Improving accuracy

[EBH1]

Evening all,

I've decided I'd like to attempt to make the cabinets for a utility at home. Today I started cutting up the MR MDF to make some basic carcasses, which I would then hope to make some face frames for with a simple shaker style door.

Where I've been struggling is in the accuracy I feel that I'm achieving. Whilst we're not talking a couple of mm out - more like one mm at most, I'm finding it frustrating not to be able to produce accurate cuts. I don't have access fancy machinery like panel saws, but I do have a festool track saw, sedgwick planer thicknesser and an old sartrite tilt arbour among other things.

Without going into a long winded explanation I wondered if anyone had some top tips for producing accurate repeatable cuts without the aid of a panel saw. I mark with a knife and use a steel rule, but even then it feels like there are to many variables which can compound to a greater inaccuracy - or am I sweating it too much.

One other thing that also seems to stump me is cutting a clean inside corner, a jigsaw seems too harsh.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
Euan

 

[rafezetter]

I read a blog about a guy who now almost never uses a tape and instead favors story sticks for this very reason - as you say without VERY careful application a tape can compound even the tiniest excess plus even things like the angle of how you view the tape can create errors from cut to cut.

 

[Dutch]

to get repeat cuts with a track saw first set the track to your marks. then place a batten from the edge of your material to the non splinter side of the rail and mark the length. cut this batten to size and rip it into 2 strips then screw a washer into one end of each batten so it overhangs the edge to use as a stop. then all you have to do is place the washer end of your batten against your reference edge of your material and slide your rail up to the battens. you can make battens for popular sizes you cut a lot of.

 

[gmgmgm]

How many of your measurements are relative to the ruler (let's call them "absolute") and how many are relative to something else e.g. a jig?

I find I use the ruler less and less now- it's really more of a straight-edge than a measuring tool. Relative measurements help me.

 

[Wuffles]

I suffered the same thing, when using a Festool track saw anyway (haven't really tried any panels on my ropey old table saw) until I got a handful of these http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-rule-stop

Turned a bunch of steel and ally rules I had lying about the place into accurate story sticks of a sort - my eyes and the accuracy on any tape was terrible - no longer a problem. Use them all the time.

 

[EBH1]

All great tips thanks.

I see how a story stick would make a a big difference to resetting the guide rail, I was ready to throw the rule away today, but I see it may have further uses with a little ingenuity. I like the idea of making sticks to keep for common sizes especially if I tackle my kitchen.! I guess Festool make a wonderful accessory to do all of the above, but likely with a hefty investment. I once looked at their drilling jig for drilling stair spindles and got a fright - £975!

Thanks again,
Euan

 

[rdesign]

been posted a lot here! I work in a cabinet shop with a slider and now a cnc but in my shop I use a festool track saw. buy a replacement mft top from festal like 80 dollars and (quasi doh)QWAS dogs, 2 of the festool rail dogs and two low profile dogs. you can then cut 90 degree 45 degree 30 degree cuts using the accurate mft holes. thats your first battle 90 degrees.

even with a slider we use stops on the slider and the fence to make repeatable cuts the same if your out half a mm it doesn't matter as long as every part is out by that! so if you have the above system for your track saw you can clamp down a stop cut all the pieces that are that width/ length then change it and repeat. soon you will have your whole cutting list cut accurately.

regards Richard

wrong name given dam it! heres a link http://www.qwasproducts.com/Home.html

 

[Wuffles]

Very true. Rail dogs and bench dogs make for extremely accurate cuts. Plus, for irregular cuts, you only need to mark once, the 90deg of the bench dogs in combo with the rail dogs sort the rest.

 

[Mike.S]

What Dutch said.

 

[Mark A]

Contact a member here called Stu_2 and ask about his version of the Festool MFT/3 tops.

Here's the thread: ae-you-thinking-about-getting-a-festool-mft-3-t79021.html

I took delivery of one yesterday and it's excellent. I'm now waiting for my order of some "Parf Dogs" from Axminster to be back in stock before I can put the top to use.

Mark

 

[Silas Gull]

When establishing a cutting pattern or order from 8x4 sheets where numerous repeat dimensions are required, it is important to apply a consistent approach, eg, always working from left to right along the length of the board.
Secondly, it should never be assumed that the board is truly square. Always check. Remember, the first cut establishes the datum for all the others; if it's not at 90deg, none of your other cuts will be.
Boards being cut with a track saw should be fully supported on a sacrificial surface.

 

[Stu_2]

I've been using the Festool parallel guides for a while now, and they're excellent. Got mine from N&B. About £215 for both parts of the system (FS-PA & FS-PA-VL). The extensions (FS-PA-VL) are for narrow cuts. I did wonder whether they would be worth it, but I'm glad I got them now. It's worth noting that some dealers didn't even know what they were for. One told me they were supports! Plenty of vids on YouTube to check out.

These might seem a bit expensive to start with, but in my opinion these are much safer, cleaner and quieter than my table saw (Bosch GTS 10). I mainly work with sheet material, and my table saw is almost redundant now. Only used it once in the last few months to trim some very small slats for a garden table.

Cheers
Stu

 

[Chunky Monkey]

I also found I needed to take more care when aligning the guide rail. Sometimes I would bring the splinter guard up to the mark, sometimes on the mark and occasionally slightly over the mark. The difference between up to and over the mark can easily account for a millimetre.

Jon

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Steve Maskery designed a wonderful jig for measuring when using a track saw. It must be available on one of his DVDs.

Have a look here.

Neil

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you Neil.
Yes, the setting gauge is on WE1 and allows accurate setting and cutting of repeat panels, specifically to overcome the problems described above. My panels come out exactly the right size, again and again.
The one on my DVDs is for panels bigger than the width of the track and since making the DVD I have made one for strips which are narrower than the track. You can find build details for that in your back-issues of British Woodworking magazine - I'm sorry I do not know which issue.

Here it is being used in my build thread:
#p886172

It works perfectly and costs next to nothing to make. Well, you need a knob and a tape and some scrap.

HTH
Steve

 

[EBH1]

Plenty great tips. I'm looking forward to putting some to good use over the weekend. I'm particularly keen to have a further look at the MFT tops. I had a quick look on youtube and it look great as does yours Stu. I can't help but feel like I'd like one big enough to handle an 8x4! I'll have a good look at your system too Steve.
Thanks all!
Euan

 

[shed9]

Have a look on the FOG (Festool Owners Group), plenty of home made MFT tables of every conceivable size.

 

[Wuffles]

I had an 8x4 knocked up by a local CNC chap, and a nice half sheet template for the next time. Cost about £100 for the both I believe.

Next time I make one, I won't go for holes all over it, I'll have less and strategically place more around the edges for using the rail dogs. But you'll figure it out once you start down that route.

Deffo get a template made up though while you're at it if you go the CNC route. I opted for 30mm holes for a guide bushing to drop into and plunge with a 20mm spiral bit (or whatever you have) works a charm.

 

[rdesign]

if you have the mft use it as a template. clamp down the mft top bearing router into a 4 x 10 ft mdf top then use the rail dogs in the last set of holes first on mft to keep everything square router more holes repeat accurate large top .