Shop Tips

Workshop Tip: 1-2-3 block for crosscuts and more

Machinist's tool serves as crosscut stop on tablesaw and also as a quick and precise setup device elsewhere in the shop.

#281-Mar/Apr 2020 Issue

I use a cheap machinist’s 1-2-3 block as a crosscut stop for my tablesaw. It keeps the offcuts from getting jammed between the fence and blade, and the precise dimension lets me use the rip fence’s built-in scale (subtracting 1 in.). You can get a pair of these precise steel blocks online for as little as $16. I combine the block with a universal fence clamp, which secures it quickly and tightly in place. The convenient 1-2-3-in. dimensions and precise right angles of the blocks are useful for setup and clamping elsewhere in the shop as well.

—GEOFF BURTNER, Reno, Nev.

Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking issue #281

	Clever stop block for crosscutting on the tablesaw In this video, FWW editor Tom McKenna shows you a magnetic stop block that is placed against the fence making safe crosscuts faster and easier
	Quick Tip: Spring Clamp Holder A handy caddy you can make in minutes

Get It All!

UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.

Subscribe to Fine Woodworking

Save up to 69%

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Up Next

Featured Workshop

a diagram of a round Shaker stand and an image or a round Shaker stand

Shaker candle stand with Christian Beckvoort

He’s built dozens of round Shaker stands over four decades, so there is no one more qualified than Christian Becksvoort to demonstrate making this classic. In this seven-part video series,…