Fritz and Franz jig - Part 2 | |
This second installment explains how to use the jig without the Outrigger Table and Fence.
The simplest solution is to attach a temporary fence at the end of the Sliding Table. I made mine from some scrap 12mm plywood, 50mm high and 430mm long. This fence can be held in place with woodscrews. Since I had some surplus 1/4" inserts I used them instead. I drilled large enough holes and glued them in place with epoxy. Screwing inserts into MDF ends is not adsvisable as it might split apart.
I used two short pieces of 1/4" threaded rod and connecting nuts glued with Loctite as knobs. Commercial 1/4" knobs are too large and the one at the left would bump against the Cabinet preventing the Sliding Table from travelling its whole length.
Here is the fence installed with Fritz set against it. With this setup the maximum gripping length is 700mm. If using the Outrigger Table and its Fence this length goes down to 650mm.
These capacities consider that both Fritz and Franz are completely supported by the Sliding Table.
Note that the fence has a square hole to allow the hardwood guide to go through. Otherwise Fritz will not be able to rest against the fence.
Here is an overview of the setup.
If you are working with small parts you will have to pull the Sliding Table to the front to be able to handle the cutting operation. This will require space and sometimes the operation itself is not quite comfortable. Read on to see another trick to improve this situation.
A second alternative is fixing Fritz with a T-Bolt and knob in any convenient position.
I drilled a 1/4" hole for the T-Bolt and cut the hardwood guide in two to make space for the bolt head. Also added a few more small woodscrews to keep the guide firmly in place.
The grey super-high-friction tape came from a previous project but fine sandpaper or thin rubber strips will work equally well to keep Fritz from moving. Attach these with contact cement.
To keep the T-Bolt head aligned there is a small hole that registers with a cut-down nail. Inserting Fritz into the T-Track is a breeze.
I ran out of knobs but had some cam-clamps around so used one instead. I can now work anywhere along the Sliding Table length.
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| Part 4 ]
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