Aligning The Guide Rail

Take your pair of Qwas Dogs and stick them in a row of vertical holes just to the left of the guide rail. Try to space out the dogs, one near the bottom and one near the top for better accuracy. The farther apart the dogs, the better your accuracy.

Now slide the guide rail up against the bench dogs. Make sure the rail is locked into the alignment pin on the front bracket. Secure  the thumb screws on the guide rail brackets that slide in the slots on the table's side.

It is now aligned and ready for use. You will find the left side of the guide rail is easier to align with than using the right side with the rubber strip. It is also just as accurate.

The Guide Rail alignment is that easy. No wiggling, wrestling with a square, no double or triple checking to see if anything bumped. Just make sure the guide rail was locked in the little pin on it’s front bracket. And be sure to tighten the thumb screws on the guide rail clamp to prevent the clamps from moving.



Cross Cuts

Make sure you have aligned the guide rail as stated above. Put your Qwas Dogs into a row of horizontal holes. The top edge of your workpiece will rest on these so space accordingly. Again, try to space the Qwas Dogs out using as much of the table as possible while still being able to have the board rest against them. If your Qwas Dogs are lower the board's thickness, you can use a hole under the guide rail.

You do not need to use a row of holes near the top. As long as your board will fit on the table, you can use the Qwas Dogs in the of the table. No need to stretch while making a crosscut on narrow stock.

Put your board in place against the bench dogs and under the guide rail. Slide the board to align your cutting mark. Hold the board firmly against the Qwas Dogs and cut as you normally would.

No squares or tools are needed. Align the rail, move the bench dogs, bring your board in place, and cut. That is all there is to it.




45 Degree Miter Cut

Make sure you have aligned the guide rail as stated above. Insert your Qwas Dogs into a diagonal row of holes (you know, 1 up and 1 over or 1 down and 1 over). Space your Qwas Dogs out and use as much of the table as possible. Push your board against the bench dogs and under the guide rail. Make your cut.





Parallel cuts can be made by using a vertical row of holes to the left or right of the guide rail. By now I'm sure you're getting the hang of this and can figure out you need to put the Qwas Dogs in vertical row of holes. But what if the distance between the dogs and the aligned guide rail is not correct? An easy solution is to use a speed square. Let the lip slide on the top or bottom edge of the MDF top. You can align and hold the workpiece with the Qwas Dogs and use the speed square to align the rail.


Here is a You Tube video showing how to align the guide rail:  Qwas Dogs and Guide Rail Alignment

Here is  another one demonstrating the Qwas Dogs: Making a Window Frame

Here is video from Paul-Marcel with a excellent description on how to use them:  My Modified MFT