Jessem clear cut stock guide for table saw

[Hoang N Nguyen]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5TGQ50?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

I just ordered one of these but wanted to see if any of you guys and gals have any experience with it. It looks like a great system and works well from the reviews I've read so far. I always have trouble keeping my stock straight when ripping long boards on the table saw and thought this would be the perfect solution. It goes one step above a feather board since it rides on the stock and pulls it to the fence instead of pushing from the other end of the board. This eliminates the need to adjust the feather boards if ripping stock with different widths.

I'd love to hear from those that own it and have used it to see how you like it before I start drilling holes on top of my sawstop fence. Thanks in advance.

[John Schweikert]

It's an excellent add-on for both safety and cut quality. I've been using them for several months. Cutting plywood to 10/4 mahogany has all been improved in stability and accuracy.

I have a Sawstop PCS with the premium fence. It took a little extra to fit the rail to that fence but should be easy on the large Sawstop fence.

It takes a little practice to move the end of wood or plywood past the blade when ripping narrower pieces. The rollers do get in the way but I use the Sawstop push stick to slip the end of the wood under the rollers. It works fine.

I would have bought the stock guides years ago if available. They really are that good. Installation instructions are very good. You shouldn't have any issues.

If you have any specific questions, ask away.

[Mike Chalmers]

A very expensive version of Board Buddies (http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-W1104-Board-Buddies-Yellow/dp/B0000223VK). I have used them for years, work great. I have bought the Jessem guides for my router table. They work well also.

[John Schweikert]

I have the router table versions too, and the table stock guides are just a better solution for the table saw than the router versions are for the router table. In my opinion, the rollers are set too far out from the fence for narrow stock on the router table version. That's where the table saw stock guides shine. They can be tucked nearly right up the fence.

The angle set to the stock guides makes a huge difference to keep wood tight to the fence, and it works. Jessem is excellent at machining parts.

[Robert Chapman]

I've had them for about 3-4 months and really like them - particularly when ripping long stock or sheet goods. Like all Jessem products they are excellently engineered and very high quality. You will love them.

[Ian Scofield]

I have them as well and really like them. For me, it makes handling sheet goods and long thin stock much safer to cut and I get straighter cuts since things can't wander away from the fence. Took me about 6 months to justify the purchase since they are pretty pricey but I do really like having them now.

[julian abram]

I've had these on my tablesaw for about a year and really like them. You have to move them out of the way when using a push stick but they are easy to move on top of the fence.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Thanks everyone for the replies. This is exactly what I was hoping to read to make my purchase hurt less.

[Mike Chalmers]

A very expensive version of Board Buddies (http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-W1104-Board-Buddies-Yellow/dp/B0000223VK). I have used them for years, work great. I have bought the Jessem guides for my router table. They work well also.


I meant I use the Board Buddies.

[Timothy Robinson]

Has anyone created a facsimile of this stock handler or the board buddy? Pictures? Plans?

[Will Blick]

Ditto on the value of the TS guides.... best money spent for TS ripping.

Been using them a few years now, would never be without them. Without the Jessem guides, seems no matter how hard you try, at times, the stock can deflect away from the fence. Sometimes this happens due to fence deflection. Often only enough to leave saw marks, but when you want a glue ready cut, well, u gotta clean it up...and when cut to final dimension, that creates new problems.

I find the value of the guides are...

without the guides, I push stock hard against the fence, prob. 60% of my push force is against the fence, this slows the feed and can sometimes burn the wood.
All this force against the fence, can deflect the fence also, causing more problems. I use the LS Incra fence, and if I am making repeatable cuts, I will lock down the outfeed side of the fence to reduce deflection, a big advantage of the INcra fence IMO. Most TS fences dont have lock down on the opposite side.

When I use the Jessem guides, now I only put about 25% of my push energy towards the fence, 75% goes straight through the blade, faster feed, less chance of burn marks.

