I'm Bored Table Fence

I’m bored,

Oh god, came the sigh of despair from the kitchen. How on earth can you be bored, you have just spent a week in your workshop making picture frames. Eight days I mistakenly corrected her. They are finished and hanging in their places.

So over she came. So, you are bored she asked or demanded, I’m not sure how to read her yet. I just nodded, couldn’t trust my mouth. You see it’s always getting me into trouble. It keeps speaking the words I’m only thinking but wouldn’t dare say. I don’t think in my case it’s actually connected to my brain.

Right I’ll solve your boredom, she intimated and headed off. I watched the direction she was heading and an ominous feeling started to come over me when I realized that’s where she keeps cleaning dusters and things of that persuasion. As I heard her gathering up my anti boredom utilities I had an inkling she was not going to present me with a can of furniture polish to repair and as such I decided to make a break for it and headed for the sanctuary.

The other day my exasperated wife told me it was less stressful bringing up three children than looking after me. To say I was rather taken back, and a little offended, I proffered to her I felt I was maintenance free. The reaction was quite a sight as she started to turn red in the face and her lips were moving but no words were forthcoming, just a little foaming around the mouth. She’s having a stroke I thought, should I get her into the recovery position or beat a hasty retreat to my workshop. It was a good day in the shop.

Now as you know or don’t I posted my attempts at picture framing last week, and after that spent a day cleaning the workshop so as I stood there not quite sure what do with myself, apart from not cleaning my mind went to the lap joints I made last week. I originally decided to make them on the table saw but was reminded of an episode of the New Yankee Workshop where Norm used this process, but he emphasized that he never used the fence to slide back and forward because of the kickback problems of running end grain along a fence and sticking. What he had was a fence that retracted which he pulled back to the front cutting edge of the blade, therefore as he pushed through with his mitre fence the actual cutting process was clear of the fence.

Now I don’t have that facility on my fence, so decided to make one and what you see is what I used. My fence is made by an American company called Very Super Cool Tools and is brilliant, can’t fault its design. I purchased it on my last trip to Houston and brought it back with me. They gave me lots of slides etc which came in very handy. The white worktop was going to be my original fence but went for the pvc instead. It’s what we use on facia and soffits here in the UK instead of wood due to the fact it’s maintenance free and never rots. And it slides against aluminium without any frictional resistance.

I cut a slot in the top for the tightening screw by just turning on the table saw and dropping it over the blade. I could have routed it out but didn’t have a bit the correct diameter. I also inserted two on the side to keep the pvc hard against the aluminium fence. I threaded the pvc and used an Allen key to set the frictional resistance. I built the whole thing around the actual fence and screwed and glued the top and side together. The elongated slot plus the fact the tightening handle can travel the whole length of the fence was a big bonus.

I have tried it out and works a treat and I can swop it over to either side of the fence. Cost nothing and a day’s work. Now I’m bored.

Colin
Scotland