CS for a EZ Smard Guide system... Which one?

[Ed Lang]

I am about 75% decided on the EZ Smart Guide system and not the other brand. I will be buying a new CS to go with this system. I seek your opinion on which brand, and model of CS you find to be best, or which CS works best with the EZ Smart Guide system in general.

[Dennis Peacock]

Ed,

I have seen the EZ Guiderails and they are very nice and very well thought out. A CS purchase hugh? Get the Porter-Cable saw that has the dust collection port built in. Sorry....I don't remember the model, but Steve Clardy, my Undercover-Brother :p :p , has one and I wouldn't mind having one. Just my opinion though. ;)

[Paul Berendsohn]

Make that two votes for Porter Cable, Ed. I recently got the 325 Mag, sweet saw...

[John Miliunas]

Ed, if you're on a somewhat lower budget than what the PC allows for, you might consider the Ryobi. Step-daughter bought me one for B-day and it's not bad. There is a DC port on it, though probably not as efficient as the PC. I also thought the laser guide on it would be kinda' hokey, but it works quite well. :cool:

[Ed Lang]

Make that two votes for Porter Cable, Ed. I recently got the 325 Mag, sweet saw...
Are you using it with the EZ Smart Guide system?

[Paul Berendsohn]

Yes I am Ed. Originally BTW I bought a Ryobi, since I was just testing the system out and it did quite a good job... But if you can spring for the PC it is certainly a great choice.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ed...I bought a PC left blade....I'm right handed...it's nice to see the cut line without contorting my neck. I've had it for about 18 months....great saw! I would have bought the worm screw drive version but as I'm getting older I find I don't handle those as well as I did 30 years ago.

[Paul Berendsohn]

As you probably are aware Ed, you really should purchase RH saw for use with the SmartGuide, all RH vs LH arguments aside...

[Ed Lang]

Yes I am Ed. Originally BTW I bought a Ryobi, since I was just testing the system out and it did quite a good job... But if you can spring for the PC it is certainly a great choice.
I thought about no more than $200 for the CS plus the guide system..... I think the PC will fit within that.

[Paul Berendsohn]

Think you'll be a tad bit higher than that Ed ;) but if you can the PC is a first class choice...

[Ed Lang]

Think you'll be a tad bit higher than that Ed ;) but if you can the PC is a first class choice...
I better make sure I get this right the first time! Which model is it that you are suggesting I get?

PC model 325MAG?

[Paul Berendsohn]

That's the one Ed... I swapped the blade for a Freud but believe it or not, the "Framer" blade that came with it did a remarkably good job, even on thinly veneered plywood.

[Scott Coffelt]

I installed my Dewalt on the EZ Smart base that Steve's long lost twin brother gave me (That's Chris P. for those not paying attention to the forum). It installed flawlessly and I didn't even have to trim the saw base. Four simple holes and it's operational. One drawback is it has no dust collection. I used one of the blades I have in stock with the saw and it produced very clean cuts, but I will most likely buy one of the 40 or 60 tooth carbide plywood blades I spied at HD this week. So far its just being used free hand (no system) and I've never had this clean of cuts on both sides of the cut.

[Joseph N. Myers]

I agree with the choice of Porter Cable. Of course, I have a dealer about 5 miles from here so if I need something, i.e., parts, service, it's great.

I have the PC 347 brake right and it works great. Porter Cable doesn't make it any more but can be purchased on e-bay, etc. I also have an older PC (at least 10 years) and that worked but the "plunge" part wasn't and that is why I went with the 347.

The newer PC's blade right saws are the 324mag and 325mag, the 325mag having the brake. The costs are about $130 and $150.

And yes, you'll need the blade right to work with the Smart System. And I love my system. I cut a lot of long planks, i.e., 12' plus, so I got a couple of extra 4' sections. I also got a couple of shorter sections for cross cutting.

Oh, make sure to read the Smart Guide review by Steve Jenkins, today, Eurekazone's EZ Smart Guide.

Regards, Joe

Regards, Joe

[Chris Padilla]

I installed my Dewalt on the EZ Smart base that Steve's long lost twin brother gave me (That's Chris P. for those not paying attention to the forum). It installed flawlessly and I didn't even have to trim the saw base. Four simple holes and it's operational. One drawback is it has no dust collection. I used one of the blades I have in stock with the saw and it produced very clean cuts, but I will most likely buy one of the 40 or 60 tooth carbide plywood blades I spied at HD this week. So far its just being used free hand (no system) and I've never had this clean of cuts on both sides of the cut.
Ah, good, I was wondering when you might get around to trying it out. I guess I should try the Smartbase on my Skil Mag worm-drive saw and see how it does.

[John Miliunas]

Ah, good, I was wondering when you might get around to trying it out. I guess I should try the Smartbase on my Skil Mag worm-drive saw and see how it does.

Hey Chris, isn't that a LH blade setup on that worm drive? :confused: :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

Hey John, "yes" it is a left-handed blade set-up. :) I guess I haven't paid attention to the LH/RH points. What were they? :) I'll just run the saw in my other hand, I guess. With the guide, well, guiding me, is it a big deal?

[Steve Clardy]

PC 447 Right Hand is what I have. It is a heavy duty framers saw, large base with brake. Can be had most places for around $120.00.
Is has the tube that comes with it to direct the saw dust away from you, and can be adapted for dust collection.

