# Tall auxiliary fence for Kreg Router Table



## maximilliankat (Oct 29, 2012)

Hi
After many years of not getting around to building my own RT I finally purchased a Kreg; and I am very glad that I did. 
I now want to experiment with lock miter joints. After a few scary attempts at routing the vertical piece I have decided that I need a tall auxiliary fence with a clamp to hold things steady. 
I thought that it would be a simple matter of bolting a piece of MDF to the Kreg fence through the existing sliding fence faces into the aluminium track on the fence. However, the track on top of the Kreg fence protrudes over the face slightly, which means I do not have a perfectly flat face to which to attach the auxiliary fence. 
Has anyone come up with a method of attaching a tall fence to a Kreg fence. Maybe I should just make a completely new fence and clamp it to the table. The only problem is that the track on the right side of the table, along which the fence slides, is not the easiest to clamp to. 
Any ideas are welcome. 
Merry Christmas y'all. 
Max


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

The most obvious would seem to be adding a spacer between the auxiliary fence and the Kreg fence below the track...maybe that's not so easy as it sounds...

If you were to add a spacer, how thick do you think it might need to be...? Are we talking 1/32nds or 1/4's...?

I assume you've tried tightening it down pretty snug and it bends into the original fence...?

You could also try adding a small lip to the bottom of the aux fence to hold it away from the Kreg...?

EDIT...and the other option is to cut out where the track is...a small dado, for example...?

...and welcome to the forum...you're gonna like it here...


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I think I would go with a spacer too. This is something I've recommended before to help stabilize your piece on the vertical cut. You clamp the piece that slides on top of your fence to the vertical piece you are routing. http://www.routerforums.com/attachm...-ts-blade-tilted-45-degrees-chamfer-guide.jpg


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

A spacer might be tricky to find the exact thickness, so getting the high fence perfectly perpendicular is going to be iffy. If the spacer can be compressed (layers of cards or thin material of any sort other than metal), is going to create some alteration on the vertical (perpendicular) position of the fence after a few tightenings. Compress something softer than metal 3-4 times and it will change thickness. Moisture from seasonal changes might also change some porous materials' thickness. Probably insignificantly.

So, I'd probably make a very shallow dado a bit wider than the miter slot-1-2 mm perhaps. But I'd also use two layers of material for the fence to make certain it didn't distort the face of the fence when you tighten the bolts connected to the miter slot or T slot. I'd use a layer of MDF on the front . If the fence is perfectly perpendicular to the table, then the parts of the tall fence that touch it will be perpendicular too. It is a Kreg for cryin' out loud!

On a different point, in Sommerfeld videos, he uses a tall fence, but backs up the piece and pushes it through with a block of MDF. He hand holds the piece against the fence. Simplicity. Everything I've done that follows Marc Sommerfeld on the router has worked very well for me, and I like how he keeps it simple AND precise.

I'll be interested in learning what you decide.


----------



## maximilliankat (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks everyone
I had thought about a spacer, but that seemed like an inelegant solution. 
I like the idea of routing a channel for the top track, though. This way I can simply use longer bolts through the auxiliary fence and the sliding fences into the aluminium extrusion. 
Thanks for the Sommerfeld tip. I will look him up. 
Cheers and Merry Christmas from down under. 
Max


----------



## maximilliankat (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks Cherryville Chuck
Are you recommending using a t bolt or some such to locate the top sliding piece into the track on top of the fence, or does it just sit on top? If the latter, how do you maintain stability in the vertical piece being cut?
Max


----------



## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

Attached are pictures of two of my RT. The lock miter misery led me to this. First is a Bosch RA1180 RT. I made a carriage that locks in and travels along the extruded aluminum fence that came with my Bosch table. I used HDPE strips for the wear surfaces so humidity would not effect the glide of the jig. The third photo is an expansion of the idea. I built a fence with a track and various jigs to travel along the fence.
I was unable to find any method to accurately use a coping sled. so I use a square block to run my stock horizontally. I use the carriage to run my vertical. The difficulty involved is why it is not recommended for cross grain lock miter but this is my solution ps excuse the clutter in pics


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

maximilliankat said:


> Thanks Cherryville Chuck
> Are you recommending using a t bolt or some such to locate the top sliding piece into the track on top of the fence, or does it just sit on top? If the latter, how do you maintain stability in the vertical piece being cut?
> Max


No attachment. It's the same idea as Paduke's setup only not as elegant. With my idea you just stand the board up with the end flush to the table top and lay the cross piece on top of the fence and clamp them together. It will give a bit more stability as you push that way. If you are doing narrow pieces or if you plan on making very many of these joints then Bill's jig is a better idea and is worth the extra time and effort to build it. You can also use a square block for pushing below the jig and that would help too as well as providing some protection from blowing the grain out at the end of the cut.


----------

