For my B&M boxcars project, I want to be able to cross-cut a bunch of pieces of scribed siding to the same size (car body height.) Here's my thought for a tool to do that.
I'll trim a piece of cutting mat to a bit more than 6", shown by the red line. I'll dado the slot for T-Track into the fixture. There's a wood stop glued to the right of the cutting mat, perpendicular to the bottom of the fixture. I also glued a strip of wood along the bottom of the fixture, to hold the base of the square so the blade sits flat on the scribed sheathing.
The T-Track stop is set behind the blade, because that's the more likely direction of thrust when I'm cutting along the blade of the machinist's square with an X-Acto knife.
dave
Excellent idea Dave.....every task is easier with the proper tools. 8)
Now let's see all those boxcars coming out of the shop!
Tom
HeyDave:
Looks great. Hope it works well for you.
Karl
Here's an update. I got the longer square, but the T-Track parts I ordered weren't the right size. The new parts are on order. For the initial cut, I use the 'inside measure' aspect of my digital calipers, then lock the square into position with the clamp. For subsequent cuts, I just use the initial piece.
Also note the little piece of styrene between the wood and the square. I noticed some problems when the edge of the siding was at the edge of the cutting mat, this styrene piece puts a "landing ramp" for the single-edge razor I'm using to cut the siding.
All of the wood parts are done on the first/prototype build of the cars, I learned a lot and built some more jigs (including one for drilling the truss rod NBWs.)
dave
Dave,
Looking forward to how this looks and works with the T track you have on order. Waiting somewhat (im)patiently. I really like using tools and fixtures that make cutting sheetwood; and other construction tasks more accurate as well as saving time.
Here's the 'final' jig set-up, now that I have the right size T-Track parts. I still like clamping the square down to the jig and to the table beneath, keeps everything from moving around.
That's a .030 x .125 styrene strip between the wood and the square.
Works great!
dave
Dave,
I was having trouble picturing how this would work. Add the T track and it becomes crystal clear to me. Excellent in both design and execution. I am thinking I should build one myself. Thanks for posting and sharing your fixture.
Jerry, it works pretty well without the T-Track, just using the clamp at the bottom to hold the square in place. If you don't have a router/dado set, that's worth considering. The primary concern is getting a smooth cut at the bottom where the square runs, and then gluing the stop at a precise right angle to that bottom cut.
dave
Dave,
I glued a small cutting mat to a piece of laminate flooring and use a machinist square toget straight and square cuts. However I have to measure each time and usually end up sanding paired sides until they match precisely. Seems to me if I glue a baseboard underneath this mat, add a stop and a thin piece so the square "bottoms out' so I can clamp it i would save myself a lot of time. I do have a router, so I can cut the slot for a piece of T track. Once again, thanks for showinghow you made and use this fixture.