The rip fence is an important accessory when working with a circular saw. This device is used to make cuts parallel to the plane of the saw blade and the edge of the material being processed. Usually, one of the options for this device is supplied with a circular saw by the manufacturer. However, the manufacturer's version is not always convenient to use and in most cases does not satisfy the needs of the consumer. Therefore, in practice, one has to do one of the variants of this device according to simple drawings with one's own hands.

There are several options for a constructive solution to this simple, at first glance, problem. All options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right design should be based on the needs that arise when processing various materials on a circular saw. Therefore, the choice of the right solution must be taken seriously, responsibly and creatively.

This article discusses two of the simplest design solutions for creating an angled parallel fence for a circular saw. with my own hands according to available drawings.

Peculiarities

Common to these design solutions is a rail that moves relative to the cutting disc along the plane of the saw table. When creating this rail, it is proposed to use a standard extruded profile of a rectangular unequal angular section of aluminum or magnesium alloys. When assembling a parallel corner stop with your own hands, other profiles of a similar section can be used in accordance with the length and width of the working plane of the table, as well as the brand of the circular.

In the proposed variants of the drawings, a corner with the following dimensions (mm) is used:

• wide - 70x6;
• narrow - 41x10.

First execution

A rail is taken from the above-mentioned corner 450 mm long. For proper marking, this workpiece is placed on the desktop of the circular saw so that the wide bar is parallel to the saw blade. The narrow bar should be on the desktop on the opposite side of the disk, as shown in the figure. In a narrow shelf (41 mm wide) of the corner at a distance of 20 mm from the end, the centers of three through holes with a diameter of 8 mm are marked, the distances between them should be the same. From the line of location of the marked centers, the line of location of the centers of three more through holes with a diameter of 8 mm (with the same distance between them) is marked at a distance of 268 mm. This completes the markup.

After that, you can proceed directly to the assembly.

1. 6 marked holes with a diameter of 8 mm are drilled, burrs are processed with a needle file or sandpaper, which are inevitably created during drilling.
2. Two pins 8x18 mm are pressed into the extreme holes of each triple.
3. The resulting design is placed on the desktop in such a way that the pins enter the grooves provided by the design of the table of the circular saw, on both sides of the saw blade perpendicular to its plane, the narrow bar of the corner is located on the plane of the desktop. The entire device moves freely on the table surface parallel to the plane of the saw blade, the pins act as guides, prevent the stop from being skewed and the violation of the parallelism of the planes of the circular disk and the vertical surface of the stop.
4. From the bottom of the desktop, M8 bolts are inserted into the grooves and middle holes between the stop pins so that their threaded part enters the slot of the table and the rail holes, and the bolt heads rest against the bottom surface of the table and end up between the pins.
5. On each side, over the rail, which is a parallel stop, a wing or regular M8 nut is screwed onto the M8 bolt. Thus, a rigid fastening of the entire structure to the desktop is achieved.

Operating procedure:

• both wing nuts are released;
• the rail moves to the required distance from the disk;
• fix the rail with nuts.

The rail moves parallel to the working disk, since the pins, acting as guides, prevent distortions of the parallel stop relative to the saw blade.

This design can only be used if there are grooves (slots) on the desktop of the circular saw on both sides of the disk perpendicular to its plane.

Second design solution

Suggested below constructive solution This DIY circular saw rip fence fits any desktop, with or without grooves. The dimensions proposed in the drawings refer to a certain type of circular saws, they can be proportionally changed depending on the parameters of the table and the brand of the circular saw.

A rail 700 mm long is prepared from the corner indicated at the beginning of the article. At both ends of the corner, at the ends, two holes are drilled for M5 threads. A thread is cut in each hole with a special tool (tap).

In accordance with the drawing below, two guides are made of metal. For this, a steel equal-shelf corner measuring 20x20 mm is taken. They are turned and cut in accordance with the dimensions of the drawing. On the larger bar of each guide, two holes with a diameter of 5 mm are marked and drilled: in the upper part of the guides and one more in the middle of the bottom for the M5 thread. Threaded holes are cut with a tap.