I find the hardest part of the Jessem guides are, setting them on the stock. Its a bit cumbersome. Too low, it resist your push force. too high, insufficient pressure on the stock, thereby the guides not exerting max. pull pressure towards the fence. My technique is, put stock under guide while guide is loose, gently side stock out, lower guide additional 3/16". I wing it by eye, but if I was cutting 50 pieces of same thickness stock, I would be much more meticulous in setting the guide position.

I am curious how others set theirs?

[Kevin Smira]

Does anyone here use these on a non-Bies type fence? I have a Grizzyl G0833P table saw, and the stock fence will not accommodate the stock guides in their "normal" setting. I am just curious. I want the stock guides, but I also don't want to have to purchase a Bies type fence either!

[Ben Rivel]

Yep, theyre awesome. Got em on my Sawstop PCS and router table. Wouldnt be without them!

[Jay Moodley]

Thanks for the positive Recommendations. I’ve been considering the TS version for some time already. This is going to be my BF gift to myself since I resisted spending on impulse.

[glenn bradley]

The benefit will depend on your use case. Watch the videos and see the types of cuts they are used for. You can only use a push stick to finish your cut if the material is enough wider than the guides to allow it. Great for non-through cuts or trimming stuff off the side of a > 3" wide blank that is away from the fence. High quality like most Jess-Em stuff. For my use (hardwood furniture) they are more in the way than of benefit so they were a no-go. I really wanted to like them. Sheet good cabinetry would really benefit. They are great at holding wide, long, unwieldy pieces against the fence during an operation.

[Michael Burnside]

The benefit will depend on your use case. Watch the videos and see the types of cuts they are used for. You can only use a push stick to finish your cut if the material is enough wider than the guides to allow it. Great for non-through cuts or trimming stuff off the side of a > 3" wide blank that is away from the fence. High quality like most Jess-Em stuff. For my use (hardwood furniture) they are more in the way than of benefit so they were a no-go. I really wanted to like them. Sheet good cabinetry would really benefit. They are great at holding wide, long, unwieldy pieces against the fence during an operation.

I pretty much only build hardwood furniture. I find them indispensable. Drawer fronts, hardwood panels, thin rips of wider stock, general clean up after jointing, final dimensioning, etc. and obviously sheet goods. They are fantastic.

When stock is 3” or less I don’t really find I need them. That said on thin stock I often just use the outfeed guide (making sure it’s still right of the blade) and set it far enough back that a push stick can clear the blade. With my hand or feather board on the front this makes for easy work.

[william walton]

Ditto on the value of the TS guides.... best money spent for TS ripping.



(I find the hardest part of the Jessem guides are, setting them on the stock. Its a bit cumbersome. Too low, it resist your push force. too high, insufficient pressure on the stock, thereby the guides not exerting max. pull pressure towards the fence. My technique is, put stock under guide while guide is loose, gently side stock out, lower guide additional 3/16". I wing it by eye, but if I was cutting 50 pieces of same thickness stock, I would be much more meticulous in setting the guide position.)

I am curious how others set theirs?

Proper method of setting is to locate your stock under the arm of each guide adjacent to the wheel, tighten and you will have the proper clearance set.

I've had both table saw and router table versions for a while and they make me feel more accurate and safer as well.

[Tom Bussey]

I have them and yes they are useful for handling sheet goods and wider boards., but I personally do not think they are capable of doing a good of cutting full sized sheets of plywood. But my disclaimer is I am 78 I I have better and easier ways of doing it. So if braking down plywood I would recommend a track saw instead. They sell all kinds of attachments for track saws so it can be precision cut. But sheet good in a half size like 24 x96 or 48x45 hat is where the Jess-Em stuff really shines. I have a set and I am very pleased with them.

For me when the fence gets within about 2 -21/2 inches from the blade and if you are using the blade guard it get so cramped for space that it is hard to even use a push stick. I pull the Jessem off and use feather boards.

