Abstract:
A woodworking machinery jig and fixture system has a stop with a half-dovetail surface and can be provided with one or more T-slots. The half-dovetail surface can be clamped against a half-dovetail surface on the support, or against a flat surface. In one of the stops, the base has multiple through holes, any one of which can be used to mount a flip stop arm so as to vary the height of the arm or use a zero clearance fence. A track for the system has a flange that helps locate the track along the rear comer of a wood fence and also helps secure the track to the wood fence with fasteners through holes that can be drilled in the flange using a drill guide groove formed in the flange. Tension screws are provided in the stop and in the base for eliminating play between the hinge pin, the flip stop and the base. A lens is received in a groove of the stop arm and extends therefrom in position to view a ruler that is mounted on top of the support, facing up. The projection on the bottom of the base that fits into a T-slot is bordered by an angled surface that cams against the comer of the T-slot to push the other edge of the projection against the other comer of the T-slot when the base is assembled to the track, to provide a snug fit between the base and the track. The stops are provided with accessory mounting slots. A fixed stop with a half-dovetail surface, lens groove and accessory mounting slots can be mounted to a standard 2×4 that has a mating half-dovetail surface or a flat surface. A miter fixture can be mounted to the accessory slots that has fingers with ends that provide surface support of the mitered end of a workpiece whether the workpiece is supported with its point toward or away from the working plane of the support.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/503,609 filed Sep. 17, 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to shop made jigs and fixtures for positioning, aligning, guiding, and/or holding a workpiece on metalworking or woodworking machines during a cutting or shaping operation.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,641, 5,617,909, and 5,768,966, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference, disclose improved jigs and fixtures for aligning, guiding, and/or holding a workpiece as it is worked, for example as it is cut, drilled, or routed. While the jigs and fixtures disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,641, 5,617,909, and 5,768,966 represent a significant advance in the art, room still exists for improvements, particularly in the following respects, among others.  
         [0003]     Stops are typically secured in a T-slot of a track There is always a slight variation in the extrusion which compromises the fit. There is no stop base that fits a variety of T-slots that can be located and be removed from the track between two adjacent stops. U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,641 teaches that the stop can be bolted in the down position but this requires threading a bolt through the stop into the base, which is tedious. None of the stops available are designed to allow cutting a miter with either the point in or the point out without any manipulation. Expensive stop systems have large and complicated accessories for supporting the point of a miter.  
         [0004]     None of the stops available are designed to accommodate fences of various heights. There is no after market flip stop available with a magnifier lens. There is no after market flip stop that has a mechanism for adjusting the length of the stop so that it can be used with fences of different heights. None of the stops available are designed to accommodate a removable fixture by simply loosening one knob.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The invention provides an improved woodworking machinery jig and fixture system that has a stop with a half-dovetail surface. One or more T-slots may also be provided in the stop, and the stop may be a flip stop or a fixed stop. The half-dovetail surface can be clamped against a half-dovetail surface on the support, or against a flat surface, to secure the stop to the support.  
         [0006]     In another aspect, the base of a stop has multiple through holes, any one of which can be used to mount a flip stop arm so as to vary the height of the arm or use a zero clearance fence.  
         [0007]     In another aspect, a track for the system has a flange that helps locate the track along the rear comer of a wood fence. The flange also helps secure the track to the wood fence with fasteners through holes that can be drilled in the flange using a drill guide groove formed in the flange.  
         [0008]     In another aspect, tension screws are provided in the stop and in the base for eliminating play between the hinge pin, the flip stop and the base.  
         [0009]     In another aspect, the support has a ruler on its top surface that faces up. In this aspect, a lens may be received in a groove of the stop arm. The lens extends from the stop arm in position to view the ruler from above the support.  
         [0010]     In another aspect, the projection on the bottom of the base that fits into a T-slot is bordered by an angled surface that cams against the comer of the T-slot to push the other edge of the projection against the other comer of the T-slot when the base is assembled to the track, to provide a snug fit between the base and the track.  
