Jessems new tool

[Rick Potter]

Jessem just brought out a neat idea. It's a combination of Board Buddies and feather boards. It holds the wood tight to the router table, and keeps it pushed against the fence with one way wheels.

They have a video on their website, and I just ordered some. No connection to company, yada yada.

Rick Potter

[Brian Brightwell]

How about a picture?

[Bill Huber]

How about a picture?

Just go here and you can see it and read all about it and watch a video.

http://www.jessem.com/

[Peter Quinn]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=m-ch-fea&v=CvqDGd-o654

this may work too.

[Rick Fisher]

Funny .. I don't want them .. But they look neat.. Jessem has a good fit and finish.. Makes me want to play with their stuff.. lol

[Mark Bolton]

Funny .. I don't want them .. But they look neat.. Jessem has a good fit and finish.. Makes me want to play with their stuff.. lol

I thought the same exact thing. I have no use for them but my first thought when I checked the price was they were under priced. Fit and finish was the main reason.

[Thomas love]

I have the original board buddies on my table saw for some 10 plus years like them a lot. just ordered these. I have had their router table for some ten years now .. has been rock solid ... 7518 helps.

[John Hays]

Hmmm... very interesting, might have to start saving for a set.

[Chris Kennedy]

They look neat to me. I don't rout enough to justify the cost just yet.

Chris

[Rich Engelhardt]

Pretty slick...but..the "geek" in me says those things just beg to have some sort of motor attached to them ;).

[Michael Dunn]

$99?!?! Holy crap!!! I was expecting at least $199.99. That's a good deal if they function well and I bet they do.

[Alan Schaffter]

Pretty slick...but..the "geek" in me says those things just beg to have some sort of motor attached to them ;).

Way ahead of you on that one! Yup, a mini powerfeeder- small gear motor and lightweight cog belt drive?

[Stephen Cherry]

The reality is the person who would buy this contraption will probably not consider any sort of power feeder. So for 99 dollars, even if it only ever saves one of your fingertips, in my opinion, it's well worth it.

[guy knight]

grr hate when you spend my money
but with as much routing as i do these will be wore out in a few years

[Rick Potter]

Guy,

Looks to me like the only wear part is the 'o' rings.

Rick Potter

[Dave Zellers]

Is this how power feeders work, with a slight toe-in to keep the stock pushed up tight against the fence?

I've always wondered about that.

[Stephen Cherry]

Is this how power feeders work, with a slight toe-in to keep the stock pushed up tight against the fence?

I've always wondered about that.

Yup, and it doesn't take much.

[guy knight]

Guy,

Looks to me like the only wear part is the 'o' rings.

Rick Potter

i pulled the trigger wish i had them before sunday i am due to spend 4 hours on the rt on sunday these sure would make it easier

[james bell]

For $99 I am going to order some today. Just finished routing replacement rails for wood garage doors, 9' length of 2x6 fir. These would have helped.

[Will Blick]

thx for lead guys..... I have been waiting for a product like this... ordered ASAP, this price won't last, you can just tell...
their is many ways to push the stock towards the fence, but all requiring constant re settting based on stock width...this is an eloquent solution to that problem.... specially when routing corners on tapers... agreed also, price and shipping to USA VERY fair price. Jessem can really produce some very desirable and fairly priced ww products lately. nice find...

[Mark W Pugh]

thx for lead guys..... I have been waiting for a product like this... ordered ASAP, this price won't last, you can just tell...
their is many ways to push the stock towards the fence, but all requiring constant re settting based on stock width...this is an eloquent solution to that problem.... specially when routing corners on tapers... agreed also, price and shipping to USA VERY fair price. Jessem can really produce some very desirable and fairly priced ww products lately. nice find...

+1 Just putting shop together,again. This looks like a great option.

[keith micinski]

I can't tell but it looks like these would fit on an Incra with no modification does that sound right?

[Dave Novak]

I can't tell but it looks like these would fit on an Incra with no modification does that sound right?

Great question; it looks like the slot on the LS super system's fence might be a tad too low.

[Rick Potter]

No engineer here, but the website says the max stock thickness is 9/16 below the center of the fence slot, and goes up 2 3/4 from there. At least that's the way I read it.

How high up is the centerline of your T-track/slot?

