I have been fortunate enough to be chosen as a beta tester for Steve Adams' Qwas dogs. So I thought I'd start a thread showing a few things that these amazing little puppies can do. Steve has already posted some videos in another thread. I'm not so technically advanced as Steve - I'll be posting pictures.

The Qwas dogs are amazing tools. Steve has turned them so that they have a shiny surface - they make a satisfying "clink" when you jingle them together. I have 3 MFT 1080 table tops, and it turns out they all have different hole sizes. So I'm the perfect victim beta tester - some dogs fit in some holes, but not others. We did arrive at a dog diameter that would fit in all the holes snugly enough that there was negligible play.

I would suggest purchasing two sets of Qwas dogs (4 all together). You can do amazing things with these. I have now completely stopped using the factory-installed stops for the 1080 guide rail, and use the Qwas dogs for aligning the rails, stock, table tops, etc.

Here's one of the first things I did with the dogs:

Aligning two MFT1080 table tops
I have two MFT1080's aligned end-to-end. I find that this works really well for cutting long stock - both rips and cross-cuts. Unfortunately I don't have a guide rail that is the length of the two tables. So I join a 1400 and a 1080 together. Turns out - even with two joining rods - the rails are very difficult to align. On long rips I've found that it's fairly easy to be off by 1/8" by the end of the cut.

So how do you ensure that the rails are aligned for making long rips? The first step is aligning the holes in the two table tops.

First I put 4 Qwas dogs in the table tops - 2 in each table - in the same row of holes:



Here I've butted the back edge of the 1400 guide rail up against two dogs on the farthest table. If you look closely, you can see that there's about 1/16" clearance of the rail on the nearest dog. Here's a pic where I inserted a folded piece of paper in the gap:


This indicates that the two tables are out of alignment. So I loosened the screws on the nearest table top, and nudged it until the Qwas dogs just touched the back of the guide rail:


If the table is loose enough, you can actually overshoot the table adjustment, and then use the guide rail to push the table top into perfect alignment.

Here's what it looks like with all 4 Qwas dogs aligned with the back of the rail:


I now have two table tops with holes forming perfectly straight lines.


Aligning two joined guide rails

I've found that it's very tricky to get two long guide rails joined in a perfectly straight line. Tiny movements at the joint translate into big errors a meter or two away. I know - I could drop a few hundred bucks and buy a long rail, but I don't use it that much, and these things are supposed to work - right?

Now that my table tops are aligned, I just move the joint between the two guide rails so that it's positioned between two pairs of Qwas dogs. Then I loosen the screws holding the rail connectors in, push the guide rails so that they're both touching the Qwas dogs, and tighten the screws. You still have to be careful when handling the rails that you don't put them out of alignment. But if you do, it's trivial to re-align them with the Qwas dogs. I do it before every cut.

I tell - these things are great!

I'll be posting more uses as I develop them. Please join in!

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred

Nice idea about joining 2 guide rails. I hadn't thought of that use yet and I'm always joining rails. Thanks.

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Steve Adams, Qwas Products

Cutting thin strips

I often have to cut long, thin strips of wood for things I make. This is a particularly difficult task with the MFT and saw. The Qwas dogs make it easy. Here's my technique:

First take a piece of stock the same thickness as the stock you'll be cutting. Here I'm using 3/4" mdf. Using the Qwas dogs to align the guide rail, it's trivial to make a rectangular piece with perfect right angles at all corners (see Qwas's videos). Here's the piece of mdf with a curved edge just before I ripped it. You can see that it's butted up against the 2 Qwas dogs that I used to align the guide rail. When I make the cut, I'll get a piece of mdf exactly the width of the guide rail (or at least the width of the back of the guide rail to the right side of my saw kerf, which is what I want).


Now I take my set-up blocks. I happen to have 2 sets. One (the closest set in the picture) is from Lee-Valley, and the other (brass) set is from Rockler. I took all the blocks that the two sets had in common, and placed them in a stack against each Qwas dog. I then pushed the mdf up against them, and made a cut.