As far as the roller system for router tables go, they do not work well at all if using an Incra fence or Incra style fence. The fence tends to spring up and and every thing you hoped to gain is lost. If you fence is fastened or clamped down to the table just behind the fence them they are wonderful. I made it possible for me to use a couple of strap clamps the hold down the fence and now I have the best of both words. If you have an Incra fence that is set up to do all the different cut the fence is designed to do then I would check it out using feather boards and you will see what I mean.

Before I get jumped all over and get called a heretic I just want to say I have both sets and I like them very much. The quality and workmanship are much better than expected. They do everything they claim to do but the ones on YouTube cutting full sheets of plywood are more than likely getting paid to advertise for them. All I am guilty of is writing about the limitations I have encountered while using them. Not every thing that glitters is gold.

[al ladd]

I bought a set to compare them to my Board Buddies, and to my small shop-built power feeder. At 4X the price they are a little easier to install than the Board Buddies, with similar functionality, and at 20% lower price a bit faster yet to install than the power feeder, with no where near the functionality.

For small repetitive work the power feeder is a dream, and either of the hold down systems a pain, because the need for a push stick (if you can even use one), or the pause to pick up a new piece is apt to cause burning. That woodworkers buy these by the thousands shows the power of aesthetics and marketing over utility. They are beautiful objects, and that anodized aluminum makes the Board Buddies look like a relic from another century in comparison, which I suppose they are.

[Rich Aldrich]

I have had them on my table saw since Feb 21. I really like them - I use them to rip narrow strips as well as wide boards. It is tough use a guard with them when ripping narrow strips.

I also put them on my router table after modified the fence similar to the Jessem fence. They are really good on the router table, too.

[Bill Dufour]

Seem very similar to something I bought decades ago for $2.00 at Post tools going out of business sale. Mine track parallel so no side force. Never really used them. From the color I am guessing Reliant made.
Bill D

[Clint Baxter]

I use a long paint stirring stick to push items through when using the Jessem saw guides. It will go past them as long as there is at least a 1/4" gap available. For really narrow rips I also end up having to remove them.

[Wes Grass]

I bought the router table version and made some brackets to adapt them to my Felder saw. They're fine on the RT, but didn't work well on the TS at all. Not sure, but maybe because they don't have the accommodation for material thickness the TS version has? Bought those and shamelessly copied Derek's mount, and they work great.

Dealing with a riving knife mounted blade guard is a pain though.

I've thought about maybe adapting them to the bandsaw as well. Same fence extrusion, and it will mount on either side, so I can just swap them over. It'd be nice to work with the fence to the left of the blade though.

[Alan Lightstone]

I've had them for years, and personally think they work pretty well, except for thin boards.

What is Derek's mount???

[George Yetka]

I have them on TS and router table. Love them. I use them on everything wider than 3" or so. They do an excellent job 100% put holes in your fence for this. Well 99%, I did like storing things on my fence(pencils, 2" paintbrush, wixie angle finder, small push sticks, etc) but I can still get super small push stick, 6" rule, and pencils

[Patrick Varley]

Well 99%, I did like storing things on my fence(pencils, 2" paintbrush, wixie angle finder, small push sticks, etc) but I can still get super small push stick, 6" rule, and pencils

If you have a standard square tube fence rail, perhaps a drawer would help reclaim some of the space:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1194146449/tablesaw-fence-rail-drawer-fits-sawstop

Also, I drilled/tapped holes into my fence so that the assembly can be removed. There are also solutions out there which mount the assembly to a piece of plywood and then use MagSwitches to allow quick removal.

I agree with everyone else that I really like them, except for minor annoyances on closer rips (particularly when dealing with the co-existong SharkGuard). Can't decide if they're really worth $250, but I got them as a gift...so I won't argue.

[George Yetka]

If you have a standard square tube fence rail, perhaps a drawer would help reclaim some of the space:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1194146449/tablesaw-fence-rail-drawer-fits-sawstop

Also, I drilled/tapped holes into my fence so that the assembly can be removed. There are also solutions out there which mount the assembly to a piece of plywood and then use MagSwitches to allow quick removal.

