New Woodcraft Tenonning Jig....

[Dennis Peacock]

OK....here it is...."gloat".......

I have been cutting a lot of tenons lately and almost got a hand cut on the TS twice.....LOML decided it was time to invest in something to cut tenons with that would be a lot safer during the cutting process.

Needless to say.....I took her up on her offer for another tool or jig for the shop. :)

This is the jig Woodcraft is offering for $69. I figured since it was $30 cheaper than the Delta jig, I went for it. So here is my initial review of the tenon jig.......

The cast iron is rough around the edges and the machining was just OK. Overall, the jig is well built and very solid and smooth in operation and adjustment. The instructions were pretty good to be in import and alignment of the jig was really simple and only took me about 25 minutes to dial it all in alignment on the TS. The accuracy of the cut tenon after alignment was within .01" according to my dial calipers. The cuts were both square and parallel. Adjustment for the miter slot on the TS was very easy and produced no slop after tweaking the adjustment screws built into the miter bay. The miter bar on this jig is for "T" slots and works really well. Except for one nut being threadless out of the box, assembly was easy and right according to the instructions. I simply found a replacement nut and completed the assembly. All else was in really good shape and I am pleased with this jig overall. It sure does make cutting tenons a lot more accurate and easier and safer that they way I have been cutting them.

All this said....here are the pics.

[Jim Becker]

Do you think they could have made it any greener??? :D

Thanks for the review on yet another nice alternative product to the more expensive "brand name" stuff.

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

Except for the paint, that looks exactly like the delta! Sounds like a good deal. My preference to use a stacked dado/ts to cut tenons over using the jig. Maybe you have a method of work that is better then mine with the jig and could share it.

The reason I prefer the dado blade over the jig is cutting the cheek pieces free after the jig has done it's job. I do this cut with a reg. kerf blade on the TS. I found if I were using a dado blade, I pretty much just had cut the tenon anyway and didn't need the jig.

Have you come up with an alternate method that works faster with the jig ?

Would you care to share how you had the close calls with you hands ? Possibly a hidden danger I've yet to discover.

Thanks

[Dominic Greco]

Dennis,
Thanks for posting this review. I was very curious about this jig when I saw it advertised in the latest Woodcraft flyer. I was worried that it would be "el cheapo" construction compared to the Delta. But it looks amazingly similar to it.

It's too bad I was given a $50.00 gift certificate to Woodworker's Warehouse (Xmas present) or I'd buy this one from Woodcraft. Woodcraft may be more expensive at times, but I really trust their quality.

See ya around the Creek,
Dominic

[Kevin Beck]

I purchased this jig today at Woodcraft ($59 on sale). The instructions are good and it is easy to assemble. It was covered with grease but was fairly easy to clean up.

On my Jet contractors saw I am having trouble using the jig's miter bar with the T-slot washers installed. The distance between the bottom of the jig and the top of the t-slot washer is just slightly too short to fit in the miter slot of the saw. I think putting a small washer between the t-slot washer and the miter bar might fix the problem.

Has anybody used this jig on a Jet contractors saw with the T slot washers in place? Did you have to do any "adjustments" to make it work?

TIA

Kevin

[Dennis Peacock]

I purchased this jig today at Woodcraft ($59 on sale). The instructions are good and it is easy to assemble. It was covered with grease but was fairly easy to clean up.

On my Jet contractors saw I am having trouble using the jig's miter bar with the T-slot washers installed. The distance between the bottom of the jig and the top of the t-slot washer is just slightly too short to fit in the miter slot of the saw. I think putting a small washer between the t-slot washer and the miter bar might fix the problem.

Has anybody used this jig on a Jet contractors saw with the T slot washers in place? Did you have to do any "adjustments" to make it work?

TIA

Kevin


Kevin,

My Jet Cabinet Saw has the T-Slot and the jig works very well....the adjustment screws in the miter bar make for no slop in the operation of the tenonning jig.

[Scott Coffelt]

I bought one when William Alden was around for $60.

[Kevin Beck]

I spent a little more time diagnosing why the tenoning jig was having trouble with my Jet's left miter slot. The left miter slot was about 6/1000 too small on one end. I used some fine grit sandpaper and some Flitz metal polish on the miter slot and the jig works fine now.

Kevin

[Paul Geer]

Maybe not a big thing with anyone els but I like that wheel insted of the crank handle that comes with the Delta. Kinda like the PowerMatic we have at the "at work" shop.