Anyone have a Jessem Mast R slide 7500?

[Dan Mitchell]

Mast R slide (http://www.jessem.com/mast_r_slide.htm)

I'm considering one of these. Anyone have any experience with them, or similar items? I think Rockler has a cheaper alternative (or had, can't seem to find it on their site, I don't mean the 33113 sled), and others make examples which seem suited mainly for crosscutting plywood. I'm mainly interested in high-precision crosscuts of smaller stock. Any thoughts (other than OUCH! in reference to the price ;-) ?

TIA

Dan

[Frederick Rowe]

I've had one on my Unisaw for almost two years and I love it. High quality, smooth, and a larger capacity than it first appears. The fence is great, although it is so smooth I placed 800 grit adhesive sandpaper on it's face for some grab. The miter set up has no stops, and it is quite accurate but I find myself using a square against the blade when I've moved it (there are three positions depending on the size of your cross cut). Some people prefer factory stops, but with a drafting square for whatever angle you're after I find it easy, quick, and repeatable.

Take your time setting it up, read the directions carefully then play with the adjustments so you understand what axis you are moving. It needs to be made to slide level, co-planer and parallel to/with the table. Once mine was set properly it hasn't moved since.

It isn't cheap, but the extrusions and bearings are first rate. There really is no comparable product in that it doesn't rely on an outrigger. It is nice to be able to square up large pieces without having to build a dedicated sled. You also won't need an after market miter gauge either. I've seen plenty of positive comments, if you don't get many postings here, just search past threads.

[Larry Fox]

I have one on my Uni as well and agree with pretty much everything Frederick said.

[Gary Herrmann]

I've got one on my General 650. Very happy with it. Don't think of it as a sliding table. It's more of a built in sled that angles. Very handy.

[Mark Carlson]

I have one on a General 650 too. Also very happy. The thing is very solid and accurate. I waited for a Woodcraft 10% off sale.

~mark

[Charles Green]

I have one on my Craftsman 22124 and love it.

Rockler sells it with a different color aluminum but it is the exact same unit and price.

[Tim Sproul]

I'm mainly interested in high-precision crosscuts of smaller stock. Any thoughts (other than OUCH! in reference to the price ;-) ?


I have the Rockler blue one. It is good but expect to spend quite some time setting it up. A couple hours if you're lucky or if you don't have really high precision tolerances to an entire day to dial it in. You can save a few bones by purchasing the Rockler one with a 20% or 25% email coupon. They are sent out at fairly frequent intervals from my local Rockler.

For what you want - precision crosscuts in smaller stock - a good CMS is a better power tool than a sliding table on a table saw. In my very unhumble opinion.

[Doug Mason]

I guess I'm in the minority here!

I had one but went back to my crosscut sled. I found it to be more trouble than it was worth--and too small/delicate for decent size plywood cuts.

Mine is for sale - 1/2 off (but you have to pick it up--I won't ship).

[Matt Benton]

I tried it out at Rockler, and really liked its operation, but couldn't quite spend that much.

I got their Mite-R-Excel miter gauge instead for $132 after the 30% cashback from Microsoft. If it's half as solid as it looks, it should do the job...

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. After posting here, I read some more negative remarks on the Jessem at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000G1KNXC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1) which were a bit off-putting, concerning setup & Jessem support, as is the fact that I'd have to cut the front tube & rails of my 1-year-old PM2000 to mount the table. Seems like a really good concept, especially for someone like me, who's a bit of an obsessive when it comes to accuracy/fit. But I'm not sure the execution & accuracy are all they should be, given what the Jessem costs & what it requires you to do to your saw. I'd like to hear any user comments on this & the Amazon remarks.

Thanks again.

Dan

[frank shic]

dan, don't be too discouraged by the folks who cut their fence rails. a lot of times you can just rebore the screw holes and shift the entire rail over to the right which is what i did for my sliding table.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I was a bit apprehensive at first, being very anal retentive about altering my machines or permanently disfiguring. The I said "What the h@#$ and shortened the rail. Haven't been sorry yet and it looks like it's supposed to be that way.

[Gary Herrmann]

Dan, you're replacing a cast iron wing and adding a sliding table. Having it perfectly flat with the rest of the table saw surface is like having any perfectly flat woodworking tool surface. Great in theory, hard to attain in reality.

I spent a couple hours tweaking mine and am satisfied with the results. I did measure in thousandths of an inch, given my anal nature. I did cut my rails and got that set up to my satisfaction as well.

You're the only one that will be able to say whether you're willing to jump in and get it set up to your satisfaction.

[Dave Rose]

You don't have to cut your rails, maybe a couple of inches. I saw no good reason to remove the extension wing and mounted mine right to it.;)




Table Saw.jpg (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=98291&stc=1&d=1223510669)


Once set up, it is very accurate and holds its settings.

I would definitely buy again.

[Cary Swoveland]

I bought one (for a Sawstop) and found the table was warped. It took months to get that replaced, after many calls to Jessem, due to absolutely horrible customer support. When I finally received the replacement part, it took some time to get it adjusted properly. Once adjusted, however, it works well, and I've very happy with it.

I square it using the "4-cut" method, and find that it stays square after removing and replacing the sled. (The "4-cut" [sometimes called "5-cut"] method requires four successive cuts from a rectangular sheet, each ninety degrees (or nearly so) from the previous. After making the last cut, one measures the width of each end of the last offcut. If the measurements are the same, the fence is square; else, adjust the fence [one can compute the adjustment required] and repeat the procedure.)

Cary

[Mark Carlson]

The table on my 1st Jessem slider was warped. Jessem said it would take 2 months to replace so I just returned it to Woodcraft and got a new one. Since I always order over the internet it was easy to call Woodcraft and ask for an exchange. They even had fedex/ups pickup the return. I just left it by the back door and a new one appeared.

~mark

[Dan Mitchell]

You don't have to cut your rails, maybe a couple of inches. I saw no good reason to remove the extension wing and mounted mine right to it.

Dave - Thanks for the reply & pic. I have a PM2000 as well. Retaining the wing, it looks like you'd have to either cut off ~3" or shift the tube that far to the right. Looks like you cut yours. This seems like a good approach, an added bonus is you don't lose any of/have to remake your outfeed table.

I'm assuming you just drilled bolt holes in the outer edge of the wing, correct?

One problem with shifting the tube to the right is your tape is then off.

Removing the wing on this saw would require cutting the tube & front rail, modifying the outfeed table, and relocating the power switch, which seems excessive to me

Thanks all for the input.

Dan