question about table saw standardization and tenoning jig

[Zach England]

A while ago I got a tenoning jig (http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=144755&FamilyID=4847) and I am having trouble getting it to work as I imagine it should. I have set it up according to the manual (and compensating for left-tilt saws as instructed) and I cannot get it closer than 1.5 inches to the blade. The illustrations in the manual show it riding over the throat plate and it is suggested that you attach a sacrificial faceplate to the jig to prevent contact with the blade. I realize that a 1.5 inch faceplate could achieve my ends, but my questions are as follows:

Is there a standard distance from blade to miter slots? Mine are 7 inches on both sides.

Am I missing something with the setup of the jig? I have disassembled and reassembled it multiple times and checked each piece with the manual, but it still does not seem quite right that it is so far from the blade.

Thanks.http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/zachslc/IMG_0261.jpg

[J. Greg Jones]

I'm going to take a guess that you have a Jet SuperSaw? The miter slot spacing on the last two left-tilt saws I have/had (a Jet Xacta and a Delta hybrid) were the same-5.5" from the left slot and 4.25" on the right slot. I'm sure there are others, but the SuperSaw is the only current production saw that I know of that has a 7"/7" spacing, and the left miter slot is in the wing rather than in the table (your picture shows this also).

Having said that, no there is not a problem with the jig and how you have set it up. Unfortunately, you are going to run into this problem with any add-on for your saw that uses the miter slot. You'll even see some add-ons, like the Dubby taper jig, mention specifically that the jig will not work with the SuperSaw.

[Zach England]

Yes, it is a jet supersaw. I suppose that explains it. It also explains why none of my featherboards are long enough to be useful. Thanks.

[Dick Strauss]

That's a real bummer!

I'd add a couple of pieces of quality 3/4" plywood screwed to the face to make up most of the 1.5" gap.

[Zach England]

OK, I found I cannot put a full 1.5" of faceplate on because that would render the vertical stop useless and make the throat too narrow. I settled for a 3/4 piece of mdf, which is workable but annoying.

Can anyone recommend another commercial tononing jig that will work better with this saw? While I know the obvious answer is to stop whining and make a jig myself, I really would rather spend my time making furniture than making jigs for making furniture.

[Floyd Mah]

If you want to use this jig on your saw, mount it on a new base. Use a piece of 1/2" MDF or get a metal plate (Enco sells an aluminum sheet 0.125"x12"x12" for $9.69 and will get it to you in two days). The miter slot bar is probably held on with two screws, which you already know if you have taken it apart. Take the bar off and relocate it to the new base. Use the existing two miter bar holes in the jig to fasten it to the new base. This should take 10 minutes to set up, another five minutes to do the drilling and assembly. You can screw braces or metal clips to keep the jig from creeping on the base if necessary. The weight of the jig should be enough to stabilize it. Basically, you are making a sled for the jig. This would be a lot easier than reduplicating all the hardware of the jig on a new tenon jig of your own creation. I would make the footprint of the new base bigger than the original for better stability. The only difference in use would be that the jig would be elevated by the height of your new base. It might not be a bad idea to also put in some new handles to remind you to keep your hands away from the path of the blade.

A better option, use the original base and redrill the mounting holes for the miter bar closer to the outside edge of the existing base plate. It appears to be close enough. On my jig, this would move the bar 1.75 inches, placing the far edge of the miter bar about 7 inches from the saw blade (I have a right-tilt saw). I should have mentioned this first, as it is the easiest way to get it to work. The jig does not rely on the miter bar for stability, only for controlling its' motion in a straight line.

[Zach England]

Thanks. I was sort of thinking the same thing, but more along the lines of making something like a crosscut sled and mounting the jig to it. I went ahead and ordered a couple of aluminum plates--hopefully I can work with them to make them useful. Any time I try to do any sort of metal work I manage to screw it up, so we'll see...

[Myk Rian]

Any time I try to do any sort of metal work I manage to screw it up, so we'll see...
Hell. I screw up enough stuff using wood.:p