The guides are ready, and they are mounted on both ends with M5x25 hex head bolts or standard M5x25 hex bolts. M5x25 screws with any head are screwed into the holes of the threaded guides.

When working with manual circular saw sharply raises the question of the straightness of the cut. There are two concepts for ensuring a straight line:

Fastening on the sawing machine (workbench) of the actual circular.

In this design, the hand tool is permanently attached to the table, and the workpiece moves along the guide. The cutting quality is at its best, but there are serious limitations on the size of the material being processed.

The workpiece is fixed permanently, and a guide ruler is installed for a hand-held circular saw.

In this design, the size of the workpiece to be cut can be any, the main thing is to ensure that the attachment for the circular saw is firmly attached. Manufacturers hand tool take care of users, and offer various ready-made devices for sale.

Industrially manufactured guides are comfortable and safe. As a rule, they are equipped with an accurate marking ruler, some allow you to set the cutting angle. The material is selected in such a way as to exclude wedging and play during the movement of the tool.

The pair, consisting of a groove and a runner, is protected from the ingress of cutting products and does not need lubrication.

However, all these kits are expensive, and many home craftsmen make a rail for.

Consider options that were independently invented and created by homegrown "Kulibins".

IMPORTANT! A hand-held circular saw is a source of increased injury, therefore, in the manufacture homemade devices based on it, safety precautions should be followed.

The easiest option is a cutting stop

The device is actively used when cutting with a jigsaw.

It works quite efficiently, but it is limited for hand-held circular saws. The tire is pressed against the workpiece with a clamp. The bracket protrudes above the work surface both from below and from above.

As a result, we get restrictions on the length of the cut. The circular engine rests against the clamp, and you have to cut in two steps. In this case, the quality of the edge deteriorates, a step may form.

An emphasis for longitudinal sawing.

Having perfectly aligned the saw with one of the edges of the table, I attached it with M4 screws. To do this, I had to drill the iron base of the circular in four places.

In general, any circular is suitable for installation on a table, but if you choose the type of fastening with screws for the base, then it is better to choose a model with an iron base. The cast may crack.

There is another popular way to fix the circular to the table without drilling holes in the base - attach it with clamps that fix the base by pressing it to the surface. Only this method seemed to me not true enough in terms of accuracy and reliability of the installation, and I did not use it.

Another important parameter of a manual circular is the ability to connect a vacuum cleaner. If you saw without a vacuum cleaner, fine wood dust rises into the air.

The disc has been sawn to the top side of the table top. Height - 40mm (Bosh wood disc 160mm). The table top reduces the cutting depth by 9 mm. The depth of cut is set on the circular saw itself. It is convenient that the disk can be completely hidden in the table.

UPD: IMPORTANT! On a number of budget circulars, it may turn out that the disk is under an imperceptible slope. And all cuts will be beveled. Be sure to check with a tool square that the disc is at 90 degrees relative to the table surface. (before installing the saw, you can check the angle relative to the native site. If the disk is not at a right angle and there is no way to set the ideal angle of the site, you can put several strips of tin on one side under the site, achieving the ideal angle (you can use washers for the screws that fasten the saw to the table, but this solution is worse)

Inside the table I placed a socket for the saw, which will now turn on with the start button.

This is how you can connect a vacuum cleaner to the saw. In general, the table is ready and you can saw. (done in one evening and one morning).

Of course, it is possible to cut without equipment using slats and clamps, but it is inconvenient.

This design, clinging to the edges of the table and aligning with them, can move along the saw blade. By pressing the rail against the sled, you can easily cut it exactly at 90 o. Thin pieces of wood can be placed inside the sled.

You can even cut the rail like a sausage :) For example, I cut several pieces of different thicknesses.

Slides solve only part of the problems. For longitudinal sawing, a side stop is also needed.

I glued brackets from plywood that will cling to the edge of the table.

Clings to the edges with a death grip.

The circular saw is a dangerous tool. In order not to saw off my fingers, I made from waste furniture board simple pusher.

