98 comments on this post:

1. John.

   Granted, I had only one coffee this morning – but I’m a little confused by these bullet points:
   •The 18″ fence on the Jointmaker Pro does not look very nice, but will work.
   •The 12″ fence on a table saw sled looks dinky. But it will work.

   Roger.

2. Layaways? 😉

3. Roger,

   We are simply stating that you can get whatever you want, and that we have an aesthetic bias.

   -John

4. Roger, let me translate Economese for you:

   • The 12″ fence will look great on a JMP
   • The 18″ fence will look great on a table saw
   • Not vice versa

   Hope this helps.

   – Peter

5. Thank you Peter, I thought that was the case – but I got a little whiplashed when I was thinking about it too much in “Ecomomese”.

   In actual fact it’s actually a 24″ fence verses a 36″ fence – total.

   John, So in the first photo of the previous Blog post (nov 21) – What I am looking at is the 12″ fence (or 24″ total) – Right?

   Its been a long day.

   roger

6. John said:
   The Pivot Clamps are $69 apiece.
   The Elbow Clamps are $49 apiece.

   David asks:
   One of each is essential. Is it necessary/beneficial to buy more than one?

7. Roger-

   The only time we illustrated the 18″ version is on the table saw sled image. So, yes, you are looking at the 12″ fences on the JMPv2

   We anticipate that some folks may want to put the 18″ fences on the JMP and I am suggesting that they stick out a bit requiring a larger footprint for the saw. Visually it looks awkward too.
   But it is possible if one desires the added capacity.

   –John

8. David;

   For the majority of crosscut needs, one of each clamp would be all that is required. When you unbridge the fence, and angle one, or both fences to the blade, then a second set of clamps would be really convenient.

   –John

9. Peter-

   Thanks for the translation. You were spot on. Now where were you when I was raising teenagers?

   –John

10. I hope I understand this correctly, the protractor comes with a bias arm, but you can buy another one for $89 if you wish to have two, is this correct?

11. Jorge-

    The Miter/Tenon Kit consists of the Protractor Plate, the Arm and the “C” Clamp. To use, you would remove the blue and black fingers (two screws each), position the two head assemblies together, and attach the protractor plate with the same four screws. This set-up is now ready to be used and can be adjusted with the micrometer dial. At this point, the bridge between the two fences is still attached.

    If you want to cut two different angles, or one miter cut on one table and a tenon on the other, you would need a second Miter/Tenon kit. With this set-up, the bridge would be removed.

    The Bias Arm is a separate purchase but does not come with the protractor plate because it replaces the Miter/Tenon Arm. It does come with a “V” groove clamp pad that you can thread on the “C” clamp so you can clamp down on the corner without damaging your stock.

    Hope this makes sense.

    –John

12. John.

    Question regarding the disappearing BCTW 6 inch rule trick, in regards to the new fence. I’m referring to when I was up in Portland and u had a stack of 6 inch rules that u were using as a diminishing stop on the Jmp in
    V v v.order to cut a sequence of either slots in

13. Roger-

    Not sure we got your entire post, but I do know what you are talking about.

    I use a bunch of scrap 6″ steel rule blanks as ganged spacers. Made a cut, removed a rule, shifted my stock and made the next cut. Work great for equally spaced cuts. But what a major pain in the arse. They flopped out of place on the return stroke and needed a substantial amount of side pressure to stay put.

    As a matter of fact, it was this need to equally space cuts that prompted me to take on the fence system as a project. Now, I can move a stop in .050 increments simply by stepping from one thread to the next. But better yet, I can set any step I want. This is awesome for decorative cuts and other uses I have planned.

    In the original JMP video we showed kerf bending–for the spacing I used a stack of business cards and removed three cards per cut. That too was a major PITA.

    When the production versions hit the street, we will show you things that have never been done before and will prompt anybody with a creative gene to explore the possibilities.

    –John

14. The trials of posting from an iPhone.
    Yes, that moment.
    But, my pointed question is will the micro adjust have a “clicking action” so to make the diminishing sequence simpler. Rather that having to look each time as u dial down.

15. Roger-
    I have a proof of concept prototype in my office that I play with every day. You can get real adept at hopping threads real fast, and you do feel the click–and because the rule reads in 10th’s with a .050 hash mark, you can get to where you want to go real quick.