Rick Potter

[Bill Huber]

No engineer here, but the website says the max stock thickness is 9/16 below the center of the fence slot, and goes up 2 3/4 from there. At least that's the way I read it.

How high up is the centerline of your T-track/slot?

Rick Potter

I have the Jessem fence and the center of the T-Track is 2 15/16" off the table top.

[Alan Schaffter]

The center of the slot on the INCRA Wonder Fence looks to be 1-3/4" above the table so they should be able to handle stock as thick as 1-3/16".

[Denny Rice]

Funny thing is I have JessEm Mast R Lift II and don't want these either. Seemed way overpriced for what they do. I will keep my 30.00 set of feather boards (that were also made by JessEm!

[Thomas love]

That is confusing although I get it now , the maximum stock thickness is 9/16 below slot which puts me at 2-3/16 on my fence. In the beginning of the video he drops the wheel all the way down to table for a split second.

[guy knight]

still haven't shipped after 6 days

[Brian Kincaid]

I bought my Delta baby feeder for $99 in one of those legendary Rockler blowout deals. These would be a lot faster to set up. I use the feeder for repetitive or long runs but use featherboards for almost everything else.

-Brian

[Peter Aeschliman]

I would love to have something like this for my tablesaw, especially after the blade. Sometimes I notice the workpiece drifts away from the fence behind the blade, especially when I have to use a push stick (narrow pieces). Featherboards don't always solve the problem. Yes, I've set my fence up parallel to the blade (verified with dial indicator). Board buddies are way too big- they would interfere with the blade guard and dust collection.

Hmmm... now I'm thinking.

[Bill Huber]

I would love to have something like this for my tablesaw, especially after the blade. Sometimes I notice the workpiece drifts away from the fence behind the blade, especially when I have to use a push stick (narrow pieces). Featherboards don't always solve the problem. Yes, I've set my fence up parallel to the blade (verified with dial indicator). Board buddies are way too big- they would interfere with the blade guard and dust collection.

Hmmm... now I'm thinking.

Well make a fence with a T-track on it and then attach it to your table saw fence, just make sure you fence on the saw has some type of a hold down in the back.

[Rick Potter]

Good idea, maybe Jessem would consider a slightly larger version for the table saw.

Rick P

[Will Blick]

[QUOTE=Rick Potter;2122720]Good idea, maybe Jessem would consider a slightly larger version for the table saw.

+1
I hope Jessem is reading this thread, cause I fully agree with this shortcoming for TS use. ie. the ability to hold thin cuts against the fence... a push block is the safe way to push small pieces, but its downside is, it diminishes directional control of the piece being pushed...this Jessem product, beefed up a bit, and maybe with a larger radius swing arm to accommodate a larger array of fences and stock thicknesses would be a smash hit IMO....

[Rick Potter]

Good news,

I just got a confirmation from Jessem that they shipped my order today.

Rick P

[Peter Aeschliman]

Bill's point about making sure the fence doesn't lift off the table is a good one. With a t-square style fence, I wonder whether you could generate adequate downward pressure without lifting the fence off of the table. That is one common criticism I've read about the Board Buddies, which attempt to do the same thing.

I want to get out to my shop and do some testing. All I would want is for it to hold the workpiece tight to the fence after the blade. I'm less concerned about keeping the workpiece down on the table (which is easy to control with a push stick).

I've often thought about how something like this could be incorporated into a riving knife- if a riving knife was toed slightly toward the fence, it might have the same effect. Shoot, I should get my sawstop manual out and see if they say anything about that.

[Alan Schaffter]

Bill's point about making sure the fence doesn't lift off the table is a good one. With a t-square style fence, I wonder whether you could generate adequate downward pressure without lifting the fence off of the table. That is one common criticism I've read about the Board Buddies, which attempt to do the same thing.

I want to get out to my shop and do some testing. All I would want is for it to hold the workpiece tight to the fence after the blade. I'm less concerned about keeping the workpiece down on the table (which is easy to control with a push stick).

I've often thought about how something like this could be incorporated into a riving knife- if a riving knife was toed slightly toward the fence, it might have the same effect. Shoot, I should get my sawstop manual out and see if they say anything about that.

You need a fence like the INCRA that can be locked down at each end.

