Crosscutting: Jessem Slider VS Festool TS55

[Chris Hedges]

Need a little advice here. I am looking at purchasing one or the other for crosscutting. I have owned the jessem slider in the past and aside from the finesse required to get it set up, I was completely satisfied with it. It has some limitations in that large pieces are a bit unruly as there is no outboard support leg. Very accurate though.

I am wondering if the TS55 could be used in its place. Seems like what you gain in versatility may be lost in accuracy? I am not looking for perfection but when crosscutting carcasses to be dovetailed, things need to be pretty square.

What think ye all?

Chris

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Hi Chris,

I own a MiniMax CU300, so the slider concept is one with which I'm very familiar. I have grown to love it.

However, I also own the EZSmart system and enjoy using that for large panels of sheet goods (for which I do not do much . . .).

I have a 90 deg. square attachment for my tracksaw that slides under the sawtrack and, once set, it is DEAD ON accurate. On sheet goods, I hate to admit, my $400 EurekaZone system gives a cleaner cut than my $10K+ Euro slider!

Short answer: I think you'll have no problem cross-cutting with either, and the TS55 properly set up should do marvelously!

[Gary Venable]

To me it depends a little on what you are crosscutting. For breaking down sheet goods the TS55 is great and nice to have in your arsenal, especially combined with an MFT. For solid wood I use a crosscut sled and have found that to be a great way to go. I have not had the Jessem Slider but have used similar products and I prefer the sled.

-Gary

[frank shic]

i would NEVER trade in my exactor sliding table for a guided circular saw system. it's just way easier to have it set up all the time if you have the workshop space and it works great for short and narrow pieces as well as full sized sheets of sheet goods. i've used the EZ system in the past and have not found the crosscuts to be accurate enough for 32mm cabinet building. the sliding action on that jessem is probably the smoothest of all the add-on sliding tables but i didn't go that route because it lacks support for the larger pieces as you said.

[Glen Blanchard]

I thought JessEm had stopped offering the sliding table.

[Chris Tsutsui]

A TS55 will cut only as square as you align it. If you team it with a MFT/3 then repeat square cuts may be easier.

For consistant rips I don't rely on pencil markings with my TS55 though sometimes you have to. I use a combination square and I butt the track against the combo square and clamp down, checking both ends of the track on the panel.

A track saw is really a great tool that feels safe to use. I sold my excalibur sliding table attachment because it wouldn't stay perfectly dialed in for me.

A euro sliding tablesaw with scoring blade will still be my best cross cutting tool. The scoring blade practically eliminates tearout. It makes for a night and day difference on some plywoods and veneers.

[Robert Chapman]

I'm pretty sure that Glen is right - Jessem is no longer making their slider. Too bad - I have one and really like it and use it a lot for cross cutting wide stock - very accurate.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

Chris,

I also believe the Jessem is discontinued. If you are still looking for one, check out Grizzly.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Sliding-Table-Attachment/T10223

[Mike Heidrick]

I have one I would part with with two fence extrusions.

[frank shic]

Chris,

I also believe the Jessem is discontinued. If you are still looking for one, check out Grizzly.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Sliding-Table-Attachment/T10223

i was just about to say avoid the delta/grizzly sliding table when i realized that this is a completely different model. very clever of them to imitate the jessem design!

[Cary Falk]

Call Jessem. I heard that they were going to start making the Mast-R-Slide again. I have one and love it. I should have done it long ago. I just bought a DeWalt track saw to break down larger pieces of plywood. The Jessem has a crosscut limitation but once dialed in it will be dead on with no fuss. The track saw will be only as accurate as you set it up each time. There is no right answer.

[Jamie Buxton]

Chris is right: a track saw will cut only as well as you can set it up. Me, I made what's essentially a 4 foot by 4 foot speedsquare for my TS55. I was careful as I built it to make it exactly 90 degrees. It wasn't difficult -- just a little care. On a 4 foot crosscut, it is out less than .01". That's accurate enough for making cabinetry that is really square.

[frank shic]

the other thing i like better about the jessem is that there are no legs to accidentally knock out of alignment and you can walk through the entire cut... once you've cut the plywood down enough so that you can put it on the sliding table - maybe with a festool or analogous saw!

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

the other thing i like better about the jessem is that there are no legs to accidentally knock out of alignment and you can walk through the entire cut... once you've cut the plywood down enough so that you can put it on the sliding table - maybe with a festool or analogous saw!