         [0011]     A fixed stop with a half-dovetail surface, lens groove and accessory mounting slots can be mounted to a standard 2×4 that has a mating half-dovetail surface or a flat surface.  
         [0012]     A miter fixture can be mounted to the accessory slots that has fingers with ends that provide surface support of the mitered end of a workpiece whether the workpiece is supported with its point toward or away from the working plane of the support.  
         [0013]     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a curved flip stop and a heavy duty flip stop positioned on an L-shaped track as it is used on a miter saw.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1B  is an end view of the L-shaped track shown in  FIG. 1A .  
         [0016]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the curved flip stop and heavy duty flip stop positioned on the L-shaped track as it is used on a table saw miter gauge.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2B  is an end view of an L-shaped track and stops shown in  FIG. 2A .  
         [0018]      FIG. 3A  is an end view of an L-shaped track and a flip stop as it is used on a miter saw.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3B  is a close up end view of the curved flip stop base positioned on the L-shaped track.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4A  is an end view of an L-shaped track and a heavy duty flip stop as it is used on a miter saw.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4B  is a detail end view of the heavy duty flip stop base positioned on the L-shaped track.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of the curved flip stop and heavy duty flip stop positioned on the top track as it is used on a miter saw.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5B  is an end view of a top track shown in  FIG. 5A  showing a drill bit through the back mounting flange.  
         [0024]      FIG. 5C  is a detail view of  FIG. 5B  showing the drill guide indentation in the back mounting flange.  
         [0025]      FIG. 6A  is an end view of a top track and the flip stop as it is used on a miter saw, with screws through the back mounting flange of the top track securing the track to the upper edge of the auxiliary fence.  
         [0026]      FIG. 6B  is an detail view of  FIG. 6A  showing a screw through the back mounting flange of the top track securing it to the upper edge of the auxiliary fence.  
         [0027]      FIG. 7A  is a detail view of the top profile of the track which is common to both the L-shaped track shown in  FIG. 1B  and the top track shown in  FIG. 5B .  
         [0028]      FIG. 7B  is a detail view of the L-shaped track shown in  FIG. 1B .  
         [0029]      FIG. 7C  is a detail view of the top track as shown in  FIG. 5B .  
         [0030]      FIG. 8A  is a perspective view of the curved flip stop and the top track as it is used on a miter saw fence.  
         [0031]      FIG. 8B  is an end elevation view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 8A .  
         [0032]      FIG. 8C  is an exploded view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 8A .  
         [0033]      FIG. 8D  is a detail view of the lens and stick-on tape of  FIG. 8C .  
         [0034]      FIG. 9A  is a top view of  FIG. 8A  showing the flip stop mounted on the track.  
         [0035]      FIG. 9B  is a detail view of  FIG. 9A  showing the stick-on tape as it is seen through the lens (not showing magnification, although it would be magnified in actual practice).  
         [0036]      FIG. 10A  is a top view of the flip stop system showing the flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0037]      FIG. 10B  is an end view of the flip stop system showing the flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0038]      FIG. 10C  is a front view of the flip stop system showing the flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0039]      FIG. 10D  is a detail view of  FIG. 10B  showing the flip stop base engaging the T-slot of the top track.  
         [0040]      FIG. 10E  is an end view of the system showing the flip stop mounted on the top track with the stop arm in the standby position as it would be when resting on the workpiece.  
         [0041]      FIG. 11A  is a perspective view of the heavy duty flip stop and the top track.  
         [0042]      FIG. 11B  is an end elevation view of certain heavy duty flip stop components of the system of  FIG. 11A .  
         [0043]      FIG. 11C  is an exploded view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 11A .  
         [0044]      FIG. 12A  is a perspective view of  FIG. 11A  showing the heavy duty flip stop mounted on the track.  
         [0045]      FIG. 12B  is a detail view of  FIG. 12A  showing the stick-on tape as it is seen through the lens (not showing magnification).  
         [0046]      FIG. 13A  is a top view of the system showing the heavy duty flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0047]      FIG. 13B  is an end view of the system showing the heavy duty flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0048]      FIG. 13C  is a front view of the system showing the heavy duty flip stop mounted on the top track.  