Smart base fits right on it. I did remove some of the casting bridges on the top of the PC base so the bolts would sit flush. Took about 30 minutes to install the eureka base on it.

Steve:)

[John Miliunas]

Hey John, "yes" it is a left-handed blade set-up. :) I guess I haven't paid attention to the LH/RH points. What were they? :) I'll just run the saw in my other hand, I guess. With the guide, well, guiding me, is it a big deal?

Ah Chris....The base is NOT designed to go on a LH saw. If you did, the ZC insert would be on the exit side of the cut!

[Chris Padilla]

What?? You mean I gotta spend money and buy another saw??? Honey, did you hear that...I hafta get another tool!!! Sigh....

;)

[John Miliunas]

What?? You mean I gotta spend money and buy another saw??? Honey, did you hear that...I hafta get another tool!!! Sigh....

;)

Har, har...! :D I can hear her now: "Yeah, will if you would've gone and bought the right saw in the first place, you'd have some more money left over for that nose job you need!" :eek: :D :D :D :cool:

[Paul Berendsohn]

Chris,

You oughta give Dino a ring. I know there's a way to use the SmartBase on a LH saw, although as I understand it you give up some of the antisplintering function. Alternatively, you can do what I did initially. Pick up a Ryobi RH saw (I got one on sale at the Despot for under 70 bucks). Worked suprisingly well, even with the OEM blade.

[Scott Coffelt]

Ah, good, I was wondering when you might get around to trying it out. I guess I should try the Smartbase on my Skil Mag worm-drive saw and see how it does.

Yes you should, I installed the base in about 10 minutes. It would have been 5, but I decided to take the base off the saw first so I could use the drill press to drill holes through the aluminum base. I'll take some pics tonight and post. I did have one area where I choose to drill that wen tthrough a thicker part of the base, but Dino has it all figured out and sent three sizes of screws, so no problems (except I needed to add 1 washer).

I choose to be a tad bit more safe on the cut though of the zero clearence insert, I turned the saw on and then plunged slowly through the insert. Nice thing is it came with 4 inserts, so I can use different blades and swap out the inserts to match.

[Chris Padilla]

Well, worse case is I put my Skil Mag 77 up for sale and pick up this PC. It would be nice to have the DC the PC offers. Oh, wait, perhaps I should just sell the Skil, sell the EZ stuff, and then go for the Festool???? Ahhhhhhhh.....!!!!!!!

Hey, I'm the official "open a can a worms feller" 'round here, ain't I?? :D ;)

[Scott Coffelt]

Not sure I would really want to use a Festool for construction work, therefore you would still have to buy a CS. Save the Skil, Buy a new CS, keep the EZ and then buy a Festool for the heck of it.

[Chris Padilla]

Scott, you just love to spend my money, dontcha?? ;)

[Paul Berendsohn]

I think you're better off waiting on the Festool setup Chris... Once more people use the SmartGuide I bet there'll be plenty Festools on Ebay ;)


(Please note use of smiley :p )

[Scott Coffelt]

Yes sir.

BTW, I sure love those 12" Bessey's. I've used them 3-4 times in the few weeks I've had them.

Also, when's that aircraft carrier coming out of dry dock?

[John Miliunas]

Scott, you just love to spend my money, dontcha?? ;)

Aw come on now....Most of us pale in comparison to your ability in the "spending money" dept.! :D Hey, yeah...How's that big crate doing, anyhow? :confused: I'll bet it's getting lonely just sittin' there! :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

I think you're better off waiting on the Festool setup Chris... Once more people use the SmartGuide I bet there'll be plenty Festools on Ebay ;)

(Please note use of smiley :p )
LOL! One thing important to me is dust collection. How do y'all like the DC on the PC CS? We know the DC on the Festool is probably as good as it gets right now but I gotta believe DC will improve with every new CS introduction...I hope.


Also, when's that aircraft carrier coming out of dry dock?

:D Hey, yeah...How's that big crate doing, anyhow? :confused: I'll bet it's getting lonely just sittin' there! :cool:
Yeah, yeah...it probably is getting lonely. Right now the top of the box is piled with crap BUT, HEY, get this (you may wish to sit down):

The box/crate is shoved up against one side of the garage and I now need to get to that side to begin wiring. So guess what? I don't have a pallet jack so this means I'll need to actually open the box and get that sucker out on its wheels so I can move it to the other side of the shop!!! hehehe :rolleyes:

[John Miliunas]

Yeah, yeah...it probably is getting lonely. Right now the top of the box is piled with crap BUT, HEY, get this (you may wish to sit down):

The box/crate is shoved up against one side of the garage and I now need to get to that side to begin wiring. So guess what? I don't have a pallet jack so this means I'll need to actually open the box and get that sucker out on its wheels so I can move it to the other side of the shop!!! hehehe :rolleyes:

'Bout time! :D 'Course, I'm surprised you just didn't go buy a pallet jack, too! :eek: :D :cool:

[Paul Berendsohn]

Well... the dust collection on the PC is good. Not great, and probably not as good as Festool's saw. But of the five CS I have, it's far and away the nicest overall. Interestingly, I've been kicking around an idea to improve the dust collection. This oughta give me the kick in the backside to try it ;)