamp is used in place of my finger. What I mean is that it's there to hold the 1/8" MDF piece down while I run the jig forward into the blade, and back to me. The round "nose" on the C Clamp is just the right shape for the job. I can run the whole jig with one hand, and that hand never leaves the miter during the actual cutting process. So basically I take any scraps I may have that are a hair over 1" X 1" or better, then I square off the end in the jig so I have a nice sharp working edge, then I push it under the nose of the C Clamp, push the jig into and back from the blade, and I have a 1" deep by whatever the scrap is wide. Turn the cut off 90 degrees and run it through the same process, and now I've got 1" X 1" tiles. Technically they are about 1.084" X 1.084" give or take .01 I really wanted to be more accurate than that, but I'd need a more accurate miter and some T-slots and other stuff I just didn't feel like spending money on. This should do fine. A couple hundred turned out in about 45 minutes. Only about 1300 more to go!!