Incra Wonderfence or Jessem Mast R Fence II?

[Jerry Herrington]

I have finally finished building a new router cabinet and it is sitting in my shop with an empty mounting plate hole begging to be used. I had planned to go to the Houston Woodworking Show next weekend for the opportunity to put my hand on fences and lifts. Unfortunately, I found out today that the show has been cancelled!

After hours of reading threads here and reading reviews elsewhere, I decided on a dedicated PC 7518 router and Incra Mast R Lift II (because of the magnetic inserts), but am undecided on a fence. Any comments would be appreciated as to any pros and cons on either of the fences in the above title? My table is 24'' X 32", so I would not be opting for the LS system with the Incra.

[keith micinski]

I don't like my incra for a few reasons one of the biggest being the 90degree sled is terrible and if it were any worse it wouldn't be worth using. I have seen people retro fit the new jessem sled to the incra but it would obviously be easier to fit it to the jessem. That alone would make me go with the jessem.

[keith micinski]

I changed my mind. The jessem doesn't appear to have any micro adjustability which is a huge benefit of the incra. I guess my ideal fence is possibly the incra with the jessem slider attached.

[Bill Huber]

I changed my mind. The jessem doesn't appear to have any micro adjustability which is a huge benefit of the incra. I guess my ideal fence is possibly the incra with the jessem slider attached.

The micro adjuster is only on the faces of the WonderFence, correct? It is not for the movement of the fence front or back, correct?
So I guess you could move the right part out .025 and then move the left part out .025, which in an effect would be moving the whole fence out .025.

[Bill Huber]

Here is a post I made a few days ago on the Jessem Fence.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?215407-JessEm-Mast-R-Fence-II&highlight=jessem

[Earl McLain]

The micro adjuster is only on the faces of the WonderFence, correct? It is not for the movement of the fence front or back, correct?
So I guess you could move the right part out .025 and then move the left part out .025, which in an effect would be moving the whole fence out .025.

The Incra LS systems have a micro adjust built in. My old Incra Pro did not. Additionally, each side of the Wonder Fence can be micro adjusted for jointing.
earl

[Bill Huber]

The Incra LS systems have a micro adjust built in. My old Incra Pro did not. Additionally, each side of the Wonder Fence can be micro adjusted for jointing.
earl

The LS System has it but the does the WonderFence have it as a stand along fence?

[keith micinski]

I guess I just assumed he would be using the wonder fence with a positioner. I can't really see the point in spending a couple hundred bucks for a fence and then just trying to clamp it to a table accurately. I'm not saying it can't be done it just seems like a big compromise.

[Bill Huber]

I guess I just assumed he would be using the wonder fence with a positioner. I can't really see the point in spending a couple hundred bucks for a fence and then just trying to clamp it to a table accurately. I'm not saying it can't be done it just seems like a big compromise.

Keith, I will have to agree, the fence just clamps to the table and does not have any type of rails for it.
I guess the Jessem would be the best way to go, he did say he was not going to get the LS system.

[Earl McLain]

Keith, I will have to agree, the fence just clamps to the table and does not have any type of rails for it.
I guess the Jessem would be the best way to go, he did say he was not going to get the LS system.

Yeah, i made the same assumption as Keith. The Wonder Fence without positioner doesn't do much. I suppose that one could mount it to an L-shaped table fence, but even at that i don't know that you'd gain much.
earl

[keith micinski]

I should probably read all of someone's post before I offer up advice:D

[Robert LaPlaca]

I have a Incra Wonderfence on my router table, I used the fence without any positioner (LS or otherwise) for more than 10 years. The fence is best for edge treatments, obviously without the LS its not too hot for any kind of joinery like dovetails, I bought the fence to perform edge treatments and small runs of molding... Each of the sub-fences do offset independently of each other, IRC i believe the total adjustment is on the order of +/-1/4". Just last year I finally outfitted the Wonderfence with an LS17..

[Prashun Patel]

You can make the Wonderfence work without the Positioner, but I think 90% of the beauty of the entire fence system is lost this way.

