Tenoning jig-Woodcraft??

[Jerry Olexa]

Always wanted a dedicated tenoning jig as opposed to my homemade wooden throw together. Woodcraft has their tenon jig on sale this month @ an attractive price (about $55). Any of you have experience with it either good or bad??Or do you prefer others?? I won't buy till i get your advice. Thanks guys...

[Scott D Johnson]

I have nothing to compare it to, but it works good for me. It is heavy and has a good "fine adjustment screw". IMHO, it is one of those things that no matter who manufactures it, the concept is the same. Of course, some people may complain of the "durability" of the finish. This seems to be an area where many "import made tools", differentiate themselves from the "brand name". I do notice some of the paint flaking on it and it has only seen light use. Still makes square cuts though. My opinion is qualified by "I am a hobbyist only".

[Mark Rios]

Jerry, about two years ago when I had really big ideas :rolleyes: :D , I did some research and the tenoning jig that most reviews liked was the Delta 34-184. It was a big, honkin', heavy thing. Here it is at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006S7C7/qid=1153318772/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9429181-2090267?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013

It looks different now so it must have gone through some changes. Whether or not it's the same as two years ago, I don't know.

[Bob Childress]

Jerry, I've got my eye on that same jig. Let's see what everybody says.

[Jerry Olexa]

The new Sept06 issue of American WWer has a review on tenon jigs. They liked the Delta but said it was pricey. They said buy Griz or the woodcraft with essentially same features except 2 handles on the Delta.

[Allen Bookout]

Well Hello Jerry---I'm back,

I have the Grizzly and really like it. It is just under $60 and comes with a pretty good manual. I think that it is the same as the one that Woodcraft sells. The Grizzly has two handles just like the Delta. From the pictures they look pretty much the same but cannot comment on the quality as I have never seen the Delta in person.

Which ever one that you get you are going to love it if you have to make very many tenons.

Allen

[DaYooper]

I have both the Woodcraft version and the Delta 34-184 version. I think the Delta is a little more refined than the Woodcraft with nicer handles and knobs and perhaps a little better fit and finish. That said, the Woodcraft functions just as well as the Delta in my limited experience.

The only reason I have both is because I had a Woodcraft version but picked up a couple of Delta versions on sale. If anyone wants the extra, NIB Delta that I have for $75, drop me a PM.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Scott D Johnson]

The Woodcraft and the Grizzly look identical other than the shape of the 2 handles.

[Greg Koch]

Delta has two listed. 34-183 and 34-184. Anyone know the differences? Handles are different, the 183 appears to be slightly bigger and not the "Delta" grey color..


Here's the Grizzly
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Woodworking/th_Grizzlyjig.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Woodworking/Grizzlyjig.jpg)

And here's the Delta
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Woodworking/th_Deltajig.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/kgregc/Woodworking/Deltajig.jpg)

Besides the handles, same looks like the exact same jig to me...

[Paul Prescott]

Recently bought thw Woodcraft jig on sale. have only "experimented" with it so far but it works great. The manual leaves a bit to be desired. I downloaded the Griz manual - same jig, better manual.

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/manuals/H7583_m.pdf

[Kirk Poore]

Jerry:

I bought the jig a few months ago and have used it quite a bit. It was easy to alter for my left-tilt Powermatic, easy to adjust to fit the miter slot, and fairly simple to set up. It did come with a lot of oddball sized allen wrenches for setup & adjustment, but if you keep them together with the jig that shouldn't be a problem. I painted some marks on the fine adjust knob so I can make it easier to repeat setups. It's heavier that I expected, and works quite well. I haven't had any experience with other jigs, but this has been worth the money to me. I got mine on sale too, it came to about $60 including tax.

Kirk Poore

[Allen Bookout]

I am not real sure about the difference in the 34-183 and 34-184 but when looking on the Delta web site the 183 says that it can be used with either right or left tilt saws and the 184 makes no mention of it even though it is listed as a "universal" tenon jig.

Here is an interesting thread on the subject. Jesse says that his 184 is adjustable for left tilt. Ed, that started the thread, has one of the models with no holes to convert it.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=39642&highlight=tenon

Beats me.

All that I can say for sure is that the Grizzly can be converted to left or right tilt saws and works good.

