Rockler 4 Piece All in One Package

[Bushmaster]

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...all%20in%20one

79.99 closeout

This special package offer includes 12'', 24'', 36'' and 50'' Clamp Guides. $139 Value!

Anyone know if this is a good deal?

[Stormbringer]

My opinion of this deal can be found here:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...hlight=rockler



My review of these can be found here:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=26342



Another thread about these guides can be found here:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...&highlight=AIO



Hope this helps. Bottom line: Highly recommend...especially at this price.
Greg

[Bushmaster]

Thanks

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and ordered a set. I now have 2 50", and all I need is the 99". Maybe next month?

[cbrown]

Does this "closeout" mean bad news for E. Emerson tool? I sent them an e-mail question a week ago and have no answer and see that the contact information has now been taken down off their web page: compare eemersontool.com with the Google cache of the page.

(No, I don't think my e-mail was that offensive!)

Chris

[davidtu]

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and ordered a set. I now have 2 50", and all I need is the 99". Maybe next month?

I ended up w/ 2 50's as well.... what will you do with 2? Wondering if I should just sell it or if there is some cool thing I can use it for.

[Stormbringer]

the contact information has now been taken down off their web page: compare eemersontool.com with the Google cache of the page.

I went to www.eemersontool.com and found the "Contact Us" info w/o a prob. Call the number posted instead.

[cbrown]

I went to www.eemersontool.com and found the "Contact Us" info w/o a prob. Call the number posted instead.

If you do a Google search on info@eemersontool.com and look at the cached main page, you will see that a week ago (and previously to my recollection) they had a postal address, fax number, and the above e-mail address on the front page of the site. These are now nowhere to be found, only the 866 number and contact form.

I will try calling when I have a chance.

Chris

[TheRic]

If you do a Google search on info@eemersontool.com and look at the cached main page, you will see that a week ago (and previously to my recollection) they had a postal address, fax number, and the above e-mail address on the front page of the site. These are now nowhere to be found, only the 866 number and contact form.

I will try calling when I have a chance.

Chris

I know NOTHING about this company or situation. But it could be the company decided to remove that info for one reason or another. Nothing to do with status of the company and their finances.

[jbalders]

They work great for featherboards too:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...t=featherboard

I use these things all the time for ripping plywood down to a manageable size using the saw plate and either my 50" or 99". I haven't had much of a chance/need to use them as actual clamps, so can't comment on that. I've used them for gang-routing about ten 1/4" dados across several pieces of wood, and that went well too.

[gwyneth]

If you like them, they're addictive.

jbalders is right--with the router plate, by far the easiest way to get dadoes perfectly straight and lined, doing several pieces at once.

The short ones make great fences for tools that don't have them.

But where the system really shines is with the saw plate and a circular saw....better than anything remotely near its price range.

[cbrown]

If you like them, they're addictive.

jbalders is right--with the router plate, by far the easiest way to get dadoes perfectly straight and lined, doing several pieces at once.

The short ones make great fences for tools that don't have them.

But where the system really shines is with the saw plate and a circular saw....better than anything remotely near its price range.

I have had the 50" clamp for about a year and it has worked well, though the "squaring" wide jaws need careful checking with a known square before clamping down all the way.

But I have mangled some cuts with the saw going off the line especially right in the middle or at the end of a long cut across plywood where the reach to the saw is awkward.

So I got the saw plate. But every saw I have looked at (including the very heavy Craftsman I am willing to replace) has a shoe substantially larger than the plate, except the bottom-of-the-line Skil saw (model 5400). These preclude installing the saw with the motor over the clamp and the blade guard lined up with the hole in the plate; installing the saw with the motor away from the clamp seems unstable as it leaves only about a third of the shoe on the plate (again, if the blade guard is lined up with the hole).

What have others done to mount a saw (which one?) to the plate?