You can see that I used a 1/2", a 1/4" and a 1/8" block. Now I can make strips the width of any combination of these blocks.

For instance, to make a 1/8" strip, I pull out the 1/8" block from each dog. I then push the mdf against it, and then snug the stock against the edge of the mdf. I put a dog at the farthest end of the stock so it won't move, and then use a Jorgensen clamp to hold it down during cutting.


And here's a 1/8" strip that I cut off. Pretty near perfect, by my calipers!


Here's a few more...


And here's a couple of 5/8" strips that I ripped, with the removed set-up blocks on top to show their accuracy.


Talk about a simple jig!

You don't need to use set-up blocks. If you know the width of the rip you want, just insert a piece of something that's the same width between the dog and a piece of mdf that slightly wider than the guide rail. Make your cut. Remove the spacer. Go ahead and make multiple, identical rips!

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred

To expand on this method of ripping using spacers, you might like using two of Incra's original jigs (about $50 each) as adjustable spacers. Once calibrated alike, simply place between dogs and back side of rail. These original Incra jigs can accept either Imperial or metric scales, and thus can be set to increments of 1/32" (Imperial) or 1mm (metric).

Have fun!
Corwin

My 2 cents:

I use a 1080 and a 800 joined together. The long side of the 800 butted against the short side of the 1080. Nice by product is that legs extend in different directions so the assembly is rock stable. This definitely provides a comfortable work surface. I wonder how I could work with only a single 1080 before.

I used the same trick as described by Poto to align holes, but a 1400 rail was enough in this case.

The assembly is secured using Festool joining devices that run inside extrusion T-tracks. I found it more convenient to have one in the side T-track of one extrusion, and one in the top T-track that of the opposite extrusion (the one on which the guide rail hinge is attached).

That way, one can easily insert a Festool clamp for whatever purpose in the T-tracks that run between the two joined tables as well as to easily adjust hole alignment loosening the screws of the joining device running on top of an extrusion.

Just to avoid disappointment--you need to change the racks to convert from inch to metric. Otherwise, metric scale or no, you'll be adjusting in increments of 1/32". Metric racks are available directly from Incra.

I'm a little dense. Can someone post a model number for the INCA?

I believe this is the one they are talking about.

INCRA Precision Fence :: Original INCRA Jig

Incra Universal Precision Positioning Jig - Rockler Woodworking Tools

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Steve Adams, Qwas Products

This is the one I'm talking about:

rtf_originaljig_zoom.jpg

Original INCRA Jig
Part Number: IJ32

I couldn't find the part number for the metric racks--call Incra.

Here are two sources:
Woodpeck.com for Router Tables, Router Lifts, Router Bits, Precision Squares, Fine Woodworking Tools and all Incra Products. and
Buy INCRA Tools Online - www.incrementaltools.com :: INCRA Precision Woodworking Tools, INCRA Fence, TS Fences, Router Tables, LS Systems

This "original" Incra jig is the most basic of this portion of their product line. The body consists of two identical plastic parts -- top and bottom. One of these, let's call it the bottom, has an Imperial scale attached. I suggest that if one wants to use these for metric applications, that one attach a metric scale on the other, or top piece such that it can be used for either standard by simply exchanging the notched racks -- of course, you will also need to flip the unit upside down...

This model has about 8" of travel, which is more than enough to handle those cuts that are narrower than the guide rails.

Incra's Ultra and LS models offer a means of fine adjustment, but this original jig does not -- well, not a calibrated adjustment anyway. With this model, any fine adjustment (as in zeroing out) is accomplished by loosening the screws that retain the racks, adjust and re-tighten. This lack of calibrated adjustment between notches (1/32" or 1mm) does essentially limit this jig, but I find it a workable solution for this application.

Enjoy,
Corwin