# Table saw thin rip jig



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I always seem to need thin strips either as edging on plywood or for dividers in small boxes. For years I measured, set up a feather board and went at it.

I finally made a jig I'd seen in one of the Woodsmith Shop plans. It works like a charm....

It has a measuring scale that allows fast adjustments,









It is a breeze to set up and use....

Simply zero it to the blade (this only needs to be done one time as once its set, mark the location and align the scale and the sight line to the zero point),










Then set the size of the strip you want using the scale on the jig.
Move it in front of the blade and lock it down in the miter slot,








(jig set to make 1/4" wide strip)

Place the piece to be cut against the bearing, position the fence, and make the cut.








(the above photo is out on sequence and does not show the correct measurement)


And you end up with nice thin stock ready for whatever job you need it on.









The bearing spins as the board passes, so there is never any problems with screw heads leaving marks on the work piece. There is even plenty of room for a featherboard to be placed behind of the jig and in front of the blade.

I needed stock cut to 1/4" for a project and this little jig makes it a piece of cake to cut as many as I'll ever need..

Basically its a couple of small pieces of 3/4 plywood, a Red Oak strip sized as a runner for the miter slot, three knobs, a bearing, a scale divided into 1/8" increments, a few nuts and bolts, and some 1/4" Hard board for alignment runners.

It took about 3 hours to make and has already saved me far more time cutting thin stock from wide boards.

Anyone who would like to make one of their own, you can download free plans at woodsmithshop.com


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I like it! And even better is I have all I need to make one!... Think I'll use some lexan...

Thanks for sharing!

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

That's pretty cool, very clever. Nicely done!:yes:












 







.


----------



## mackem (May 20, 2007)

Thanks for the tip Johnnie. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Neat jig, but that isn't what I consider a thin strip. 1/4" is something I'll rip on the saw without thinking about it, set the fence and push'r though and finish it off with a push stick.

1/16" I will still rip it just with the fence, anything thinner I want it on the outside of the blade because the blade will eat it if it bends into it. 1/32" strips are pretty pliable.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

leo,

I rarely rip anything thinner than 1/8" so when I made the scale I only went down to 1/8". This jig handles that with ease and can also handle rips that are smaller if needed. Just won't be able to use the scale. I just happened to need 1/4" stuff today, so that is what I cut.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

mackem said:


> Thanks for the tip Johnnie. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


You're welcomed :thumbsup:


----------



## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

http://www.woodsmithshop.com/download/209/tablesawrippingjig.pdf

I think I'm going to try it


----------



## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Nice tip :thumbsup:. Will have to make one...


----------



## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Very nice...........


Partly tongue in cheek,mount a vert router head right where the bearing is and every pce can be "jointed" & ripped in one pass,haha.BW


----------



## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Thanks Johnnie
I'll be making one of those real soon
What did you use for the roller bearing?
Well done on your how-to post.:thumbsup:


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Nice jig Johnny. I like it a lot. Great work, once again.


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

tcleve4911 said:


> Thanks Johnnie
> I'll be making one of those real soon
> What did you use for the roller bearing?
> Well done on your how-to post.:thumbsup:


The bearing I used came from my Delta combination 4"disk-1"belt sander. Its one that wore out and and had to be replaced. Any bearing will work. (BTW- the inner dimension of the bearing is larger than 5/8". I used two sink washers stacked as the filler. The plans call for a single plastic spacer.)


----------



## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

BWSmith said:


> Very nice...........
> 
> 
> Partly tongue in cheek,mount a vert router head right where the bearing is and every pce can be "jointed" & ripped in one pass,haha.BW


Yeah but it would have to be a lot larger to support a router... :laughing:


----------