         [0049]      FIG. 14  is an end view of the heavy duty flip stop base mounted on a board showing that the height of the flip stop arm changes when the hole in the flip stop arm extrusion is aligned with different holes in the heavy duty flip stop base.  
         [0050]      FIG. 15  is a side view of the heavy duty flip stop components mounted on the L-shaped track. The arm extrusion is aligned with the front hole of the base allowing space between the arm and the track for attaching a zero clearance board  17 .  
         [0051]      FIG. 16  is a side view scale drawing of the flip stop arm shown on a ¼″ grid.  
         [0052]      FIG. 17  is a side view scale drawing of the flip stop arm shown inside a 6 inch circle.  
         [0053]      FIG. 18A  is a perspective view of a fixed stop positioned on a top track as it is used on a miter saw.  
         [0054]      FIG. 18B  is a detail view of  FIG. 1A  showing the stick-on tape and the lens.  
         [0055]      FIG. 19A  is an end view of the fixed stop positioned on the L-shaped track.  
         [0056]      FIG. 19B  is a detail view of  FIG. 19A  showing a half-dovetail on the fixed stop positioned against the half-dovetail on the front of the L-shaped track.  
         [0057]      FIG. 20A  is an exploded perspective view of the fixed stop.  
         [0058]      FIG. 20B  is a perspective view of the lens.  
         [0059]      FIG. 20C  is a top view of the fixed stop.  
         [0060]      FIG. 20D  is a side view of the fixed stop.  
         [0061]      FIG. 20E  is a front view of the fixed stop.  
         [0062]      FIG. 21  is a detail view of the top profile of the track which is common to both the L-shaped track and the top track showing the dovetail required for the fixed stop and the heavy duty flip stop.  
         [0063]      FIG. 22A  shows a dovetail router bit cutting a half-dovetail shape in a board.  
         [0064]      FIG. 22B  is an end view of the fixed stop aligned with the half-dovetail shape cut in a ¾″ wide board.  
         [0065]      FIG. 22C  is an end view showing the heavy duty flip stop base aligned with the half-dovetail shape cut in a 1½″ board such as a 2 by 4.  
         [0066]      FIG. 23A  is an end view of the L-shaped track shown with a plastic bumper on the bottom which makes the total height 2¾″.  
         [0067]      FIG. 23B  is an end view of the top track shown screwed to a 2⅜″ by ¾″ board making the total height 2¾″.  
         [0068]      FIG. 23C  is an end view of the ¾″ board shown in  FIG. 22B .  
         [0069]      FIG. 23D  is an end view of the board shown in  FIG. 22C  shown with an optional piece of mini-track in the back comer which would allow the use of the flip stop.  
         [0070]      FIG. 24A  is a perspective view of the flip stop positioned on the top track as it is used on a miter saw, with a miter fixture attached to the flip stop.  
         [0071]      FIG. 24B  is a detail view of the flip stop and miter fixture shown in  FIG. 24A .  
         [0072]      FIG. 24C  is a top view of the flip stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 24A .  
         [0073]      FIG. 24D  is a top view of the flip stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 24A  with the point of the mitered board against the fence.  
         [0074]      FIG. 25A  is an end view of the flip stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 24A .  
         [0075]      FIG. 25B  is a detail view of the flip stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 25A .  
         [0076]      FIG. 26A  is an end view of the fixed stop and miter fixture.  
         [0077]      FIG. 26B  is a detail view of the fixed stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 26A .  
         [0078]      FIG. 26C  is a top view of the fixed stop and miter fixture as shown in  FIG. 26B  with the point of the mitered board away from the fence.  
         [0079]      FIG. 27A  is a perspective view of the miter fixture.  
         [0080]      FIG. 27B  is a top view of the miter fixture.  
         [0081]      FIG. 27C  is an end view of the miter fixture.  
