Bill,

Like most men (women can laugh here) I think more than I do.
I like your idea of chaining them together.

Now all I have to do is come up with a better stop. My hands do not like the thumb screw on my shear and using pliers is a pain. I would also like it to be longer. Well time to think some more.

Thanks for the tip,

I saw your post about thumb screws... and dont understand.. our shear has large knobs easy to grab onto and tighten.. what exactly do you have.. ours is a basic shear with no special attachments other than a perfectly square brand stop for the table side of the shear on the right side of the blade is just a square rod with a round stop both have a large knob to tighten..

The pre cut to size blanks that I use can be used for either side of the blade.

Bill

James... I know what you mean about that silly thumb screw and within the first week of owning my shear I went down to the local hardware store and got a knob that is about 2 inches in diameter that just so happens to have the same screw thread as the collar that fits onto the shaft on the side of the shear. The ease of use now is incredibly easy to use and doesn't need to utilize a pliars to get it tight enough. Try it ... you'll like it!

Good luck!

Hi James,

For getting you close to the proper size when using your backgage, you could set the shear up to a known measurement, then scribe the bar on each side. Once you have done this, all you have to do is move the backgage to the scribe, and you will be very close to your standard size. My recommendation would be to scribe every half inch or so...Use your ruler to get close, then hone in on the scribe lines.

Hope this helps........

Ps. Go get yourself the larger knobs that were recommended ;) 
Well worth the effort.

Brian,

I am going to get the larger knob. I will also scribe the lines. I did laser a ruler for my radial arm saw and made a stop that slides on it similar to the shear so I do not know why I did not think about doing the same thing on the shear. Doh! I wonder how Cermark would work?

Hi James,

Cermark would probably work great.....You would have to cermark a ruler on the shafts.....Scribe the first inch mark..... Line that up, and do the rest based off of that mark. Most backgage rods have the ability to be brought in or out for adjustment (at least on our shears they are like that) You might be lucky enough to have that final adjustment if you need it.

Good Luck! :) 

Bill,

Mine does not (yet) have a left side stop. What I have is a 6 sided aluminum bar to the right of the blade. It screws into the side of the shear. On that slides an aluminum ring that has the small thumb screw for tightening. Now that I have figured out how I can use a bigger knob on short plates I will be getting one. With the bigger knob and cermark ruler on the bar and cutting standard sized blanks I will be shearing with the best of them.

Right after I get my spare blade so that I can get the old one sharpened and the nick from the ss ruler my son tried to shear removed. :'-(  >.<  :-(