Edge Guide Clamps - Experience/brands/functionality.

[Dissolve]

Hello,

I don't own a table saw and using edges of other boards with my circular saw/routers is becoming a nightmare, I've seen the typical edge guide clamps on offer by all the usual places:

Axminster own:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/guide-clamps

Pro Grip from Axminster:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/progrip-guide-clamp

Silverline from amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-6750 ... edge+clamp

Silverline "locking arm" guide clamps:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-2826 ... ide++clamp

Firstly. The Silverline and Axminster own brand are the same price (thereabouts) and the silverline clamps actually have better reviews than the axminster ones especially regarding "no wiggle room when clamped".

Does anyone know what the difference in functionality is between the standard silverline and the "locking arm" silverline I have linked above? If I AM going to go down the cheap and cheerful route for the time being then I need to decide which of those to try first.

The Pro grip clamps from Axminster have decent reviews and aren't exactly massively more expensive, but I'd like a few different sizes and I'd primarily be using one as a circular saw guide/router guide to clean up the ends of boards and make dado's/rebates in large boards.

Price is always a factor unfortunately!

 

[carlb40]

How about getting some 6mm ply cut into strips at b+q etc and making your own dedicated 'rails' for your saw/router?

 

[Stu_2]

Afternoon cheerup

I've not tried the Axminster ones, but I have tried the Silverline ones, and wasn't that impressed. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd be that impressed with any of these guides. I still have an unbranded one, but haven't used in it years. I never really trusted it to stay put.

Have you thought about making your own mdf tracks for your saw? Some good quality 6mm MDF would be perfect. I did this before I had bought a TS. Very basic, cheap, and and easy to use. After that I never touched the guide rail again. They're very cheap and simple to make, and quite frankly, almost as good as the genuine track saw setup. Easy to ensure a square cut, too, when combined with a cheap £5 Roofer's square. The only drawback is if you make an angled cut, it permanently trims the edge, but I never really used it for that. You could go the whole hog and fix a sacrificial rubber strip from one the branded track saws, but I never bother going that far. It would also work as a straight edge for your router, too.

Here's a couple of pics of my old one. As you can see, I made a two-part track that I could join together for cutting longer stuff, which worked pretty well. I did need to trim the track to size first, before cutting in half.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Stu

 

[Dissolve]

Fair point both of you. If I understand correctly, you have a board of MDF with a straight baton/guide rail attached to it, you then run your circular saw/router along the fence removing the excess leaving you with another straight edge that you can line up to the desired cutting line and then run your circular saw/router along?

Thanks for the pictures but I may be being a bit thick.. Could you explain the method you'd choose in creating a guide for a circular saw/router if I'm mistaken?

Would you use MDF or ply for the base/guide rail?

 

[Stu_2]

You got it

I chose MDF due to it's stability, with regard to warping etc. You could use MR MDF if you're worried about damp.

 

[carlb40]

Fair point both of you. If I understand correctly, you have a board of MDF with a straight baton/guide rail attached to it, you then run your circular saw/router along the fence removing the excess leaving you with another straight edge that you can line up to the desired cutting line and then run your circular saw/router along?

Thanks for the pictures but I may be being a bit thick.. Could you explain the method you'd choose in creating a guide for a circular saw/router if I'm mistaken?

Would you use MDF or ply for the base/guide rail?

This shows you how

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYcdHlwKsOg

 

[Grahamshed]

I have a couple of the pro grips from axminster and they are quite good, quite useful, but they will never be as accurate as a saw track, ready made or DIY. The measurement offset needed with a guide clamp is always a PITA.