[Ron Blaise]

Always wanted a dedicated tenoning jig as opposed to my homemade wooden throw together. Woodcraft has their tenon jig on sale this month @ an attractive price (about $55). Any of you have experience with it either good or bad??Or do you prefer others?? I won't buy till i get your advice. Thanks guys...
Jerry:
American Woodworker Magazine, September issue, Tool Talk: Tenoning Jigs, has a great article on best features (Delta beat everybody elses).

[Jack Norfleet]

I have the 34-184 and it works great on my left tilt unisaw.

[Allen Bookout]

Ron,

I do not get the American Woodworker Magazine and am wondering what is better about the Delta. Is it the quality of the jig? Or the operating features? Or both?

DaYooper says that he has both and the Delta has better finish but both the Delta and Woodcraft work equally well.

Allen

[Larry Fox]

Jerry, I also have the green one from Woodcraft and have been quite satisfied with it. The fine adjustment feature is nice and performs well. I have nothing to compare it to except an earlier shop made one and I can tell you that it performes much better.

[glenn bradley]

I have the Rockler version (close cousin). With a little shop-upgrade to the measurement scale It has worked very well for me; tenons, bridal joints, etc. Well worth the $60 I paid for it.

[Al Willits]

As a newbie, I picked up the woodcraft jig and right out of the box it made perfect tennons.
Considering I haven't a clue about wood working and tennons, I'd say if it works well for me, I'd think it'd work well for most anybody.

If your looking for pretty, I'd get one of the higher priced units, ya just want good tennons, the woodcraft one will work just fine.

Only problem I had was the track that rides in the TS bed was a bit to tight, I used a thin copper spacer to correct that, might have been the saw or unit, don't know, but it works fine now.

Al

[Jeremy Gibson]

I believe the latest Delta has two handles - both on the jig base. The article stated that with one or two handles on the support it *may* twist the work. So...Delta with 2 handles on base = best; jigs with one handle on base and one on support = good; jigs with both handles on support = fair-poor. These are my ratings to paraphrase the article.

No affiliation with anyone. BTW, I have the Griz jig. Not used but it is substantial.

[Greg Koch]

Jerry:
American Woodworker Magazine, September issue, Tool Talk: Tenoning Jigs, has a great article on best features (Delta beat everybody elses).
Ron,

Which Delta is rated best, the 183 or the 184? Is there a link to the article that you can read?

[Terry Flowers]

Jerry, how much is the shipping at Woodcraft, or are you getting that price at a local store? It is such a heavy sucker, with shipping the cost might be close to the Delta at Amazon with free shipping. I also saw a mag review somewhere that rated the Delta highest.

Terry

[Allen Bookout]

I am not anti Delta as I have a Uni, Delta bandsaw and Delta drill press and like them all but when I read the reviews at Amazon about the Delta tenon jig I was really supprised at the low ratings. I do not know how much stock to put into the reviews, but after reading them it sure would steer me in another direction unless I had something to shift me back toward Delta. And for $99 on top of that compared to $55 or $60 plus shipping. I also do not know if you get the 15% off, but even if you do the cost is still $84.15.

[HR masters]

I bought one of the green copies of delta and jet at the sale price back awhile ago, it is easy to work with and I've had no problems with it. I have only used it for cutting spline grooves on the picture frames I make though. Hr

[Jerry Olexa]

Ron,

I do not get the American Woodworker Magazine and am wondering what is better about the Delta. Is it the quality of the jig? Or the operating features? Or both?

DaYooper says that he has both and the Delta has better finish but both the Delta and Woodcraft work equally well.

Allen


Allen, AW says Delta has same features as Griz and Woodcraft but also has 2 handles which they say is desirable. They advised to save the $ and buy the Grizzly. Oh well...

[Jerry Olexa]

Ron,

Which Delta is rated best, the 183 or the 184? Is there a link to the article that you can read?

Greg, they liked the 2 handle version which is 184. HTH

[Jerry Olexa]

Jerry, how much is the shipping at Woodcraft, or are you getting that price at a local store? It is such a heavy sucker, with shipping the cost might be close to the Delta at Amazon with free shipping. I also saw a mag review somewhere that rated the Delta highest.

Terry

In stock @ local store. No shipping.

