# Kreg rip-cut saw guide - alternative



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I ran across a reference to the Kreg rip-cut saw guide the other day, so googled it. Loved the idea, much more flexible and time saving than the usual saw guides. But not so much in love with the look, and especially not in love with the price. So, back to google. And ran across this, which is much more to my liking.
Circular Saw - Rip Cut Jig - by Armand @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community

Something along these lines is now on my list of things to make for the shop. It was listed on Pinterest, but only a photo, and, of course, no workable link to Lumberjocks. Love google, hate Pinterest.


----------



## Knot2square (Jul 11, 2015)

Not a fan of this rip cut guide. I have one and it does a fair job of ripping but if you want precision, it's not the tool for the job, at least in my opinion. Using it, I found that the farther away form the guide your saw is, the more careful you have to be. The saw will tend to turn and you will not have a straight cut. Once the saw gets off the straight cut it is almost impossible to move it back in the correct angle without the saw binding. I was also gifted on and both of them share a space on my wall of tools seldom used.


----------



## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Don't know about the home-made unit, but the Kreg doesn't address the need to assemble the saw on the base so that the blade is parallel to the cut line - no heeling. I have the EZ - when new, the saw base has fingers that locate on the face of the saw plate, fixing the blade parallel to the groove that runs on the raised ridge of their track. This is what I'm doing with the fixture shown in the photo, aligning the blade to the base while clamping them together before drilling and tapping for the attachment screws.

Like the EZ base, the home-made unit provides a zero-clearance slot that minimizes splintering along the cut line - and on both sides of the cut. A serious problem, IMHO, with the home-made unit is that it eliminates the safety feature of the saw guard - taken out of the cut, the spinning blade is completely exposed below the face of the base. Not good.


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Knot2square said:


> Not a fan of this rip cut guide. I have one and it does a fair job of ripping but if you want precision, it's not the tool for the job, at least in my opinion. Using it, I found that the farther away form the guide your saw is, the more careful you have to be. The saw will tend to turn and you will not have a straight cut. Once the saw gets off the straight cut it is almost impossible to move it back in the correct angle without the saw binding. I was also gifted on and both of them share a space on my wall of tools seldom used.


Huh, I hadn't even thought about precision cuts. I was thinking of cuts maybe 1/8" or 1/4" wider than my finished pieces, and I'm thinking that it would be great for that. And the widest cut I was thinking of would be about 12". The longest piece would be 48", but more likely 24". These all would be 'rough cut' pieces, that would be routed to final size by tacking down a master and routing around, or in, that. The cuts would be 'precise' in that manner, but not to final. Clear, or confusing? I'm thinking it will save me some time, and effort. l was thinking of asking you if you wanted to get rid of one of your guides, then decided I'd just rather make my own version, it would be more fun.
:grin:


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

tomp913 said:


> Don't know about the home-made unit, but the Kreg doesn't address the need to assemble the saw on the base so that the blade is parallel to the cut line - no heeling. A serious problem, IMHO, with the home-made unit is that it eliminates the safety feature of the saw guard - taken out of the cut, the spinning blade is completely exposed below the face of the base. Not good.


I would have thought alignment would have been considered important, but maybe they think their product is so accurate every thing will align perfectly. Hah! I figure on making my own and have a saw I was given, it works fine except for the switch - won't turn off. LOL No problem, it will be dedicated to the jig and I will use a foot switch with it. 

I hadn't thought about the guard until I read that, but I figure it should be no biggie to make a gap for the guard to work properly; which I now plan to do.

When I was a kid, one of my dad's friends was cutting boards with a circular saw. And, decided the guard was in the way, and locked it up. Then proceeded to sit the still spinning blade on his leg. Cut his leg to the bone, and he almost died, but survived. Now I am very careful to keep my body away from whirly parts.


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

I still prefer a good straight edge and a pair of clamps.


----------



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

I bought one a year or 2 ago for $24... they have close to doubled in price now.

I don't use it for precise cuts. When set up right it is accurate and is great for breaking down full sheets into workable pieces that can be precisely and chip free on the TS.


----------



## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

I have one and you can do precision cuts with it but had trouble cutting anything over 10 inches wide. Also there is a problem when the
saw crosses the end of the rip it tends to become unsteady. Your better off with something like the ez track system or a plywood ripping guide.
https://tombuildsstuff.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-cut-plywood-with-circular-saw.html


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I abandoned mine after trying to use it once. The weakness of the connection to the saw really bugged me. I simply had zero confidence I was able to saw a straight line. The part that rides on the edge of the sheet goods is easily jogged off the edge, as Steve pointed out. My track saw (Triton) now fills the sheet goods ripping role, and by far is the better solution. This, in my opinion, is a worthless tool, poorly designed and unreliable at doing its job. In particular, the attachment of the saw is so deficient that I would never suggest using it. It hangs, forlorn, on a wall.


----------



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I had the same experience as Tom. It was hard to keep the saw aligned with the edge of the stock especially as you neared the end of the cut. Mine sits in a cabinet unused.


----------



## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

roofner said:


> I have one and you can do precision cuts with it but had trouble cutting anything over 10 inches wide. Also there is a problem when the
> saw crosses the end of the rip it tends to become unsteady. Your better off with something like the ez track system or a plywood ripping guide.
> https://tombuildsstuff.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-cut-plywood-with-circular-saw.html


The home-made guide that I used for years was just like that - 1/4" tempered hardboard, but with a 3/4" plywood fence as the saw base has a rolled edge. The hardboard was screwed to the fence, and I know that I moved it a couple of times as the "edge" got worn, and once because I went to a different saw. I was running out of room for the clamps on the section outboard of the fence when I finally retired it. Now I see that the dovetail clamps that go with the MatchFit Dado Stop are good for this application as they are below the guide - do a search, there are several YouTube videos showing different ways the clamps can be used other than this.

I use the EZ Edge Guide for ripping, working well now that I've corrected a cou0ple of problems, still working on a couple of ideas to improve it. It has a long enough fence that there's good contact with the plywood edge both at the start and finish of the cut.


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Guess I made a good call then, deciding to make rather than get one. I know a saw guide would be more accurate, but for what I want it for, a homemade one will work just fine.


----------



## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

I only used mine once to rip the last board for my deck that meet the house wall 16 foot deck board.


----------



## Minnesota Marty (May 7, 2016)

I have an EZSmart Universal Edge Guide (UEG) acronym. I have a Makita 6 1/2" cordless saw mounted and it performs very well. It is more money but when I wanted on to see if it could do what I wanted it worked like I thought. 

https://www.eurekazone.com/product_p/ezuegsb1.htm

Marty


----------