I have already managed to work with this table, sawed and slats, furniture panels, plywood. It became much easier to perform all these works than I did when sawing off with a manual circular saw.

In the future, I will further refine this table:
- I will remake the side stop for longitudinal sawing, so that when moving, it always remains parallel to the disk
- I will put a removable riving knife to which the disc protection will be attached
- I'll make a dust extraction from the top of the table. (Now when I drink, the disc throws wood dust right in my face)
- I will finish the improved pusher. I have already begun to make a more interesting and convenient version of the pusher, I will write about it in the future.

I will gradually implement this in the future, but for now I will work like this.

Parallel emphasis for a circular saw with your own hands can be made one of the options according to the proposed drawings.

What is common in a homemade guide- this is a base that moves along the plane of the table relative to the saw blade, which is made of standard aluminum rolled products (pressed rectangular unequal-shelf angular section of aluminum and magnesium alloys, profile number - 411158)

The dimensions of the shelves of the angle used in the section (mm):

Length - 70, thickness - 6
width - 41, thickness - 10

FIRST PERFORMANCE

The length of the corner is 450 (mm). In the wide shelf of the corner, we drill three through holes with a diameter of eight millimeters on both sides, with the same pitch between the centers. We press two pins 8x18 into the extreme holes.

Between the pins, from the bottom of the table, an M8 bolt is inserted so that its threaded part goes into the groove, and the bolt head rests against the bottom plane of the table.

On top of the table, an M8 bolt is clamped with an M8 wing nut or a regular one.

How does a rip fence for a circular saw work?

1. Loosen both wing nuts.
2.
3. Tighten the wing nuts.

The movement of the corner is carried out in the direction of the grooves. The pins are the guides of the stop and allow you to move it relative to the saw blade without distortion (parallel).

VERSION SECOND

The length of the corner is 700 (mm). Along the edges of the corner, at the ends, we drill holes for the M5 thread and cut it. According to the drawing, we will make two guides from metal.

We attach them to the ends of the corner with screws with a cylindrical head for a hexagon (M5x25 GOST 11738-84). Screw M5 screws into the thread.

How does the rip fence for the circular saw of the proposed version work?

1. Loosen the wing screws.
2. We move the corner in the right direction relative to the saw blade.
3. Tighten the wing screws.

The movement of the corner is carried out in the direction of the end surfaces of the table. Guides fixed at the ends of the corner allow you to move it relative to the saw blade without distortions (parallel).

On the surface of the table, draw a markup (ruler) to visually fix the position of the homemade guide.

In the next article, we will dwell in more detail on the working body (saw blade) and electric.

A manual circular electric saw, which is simply called, is a convenient tool for cutting and cutting lumber.

Included with it are usually supplied devices that help the master in his work.

But the same devices can be made or improved with your own hands. Yes, and work experience will sooner or later lead to the appearance of completely home-made devices (as they are called), which, for all their simplicity, can greatly facilitate sawing and save time.

Parallel stop

Conventional rip fence for a circular saw - good example how a small addition can bring great benefits. Almost every hand-held circular saw is equipped with a parallel stop for longitudinal cutting of a given width. This is a really useful tool.

The standard stop has one drawback. For safety reasons, it is set to values ​​that allow it to cut with a width of less than 20–25 mm. This is done so that the stop does not interfere with the movement of the protective casing of the saw. But it is enough to attach a wooden block to the parallel bar of the regular stop with screws - and its capabilities will increase, while the minimum cutting width will not be limited in any way.

Note! We must remember about safety - when making cuts less than 15 mm, the bar does not allow the protective cover to close the saw blade.

Stop for transverse and angled cuts

A cross cut device is also often used. With it, boards are cut quickly and accurately at an angle of 90 °. Such an emphasis is also used for trimming boards. Its base is a sheet of plywood 10 mm thick. A guide bar or rail with a height of at least 20 mm is fixed on it with glue or self-tapping screws. An emphasis is attached to the underside of the base, perpendicular to the guide and made of the same bar.

The excess part of the base (from the guide to the saw blade) is cut off. Since this distance is different for each model of a manual circular, the fixture is always made individually. It is usually attached to the material being processed with clamps.

