![]() I attached the Dremel tool and set the height. Next, I needed to attach the 2 height adjusting stages together which was easily done with three screws through the T-Track.Īnd finally, the test to see if this thing would even work. It made me wonder where else I could use this idea it worked so well. of course, I did to ensure it was being held, but that's how well this system worked. The cam system actually automatically "locked" when I raised the clamp housing, I didn't even have to lock the cam handle. ![]() To my delighit, it worked even better than I had hoped. next was to try out this cam system to see if it would even work. Next, I needed to drill a hole through the cam, and again I made an educated guess where I thought it should be. I drew it on a piece of plywood, cut it off on the bandsaw, then smoothed it out slightly on my reciprocating sander. ![]() Using this hole as a reference and the mast as the other, the distance between the hole and mast, plus a half inch or so would be the size of my first attempt at making the cam. I had to make it slightly loose to allow for wood expansion but was relying on the cam system to give me a tight fit with it.Īfter the clamping housing was glued and tested to ride smoothly up and down the mast, the next thing I did was drill a hole at a place in the housing where I felt would be a good place for the cam to insert through. I cut a piece wood and glued more plywood on the sides to make the clamping portion of the second stage height adjustment. All a cam is is a circle with a hole drilled off center, and in my case I should add a bit of a handle to it as well to make it easier to re-adjust. I never use wood anymore for mitre gauge material, I have had too many instances where wood expanded so much it wouldn't even fit in the mitre slot, and that's the problem with wood for mitre slot material, if you want a nice snug fit, wood expands and contracts and sometimes it is too tight, other times it fits too loosely whereas UHMW polyethylene fits the same every time you use it.įor the second stage of the height adjustment I decided on making a moveable piece that I could fasten to the mast using a "cam system". ![]() This plastic worked perfectly after spending some time on my table saw and very carefully sawing and re-sawing ever so slightly until the piece fits into my T-track mitre gauge slot blank. It is widely available and I purchase it in 3/4" thick pieces, then cut my own miter slot material on my own table saw with a general purpose blade as I need it. To make the slide to move up and down the mitre gauge blank, I used that same "extruded" plastic called UHMW polyethylene. this is because it has a recess along the bottom the protrudes, so if you dado out a grove, it doesn't sit flat because of this protruding part where screws heads would otherwise be. For the first stage, I ended up using a piece of T-track mitre gauge slot track I purchased a few years ago that has never been used. Next, I wanted to have a variable height adjustment so needed a 2 stage mechanism. I started off with a scrap piece of 3/4 inch plywood for the base, then attached, with screws from the bottom, a 1-3/4 " square mast. Link to Woodworkweb Amazon Affiliate Store. More recently I found myself needed a multitude of small, even holes that could be done with the drill press, but I have always wanted a mini drill press for my Dremel tool, so now was a good time to see if I could figure something out for this. I like it when screws protrude through the wood because I know I have a "good bite" on the wood, but having a small sharp tip poking out is a hazard so I always cut them off flush and the Dremel tool is perfect for that. The one thing I use mine for all - the - time, is trimming screw and nail tips that have protruded through the wood when making things like jigs. What I like about them is the portability and how they can do small things with such ease that most other tools are either too big or too cumbersome to use. Dremel tools are not always thought of a traditional woodworking tools but I am astounded how many woodworkers one one of these and for me, I am always digging mine out of the cupboard for one reason or another.
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