Miter Saw Clamp

[downsizingnow48]

I almost never use the clamp on a miter saw but it is very useful for bevel cuts on long floppy material like siding. The usual clamp, that comes wilth all miter saws I have seen, is awkward and slow. I am doing a lot of bevel cuts for my siding job so decided to put some time into making a better clamp. See photo. Instead of a wobbly mounting post, there is a 1/2" bolt fixed to the stock clamp mount. Instead of a 1/8" thumbscrew in a light casting, I use a 1/4" wing screw in 1" square bar. Now the clamp can be quickly and easily set in place or removed and it is very solid.

 

[BukitCase]

Def an improvement over the stock ones in all saws as you said; I've found that screw clamps almost always tend to "walk around" when tightening, irritates the crap outa me (like MOST things these days ) so I bought a couple of these

WoodRiver - Quick Set Drill Press Hold Down

but they don't fit the wierd sockets in my DeWalt, which are akind of twist-lock, flat groove thing; I haven't gotten another of those "tuits" yet, eventually I'll fire up the mill and see if I can make the lower end work with the DeWalt.

Thing I REALLY like about my plan - the cam lets the clamp just move straight up and down, and for a bunch of cuts on one thickness material it'll be just "slide under, flip down, cut, flip up, rinse/lather/repeat...

Some day.... (sigh) Steve

Oh, forgot; I also found some 6" long feet for those clamps (IIRC, 5/16 thread) to eliminate the "can't get over the fence" prob...

 

[downsizingnow48]

That looks like it would do the trick. If you think of it, pls put up the source of those 6" feet. That would be useful on many tools actually.

Also I didn't mention it, but I used a commercial grade swivel foot for the bottom of the clamp, it is not too susceptible to walking around. Unlike the pressed tin feet on the factory clamps.

 

[BukitCase]

Pat, yeah a swivel version should help; think I even have a couple of those, trick is finding all the stuff us crazy people tend to acquire

Here's the foot, standard 5/16-18 thread

Large Toggle Clamp Foot - Rockler Woodworking Tools

BTW, I've found a fair amount of rockler's stuff is also available on Amazon, usually same price but with Prime the shipping's free (NOT on Rockler always)

Speaking of crazy people, I did a couple things for my miter saw that come in handy for the majority of cases (unless you need that last inch of crosscut) - next time I'm in the shop I'll try to remember to grab a pic. NOT cheep, but when I bought the extrusions they were a little over HALF what they are now ... Steve

 

[downsizingnow48]

Trying to use amazon as last resort these days. There is a Rockler and also a Woodcraft store not too far away and seems they have those items in stock so will give it a try. My diy miter saw clamp does the job but I need something quick and solid for the drill press. Thx for the clues.

 

[BukitCase]

Pat, you're welcome; I took a few pics yesterday, most of the non-original parts are available at Rockler. For now, the toggle clamps aren't perfect - I eventually want to adapt those drill press cam clamps. Still, the pivoting action of the toggles DOES tend to pull the material up against the fence. The two holes in the lower fence of the saw had no known reason to be there, so I enlarged 'em enough for the 1/4" T bolts. The blue extrusions are 3" x 36".

One advantage of this setup is flexibility; you can have as many flip stops or holddowns as will fit, and place them anywhere it's needed. My saw didn't come with any table extensions, so I added a couple that mount to the bottom groove on the extrusions.

All the cute knobs and T bolts are part of ANOTHER Rockler item, the jig/fixture kit; it's available in 1/4" and 5/16", I bought one of each.

Again, this can get kinda expensive - at the time, I was working 12 hour days, sometimes 6 days a week - less shop time (for "roll yer own" mods), but bigger O.T checks

Anyway, the pics - any further questions, just ask... Steve

Forgot to mention; on the toggles, note that the standard hex nuts are NOT used for height adjustment; it's a PITA to keep wrenches around for EVERYTHING, so the under side now has a wing nut, top side is a knurled knob (from the fixture kit) - in operation I lock the toggle down, back off the knob, spin the wing nut up against the toggle, 'nuther couple turns for some pressure (with a piece of the material under the clamp, duh), then hold the wing nut and snug up the upper knob. Quicker to do than it was to type...

 

[downsizingnow48]

Good looking setup! I use an Incra cross cut gauge on the right side of the saw for repeat cuts.

 

[BukitCase]

I don't have any of incra's stuff, seems to be well made tho - I do have a few Jessum add-ons, their micro-adjust miter gauge for the PM66 saw (still need to build a couple sleds for that saw) - also their linear bearing "miter" fence for one of the router tables. It's on the table that gets used for raised panels; the other 2 tables get set up for rails and stiles. (remember all that overtime I mentioned?

The thing I forgot to mention on my chop saw setup - right now I have 3 flip stops on those extrusions, so when I have a project (like drawers) that may have different depths but same length and width, I can preset the flip stops - then rip pieces whose width(s) are what I need for drawer DEPTH, then use 2 of the flip stops to cut as many pieces of fronts/backs/sides as I need (plus a spare or two)

One caveat: when setting up for this "mini-mass production", it's a REALLY good idea to be ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE about your dimensions (DAMHIKT) ... Steve

 

[downsizingnow48]

Decades ago a carpenter I worked with got a side job making kitchen cabinets for a 8 unit apartment building. He made them all in his garage then brought them to the building. One wall of cabinets was 1" too long sticking out into the door opening. The next morning we found him sleeping in the dumpster, still drunk.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It would be nice if miter saw makers would at least offer numerous threaded inserts in strategic locations for clamping purposes. ESPECIALLY for small pieces.