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Miter Gauge Fences

Project by Blake posted 89 days ago 584 views 7 times favorited 20 comments Add to Favorites
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Blake

1902 posts in 326 days


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miter gauge jig

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Miter Gauge Fences Miter Gauge Fences Miter Gauge Fences Click the pictures to enlarge them

When I bought my INCRA miter gauge I purposely got the one with no fence. And not just because it was $100 cheaper than the other versions. I wanted my miter gauge fence to be inexpensive, lightweight, disposable, adaptable, and zero-clearance every time.

So I finally got around to milling up a bunch of MDF just for that purpose. I just used a T-slot router bit. MDF is stable, flat, light, and slides well on the table surface.

I love how these simple fences work. Every time I make a different type of cut (table saw, router table or bandsaw) I just loosen the toilet bolts, slide it over, and cut right through it. It is quick, easy, and I never have tear out. I can mount stops, clamps, fences, doodads, jigs, etc. I can leave them long or cut them shorter. My original pieces are 3 feet long. I can even draw on them or make markings like a story stick. If I need to I can mount a self-adhesive measuring tape on top. They work great and I would never substitute them for a fancy space-aged fence.

Another tip… have the lumber yard slice the MDF into 2” strips. It saves your shop and your lungs from TONS of toxic dust.

The alternative: Pretty fancy but never zero-clearance…

-- Dust collectors suck.


20 comments so far

View teenagewoodworker's profile

teenagewoodworker

1953 posts in 220 days


posted 89 days ago

cool. i’ve been looking to make a fence to for my miter gauge. thanks or the post.

View jcees's profile

jcees

453 posts in 251 days


posted 89 days ago

Perfecto!

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

View PaBull's profile

PaBull

184 posts in 117 days


posted 89 days ago

Very nice, wher did you find “light” MDF?

I just got the latest FWW for August in and it has a home made MDF sliding table for tablesaw thing in there. Curious how that thing works.

-- Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary ...

View Blake's profile (online now)

Blake

1902 posts in 326 days


posted 89 days ago

Well it’s only 2”x3/4” so it is pretty light weight.

-- Dust collectors suck.

View Tony's profile (online now)

Tony

552 posts in 482 days


posted 89 days ago

Nice money saver, but more importantly – perfect cuts every time (no tear-out) and versatile

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

View blackcherry's profile

blackcherry

195 posts in 275 days


posted 89 days ago

Blake don’t loosen those toilet bolt it could get messy…nice work on the fence and I try to aviod MDF in my shop…thanks for posting I have the exact set up minus Toliet bolts…Blkcherry

View miles125's profile

miles125

909 posts in 458 days


posted 89 days ago

Very nice setup. MDF is good for you. It builds up your tolerance to withstand nasty exotic woods. That my story and i’m sticking to it.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

View Karson's profile

Karson

12742 posts in 853 days


posted 89 days ago

Looks great Blake.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

View SPalm's profile

SPalm

702 posts in 334 days


posted 89 days ago

Nice. I agree Blake, I always liked zero clearance fences. I have the same mite guage and I bolt bolt on scrap fences. Your replaceable toilet system looks like the cat’s meow.

I think that sliding tables should have support on both sides of the blade also. The one mentioned in FWW above only covers one side, but I guess that makes it easier to build/maintain.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

View Doug S.'s profile

Doug S.

163 posts in 160 days


posted 89 days ago

Sweet. I’m using that V27 for my bandsaw but hadn’t really thought about it seriously for TS use – until now.

-- Use the fence Luke

View Grumpy's profile

Grumpy

4924 posts in 303 days


posted 89 days ago

Good one Blake. Why pay a lot of money when you can make it yourself.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

View bbqking's profile

bbqking

193 posts in 176 days


posted 89 days ago

I have nearly the same setup but I use red oak and bolt them on. I have several that are already laid out for certain pieces that I build frequently. I can mount one crosscut fence and have all the measurements good to go. Another reason reason I won’t buy a miter saw for crosscuts.

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

View Brad_Nailor's profile

Brad_Nailor

705 posts in 410 days


posted 89 days ago

Cheap and simple – 1…expensive and complicated – 0! The fact that its zero clearance and you can set it up any way you need to..good support on both sides, and ultimately disposable…great idea. Cheap and easy to make too. You could probably design some sort of flip/ stop that rides in the t slot and flips over the top for repeatable lengths, or now that I think about it there is probably something commercially made that would work.

-- Women love me.....trees fear me

View chebeaguewoodbutcher's profile

chebeaguewoodbutcher

10 posts in 165 days


posted 89 days ago

try putting a slot in the front face. you can then add adjustable length stops. I also have constructed a right angle jig that I attach to mine and use to cut tenons. It works nearly as well as the expensive cast iron ones and attaches in seconds with two t bolts. I also have made a couple of jigs to cut wheel treads on toy wheels that connect to the fence with t bolts. there are endless ways to use this setup to make repeat cuts thru a wide range on angles and hold small pieces securely and keep those fingers away.

-- chebeaguewoodbutcher

View brunob's profile

brunob

1389 posts in 622 days


posted 89 days ago

Very cool. I might try that. Toilet bowl bolts – good idea. Why didn’t I think of it.

-- Bruce from Central New York

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

8414 posts in 440 days


posted 89 days ago

Great idea Blake. I have the fence in your last picture. If I need zero clearance I just clamp a piece of stock to the face.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

View Jon3's profile

Jon3

251 posts in 557 days


posted 89 days ago

Also, you could browse the 80/20 store on ebay, and pick up a nice long piece of extruded aluminum, and set up your own Incra style fence.

View coloradoclimber's profile

coloradoclimber

279 posts in 520 days


posted 89 days ago

Great idea Blake. I have the last gauge pictured. To get zero clearance I do like GaryK and clamp on a piece of stock, but it’s actually a bit clunky, compared to your idea. With clamped on stock the incra stop block doesn’t work very well.

Gary, you’re usually full of good ideas I’ve never thought of before. When you use your gauge with for zero clearance do you do anything special?

View Woodhacker's profile

Woodhacker

450 posts in 175 days


posted 88 days ago

Nice Blake!

Like Gary and Coloradoclimber, I also have a “never zero-clearance” model. I’ll have to remind myself that I can clamp on a sacrificial fence when I’m desparate for zero-clearance.

-- Martin, Kansas

View TajBuilder's profile

TajBuilder

6 posts in 32 days


posted 32 days ago

I built a similar fixed fence before I had a slot cutting router bit. I made a T-slot in the top by cutting dados in two pieces of MDF and gluing them together. I then cut a dado in the top. I used the T-slot to mount an adjustable stop using a toilet bolt. I’m going to combine my design with yours and upgrade to a commercial flip stop (about $22). I’m also going to upgrade to 1/4” T-bolts and star knobs (about $7). I think the resulting zero clearance fence will be superior to the Incra. Thanks for the post.

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