jessem mast r slide

[Vince Shriver]

On Amazon Customer Reviews this tool doesn't get great recommendations. Thought I better check in here before I make the purchase. Anyone have this? Maybe a simple X-cut sled would be the way to go. Thanks, Vince

[Mark Rakestraw]

I have the master slide and absolutely love it, some of the best tool money I've ever spent. It isn't a full-sized slider, so you can't crosscut full sized plywood sheets. If you kind-of drop the last 1/2 inch of the wood onto the blade you can manage to cross-cut 36". (Legal disclaimer: of course you should never do this) The ease and accuracy of the fence stop for cross cuts saves me hours of time on a typical kitchen job. I know I've seen many positive comments on it on various wood forums. A search should give you plenty of reading.

Mark

[John Craig Brown]

It's a little tricky to set up and I do not find that the angle cuts are user friendly; for that I use the Osborne miter jig. I do find that when using ply beyond the capacity of the slide you can still use the slide without the fence but have to stop midway to pull the slide back to its starting position under the sheet of ply.

Overall it works great once things are set up. It is $$$$ but built extremely well.

P.S. I aligned the slider with the blade not the miter slot for 90 degree cuts and I independently aligned my fence with the blade - I do not know if this is an acceptable solution but it works for me.

[frank shic]

don't place too much faith on those amazon.com reviews. they almost universally bashed the delta sliding table which i thought was actually pretty decent for handling small stock. the jessem mast-r-slider is way better than the delta in terms of sliding action and durability. the fence is a lot beefier too. if i didn't need to cut down full size 4x8 sheets, i would have gone with the jessem - currently, i am using the exaktor full sized model and love it.

[Larry Fox]

I have on on my saw and really like it - for straight cuts. It has been a little flakey lately but I think I need to revisit the setup on it to reallign it. One thing, I do agree with the other poster who commented on cutting angles. That is definitely not it's strength. There are markings on the table but they are pretty much useless and sneaking up on that last degree or so is a pretty frustrating experience to be honest.

[Mike Cutler]

I also have the Mast-R-Slide, and consider it a very worthwhile invesment.

It is a very precisely made piece of equipment. The machining tolerance on the bearings and the slide is very tight, which in my case can cause me some issues, very minor issues, with temperature. My slide seems to bind a very slight amount in cold temps. Dust can also cause the slide to bind a little.

It is not the easiest thing to mount. It will require some attention to detail, and some amount of adjust, check, align, adjust, check align..... Once you're done though, it's rock solid. I think it's the mounting an alignment that gives most folks a problem.

The angle gauge is kinda worthless for anything other than a rough approximation. However, once the angle is set, it won't move on you. You can't easily come back to a setting either. The relationship of the fence to the table to the stop nuts, and the knurled knobs that tighten the fence in place leaves a lot of room for independent variable to affect an accurate repositioning of the fence easily.

It's a nice addition to a tablesaw in a small shop.

[David Duke]

I agree with the others......a very well built unit and to me worth what I paid for. But also as the others have said for angles it can be a pain but for what I use it for, squaring doors and cutting panels it is just what I needed.

[Jonathan Spool]

I use the Jessem slider and am very happy with it and the results I am getting from it. I also saw the disparaging comments on Amazon, but went ahead anyway. The unit is extremely well made, and installation is relatively simple. My guess is that the reviewers on Amazon might not have much experience in setting up tools, and you should be prepared to spend two hours getting the slider mounted and aligned. I had a slight issue with bearing tension on one end of the unit which was resolved (with the help of tech support) by unbolting that one bearing and removing a burr or something from the milling. After that it was and remains within a couple thousands.

While the fence is great crosscutting, its ability to be used for precise angle work (like segments) is not good. I use an Incra 5000 for that kind of work, and I set it up so the Incra sled attaches to the slider as well as using the left mitre slot.

Jonathan

[Vince Shriver]

Thanks for the feedback, gents. Much appreciated.

[Frederick Rowe]

I've had one on my Unisaw in lieu of the left extension table and give it high ratings. It is smooth, beautifully engineered, and greatly extends the ability to square up larger panels without either a large sled or moving to a large bolt on sliding table. It does, however, take some time to dial in. The sliding table can be moved in each axis. The key to success here is read the instructions, take one step at a time -think what each step is adjusting, and make some test cuts. I added thin strips of very fine self adhesive sand paper to the face of the fence as it is so slick that a piece of wood can slip slightly as it is being cut.