         [0082]      FIG. 27D  is a front view of the miter fixture. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0083]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a track of the invention  46 , shown together with a flip stop  54  and a heavy duty flip stop  56  which are pivotable about the axis of a bolt  26  as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,641 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,966, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference for their teachings of how to make and use jigs and fixtures. The drawing is a perspective view of two flip stops  54  with a heavy duty flip stop  56  positioned between them. The stops are positioned on the L-shaped track  46  as it is used on a miter saw  82 . The work piece  78  rests on the miter saw table auxiliary table  76  with one edge against the miter saw fence  29  and miter saw auxiliary fence  35 . A wood shop-made extension table  76  is the same height as the miter saw table  31  so the work piece  80  lays flat on both tables. The extension table  76  is supported by two legs  140 . A wood auxiliary fence  35  is mounted on the back of the wood shop made extension table  76 . The L-shaped track  46  is an L-shaped extrusion with multiple T-slots  210 ,  212 ,  216 ,  218  which is attached to the front side of the wood auxiliary fence  35 . To cut a piece accurately to width the end of the work piece  78  is pressed against the stop arm  10  ( FIG. 2A ) while the other end is cut with the blade  84 . When the flip stop assembly  54  or the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56  is not in use the flip stop arm  10  can rest on top of the work piece  78  in the stand by position  62  ( FIG. 2B ).  
         [0084]      FIG. 1B  is an end view of the L-shaped track  46  shown in  FIG. 1A . The back top T-slot  210  is the mechanism for attaching the flip stop assembly  54 . This track is similar to the L-shaped track of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,966 with two new improvement features. One improvement is that the front top T-slot of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,966 has been replaced by a half-dovetail  48  which is the mechanism used to attach accessories to the top of the track such as the heavy duty flip stop  56  shown in  FIG. 1A  and the fixed stop  71  show in  FIGS. 18A, 18B ,  19 A,  20 A,  20 B,  20 C,  20 D. The half-dovetail  48  has a 9 degree angle which is a standard router bit angle for making a standard dovetail joint. There is also a 5 degree angle  66  at the back of the track which helps to keep the accessories such as the heavy duty flip stop  56  and the fixed stop  71  from rotating upward. In other words, it biases the stop downwardly when the thumb screw  20  or other fastener that fixes the stop to the track is tightened against it ( FIG. 4B ).  
         [0085]     Also replacing the top front T-slot of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,966 is a 0.520″ indentation for a stick-on tape  64  on the front of the L-shaped track  46 . The stick-on tape  50  on the top of the L-shaped track  46  is better for use on the miter gauge because the user does not have to lean over the miter gauge to see the measurement. It also avoids the problem of parallax when viewing the tape against the edge of the stop.  
         [0086]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the flip stop  54  and heavy duty flip stop  56  positioned on the L-shaped track  46  as it is used on a table saw miter gauge  89 . The flip stop assembly  54  and the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56  is used to crosscut boards to length by measuring the distance between the end of the board  78  and the saw blade  84 . The end of the board is pressed against the stop arm  10  while the other end is cut with the blade  84 . When the flip stop assembly  54  or the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56  is not in use the flip stop arm  10  can rest on top of the work piece  78  in the standby position  62 . The flip stop assembly  54  is slideable along the length of a track by loosening knob  20  to loosen the head of the bolt  26  (not shown) which slides in the top T-slots  64  of the track  46 . The exact distance between the saw blade  84  and a stop can be measured with the stick-on-tape  50  attached to the L-shaped track  46 . The flip stop arm  10  of the flip stop assembly  54  rests on the top of the workpiece  78  in the standby position  62 .  
         [0087]      FIG. 2B  is an end view of the L-shaped track and stops shown in  FIG. 2A , illustrating the standby position  62  and also the work position in which the arm  10  is lowered so that the end of the workpiece  78  can engage it.  
