New Circular Saw Guide system! (Cool)

**RickLab** · 01-10-2005, 01:28 AM

These look nice - not really new though - would love to hear from someone who has one...

anyone?

**wassaw998** · 01-10-2005, 03:30 AM

I've always used any 'ole straight edge clamped to the sheet to get the same results. Costs me about nothing.

**jarhead** · 01-10-2005, 06:04 AM

Nice, but a bit pricey. One of my jig books has something similar that you can build yourself - plus you can build a "shoe" for a router to ride in.

**mater** · 01-10-2005, 07:13 AM

quote:Originally posted by wassaw998

I've always used any 'ole straight edge clamped to the sheet to get the same results. Costs me about nothing.

I use a straight edge clamped to the sheet also and the cuts are right on the money.

**monte** · 01-10-2005, 07:14 AM

I saw a demo of it at the wood working show. It's impressive but for the price I think I'll stick with the straight edge I've been using for years.

**dedaddy** · 01-10-2005, 07:24 AM

I have had and used this system for a year now. If your saw is aligned correctly and with a good blade, you can get glue line ready cuts. I use it with my PC saw with an attached Fein vacumn and, after I added a little "skirt" to the saw guard, get almost no dust from the cut.

There are several features of this system that I really like:

1. You do not have to hold the saw against the fence. It cannot move in any direction except forward and backward. Because of the long base and wide groved base, wobble is all but eliminated. When you make the cut, just crank up the saw and push it along the guide. You do not have to worry about holding the saw against the guide.

2. The attached saw base has a removable zero clearance insert that allows you to use that feature on both the guide rail and freehand cuts. This insert eliminates chip-out in plywood and almost all of it in melamine. You do not have to remove the base for freehand cuts. You do lose about 1/4" depth of cut when the guide plate is mounted.

3. Because the guide rail is laid next to the cut line, you do not have to measure an offset to cut where you want. The guide is laid ON the cut line. This allows very accurate cuts.

4. The sliding clamps let you attach the rail to sheet goods that are not square or have non-parallel edges. I have clamped the guide to a crooked 2x6 and ripped a joined edge 8' long.

Now for some things I don't like:

1. Expensive.

2. It takes an allen wrench to assemble/disassemble the two 50" sections. It seems like the guide is always of the wrong length for the cut you want and I keep losing the allen wrench. The 100" long configuration is just too long to cut a 3" long board.

3. They have a router attachment for the guide but I am not impressed. I think I can make a better one.

Addressing the problems:

I bought the guide at the Baltimore WW show last year for $200. You can get it now for about $165 on eBay and TWC. You can order directly from Eurekazone if you wish. It is still expensive.

I recommend you buy the full 100" kit and get an extra 50" guide rail assembly for shorter cuts. You will save a lot of time configuring the guide. They also make shorter guide for trimming doors.

Final thoughts:

I thought I could make a guide rail as most of you have done. Mine worked very well but after a while started to get a few "kinks" in the edge. I had problems after using the guide for a while with slightly curved cuts. Chipout was a problem. I had to remake my guide after a while due to wear. But it was cheap!

When I saw this system demonstrated and tried it at the show, I decided the "buy a good, accurate tool to last forever" policy was best for this function. I cut a lot of sheet goods and this was a lot cheaper and more accurate than buying a panel saw. I don't regret this decision at all.

Make a cutting table from saw horses and boards. Mine knocks down in a few minutes and stores away. I can use it for an assembly table also.

You must take my comments with a grain of salt. I have to say nice things to justify my expenditure. But, after my experience, I would buy another one if I lost this one.

The web site is www.eurekazone.com Email me if you have specific questions.

(I was not paid for this endorsement.)

**RickLab** · 01-10-2005, 08:33 AM

Lee,

Thanks for the thorough review.

**jcjrsmith** · 01-10-2005, 12:34 PM

Make your own:
http://members.aol.com/woodmiser1/sawbd.htm

**dedaddy** · 01-10-2005, 01:05 PM

Jerry, you are exactly right. Here is another example: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00035.asp

This article has good advise on tuning your saw. The sacrificial table is rather elaborate.

I like the Eurekazone device because I don't have to worry about drifting away from the edge of the guide, which I have done on the simpler boards when I have to reach a long way to the middle of a sheet.

Maybe I am just trying to justify my expensive toy!

**tkarlmann** · 01-10-2005, 01:28 PM

Thanks everyone for their responses!

I would prefer to save the $$ too. The problems I see with the "saw board" is that it can only give you a clean edge on ONE side of the cut, whereas the EZ-thing will give you clean edge on BOTH sides of the cut. As already mentioned with EZ you don't need to make sure the saw is against the guide.

[8)] QUESTION: Sawboard Guys: Could you fashion 1/2 of a ZCTP (zero clearance throat plate) to attach to the cut-off side of the circular saw around the blade to eliminate tearout on the cutoff side? It would be the same thickness as the Sawboard. Would this work?? [?]

I DO like the sawboard idea too. Like dedaddy says -- you can get rather $$y, and you have to change or have all those guide rails. I think the 50" Guide Rail from EZ is $69. [:0]

I think one conclusion can be made though -- you can do far better than using a shop-filling panel saw -- in terms of accuracy and clean cut with BOTH solutions (three if you count the Fein system).

So: No more struggling with 4x8' 3/4 ply sheets on the BT3100! [8D] It boils down to: 1) cost -- how much can you afford; [:I] 2) can you live with one splintery edge when your plans are laid out on the 4x8 sheet?

Thanks all!

**newbie2wood** · 01-10-2005, 01:53 PM

I use a "saw board" and it works fine for ripping. I use the table saw for the final cuts. However, I was thinking of building this panel saw for heck of it

, if I could find room for it:

http://store.yahoo.com/woodsmithstore/panelsawkit.html
________
VAPORIZER VIDOES

**tkarlmann** · 01-10-2005, 02:05 PM

For the $169 they charge for their "kit" you could get the EZ! BTW: with that panel saw you must move the wood through the panel saw to rip for that 8' cut.

**dedaddy** · 01-10-2005, 02:07 PM

Newbie, for what you would pay for just the panel saw kit, you could buy the EZ-thingy and have money left over. In my experience, you can cut much closer to the line with the guide than with the panel saw.

Another advantage of using a guide: You can cut at an angle to the edge. The panel saw only makes right angle cuts. A saw board or guide will let you cut irregular shapes.

**RagerXS** · 01-10-2005, 02:49 PM

If you want to minimize tearout, get a good blade for your circular saw. I recently put a 40T Freud Diablo on my Milwaukee because I needed to cut a pine 6-panel door a bit shorter. I figured the cut would be much better than the original blade I had on there, but I was truly amazed -- it turned out so well I didn't even sand!

FWIW, I used this to make the cut: http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product...20tool%20guide

I have a 24", 36", and 50", as well as two of the dual-sided versions of the same brand (their 'Pro' series allow you to use a guide for a router or circular saw that will function similarly to the Eureka, see it here: http://home.att.net/~griset/ ). Got mine in a set at a WW show a while back. Some day I may want to get the Pro line, but for now I'm very happy with what I have.

~ Fred

New Circular Saw Guide system! (Cool)

New Circular Saw Guide system! (Cool)

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