New Circular Saw Guide system! (Cool)

[Scottydont]

I have posted before about the www.allinoneclamp.com system that is very similar to this. I have 24",36"50" and 90" versions of them. Their website does not show the 90" but it is over 6" wide like the eurekazone. I get glue joint ready cuts with it every time! The guide plates are worth whatever they cost and give me accuracy you cannot reproduce with saw board. The built in zero clearance feature of the guide plate does help prevent tearout. I use mine in conjuction with a sacraficial cutting table and rarely ever take them back to the table saw. It is by far my most favorite tool in the shop.

[WEG]

Hi Folks;
Rockler has one of these things on sale called the "All in One Clamp Guide". Theya re listed for $39.99 for a 50 inch and $29.99 for the 24 inch in the recent cataloge. They also show a Saw Plate and a Router Plate for $29.99 each. These plates lock on the clamp and are solid HDPE. You mount your saw on the plate and cut a zero clearance slot by lowering the blade through the slot. You do about the same for your router, mount the router base, drill a hole for your router bit in the router plate. For Rockler this price seems reasonable! Just info for those who might be considering a new toy...
WEG

[hines]

This one is sold by MLCS and has accessories to mount your router or saw onto a plate that slides along the track. I have this Boomer clamp and my brother has the all-in-one. They look identical except for the tracks are different on top.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shops...s/boomclm.html

[dedaddy]

One advantage I see with the saw board or EZ guide is the ability to clamp to non-sheet stock. The all-in-one clamp works well with stock that is square on the ends but does not allow an easy cut on rough, crooked lumber or at an angle on sheet stock.

But whatever works best for you is the best solution.

[tkarlmann]

From my view of all these, I think: saw-board for the lowest cost, then the EZ system if affordable; the Fein system if you are rolling in $$$.

Ant further thoughts?

[LarryG]

I have a 24" All-In-One-Clamp that I used as a fence on my router table; and two 50" Clamp 'N Guides (same concept but without the top guide track). For the money, I don't think you can beat them for accuracy and usefulness. One thing I really like about them is that they're a lot lighter than a sawboard.

And BTW they can indeed be used to cut sheet goods at an angle ... you just need a couple short F-body or Quick-Grip clamps to hold the guide to the workpiece.

[tkarlmann]

For myself, I just cannot get comfortable with the offset required for my circular when using some of those cheaper clamping guides thingies. If I'm going to go through all that setup, with the circular offset, I may as well clamp or nail a board onto the 4x8 sheet and realize I'll be lucky to get 1/8" accuracy.

I'll go and make a sawboard and see how that works, after that it's EZ!!

[sawdustman]

For Scottydont:
Does the saw move up and down though?
I looked at the pictures and it doesn't seem to clamp onto the rail, just slide along.

[dedaddy]

Sawdustman, the weight of the saw is enough to keep it on the guide. It does not need to clamp on the rail. The only limitation is you have to use the guide in a horizontal position, not on a tilt like a panel saw.

[RagerXS]

In my most recent catalog from Amazon's Tool Crib, I noticed this: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...&s=hi&n=507846

It's what they call a Portable Panel Saw System. Comes with a base to mount your circular saw on, and it rides on an extruded aluminum fence (sound familiar?). It comes with both a 64-inch fence and a 108-inch fence for only $89.99 -- this is a fraction of the cost of the more expensive examples discussed herein, and includes all you need to either rip or crosscut a 4 x 8 panel.

~ Fred

[dedaddy]

Fred, the one sold by Amazon looks exactly like the one from PennState Industries. I have a problem with this design in that the moving saw base rests on the stock being cut, sometimes scratching the surface.

[RagerXS]

For that kind of price difference, should I ever decide to get one of these it will be the PennState Industries (Amazon does list it as being from PSI) product and I'll be happy to use the money saved to put toward some Johnsons Paste Wax for the saw base. It really shouldn't be much different than sliding the stock over the surface of a tablesaw, except instead of wood sliding on tool surface it is tool surface sliding on wood.

~ Fred

[tkarlmann]

Hey guys: With lots of money: I had been mis-quoting the 'second' system as one by Fein! It's not Fein, it's Festool. Just saw it again today at my local Woodcraft store.

Another cool thing about the Festool circular saw (along with the fact that it plunge cuts and uses a riving knife) is the fact that their system is designed to work at zero and 45 degrees at still cut to the edge of the guide with no other changes! Now that's a cool design! It costs hundreds though. They also have a table system you can get with bench dogs and a cool looking crosscut system-- it almost looks like that system might replace a SCMS if your depth of cut does not require cuts deeper than 2x4's.

The guy at the store says he knows cabinet makers who don't need a table saw once they have this system. (ok, I find that hard to beleive too).

[dedaddy]

tkarlmann - The EZ system can also cut 90 and 45 deg bevel with no adjustment other than using a second slot in the guide plate.

[BizCoach]

I tried making my own shooter board for this - just couldn't get the saw to ride straight all the time. I know others have no problem with this.

I love the EZ guide. The clamping system is much better than the Festool. And the saw always cuts straight.

You can also get shorter guides - 24" or 36" for triming doors and short stuff.

I put a picture review up at
http://www.thesmallbusinesscoach.com/ezguide/