Fences and Clamps

Fences and clamps are a vital part of having a CNC Router.  The fences allow you to reliably place stock for cutting and you need clamps to hold the stuff down.  This little addon was part of the upgrade book for the KRMx01 and the clamps were part of the KRMx02 book.  So no real details here but at least you will get an idea of what is going on.

Cutting the Fences

Blank fences cut from scrap lauan plywood. Fence blanks drilled to accept bolts from clamp table. I made my fences from some left over 4.75 mm lauan scrap.  Here you see that I have them cut and holes drilled to allow bolts from the T-Slot table below to protrude.

Squaring the Fences

Squaring the fence to the router and table. In this image I am squaring the front fence to the left fence after aligning it with the router.

Cutting Out Clamps

Cutting some wood clamps. Next I cut some clamps to use on the clamping table.  Your clamps should be router friendly in the event something goes wrong with your machine or code.  These clamps are being made from some 1/2" plywood.  This piece of material was clamped down using some scraps of lauan plywood.  These clamps did not work well.  They were not thick enough to really hold the material down and should have a groove on the end so that it prevents the material from sliding from the force of the cut.  But they worked well enough to get these clamps cut.  You should make lots of clamps in short, medium and long versions.  You just cannot have too many.  The book calls for some plastic knobs from a supplier.  I didn't have these so just used nuts.  I will use some wing nuts until I get a chance to find better hold down knobs.  :-)

The Fences and Clamps in Use

Fences and Clamps in use. Fences and Clamps in use. Her are a couple of pictures of the fences and clamps in use.  I hope you realize the value of these items to your CNC machine and decide to make some for your own.  Thanks for reading about this add-on!