         [0088]      FIG. 3A  is an end view of a L-shaped track and a flip stop as it is used with a miter saw and  FIG. 3B  is a detail end view of the flip stop base  30 , preferably extruded aluminum, positioned on the L-shaped track  46 , also preferably extruded aluminum. The flip stop assembly  54  is attached to the L-shaped track  46  T-slot  112  with the bolt  26  which is locked in place by the knob  20  which is shown in the exploded view in  FIG. 8C . The base  30  has a bottom protrusion  107  which extends laterally along the bottom side of the base  30  and fits into the T-slots  68  of the track to help guide the base and prevent it from rotating relative to the track. The protrusion  107  has a downwardly facing surface that is bordered at its rear edge by an angled surface  90  ( FIGS. 8B and 10D ) and at its front edge by a right angle step  67 . The angled surface cams against the rear edge of the T-slot  68  to push the step  67  against the opposite side of the T-slot  68  when the thumb nut  20  ( FIG. 3B ) is tightened, to eliminate any clearance between the T-slot and the protrusion  107 . The T-slot  68  is designed to take the head of a ¼-20 bolt  26  as is standard.  
         [0089]      FIG. 4A  illustrates the heavy duty flip stop  56  with the miter saw and  FIG. 4B  is a detail end view of the heavy duty flip stop base  60  positioned on the L-shaped track  46 . The heavy duty flip stop base  60  is preferably an extruded aluminum block with four {fraction (5/16)}″ holes  13  and two downward protrusions  108  and  109 . The protrusion  108  at the front is flush with the front of the track extrusion. The inside of the front downward protrusion  108  is a 9 degree half-dovetail surface  48 . The 9 degree half-dovetail  48  on the inside of the front downward protrusion  108  corresponds to the same angle at the front of the L-shaped track  46 . The heavy duty flip stop base  60  is secured to the L-shaped track  46  with swivel head stud  52  with a knob  20  secured to the end of it, the stud  52  being threaded into a hole in the protrusion  109 . The rotating end of the swivel head stud  52  presses against the 5 degree angled surface  66  at the back of the top track extrusion  58 , which pulls the base  60  rearwardly and downwardly for a stable connection with the track. As the knob  20  is rotated, the 9 degree half-dovetail  48  on the L-shaped track  46  engages with the half-dovetail surface  48  on the heavy duty flip stop base  60 . This design allows the heavy duty flip stop base  60  to easily be loosened from the track and lifted off the track, and re-assembled to the track from above, for example inside of a stop that is already assembled to the track. This solves the problem of mounting the flip stop  54  to the T-slot  68  which requires that it be slid off the end of the track rather than simply loosening a knob and then lifting it off the track.  
         [0090]      FIG. 5A  illustrates a top track  58  (preferably extruded aluminum) applied to a miter saw  82  and  FIG. 5B  is an end view of the top track  58  shown in  FIG. 5A  showing a drill bit through the back mounting flange  69 . An indentation line or groove  70  is extruded into the back mounting flange  69  that acts as a drill guide to make it easy to drill holes in the extrusion  110  along a straight line so it can be screwed to the edge of the wood auxiliary fence  35 , along the rear comer of the fence  35 . The back mounting flange  69  eliminates the need for aligning the track on top of the fence  35  as the rear comer bearing against the bottom of the track  58  and the flange  69  automatically aligns it. The 9 degree half-dovetail  48  on the front of the track  58  and the 5 degree angled surface  66  at the back of the track allow the use of quick release stops such as the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56  and the fixed stop  71  ( FIG. 18B ).  
         [0091]      FIG. 7A  is a detail view of the top profile of the track which is common to both the L-shaped track shown in  FIG. 1B  and the top track shown in  5 B. Both of the tracks share the 9 degree half-dovetail  48  at the front of the track, indentation for a stick-on tape  64 , T-slot  68  and the 5 degree angled back  66 , which may also be considered a half-dovetail surface, although not at the standard 9 degrees that is uniform for woodworking dovetails and a standard size for a woodworking dovetail router bit.  
