I put off building one of those carriage fixtures for straightening crooked-edged boards for several years. The fixtures require expensive hold-down clamps, and they reduce the possible depth of cut by holding the workpiece off the saw table. The real problem was that the length of the regular rip fence is too short.

Then I noticed an 8-ft-long piece of aluminum channel leaning in the corner of my shop. I clamped the channel to the rip fence, as shown, to produce an auxiliary fence that would guide fairly long stock in a straight line. To use the auxiliary fence, I just put the concave side of the board against the long fence and push it through. It works.

William Mondt, San Diego, Calif.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, December 1995 No. 115

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Starrett 12-in. combination square

This accurate, robust, well-machined, easy-to-read combo square is as great as ever.

Buy at Amazon

Grout float

The red foam on these grout floats grip well to wood, and the large handle keeps your hands safely away from bits and blades.

Buy at Amazon

Incra Miter 1000HD

One of many extremely accurate Incra miter gauges, this model offers 180-degree adjustment to 1/10 of a degree, and a long, straight fence with a telescoping stop system.

Buy at Amazon