I don't think you would want to mess with the angle of the riving knife- it should only be as wide or ever so slightly wider than the blade/kerf and have no skew.

What could be done however is to mount something like the Jessem to the top of a slightly elongated (front to back) riving knife that mounts very securely to the saw so there is no chance it will lift up. Like the current model, the wheels would have toe-in to keep the stock riding against the fence, but also, by raising and lowering the riving knife you could very easily adjust the wheel assembly for any thickness of stock while also increasing or decreasing the amount of downward force applied by the wheels- a win-win situation (except for non-through cuts where you couldn't use it at all.

In reality the current configuration of the Jessem would be better if mounted to the top of the fence- assuming there is a T-slot on top and again assuming the fence doesn't lift- where it could be designed to handle a greater range of stock thicknesses.

[Mark Bolton]

I want to get out to my shop and do some testing. All I would want is for it to hold the workpiece tight to the fence after the blade. I'm less concerned about keeping the workpiece down on the table (which is easy to control with a push stick).


Provided you have a cast iron top, and this is for narrow pieces only, why not rig an electro magnet into the outboard tip of your fence. When you want the tip locked, flip the switch.

[Dick Latshaw]

Arrrgh... You people. I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this thread. But this does look like a really good idea, and hopefully I won't be trying to clamp feather boards in awkward positions anymore.

It's only money. :(

[Will Blick]

I am hoping this solves one of my frustrating problems... when feeding material through router table, a feather board to hold stock against fence, only works well when the opposite edge is parallel, or close to parallel... otherwise the feather board can go from too tight, sometimes binding the work piece, to no contact at all, based on the degree of non parallel the two sides are. I often cut tapers for edging and experience this problem when running 5 ft long pieces through the router table for roundovers... so I must rely on my two hands... but once you remove your hand from the work piece to re position when feeding, the stock pulls away from the fence a tiny bit, and its noticeable on the edge treatment. I considered making a set of spring loaded rollers that push the stock against the fence, but it too has limitations, unlike the Jessem product whereas the opposite side of the material becomes a non-issue.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Provided you have a cast iron top, and this is for narrow pieces only, why not rig an electro magnet into the outboard tip of your fence. When you want the tip locked, flip the switch.

That's a really interesting idea! Maybe I can rig something up with a magswitch accessory unit, mounted to the right side of my fence rail (I never use the fence to the left of the blade).

[Mark Carlson]

I use a square magswitch to keep my Hammer A3-31 jointer fence from moving. Works well, I will use the same magswitch if I find the tablesaw/router fence moves up with the jessem guides. Still waiting for them to arrive.


That's a really interesting idea! Maybe I can rig something up with a magswitch accessory unit, mounted to the right side of my fence rail (I never use the fence to the left of the blade).

[Rick Potter]

Sam Layton has his Beis fence set up with a switchable magnet, that works as long as the fence is on the cast iron, which for him is most of the time. Works great he says. Maybe he will give us a picture.

Rick Potter

[Nathan Birrell]

Good news,

I just got a confirmation from Jessem that they shipped my order today.

Rick P

Mine showed up in the mail today. They certainly look slick!

-Nate

[Mark W Pugh]

[QUOTE=Rick Potter;2122720]Good idea, maybe Jessem would consider a slightly larger version for the table saw.

... a push block is the safe way to push small pieces, but its downside is, it diminishes directional control of the piece being pushed...this Jessem product, beefed up a bit, and maybe with a larger radius swing arm to accommodate a larger array of fences and stock thicknesses would be a smash hit IMO....

Instead of a push block for small pieces, consider this. http://www.amazon.com/Gripper-TM-200-Advanced-System/dp/B000H50BAC/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1372557708&sr=1-4&keywords=table+saw+accessories

I think the problem with these on the TS would be how to anchor the far end of the fence. If they can fix that, this would be a GREAT item.

[Thomas love]

<I wonder whether you could generate adequate downward pressure without lifting the fence off of the table. That is one common criticism I've read about the Board Buddies, which attempt to do the same thing.>

Been on my saw with Bies fence for longer than I can remember, never experienced this criticism you mention .

[Roger Feeley]

I got my paypal receipt on June 25th. It's July 2nd and no shipping notification.
Hmmmm.....

I don't mind waiting but an email saying, "Sorry, we are back ordered and your stuff will ship in September." would be the right thing to do. I am a very patient man but I do like to know that I haven't been forgotten.

