Tenoning Jig

[Brandon Weiss]

Anybody have the Woodcraft Tenoning Jig? Any reason I should get a Delta (or insert brand name here) Jig over the Woodcraft one?

[Guy Germaine]

I have the Grizzly version of that same jig. It works great. No reason to buy anything else.

[glenn bradley]

I have the Rockler version which is blue but, came with a Jet owners manual and a Powermatic addendum to that manual in the sealed box. The Grizzly appears to be about the same basic build.

With the exception of a couple of real high-dollar ones I have seen, these all seem to have the same strengths and weaknesses:

Pros -


They are all heavy solid cast iron assemblies that will probably last your lifetime.
They are all from $50 to $150 depending on badge, paint and the sale you find (mine was just under $60).
Once set up for your saw, you pretty much just use them; near zero maintenance.

Cons -


The cursor and tape or other indicators are poor.
There is some tweaking to be done to get a good solid setup for your machine (seems few people report just putting one together and using it right off).
Miter bar is not adjustable for a good fit and requires shimming or grinding.
Gauge requires an upgrade of some sort even if it is just the addition of a more granular tape.

All that said, I use mine and am glad to have it. Things I did to mine to make me happy:


Shimmed the miter bar for a snug, smooth fit.
Installed a longer stop screw, the one supplied worked for one miter bar position but not the one I used.
Applied a short piece of tape measure in place of the poor scale provided and ground the cursor to a finer point.

Sounds like a lot of stuff but in fact was all very simple. I now just walk over to the cabinet, pull the beast out and use it and then put it back. It is often many months between uses but it is always ready. I'd buy one again (on sale) :)

[Stephen Edwards]

Glenn has about it covered it all. From the ones that I've seen there doesn't appear to be a nickle's worth of difference between any of the more popular ones. As for quality differences, just pick a color that you like.

I have the Grizzly. It was the best price at the time. Between the Rockler, Woodcraft, Grizzly, Delta, etc., I'd get whichever one was cheapest.

[Harold Burrell]

I'd get whichever one was cheapest.

That has become my mantra for life...;)

[Myk Rian]

I have a Delta. Only big difference between some brands is thickness of the castings, and where the handles are placed.
Once they are set for your saw, they're simple to use.

[John McClanahan]

Other than color, I think they are all the same. Compare price and shipping, pick the best deal. My guess is Grizzly is the best price, but Woodcraft has been offering free shipping.

John

[John Thompson]

After careful comparison... agree they are the same. BTW... I purchased mine from Woodcraft on sale and use it at least 3 times a week. With some fine tuning it is dead accurate which surprised me really. I would go for best price to your door.

[Stephen Edwards]

As an aside, I sort of had to teach myself to use the jig and figure out the tweaks and what works best. Others, with more experience and skill than I, may have a better suggestion but here's one technique that I found to be useful:

When I use my tenon jig on the TS I set it up so that the piece of stock that I'm cutting doesn't actually sit on top of the table. Instead, I use a gauge block sitting on top of the table, in front of the blade of course. Then I put the stock on top of that gauge block before locking into the tenon jig. So, as the stock travels across the blade it's actually 1/2" (or whatever size gauge block you use) above the surface of the table.

Does anyone else use this method? Just curious.

[Jay Yoder]

I have the Woodcraft jig...(STILL in the box) after investigating them, I would venture to guess they are mostly the same, just different colors...Merry Christmas everyone!

[Chris Kennedy]

I have the Woodcraft. The handles on the Delta are nicer, and the manual is better, but otherwise, they appear to be the same.

Cheers,

Chris

[glenn bradley]

When I use my tenon jig on the TS I set it up so that the piece of stock that I'm cutting doesn't actually sit on top of the table. Instead, I use a gauge block sitting on top of the table, in front of the blade of course. Then I put the stock on top of that gauge block before locking into the tenon jig. So, as the stock travels across the blade it's actually 1/2" (or whatever size gauge block you use) above the surface of the table.

Does anyone else use this method? Just curious.

No, I use the table as the reference surface. I also run a ZCI to assure a clean exit although this doesn't really matter unless the tenon end is exposed ;-).

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have the Woodcraft. The handles on the Delta are nicer, and the manual is better, but otherwise, they appear to be the same.

Cheers,

ChrisDelta makes two models, the 183, and 184. 183 is same as all the rest. I bought a used 183 several years ago, and it was missing one of the handles. After looking at the Woodcraft model, I ordered handle from Woodcraft, as they were a lot cheaper than Delta. When Lowes got rid of the 184's, I bought one, but haven't used it yet

[Mike Sandman]

I haven't looked at the others, but I do know that the Rockler one I looked at didn't have any way to adjust the fit of the miter bar. The Grizzly has a couple of set screws you can use to get a consistent, snug fit.

You can set these up in a coupe of ways depending on how close your miter grove is to the saw blade, and Grizzly's instructions are very clear, with good photos. You can look at them on their web site.

[Dave Cav]

If you can find a Delta 1172, they are impossible to beat from a coolness standpoint. Otherwise, I would probably go with a Grizzly.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/sunshinenight/Unisaw/resized_DSCF0907.jpg

[Vince Shriver]

There's one here on Los Angeles CL for $360 (new in the box). No doubt it is very cool, but not quite that cool. I look at it longingly every time the guy posts it, and every time I take a pass. It just seems exorbitant.

[Stephen Edwards]

Agreed, it ain't that cool.

[jerry nazard]

I think I paid $200 new for the Delta about 20 years ago. It did not come with the necessary forklift attachment with which to move and set it on the tablesaw. :cool: I agree that $360 is a bit much.