I know that E.Emerson used to sell a different uncut white (UHMW?) plate that was larger but didn't have a hole for the operation of the blade guard. The new black plates currently available are smaller, with a wide slot for the blade and guard, and raise the problems mentioned above.

Chris

[gwyneth]

But every saw I have looked at (including the very heavy Craftsman I am willing to replace) has a shoe substantially larger than the plate, except the bottom-of-the-line Skil saw (model 5400).

What have others done to mount a saw (which one?) to the plate?

I was puzzled as well, for a week or two. I had exactly the same thoughts as you, and every night looked at my huge, clunky B and D saw and the plate and wondered.

Then I took the suggestion--possibly on the Emerson site, possibly on the package--of unscrewing the plate part from the clamp saddle part and turning over the plate, and re-attaching it to the saddle so that the wide part was nearer to the clamp, and the narrow part was to the outside.

The result was more plate under the motor part and the opening was much, much closer to being in the right place.

Then I followed the advice of several forum members and used double-stick tape (heavy duty, vibration-proof) to attach saw to plate. I had to enlarge the opening a small amount to accomodate the B and D blade guard and hardware in all positions--maybe 1/4" or so.

Since then, if the clamp is on square (I don't have the wide things, so I just use a speed square), the cut is invariably straight and 90".

For me, this was a huge accomplishment--the saw weighs more than 10% of what I do. It's not a strength issue, per se, but being barely five ft. tall gives me very little leverage. I've tried a lot of ways to make straight cuts with a circular saw--but they won't work for me unless the saw absolutely cannot leave its charted path. The All-in-one is by far the least expensive way to do this.

[davidtu]

Then I followed the advice of several forum members and used double-stick tape (heavy duty, vibration-proof) to attach saw to plate.

So are you always leaving the Saw Plate on the saw then? I assume w/ tape it is not easy on easy off (well, not easy off anyway)?

[cbrown]

Then I took the suggestion--possibly on the Emerson site, possibly on the package--of unscrewing the plate part from the clamp saddle part and turning over the plate, and re-attaching it to the saddle so that the wide part was nearer to the clamp, and the narrow part was to the outside.

The result was more plate under the motor part and the opening was much, much closer to being in the right place.

Then I followed the advice of several forum members and used double-stick tape (heavy duty, vibration-proof) to attach saw to plate. I had to enlarge the opening a small amount to accomodate the B and D blade guard and hardware in all positions--maybe 1/4" or so.

Thanks! I have flipped the plate around as suggested--transfered the holes to a scrap of 1/4" plywood and then to the opposite edge of the plate. It now fits my Craftsman with the motor away from the fence and the entire shoe supported by the plate. Now I just have to get heavy duty tape!

Chris

[gwyneth]

So are you always leaving the Saw Plate on the saw then? I assume w/ tape it is not easy on easy off (well, not easy off anyway)?

Oh, yes. I can't imagine I'd want to use this saw without the All-in-one, anyway (though it's certainly possible--just makes the saw's own plate a little thicker).

People to whom the idea of always using an all-in-one and plate seems cumbersome should realize that to some folks, particularly short, puny ones, using a circular saw in any circumstance is cumbersome. Thus, cumbersome/accurate/safe is preferable to cumbersome/erratic/risky.

The few situations that might call for a circular saw without the All-in-One, such as cutting large sheets on the pickup truck tailgate so I can carry them inside, are what 18v tools are for.

That said, I had to reinstall the plate when the dog knocked the unpluggeded saw off the bottom ledge of a workmate, dislodging the plate. I cleaned off the old tape, got some more of the extra-heavy duty vibration-proof stuff, and this time let it cure for the full 24 hours before using it. It has been knocked down since, without dislodging.

That 3m stuff comes in small, expensive strips, which I cut into narrower pieces. It's good because it's more like thin foam than tape, which filled in the valleys on the B and D saw plate.

Chris: However I turned it, I didn't have to redrill it...trying to remember how that worked.