I agree with everyone else that I really like them, except for minor annoyances on closer rips (particularly when dealing with the co-existong SharkGuard). Can't decide if they're really worth $250, but I got them as a gift...so I won't argue.

3d printed one a couple months ago. Honestly I always seem to forget about it.

[Greg Parrish]

For what it’s worth, I’m going to be listing a set for sale later this week. (Probably Thursday before I can get them listed)

They were on my Sawstop PCS with Incra setup. They are mounted on an oak board that has T-Nuts setup to attach to the top T-Slot on the incra fence, and to straddle the center beam. That said, they are easily removed from the board for any other saw, or you could put MagLoks into the board and continue to use it on a sawstop or other fence.

[Wes Grass]

I've had them for years, and personally think they work pretty well, except for thin boards.

What is Derek's mount???

https://www.inthewoodshop.com/Powered%20Tools%20and%20Machinery/JessEm.html

[Jay Moodley]

I received my TS stock guides yesterday - now, do I use the self tapping screws and go direct into my Sawstop T-Glide fence or, do I fork out an additional $100 for the MagSafe 90 and make the guides removable?

What are the pros and cons?

[Aaron Liebling]

I went with the removable magsafe and it works great. That said ... I've never found the need to remove it.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I've found that being able to remove them easily comes handy when they conflict with another jig.

Cliff

[Michael Burnside]

I've found that being able to remove them easily comes handy when they conflict with another jig.

Cliff

My jigs all utilize the JessEm track that is bolted to the fence. I just slide off the guides.

[Patrick Varley]

I received my TS stock guides yesterday - now, do I use the self tapping screws and go direct into my Sawstop T-Glide fence or, do I fork out an additional $100 for the MagSafe 90 and make the guides removable?

What are the pros and cons?

There's a cheaper option to make them removable. You can drill and tap the holes on the fence to accept machine screws. It's then removable, though with a bit more effort. However, it probably depends on how often you'd take them off. I replaced one of my fence faces with T-slot extrusion, so most of my jigs/auxillary fences mount to that. Haven't really found the situation where I routinely have to remove the guides.

[Michael Burnside]

I received my TS stock guides yesterday - now, do I use the self tapping screws and go direct into my Sawstop T-Glide fence or, do I fork out an additional $100 for the MagSafe 90 and make the guides removable?

What are the pros and cons?

I mounted them directly. In 5 years, zero regrets doing so. I use them regularly on every project and find that mostly pivoting out of the way is all I need. Any jigs I have, as needed, utilize the t-track on the guide, making for a stable platform by which to work from. I just slide off the two roller assemblies.

[Jay Moodley]

I really like the idea of drilling and tapping along with using the rail for future jigs. Many thanks!

[William Hodge]

I bought a set to compare them to my Board Buddies, and to my small shop-built power feeder. At 4X the price they are a little easier to install than the Board Buddies, with similar functionality, and at 20% lower price a bit faster yet to install than the power feeder, with no where near the functionality.

For small repetitive work the power feeder is a dream, and either of the hold down systems a pain, because the need for a push stick (if you can even use one), or the pause to pick up a new piece is apt to cause burning. That woodworkers buy these by the thousands shows the power of aesthetics and marketing over utility. They are beautiful objects, and that anodized aluminum makes the Board Buddies look like a relic from another century in comparison, which I suppose they are.

Another vote for a stock feeder. The baby stock feeders are cheap and versatile. The one draw back is sheet goods. I don't use sheet goods, except for crates, so 14 1/2 " max rip width with a stock feeder is fine. The feeder rips wood down to 5/16" wide, and incorporates dust collection. As far as guards, dust collection, and kick back, a feeder is best. Rough ripping rough cut lumber is dangerous without a lot of downward force at a variety of thicknesses. For the same money, there are big old stock feeders out there.

[Dan Rude]

Like these alot. I borrowed the idea that Dave Stanton did using Mag Switches on Youtube JessEm table saw stock guides. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMYbMbTJdH0 Using the Mag Switches, you do not have drill your fence. I also made some other jigs to use the same mounting system.