First, the Wonderfence requires something to mount to. So, you'll still need to design or buy a substrate that has the right mounting slots, and figure out how to adjust it back and forth. The real benefit of the Wonderfence is only its ability to split and to shim each half in and out. To that end, the adjustment mechanism is kludgey: Incra uses a hex screw driver. The Wonderfence has 5 holes on each fence face half. Trying to figure out each time which one(s) you need to loosen to shim the left side in and out is my only complaint with the entire Positioner/WF system. Also, there's no microadjustability in the WF; you have to use a straight edge to and your eye to shim it this way and that. The shim is really a wedge that is clever and elegant, but it's not true digital, detented micro-adjustability, as exists on the Positioner depth adjustment. It's this feature on the Positioner that makes it appropriate for joinery - not the sled (which I agree is not good). You can in fact use a traditional coping sled or even the miter gauge to do extremely accurate M&T or dados with it; I actually don't use mine for dovetails that much.

I would be more apt to buy the Positioner without the WF then the other way round; it's genius is the micro adjustment carriage. Honestly, it'd be worth the price even without the sled or the carriage capacity; even though you couldn't do dovetails on large drawers, you still get unsurpassed accuracy for jointing, trimming and edge treatments. I've wondered why Incra does not make a 'Positioner mini'.

In summary, if I were you I'd reconsider the Positioner as an option and couple it with the Wonderfence. If you've determined this combo is not appropriate for you, then I'd nix the WF and go for the Jessem, which is a very well-regarded conventional fence system.

[Jerry Herrington]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I am a relatively new woodworker, and in the near future 95% of what I do will be edge treatments. Built the router cabinet because I am tired of freehand routing. That's why I ruled out the LS and went with the smaller tabletop. Maybe I am over analyzing this, but just trying to leave myself options with this purchase. I wonder if Jessem will ever come out with a micro-adjuster like the one Woodpecker makes. Should I ever want that capability with the Jessem, maybe Bill Huber will start marketing that crafty little device he fabricated. :)

[Bill Huber]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I am a relatively new woodworker, and in the near future 95% of what I do will be edge treatments. Built the router cabinet because I am tired of freehand routing. That's why I ruled out the LS and went with the smaller tabletop. Maybe I am over analyzing this, but just trying to leave myself options with this purchase. I wonder if Jessem will ever come out with a micro-adjuster like the one Woodpecker makes. Should I ever want that capability with the Jessem, maybe Bill Huber will start marketing that crafty little device he fabricated. :)

You can make the micro adjuster and it is not that hard to do. With that said I will have to say I don't use it as much as I thought I would but I do use it as a stop more then an adjuster. The fence move so nice that you can loosen one end and move it a very small amount which will be about half the distance you moved it to the cut.

When I want to make more then one pass I will set the fence to the final cut and put the stops up against the fence. Move the fence out some and make the first cut, move it back to the stop and do the final cut.

[Prashun Patel]

"...in the near future 95% of what I do will be edge treatments."

Not true. Once you have a router table, you will figure out all the things it can and should do - like grooves, dados and joinery. As you progress, you will quickly turn your attention to alternate joinery methods. If you care enough to build a router table, plan for a fence system that eventually supports these functions. Look, ANY fence can be made to work - even a scrap of plywood. In fact, this might be a good place to start - build your own first fence. Then as/if you progress, you will be more informed about what features you want and can appreciate.

If all you want to do is edge treatments for now, then a more efficient first purchase might be a good trim router.

edit: I don't mean for the above to sound flippant. I'm just saying, a router fence can be a versatile, wonderful tool. People use them in highly different ways. You'll figure out for yourself where you fall. No right answer.

[Jerry Herrington]

Once you have a router table, you will figure out all the things it can and should do - like grooves, dados and joinery. As you progress, you will quickly turn your attention to alternate joinery methods. If you care enough to build a router table, plan for a fence system that eventually supports these functions.


Prashun, that is my plan exactly. For the moment, I'm just looking forward to something besides wrestling with my Hitachi M12V above the workbench. I look forward to the dust collection as well.