Fritz & Franz Jig for Hammer Saw

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
I finally got around to making a Fritz and Franz jig to go on my sliding table saw. I am really amazed at what the jig allows me to do safely! I have cut pieces as short as 1 inch on the saw (cross cutting) with no hint of any kind of trouble and my fingers no where near the blade! This allows function that I simply have not been able to safely perform in the past even on my miter saw. Here are a couple of pictures. I put PSA sand paper (Klingsphor 120 grit) on the jaw face to provide a steady hold on the work piece. This work piece is 1/4 inch thick, and I have accomplished the same task with a 1 1/2 inch thick piece as well. If you don't have this jig for your slider, you certainly want to add it to your arsenal. 183987183988
 

Jeremy Scuteri

Moderator
Jeremy
I made a version of this that wasn't nearly as nice as yours. Can you show some more pictures of yours? I'd like to see a zoomed out picture and a picture of the runner that you used. The slot on the hammer saw is a bit on the narrow side. There appears to be a metal stop in the one picture. Is that the stop for your crosscut fence? Looks good!
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Jeremy, Here are some more pictures. The metal stop is an old flip stop that I had. I need to make some out of wood that are not quite as big but haven't gotten to it yet. My jig is two 3/4 pieces of plywood laminated together with piece of maple screwed and glued (screws deeply recessed ) to the blade side edge. I put in two Incra T slot tracks with scales on them so that I can cut tapers accurately. The handle is just a scrap piece of 2 by 4 trimmed a little and run through the router to make a good hand hold. As I mentioned before, I put 120 grit sand paper on the jaws to hold the wood firmly. I use this same technique on my miter saw when cutting small pieces at crazy compound angles. I really do no like my fingers anywhere near moving blades or bits. The runner is just a piece of maple shaved to exactly the right width for the Hammer slot. I shaved it on the planer to keep everything as smooth as possible. It is almost a press fit. It does not just drop into the slot. I have to lightly tap it, but then it slides without any effort. Hope this helps.
 

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Mike Wilkins

Mike
Corporate Member
Thanks for the idea. I need to research this jig further as I have seen it referenced on other forums. But first I need to fabricate a zero clearance insert for my slider, as tiny pieces fall into the too-large gap too often.
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Jeremy, I tried something today as an experiment that again surprised me about the capabilities of this jig design. I was going to make a walnut dowel using a techniques Danmart77 showed me : taking a square piece of stock and driving it through a round hole the size of the dowel you want. To do so, I had a scrap piece of stock that was about 1/2 inch wide maybe a hair more and 7/16 thick. It was two feet long, and I placed it in the jig long ways using the fence as a measurement stop (the fence did not extend to the blade). I was able to hold the stock in place with the jig and make both cuts without any difficulty. I certainly would not have attempted that kind of cut on any table saw. Granted, I could have done it on the band saw, but I was just seeing what the jig could handle.
 

Jeremy Scuteri

Moderator
Jeremy
It is really useful. Even if you aren't holding work with it, you can use one side of the jig to "back up the work" similar to a sacrificial fence on a miter gauge. It also shows you where the blade is in relation to the sliding table which is also very useful.

Here is my cheapo version:

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