[Cherryville Chuck]

I see Woodpecker has a new tool for making repeatable rip cuts with a track saw. https://www.woodpeck.com/parallel-g...67346459&_bta_c=66ahzljwu5jyz717vsowtj7k7w36o As usual it isn't cheap. Between the cost of the track saw (Festool shown at around $750 plus) and the $400 accessory you are up in the price range of a pretty good contractor style table saw. This might still appeal to those who could use this setup on a jobsite or just don't have space for a TS. To me it's the concept that is interesting and there is no reason why a wooden version couldn't be built. You'd just need two strips of wood or ply and cut a series of slots in them. Then wooden stop blocks with a threaded stud would go in the appropriate slots and get locked down with a knob on the threaded stud.

The other tool I would make would be a setting gauge which would be two strips of wood joined to each other so that they slide on each other and lock at the desired length, like this bar gauge you can make with the Lee Valley clamp heads: Veritas® Bar Gauge Heads - Lee Valley Tools I might even use this with the Woodpecker jigs if I had them. They would ensure that both ends were set equally so that you would stay parallel to the edge of the sheet. It's often the thinking behind the problem solving that I find interesting, in this case more so that Woodpeck's expensive solution. I do give them credit for a job well done.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

Yeah, that's a little more reasonable. Aluminum extrusions aren't cheap so that's a bit more in line with what I think are the actual costs of making a product like that.

What bothers me a bit about a lot of this type stuff is that it assumes to some extent that we can't come up with a solution of our own. The path to becoming an expert woodworker includes learning how to make jigs to solve problems like this. As exemplified by another thread I'll have posted in about a half hour.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

I agree Tom. Making jigs like that is usually more fun than the woodworking I'm doing. Maybe it would be different if I was trying to make a living at it. Then I could maybe justify spending the money for someone else to make it, particularly since it would be a tax write off.