         [0092]      FIG. 8A  is a perspective view of the top track  58  screwed to wood fence  35  to make a woodworking support of the invention and  FIG. 8B  is an end elevation view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 8A , including the three custom made extrusions for the track  58  and the stop assembly  54 . The stop arm  10  (preferably extruded aluminum) is generally T-shaped with curved bottom  14  that has a 3 inch radius  81  ( FIG. 17 ) that changes gradually to a curve  83  with a 2.25 inch radius  87  having its center below the center of the radius  81 , so that the end  38  will be high enough to fit into the lowest T-slot  216  in the front of the L-shaped track  46 , so as to penetrate the working plane of the track so as to stop a pointed workpiece with the point adjacent to the working plane. The bottom curves  14  and  83  curve away from the machine table so that the arm  10  can be easily lifted by sliding a workpiece under the surfaces  14  and  83 .  
         [0093]     A straight support arm  12  that is angled at approximately 35 degrees intersects near the middle of the curved bottom or shoe at a point so that the end of the surface  14  is high enough to permit sliding a thick board (e.g., 1.5 inch thick or more) while providing a shallow angle between the surface  14  and the top front edge of the board so that the arm  10  will be easily lifted when the board is slid under it. The arm  10  is also preferably made of relatively thin sections to keep the weight down, which also makes lifting easier.  
         [0094]     Extending from the curved bottom  83  is a small finger  16  that is parallel to the straight support arm  12 . The ¼″ laterally extending space  21  between the straight support arm  12  and the finger  16  is fixture mounting slot  21 , which extends parallel to the working plane of the woodworking support. A fixture can be mounted simply by sliding a ¼″ bolt that mounts the fixture in the fixture mounting slot  21  (See FIGS.  24 A-D). A transparent plastic magnifying lens  34  slides into the lens opening slot  18  and is secured in place by the lens locking screw  40  that is secured into a threaded hole  74 . This mechanism allows the position of the lens to be fine tuned for accuracy.  
         [0095]     The {fraction (5/16)}″ hole  13  in the curved flip arm extrusion  10  is the standard plus or minus 0.015″ accuracy of an aluminum extrusion. Usually holes in extruded aluminum are designed to be oversized so that when the extrusion die wears from use the hole in the extrusion is still within tolerance. Standard bolts vary in size. The lack of a tight fit between the hole and the bolt allows the flip stop arm to rotate laterally or transversely slightly compromising accuracy. To remove any sloppiness between the curved flip arm extrusion  10  and the bolt a threaded hole  74  is made in the extrusion and an arm tension set screw  22  (steel or plastic) is used to tighten against the bolt in the {fraction (5/16)}″ hole  13  in the curved flip arm extrusion  10 , to eliminate any clearance.  
         [0096]     To remove any sloppiness between the base extrusion  30  and the bolt a threaded hole  74  is made in the back of the base extrusion  30 . A base tension screw  42  is used to tighten the bolt in the {fraction (5/16)}″ hole  13  in the base extrusion  30 . The preferable material for the base tension screw  42  is nylon which is quite lubricious when the bolt rotates against it, since the bolt  42  turns as it acts like a hinge pin when the flip stop is raised and lowered. This tightening mechanism does not require tools and is easily adjusted with the operator&#39;s fingers.  
         [0097]      FIG. 8C  is an exploded view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 8A .  FIG. 8D  is a detail view of the lens and stick-on tape of  FIG. 8C . As shown in  FIG. 8A  the lens is designed to be positioned closely to the stick-on tape  50 , above it. The lens  34  is clear plastic and magnifies the ruler. Located on the bottom of the lens is a red curser line  86 . The red color allows the viewer to instantly identify the reference line. The red curser line  86  is usually positioned about ¼″ away from the edge of the stop arm which means that the stick-on tape  50  is offset ¼″. The lens locking screw  40  mechanism allows for the fine adjustment of the red curser line  86 .  
         [0098]     No known aftermarket flip stop design has a lens. In the original U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,641, the stop was L-shaped and the stick-on tape  50  was adjustable. The measurement was read off the edge of the stop using the cut edge of the extrusion as the reference point. Because the back of the stop is close to the stick-on tape  50 , there was problem fine tuning the set up because only half of the ruler was visible because the other half is covered by the stop arm. The problem is solved by locating the indentation  64  for a stick-on tape  50  in the top of the front comer of the top track  58  and the L-shaped track  46  as seen in  FIGS. 9A and 1B  respectively and by locating the lens  34  directly above the stick-on tape  50  as shown in  FIG. 9B . The measurement is readily visible as the viewer can see both sides of the desired setting on the stick-on tape  50  versus only one side which is the case in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,641. The measurement setting is easily seen for either the table saw user, who views it from the back of the track, or the miter and radial saw user who views the tape from the front.  