The Mast-R-Slide won't break down sheet goods, but that's not what it is designed for. You'll see the shop table saw in Popular Woodworking has one.

Here are some reviews:
http://benchmark.20m.com/reviews/JessEmMasterSlide/JessEmMastrSlideReview.html

http://www.canadianwoodworking.com/Newsletters/NL_reviews/Jessem%20Mastrslide7500/Mastrslide.htm

http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/reviews/articles_730.shtml

[George Lohnes]

The Jessem Mastr Slide is the BEST accessory I have bought thus far (with the possible exception of the rail / plunge saw combo which works wonders.

I just sold mine as part of the package to sell my PM66 and am actually looking to get another (used) one if I can find one.

[John M. Smith]

Just pulled the trigger on one from Rockler. On sale for $399:)

[Tommy Willingham]

I salivated over the Mast-R-Slide since the first time I saw one. Finally got the Rockler version about a year ago. With discount coupons, paid less than $400.

Table was dished. Rockler replaced the table - better, but still not flat. Every once in a while, I spend a Saturday trying, once again to get it adjusted. Maybe I am just inept, but cannot get the table level with the saw throughout it's travel. Have finally almost got it parallel to the saw. My hat is off to anyone who can set it up properly - I can't. I wish for my money back, evey time I pass by the *&%! thing

[Brian Walter]

Every once in a while, I spend a Saturday trying, once again to get it adjusted. Maybe I am just inept, but cannot get the table level with the saw throughout it's travel. Have finally almost got it parallel to the saw. My hat is off to anyone who can set it up properly - I can't. I wish for my money back, evey time I pass by the *&%! thing

I just bought one a week ago and installed it on my Griz 1023 last weekend. I found that the holes for attaching it to the saw needed to be elongated in order to set the table height correctly. They call for setting the under-carriage 3/16" below the top of the saw table during initial installation but I couldn't get it any closer than just over 1/4". I tried it that way, but when I adjusted the table even with the top of the saw, the screws that hold everything in position were too short to engage the under-carriage. I ended up elongating the holes in the under-carriage so I could install it correctly. I probably could have just bought some longer screws otherwise.

The sliding table on my slider is not quite flat either so it is impossible to get it perfectly even with the saw top throughout it's travel, but I really don't think it needs to be. Once leveled properly, I can get any given spot on the slider to remain the same elevation relative to the saw top throughout the travel which is all that's really necessary.

As far as aligning the slider parallel to the blade or miter slot is concerned, I didn't find that too hard to do. The key is to adjust the slider so that the fence remains the same distance from the miter slot as you move the slider throughout it's travel. Since the wood is held against the fence, it's only necessary for the spot on the slider where the fence attaches to remain the same distance from the miter slot, you can ignore the rest of the slider.

Start by adjusting the table so that it is close to parallel (you've probably already done this). I noticed that as you move the slider throughout it's travel that it becomes looser as the bearings disengage from the slider, so I did my adjustments keeping the slider within the travel area where you have full bearing contact. Simply loosen the lock screws slightly (just enough so you can move it) and slide the table forward or backward and measure the distance from the sliding table (where the fence attaches) to the miter slot. Tighten the lock screw slightly at that end where you measured and move the table to the opposite end, again stopping before any of the bearings disengage the slider and measure the distance from the sliding table to the miter slot, being sure to take you measurement from the same location on the slider as you did during the first measurement. If the distance is not the same as your first measurement, adjust the slider accordingly and tighten the screw slightly. Repeat this process until you are satisfied that you have the same distance from the slider (where the fence attaches) to the miter slot at both ends of the travel. Then tighten everything down and check again to be sure nothing moved. At this point, the distance from the slider to the miter slot should remain the same as you move the table throughout it's travel.

I hope this helps.

Brian Walter

[Tommy Willingham]

Thanks Brian,

I'll try to muster some patience and give your suggestions a try. I really do want to like it.

Tommy

[Steven J Corpstein]

I have one and really like it. I had problems with angles also until I came up with a simple method, now I hit them right on almost every time. I set the fence for a 90* cut and run a test piece, check for dead on 90 with a machinist square.

Transfer a pencil line to the bed of my saw along the egde of the fence. Once that is done, it's a simple matter of taking an accurate protractor, lining up with the previously drawn pencil mark and drawing the intersecting line that you have set on the protractor.

Carefully line up the fence with that pencil mark and saw away. I regularly hit within a part of a degree.