No legs on the slider is nice. I picked up a Dewalt slider on CL last year for $200 and, with only slight modifications, put it on my Grizzly 1023. It also has no legs so does not take up more space that the extension wing. 33" of cross cut is nice to have.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I am wondering if the TS55 could be used in its place. Seems like what you gain in versatility may be lost in accuracy? I am not looking for perfection but when crosscutting carcasses to be dovetailed, things need to be pretty square.

Yes - a TS55EQ, set up properly, can make perfect cabinet sides - even w/out the MFT.
I just made two sides yesterday that align perfectly - you put one on top of the other and clamp them together and it's impossible to run your finger across each side and feel a "bump".

It's somewhat of a slow process though. Since I was killing time waiting for grout to dry, I had plenty of time to do the set up.
DeWalt makes a 90* attachement that the guys on the FOG forum speak very highly of that could speed up set up time.
DWS5027 - it runs a little over 20 bucks & fits both the DeWalt and Festool (according to the FOG) tracks.
One of these days, I'll get around to buying one. In the mean time, I just use a combo square to set the track @ 90*.

I've found that the trade off is more one of time than anything else.

[frank shic]

what is that saying? quality, speed or cost - you can only pick two!

[Paul Johnstone]

Another nice advantage of the sliding table is that it is really nice when you have to do multiple crosscuts of the same diminsions.. there is a flip stop on the Jessem fence.. So when you are building a chest of drawers, it's nice to set the stop and crosscut 12 identical pieces. Possible, but difficult/slower with a circular saw.

I agree that crosscuting an 8' long by 16" wide strip of plywood on the jessem can be a challenge.. I will make my first cut approximately in half (depends on the size of the pieces).. Allow for a little waste. Now the 4' long pieces can easily be managed.

It's wise to check the Jessem with a framing square often.. I bumped it out of alignment one.. Overall it is very sturdy.

Another downside with the circular saw is you need real estate to set up sawhorses, MFT or whatever.. Not a real problem put more me, it was more set up time. I know lots of people are huge fans of the circular saw system and get great results.. I just personally perfer the jessem.

[Victor Robinson]

Could one of you sliding table gurus explain the difference between a sliding table attachment and a well-made crosscut sled?

[Chris Hedges]

I appreciate all of the input from you guys. Yes, the Jessem is discontinued but I know where a new one is. I did call Jessem and they claim it could be another 6-8 months to get it back on-line. Seems like the owner was the only one who had the technical ability to help people when it came to problems and he got tired of doing so. Sounds like they might be retraining. As for what I am doing - probably not going to be cutting alot of sheet goods. Although who knows! Mostly solid wood but it seems to me the concept is the same.

Im not really looking at euro sliders or large Excalibur style do-dads - not enough space. Though I do have room for the MFT/3. Would likely use it as an assembly table and cartainly as part of the ts55 system. Ive seen the Gris but dont care for the long rail. Im still not sold on their products, though I did just buy a G0490 and its pretty darn nice. Anyone know who makes the Griz slider?

Cutting pieces less than 12" to repeatable lengths isnt an issue as I have a Jessem miter gauge. Which buy the way is frigging awesome!

Never been a big fan of crosscut sleds. They certainly are economical to make but they take up a hell of a lot of space and to get any decent capacity it has to be fairly large. just my opinion.

Chris

[Will Blick]

cross cutting can range from anything from 5ft wide sheets to 1" wide hardwood. So whats best, depends on what your cutting..... if its big, rail wins. If they are short pieces, specially less than 12" of crosscutting, the Jessem would win in my book, its a perfect accessory for that purpose.

Sleds eat up 3/4" or 1" of blade height, sometimes this is an issue based on thicknesses you cut. Other times, its a non issue. They surely eat up shop space when you store them. A slider does not steal any blade height.

great point about rail set up... making the rails square on large sheets can be challenging when starting out...wiggle one end, the other end goes out of square. There is many nice jigs you can build that makes measuring and squarness a simple task... but always remember blade kerf when measuring from the cut side of the rail.

[frank shic]

the issues i have with crosscut sleds is that it's tricky to square up, annoying to put on the table saw and store away when not in use and the blade is exposed unless you attach some kind of plexiglass over the top of it. man i wish my exaktor slid just a little bit more like that jessem...

[Larry Prem]

I have an Excalibur slider on my saw. It makes the saw considerably better.

The slider is basically a better crosscut sled. It can support large and unwieldy piece much better than the sled. Setup and use is faster and safer.
It also makes handling sheets much easier on your body. On a full-size panel saw you could build a cabinet in 20 minutes? That's what the slider does for you.