         [0099]      FIG. 11A  is a perspective view of the heavy duty flip stop and the top track. The bottom curve  14  of the curved flip stop arm  10  is wide enough to engage the end of a mitered board that is ¾″ by 2¼″ with the point of the miter opposite the fence  35 . Positioning the point of the miter away from the fence is ideal because the force of the blade cutting the miter on the opposite end applies a uniform pressure against the stop guaranteeing that all of the work pieces will be cut at a uniform length. If the piece to be mitered is wider than 2¼″ a fixture can be attached to the curved stop arm  10  by using the fixture mounting slot  21 .  FIG. 11B  is an end elevation view of certain heavy duty flip stop components of the system of  FIG. 11A .  
         [0100]      FIG. 11C  is an exploded view of certain components of the system of  FIG. 11A . The curved flip arm extrusion  10  is the same for both the flip stop assembly  54  and the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56 . A feature that the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56  has is the ability to be configured so that it can be used on machine fences of different height as shown in  FIG. 14 . By changing the hole  13  that the arm is bolted through the height of the curved flip arm extrusion  10  in front of the woodworking support changes.  FIG. 15  shows that locating the bolt in the front hole  13  allows enough room between the L-shaped track  46  and the point  38  at the back of the flip arm  38  so that a zero clearance fence  17  (a board that can be cut into by the blade to support the workpiece right next to the cut) can be added to the front of the track.  
         [0101]      FIG. 17  is an end elevation view of the flip stop arm  10  showing a 6 inch diameter circle  75  that the flip stop arm  10  fits inside of. The front of the flip stop arm  14  has the 3 inch radius  81  of the 6 inch diameter circle  75 . The curve at the bottom of the flip arm  83  is the size of a smaller 4.5 inch diameter circle  77  which has a 2.25 inch radius  87 . A straight arm  12  angles toward the bottom of the stop at approximately a 35 degree angle  79  (relative to horizontal, with the arm supported with its upper leg that extends from arm  12  to attachment hole  13  horizontal) and attaches to the bottom of the stop arm  10  approximately where the 6 inch circle  75  and the 4.5 inch circle  77  intersect with each other.  
         [0102]      FIG. 18A  is a perspective view of the fixed stop positioned on the top track as it is used on a miter saw.  FIG. 18B  is a detail view of  FIG. 18A  showing the stick-on tape  50  and the lens  34 .  FIG. 19A  is an end view of the fixed stop  71  positioned on the L-shaped track showing how the 9 degree half-dovetail  48  on the fixed stop and L-shaped track  46  mate with each other. The fixed stop  71  is locked to the L-shaped track  46  by the threaded stud knob  90  at the back of the stop. This is similar to the mechanism used by the heavy duty flip stop assembly  56 . The fixed stop  71  is made from a one piece aluminum extrusion  73  that closely follows the profile of the L-shaped track  46  as shown in  FIG. 19A . The extension leg  111 , which is parallel to the machine table top extends the front of the fixed stop  71 . This extension leg  111  allows the fixed stop  71  to be used with wide mitered boards. Four fingers  16  on the extension leg  111  create two fixture mounting slots  21 . Jigs and fixtures are easily attached to the fixed stop  71  with a ¼″ bolt located in the fixture mounting slots  21 .  