[J. Greg Jones]

The January/February issue of Fine Woodworking also picked the Delta 34-184 as the best overall jig and the Yorkcraft 7868 as the best value. They liked the fact that the Delta 184 has a lock/release button to simplify adjusting the jig.

[glenn bradley]

What J. Greg said.

[J. Greg Jones]

Here are some pictures of my 34-184, set up for a left-tilt saw.

http://homepage.mac.com/jgregjones/.Pictures/Shop/Saw/DTG01.jpg


http://homepage.mac.com/jgregjones/.Pictures/Shop/Saw/DTG02.jpg


http://homepage.mac.com/jgregjones/.Pictures/Shop/Saw/DTG03.jpg

[Allen Bookout]

Well I will say this: It is a good looking jig and would fit my cabinetsaw decor with the Delta colors. But mine is so dusty now that you can hardly tell what color it is.

[Gary Swart]

I'll bet a front handle could easily be added to the Grizzly. At least that's what I'm going to try when I get mine.

[Mark Rios]

OOOOoooohhhhhhh, J. Greg, that is a VERY nice looking set-up you've got there. Nice, clean and sharp looking.

[Allen Bookout]

I'll bet a front handle could easily be added to the Grizzly. At least that's what I'm going to try when I get mine.

Gary,

I do not think that you are going to need to add anything to the Grizzly. It works great just the way that it is.

Allen

[Mike Jory]

Jerry;
I also shopped around for quit a while before pulling the trigger on the Woodcraft Jig. Money was certainly a significant percentage of my decision. I've cut with it quit a few times. Made several jewelry boxes with lids that have breadboard joints. All seemed ok with this jig.

When I took it home, I took it completly apart, cleaned the packing grease off of everything, cleaned and waxed all the non painted surfaces. I added a board to the verticle plate to help the material being cut to stand off from the frame. Maybe my stock was thin.

A friend had just bought a Delta jig from a WoodWorking Show and wasn't impressed. Although he supposes it "just works.":cool:
I'm pleased with my purchase and didn't over spend. For the current price it seems pretty attractive.
Good Luck with your decision.
Mike

[Luciano Burtini]

Do you think that there is really any difference amongst the jigs? I am asking this in all seriousness. Here are the main jigs and it looks to me that, with the exception of the new Delta 34-184 and possibly the Jet and the General, they are all made in the same factory using the same molds. The Jet/Powermatic and General look like they are possibly the same jig.

The only difference I can see between manufacturers is the offset between the runner and the blade and maybe the fit/finish. Makes you wonder sometimes how the name brands can justify the large price discrepancies.

http://show.imagehosting.us/show/1461977/0/nouser_1461/T0_-1_1461977.JPG

That being said, I like the General because it matches my saw :).
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/1461981/0/nouser_1461/T0_-1_1461981.jpg
General 50-050

[Bart Leetch]

I think I'll get the Grizzly tenon jig when I do my Unisaw is so mixed up with a Grizzly motor & Shopfox fence it wouldn't know the difference anyway.

It has a Grey & Red paint scheme its a Rebel against whats considered normalcy of any kind . :p :D

[John Bush]

I have the Delta 183 and it looks very similar to all the others. I have a Sawstop and the dimension from the blade to the miter slot is wider than my old saw and this jig doesn't extend far enough be usable. Does anyone know of another jig design that extends further?? I called SS and they weren't aware of this issue and didn't know if the slot to blade measurement of the SS was consistent with any other machine/manufacturer. This may be more consistent with saws that have a larger table size like a PM 14"er etc. Any info would be helpful. Thanks, JCB.

[Greg Koch]

I believe this is a PM jig.

[John Bush]

Hi Greg,
I checked the jig when I got home and I may be able to add a wooden shim plate to advance toward the blade enough. It may work. Let me know when you would like to try the jig. JCB.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have the cheaper Delta, and needed a replacement handle. Went to Woodcraft, and their jig was same jig. Their handle fits perfectly. I don't know if jig wiil also be discounted an additional 10% on the 27th. I would sure ask.

[Jerry Olexa]

I finally got over to Woodcraft this AM and bought the Woodcraft Tenon jig. For $55, a pretty good value IMHO..The S/M said they are patterned after the Delta unit and now that Delta is going to a different config (2 handles I think), they were allowed this "sale". I'll let u know how my new toy errrr tool works out...Thanks guys..btw Sale ends Wednesday!!