Order #6702

[Mark Carlson]

Roger, you should have gotten an order confirmation (I did anyways). Took 10 days to get shipping email. Is taking another week to travel from buffalo to los angeles. Looking forward to getting it.

[Rick Potter]

Got mine a couple days ago. It's worth the wait. Beautiful machining, it's so purty, I want to get a chain and wear it.

Rick Potter

[Dick Latshaw]

I placed my order on 6/21. It shipped today. I think they may be selling a few of these.

[guy knight]

got mine used them well worth the money these will be getting a lot of use

[Mark Carlson]

Just got mine. Works great on the vsctools tablesaw fence and incra router fence. Keeps wood tight against the fence and wont allow it to come backwards. It was really nice when grabbing a push stick because the wood didnt budge. I also attached pictures of board buddies which I dont really care for because they are big and awkward. Maybe I'll use those for plywood. I also attached a picture of a magswitch I can attach to my fence to keep it from moving if cutting large heavy stock.266076266079266077266078266075


~mark

[Noel Poore]

Mine arrived today. As everyone else has said, they are lovely. I made an attachment for my tablesaw fence so I can use them there too. They do a good job of keeping the stock against the fence. I use my tablesaw more than the router table, and I can see myself using them quite a lot.

Noel

[Rick Potter]

Well, I am a bit late getting back to the party, but I finally got a chance to try them out, and see which tools I have that they fit.

My router table with a Rockler/Jessem t slot fence fits them fine. I ran a piece of MDF 1 1/2 wide by a foot long through my 1/4" T&G slotting bit. I made no attempt to hold the work against the fence, and just shoved it through with a push stick laying sideways on the table. In other words I pushed it through, but not against the fence, standing out of the way. It went through with no drama at all. I even let it go when it was cutting and only held by the lead guide, let it go again when it was cutting and held by both sides, and again when the rear guide and bit were engaged. Again, no drama at all, and I had the guides down snugly but not tight.

Since I had good luck with the MDF, I got out a scrap of hard maple, 1 1/4" wide by 3/4", about 18" long and did the same test. Same results. A couple very small burn marks where I stopped, but no drama here either. Again, I was not pushing the stock against the fence at all, just pushed it through from the end.

Next, I tried other tools I have to see if the guides would work. On my RT1000 router table, the guides work just fine, but because of the t slot cut in the MDF fence, you need to switch out the 1/4" bolts for 1/4" t-bolts. No biggie. Then I tried it on my brand new bench top Kreg router table I found on clearance at Lowes...fits perfectly. Moving on, I tried it on a knock down table I put on sawhorses when I need it away from home. It has Rockler all MDF fence boards on it with t-slots in the MDF. Again it fit fine, using the t-bolts, which I prefer anyway. Next up was my shaper with the home made router style fence on it. Fit fine again using t-bolts.

Then I moved on to my Unisaw. There is no provision for t-slots, although I do have a sacrificial MDF fence for dadoing. It has no t-slot, but one could be added easily. I also have a Peachtree t-slot fence that fits on the Unifence carrier. The guides fit that just fine. One caveat: The Unifence will not hold anything down very well, as it is only held on one end. This can be easily resolved by using a switchable magnet from HF, and attaching it the the other end. See Mark Carlson's post above for a great example of how to do this.

Rick Potter

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm thinking of getting a pair but only if I can use them on the TS too. I have seen all positive replies here but last night on another forum someone reviewed them that liked them, but, said for his router table especially for long boards he still felt the need for a horizontal feather board. If he adjusted it enough to keep the piece always toward the fence it was too hard to push the part through. What he really liked is that the board never has a chance to rise like flexible feather boards would allow.

Mike

[Noel Poore]

Mike, I have mine set up to use them on my tablesaw. I made a simple track to attach to my fence that holds the guides. So far, I have not felt the need to use a feather board as well as the guides. I can get plenty of downward pressure on the board without making it too hard to push through. YMMV of course, since that's a matter of opinion. I will try to post a picture of what I did later in the day. There are pictures above in this thread of the guides on the VSCT extruded aluminum fence.

Noel

[Rick Potter]

Mike,

That sounds to me like he was using a warped board, that needed jointing. It really doesn't take that much to keep a straight board against a fence.