         [0103]     The 9 degree half-dovetail  48  design allows for a number of fence options besides the L-shaped track  46  and the top track  58 .  FIG. 22A  shows a 9 degree dovetail router bit  91  making a 9 degree half-dovetail cutout  93  in a wood fence  19 .  FIG. 22B  is an end view of the fixed stop  71  positioned on the wood fence  19  showing how the 9 degree half-dovetail  48  on the fixed stop  71  and a 9 degree half-dovetail cutout  93  in a wood fence  19  mate with each other (screw  90  not shown). Because the fixed stop  71  attaches to a fence by clamping pressure between the 9 degree half-dovetail and the threaded stud knob  90  it can be attached to materials of various widths.  FIG. 22C  shows the fixed stop  71  positioned on a wood 2 by 4 fence  19  which is an inch and a half thick. Construction material that is an inch and a half thick is common on building sights where contractors often build miter saw table extensions out of it. The fixed stop  71  would be useful for a builder on a job sight where multiple pieces of the same length are often cut.  
         [0104]      FIG. 24A  is a perspective view of the stop  54  positioned on the L-shaped track  46  as it is used on a miter saw  82 . The mitered work piece  80  rests on the miter saw table auxiliary table  76  with one edge against the miter saw fence  29  and the other end against miter saw auxiliary fence  35 . A wood shop made extension table  76  is the same height as the miter saw table  31  so the mitered work piece  80  lays flat on both tables. Attached to the flip stop  54  is a miter fixture  11  which supports the 45 degree tip  99  of the mitered work piece  80  in surface contact, as opposed to line contact. Positioning the 45 degree point  99  of the mitered work piece  80  away from the fence is ideal because the force of the blade cutting the miter on the opposite end applies a uniform pressure against the stop guaranteeing that all of the mitered work pieces  80  will be cut at a uniform length.  FIG. 24B  is a detail view of  FIG. 24A  showing that the miter fixture  11  is comb-shaped with multiple fingers each with a 90 degree pointed tip  95  and having a T-slot  68  running along the side opposite from the fingers, the T-slot housing a bolt (not shown) that attaches it to the flip stop  54  with thumb nut  20 .  FIG. 24C  is a top detail view of  FIG. 24B  showing how the 45 degree point  99  of the mitered work piece  80  is supported by two of the fingers each with a 90 degree pointed tip  95 .  
         [0105]     The miter fixture  11  is secured to the flip stop by a bolt that is tightened in place with a plastic thumb nut knob  20 . Because the bolt slides in the T-slot, the fingers with a 90 degree pointed tip  95  can be moved to accommodate boards of different widths. The 45 degree point  99  of the mitered work piece  80  is fragile and is easily damaged. By positioning the 45 degree point  99  between the fingers each with a 90 degree pointed tip  95  that supports the tip  99  in surface contact, the point  99  is protected from damage, and the edge of the mitered work piece  80  is secured against the fence  46 .  
         [0106]     The 45 degree point  99  of the mitered comer  115  lines up with the 1 inch mark  117  on the miter fixture  11 . The 45 degree point  99  of the mitered comer  115  is located one inch from the edge of the stop so the stick-on tape  50  can be easily used to measure the length of the work piece  80 .  
         [0107]      FIG. 24D  is a detail view showing the miter fixture  11  with the 45 degree point  99  of the mitered work piece  80  reversed so that it is secured against the working plane of the fence  46 . Surfaces  113  on the inner end of the fixture  11  and on the inner finger, which is shorter than the other fingers, are at 45 degrees, so that together with the finger adjacent to the inner finger the fingers present three surfaces in a 45 degree plane to support the mitered point  99  in surface contact.  
         [0108]      FIG. 25B  is an end elevation of  FIG. 24A .  FIG. 26C  is a top view of  FIG. 26A  and  FIG. 26B  showing the miter fixture  11  secured to the solid stop  71  with two bolts  26  located in the fixture mounting slots  21 .  FIG. 26C  is a top view of  FIG. 26A  and  FIG. 26B  showing the miter fixture  11  secured to the solid stop  71  with two bolts  26  located in the fixture mounting slots  21 .  FIG. 27A  is an perspective view of the miter fixture  11 .  FIG. 27B  is a top view of the miter fixture  11  extruded aluminum shape.  FIG. 27C  is a front view of the miter fixture  11  showing the T-slot  68  machined in the side for the bolt head for securing it to the stop.  FIG. 27D  is an end view of the miter fixture  11 .