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This hardly counts as the SuperStation's "first project", but I wanted to
report on it just because it was a first of using the Incra TS III with both the table saw
and the new Rout-R-Lift.
Did it all work at it was suppose to? Absolutely! The project is
the feather board for the table saw.
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Before you think I
am absolutely loony, I will say that I have made many a feather board and usually just go
to the band saw and start cutting. They worked.
What I wanted to see is whether I could use an Incra template and move the
fence exactly and make repetitive cuts on the table saw — and do this safely.
I start by setting the Incra Miter Gauge to 25o and cutting both
ends of some mahogany that I had around.
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A quick safety
reminder: always remove the cut-off extra piece from the blade before making another cut.
I find that a thin stick, about 2-foot long, allows me to ease it away from the
blade, and I am to one side and not "in the line of fire."
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I mark a line 3 1/2"
from the end and parallel to it. This will be the stop-cut line.
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I move the Incra TS III
fence so that it "brushes" the saw blade.
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Then move the
template to the zero position. I have installed the 1/4" and 5/16" template. I
will use the 5/16" scale. The blade is 1/8" and each finger will be 3/16".
I tried several combinations, and that seemed to give me the springiness that I want.
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I have raised the
blade to its maximum height in order to get as square a cut as I could. I use the
push block to keep the workpiece under control and the other hand to assist in
keeping the piece against the fence. While cutting and backing from the blade is not a
usual practice, I feel that this was a safe operation.
I cut to the line and then backed out the piece and moved the fence to the
next mark of the template.
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You can see that I made a
couple of the boards and they flex nicely.
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Now I slide the carriage to
the other set of rail stops, and the Incra TS III is ready to serve the router table.
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I am following plans that
come with an Incra Miter Slide kit. These prescribe two slots that are cut with a
1/4" straight bit.
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I lock the router's
shaft with the remote pull and use the bent wrench as I have done with the other table. I
am happy to report that they work as well with this installation.
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A plastic wrench makes
installing and securing the insert plate a snap.
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I am using the wrench only
as a flat surface. It rests on top of the bit, and I use the Rout-R-Lift's depth knob to
lower the bit until the top is level with the table. This is the "zero
position."
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With each revolution
equaling 0.05", I make 5 clockwise turns to raise the bit the 1/4"
(0.25") that I need for the first cut.
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I double checked the bit
height with the Incra depth gauge. It is right on. The Rout-R-Lift provides a neat way to
set heights accurately. This will really be nice when using bits where bit height is
super-critical.
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I made stop cuts raising
the bit by 1/4" each pass. The instructions say to set Incra Stops, but they are
still packed, so I just marked the stop points with masking tape — "old habits
take a while...."
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Incra supplies an Allen
wrench to lock the slide in the channel. Fortunately, my smallest T-wrench fits. I am sure
to lose the small wrench. By the way, the Incra slide has three holes with adjustment cam
screws that are used to adjust the slide to fit the channel with minimum slippage. They
are also used to lock the slide in place when needed — like for setting the feather
boards.
This was a "mini-project" but , for me, a fun test of the
SuperStation. Tomorrow, I build the router bit and template storage chest.
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