Anyone have the Jessem Mite R Excel miter gauge?

[Dan Mitchell]

Ordered one of these from Tool King via Amazon & received it yesterday. I am a bit troubled by the function of the locator pins, and thought perhaps someone who has one of these could clarify their operation. With the large pin in the center hole, and the small pin in the “0” hole, there is still quite a bit of slop, at least 1/2 degree, which at the end of the fence (extension NOT extended) equates to about 1/8” of movement. I understand that tightening the handle is what actually lock to gauge’s position, but I had assumed these pins would truly locate the EXACT angle, with NO play, as the locator device does on my old Osborne EB3. If the pins do not accurately locate the angle, and you have to end up “doing it by eye” by lining up the marks on the number scale like every other miter gauge of this type, what are the pins even there for??? Seems like a lot of extra bits & machining (not to mention $$$) to add a “feature” which seems to do NOTHING. I’m concerned that the pins ARE supposed to exactly lock in the angle, but that mine is defective, and I am very seriously considering returning this thing because of this.


I read a few months back about quality/customer service troubles with Jessem, particularly after they moved production from Canada to the US, but that Jessem had moved BACK to Canada to remedy the situation. My gauge is clearly marked “Made in the USA”. Can anyone tell me if this pin business as I describe it is the device’s normal behavior? Is it a production problem only effecting the US tools? Am I missing something here?


Thanks


Dan

[Chris Kennedy]

Dan,

I have a Jess Em and I definitely don't have the problem you are describing. Mine is dead on and solid once the pins are in.

Is the bar that holds the fence to the body of the gauge tight? Off hand, that is the only thing I can think of. I'm not at home, but when I get there I'll go have a look at mine.

Cheers,

Chris

[Ron Bontz]

I also have this gauge and it lines up very well. I noticed I need to make sure I press the pins in securely then tighten the handle though. JessEm has done a good job of taking care of any problem I had. I would give them a call if you still don't get it working right.:)

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. I think I have found the trouble. When I rock the fence back & forth, the red casting through which the pins pass moves slightly in relation to the black casting with the degree markings. Fully tightening the 6 small allen head screws which hold the red piece down does not keep the red piece from moving; they don't seem to apply sufficient pressure to hold the red piece rigidly to the black piece. It's as though the red bit is flush with or very slightly lower than the edge of the black piece into which it sits, like it is either too thin in cross section, or the area in the black piece into which it sits was milled slightly too deep. I'll bet I am not the only one who has had this trouble, I will try calling Jessem on Monday & see what they say. I post back with the results. Thanks again. Dan

[mike holden]

Dan,
sorry to hear about your problem, JessEm should replace the head for you.
Mine is very secure, bought because I was tired of the flex in my Incra gage.
You probably got one out of spec.
Mike

[Philip Johnson]

dan i had the same problem, i really wanted to like it too since it seems well made. I ended up returning it and they did not have another one so had to go with another brand. it seemed to me the holes for the pins had too much slop in them, jessum just had me return it to where i bought it

[Dan Mitchell]

dan i had the same problem, i really wanted to like it too since it seems well made. I ended up returning it and they did not have another one so had to go with another brand. it seemed to me the holes for the pins had too much slop in them, jessum just had me return it to where i bought it

My impressions exactly. When you move the head, you can see the pins rock side to side slightly. It was only after playing with the gauge quite a bit that I finally noted the tiny movement of the red part in relation to the black. If nothing else, I believe something like a paper "gasket" cut to fit between the red & black pieces would raise the red portion up enough that the screws would get a grip on it. I would really like to keep this gauge, but of course want one that functions fully for the $$$ paid.

What kind of gauge did you end up getting & how do you like it?

Dan

[Philip Johnson]

i ended up with the incra 1000hd it seems to have a more positive lock and I have no complaints on it.