Rick Potter

[Mike Goetzke]

This is the review that I read:

Linkie (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=49345)

[Mike Goetzke]

Had a good job to try these on so I ordered them. Ordered on Monday & they got here today. I'm working on making some door casing for our entrance door. My wife wanted a arched top with a raised panel in it. The top of the door casing needed a stick cut in it. The board was almost 8' long and I pushed it through without making any effort to keep it against the fence and the Jessem guides kept the stock against the fence at all times. WAY better to use than my four featherboards. The curved top needed a cope cut in the two ends. Tried to think of a way to do this and thought the Jessem video showed a cope cut with their guides without any sled - so I made a couple sample pieces and seemed like it would work.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0003_zps1a8d50e6.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mbg/media/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0003_zps1a8d50e6.jpg.html)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0004_zpsbeba4ade.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mbg/media/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0004_zpsbeba4ade.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0006_zps64fc0d0d.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mbg/media/Projects/Entrance%20Door/Door%20Casing/IMG_0006_zps64fc0d0d.jpg.html)


The guides fit into the top of the Woodpeck SuperFence nicely, but, it only has a little margin holding 3/4" stock. I could remove the black sacrificial fence and use a lower slot on the actual aluminum fence if needed for thinner stock.


Mike

[keith micinski]

Mike your killing me. I had completely forgotten about these and am now sitting here and can't come up with a single reason why I shouldn't order these.

[George Bokros]

Seems like there is considerable interest in these.

Those that already purchased a set, do you think they are helpful?

Would you buy again?

Anyone buy two of them?

Thanks

George

[Mike Goetzke]

Seems like there is considerable interest in these.

Those that already purchased a set, do you think they are helpful?

Would you buy again?

Anyone buy two of them?

Thanks

George

See my post #59. I was very impressed even though I was a skeptic to start. A pair of these easily replaces four quality feather boards and does give you a "clear-cut" in that you aren't dodging feather boards as you push the work through the router. They are really easy to adjust and remove. I think you will experience less router burning too since you can avoid the start/stop feed action usually required with feather boards.My router table is 43" long and I stick cut a 3/4"x2-1/2"x80" long piece of white oak and the pair of these held the work piece tightly against the fence. I don't see the need for two sets.

Mike

[Bill Huber]

Seems like there is considerable interest in these.

Those that already purchased a set, do you think they are helpful?

Would you buy again?

Anyone buy two of them?

Thanks

George

Yes I would buy them again, the more I use them the more I like them.

Here is my post on then when I got them.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?204875-Using-the-New-Jessem-hold-downs-on-the-router-table

[Rick Potter]

George,

I ordered two sets when I started this thread. As to when you might use two sets? I have a couple router tables, and often do dual cut stuff, like tongue and groove, using two tables. I also think I will eventually use one of the sets on the table saw also.

Rick Potter

[david paul miller]

Mike your killing me. I had completely forgotten about these and am now sitting here and can't come up with a single reason why I shouldn't order these.

Same here, so I ordered today and got an email within the hour with a tracking #.

[George Bokros]

I ordered late last evening and received an email today with a tracking number.

George

[Lloyd McKinlay]

They arrive with a 1/4" bolt and won't fit into the T track on my Veritas router fence without a lot of grinding. I need to find the right length T slot bolts.

[John M Wilson]

Mine arrived yesterday, and didn't work right out of the box on my Bosch router table fence (The T-Track was too high & the wheels didn't swivel down far enough).

At first I was going to drill some holes in my fence, but then I realized that I had a piece of t-track stock laying around someplace from a previous project. I made new fence boards out of some scrap melamine stock, rabbeted in a slot for the t-track, and bolted and screwed the whole thing back together. Worked like a charm.

Lloyd, you may want to investigate making a new sub-fence with a suitable T-track in the right place rather than altering your existing fence.

On a side note, the slot in my fence on my Bosch table saw is in a perfect location for these -- I tried them out & they are much easier to set up than feather boards on the table saw, as long as your cut is wide enough to allow room for the mechanism between the fence and the blade.

[John Petsche]

Great post

[Michael Dunn]

I just received mine. Installation was stupid simple. Haven't had a chance to use them. My next project surely will give me that opportunity. Looking forward to it.