Advanced craftsmen make their fasteners from wooden washers, one of which has the shape of an eccentric. The clamp is carried out with a wing nut on the screw. Such a clamping device allows you to very quickly fix the stop on lumber of different widths.

If, on the other side of the guide, you install the same bar, but fixed at an angle of 45 ° to the first one, and then also cut off part of the base at 45 ° with a saw, you will get an angular universal stop for cuts at both 45 ° and 90 °. A more versatile design of the corner stop will be obtained if the bar rotates. And observance of the angle can be monitored by the protractor, fixed on top. It should be noted that making a do-it-yourself protractor for a circular is a more difficult task.

saddle stop

If you have to saw a lot of identical bars with a circular saw, then you should spend time making a simple saddle stop. Its use will more than return the spent minutes. The saddle stop works especially effectively when sawing thick bars, for which the disc requires two cuts from different sides.

Emphasis-saddle has a U-shape. The base is a board 25 mm thick, its width is exactly equal to the thickness of the sawn timber.

Side surfaces of 10 mm plywood are attached to the base. The width of the sidewalls must be greater than the width of the cant in order to support the platform of the circular until the saw blade comes into contact with the cant.

The saddle is put on the beam at a distance from the cut marking, corresponding to the working distance to the saw blade, and is pressed against the beam with clamps through the sidewalls. Using the sidewall as a stop for the saw platform, cutting is carried out. If the thickness of the beam is such that one cut is not enough, then it is turned over and another cut is made. The position of the stop does not change in any way.

Guide bar

For cutting large and long sheets of lumber on the table, a long hand-made guide bar for a circular saw will be useful.

The basis in this case is (8–10 mm) plywood strip with a length exceeding the dimensions of the sheet to be cut. The tire itself can be wooden (a bar 15–20 mm thick) or metal from a U-shaped profile. The tire is attached to the base with glue or screws. On one side of it should remain a narrow edge of the base, sufficient for fastening to the sheet with clamps. On the other hand, the first cut is made with a saw along the base. After that, the edge of the base will exactly coincide with the passage of the circular disk. When working, it is combined with the markings on the sheet, the stop is fixed and the sheet is sawn.

Edge stop

This is already a rather complicated device that requires time and precision in manufacturing. It allows you to cut parallel to the edge of the material being cut. It will be useful to make a drawing of it before starting work, so as not to miss the size. In fact, such an emphasis is included in the circular saw kit, but its short length does not always provide an even cut. Large size and desired strength require the base of the stop to be made of plywood with a thickness of at least 15 mm. From it you can also make a stubborn bar.

Steps for making a stop:

• at the base, longitudinal grooves are made for the dowels;
• hardwood dowels are mounted on a thrust bar;
• between the longitudinal grooves, another through groove is made to secure the thrust bar during operation;
• a hole is cut in the base for the circular saw blade;
• restrictive bars are placed on the sides of the base for the installation of a circular and clamps are provided for its secure fastening.

When installing the stop on the material being processed, the stop bar moves in the grooves of the base to the desired distance and is fixed through the through slot with a clamping wing screw. In order not to suffer every time with a ruler, you can fix it (or a piece of tape measure) on the basis of the stop along the guide grooves.

There are such small devices that even a tool is shameful to consider. At the same time, they are great for cutting. These are the tricks of experienced masters.

Setting bars

The simplest detail that facilitates the installation of any stop and a marking guide is a bar of small section. Cuts are applied on it, the distance between which is equal to the segment from the end of the saw sole to the saw blade. Two of these bars will help to install any guides quickly and accurately at the required distance from the marking line. It remains only to fix the guide.

Pull-out protection

Protection can be any bar, the width corresponding to the thickness of the workpiece being cut. If it is fixed at the exit point of the saw blade from the material being processed, it will act as a limiter and serve as protection against tearing and chipping.

These devices are not limited to a set useful homemade, which make it easier to work with a hand-held circular saw. These are the easiest to make. Others require time and skill. But craftsmen even make such a device as a protractor for a circular with their own hands. There would be a desire.