rail square or mft for diy

[richard1971]

hi im looking at utilising my bosch circular 18v saw and guide so I can make accurate cuts. can the bench dogs square be enough for small work loads to achieve square repetitive cuts thanks Richard.

 

[petermillard]

hi im looking at utilising my bosch circular 18v saw and guide so I can make accurate cuts. can the bench dogs square be enough for small work loads to achieve square repetitive cuts thanks Richard.

Accurate 90° yes, for repeat widths the repeat stop would be worth having. I did a video about the pros and cons of rails squares vs MFTs here - might be worth a watch.

 

[Spectric]

hi im looking at utilising my bosch circular 18v saw and guide so I can make accurate cuts.

Are you looking at cutting full sheets or something already reduced and over what lengths, it all comes down to that same old equation of cost, space and volume. There are already loads of threads on this subject discussing MFT's and rail squares with some very good info from guys who use the stuff on a regular basis so worth searching for.

I use the Benchdogs square and it is great for getting good cuts with my makita corded tracksaw and only limited by the length of your rails. For full sheets and in suitable weather I just use two saw horses outside and can quickly reduce a sheet of ply down to the required pieces. An MFT type top can be handy on smaller parts but I don't have an actual MFT top, just smaller tops I can lay on my main bench when needed and used for alignment of workpieces, with a fence for positioning the router and you soon find other task. I also use the Microjig slots in these tops for clamping and using fences at any angle. The one thing you will soon find is that there are many ways of spending money on this and that, learn to stop and think hard before hitting the buy button and again this forum is great for advice.

 

[richard1971]

Accurate 90° yes, for repeat widths the repeat stop would be worth having. I did a video about the pros and cons of rails squares vs MFTs here - might be worth a watch.

Hi Peter thanks very much for the reply and I have watched most of your videos they are very informative thanks so much

 

[richard1971]

Are you looking at cutting full sheets or something already reduced and over what lengths, it all comes down to that same old equation of cost, space and volume. There are already loads of threads on this subject discussing MFT's and rail squares with some very good info from guys who use the stuff on a regular basis so worth searching for.

I use the Benchdogs square and it is great for getting good cuts with my makita corded tracksaw and only limited by the length of your rails. For full sheets and in suitable weather I just use two saw horses outside and can quickly reduce a sheet of ply down to the required pieces. An MFT type top can be handy on smaller parts but I don't have an actual MFT top, just smaller tops I can lay on my main bench when needed and used for alignment of workpieces, with a fence for positioning the router and you soon find other task. I also use the Microjig slots in these tops for clamping and using fences at any angle. The one thing you will soon find is that there are many ways of spending money on this and that, learn to stop and think hard before hitting the buy button and again this forum is great for advice.

Great advice and thank you for the reply I will certainly take on board everything you have said thanks

 

[keithy1959]

I have both, and find that unless I'm doing lots of repeat cuts of reasonably small pieces I'm using the Rail Square more and more. The Rail Square is brilliant for cutting 8x4 sheets to size, as Spectric says.

 

[richard1971]

Thank you I’ll just wait for them to come back in stock