    I do understand this may be a problem/issue for you considering the view out of your shop–I wouldn’t want to be looking at a rule either.

    –John

16. Well, you got my money, now hurry, hurry, hurry. 🙂

17. Jorge-Nobody wants one of these more than I do!

    Thanks for your continued patronage!

    –John

18. John,

    I know it’s late,
    but I’m nnot seeing the breakdown within “The Works” of what is exactly encluded. Also is there a “works” package available for the SW?

    thanks, roger

19. Will the tenon mitre jig fit on the single wing fence? if not would you consider making one?

20. John,

    RE the table saw fence: This is a natural application and I think a smart offering for you as there are a lot more table saws than JMPs out there (so far that is….). I have a couple of suggestions about this though. I have making a cross cut sled on my “shop list” and am planning to get it done this year. I talked this over with Doug Dale at MASW (probably the best power tool jig maker alive). I would like to offer a couple of suggested accessories for the “table saw crowd”..
    1.) a set of miter slot guides with step washers to lock in the sled would be really a good idea. When you pull the sled clear back, you want it to be kept level by the step washers (similar to what comes on a miter gauge). Without this feature, the sled can drop down off of the table and create some potential issues.
    2.) When using a cross cut sled the circular saw needs to pass through the fence (as we know) to make a cut. It would be great to have a nice guard made for the back side of the fence to keep the saw blade from being exposed at the end of the cut. This is a safety consideration. Along with this, you need to have a stop made for the travel of the sled to avoid pushing it too far forward.
    3.) finally, a blade guard traversing between the two arches would be a very good idea to keep fingers out of the circular saw blade.

    Just some ideas for you to ponder on. With the JMP you have inherantly eliminated some power tool hazards, but now you have crossed over “ever so slightly” into the realm of power tools with this offering (which I think is great) – adding safety features would make the offering much more interesting I think.

    DJ

21. Ok, I just tsaw the first part of my question.

22. “The stops are adjustable in both perpendicularity to the tables and in parallelism to the blade. ”

    I follow how they flip up parallel to the blade, but what keeps then the bottom from hitting the base plate when rotating perpendicular to the blade?

    The blue stops are tied to the drive screw, and the black stops are free?

    What is the function of the notches in on the blue stops?

    Are there any JMPv2 remaining from the latest run?

    It’s looking good!

23. Roger;

    The “Works” package which is good through this coming Monday, consists of:
    1-12″ Right Fence and two stops
    1-12″ Left Fence and two stops
    1-Tenon/Miter Attachment which includes the integral “C” Clamp
    1-Bias Arm (attaches to the Tenon/Miter baseplate)
    1- “V” groove clamp pad for use with the integral “C” clamp mentioned above which will fit in the Bias Arm.
    1- Elbow Clamp
    1- Pivot Clamp
    and free shipping.

    There is no works package for the SW other than the free shipping through Monday.

    -John

24. The Tenon/Miter Attachment will fit the the SW, it attaches to the fence stops.

    -John

25. Dennis;

    We could very easily make an acrylic blade guard that prevents fingers from crossing the cutting plane on the back side of the fence. Great suggestion.

    Step washers are both a benefit and a pain.

    I will address the blade guard issue on each side of the fence–it is smart.

    Great suggestions–thanks for posting.

    -John

26. The stops have nylon screws that contact the MDF backing board–they adjust so the fingers can be dead perpendicular to the tables. This is there because you may want to make your own custom whatever that will screw to the finger stops.

    The same nylon screw system is mandatory on the Miter/Tenon Accessory because you do not want to introduce a compound cut on a straight miter cut, therefore the purple baseplate needs to be dead square to the tables.

    The black stops also index to the lead screw. In order for this fence system to hold things that you have yet to see, I needed a firm foundation, hence the two stops. The blue stop is indexed to the micrometer adjustor, the black is not, meaning that it moves when you adjust the blue stop (if engaged) it has no reference to the micrometer dial OR the rule–and that is why it is black.

    The crescent notches in the blue stops are transition cuts and serve no purpose other than aesthetics–if possible I try to remove cantilevered corners–they look unprofessional.

    –John

27. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

    -John

28. Quick question: What should auto-order customers expect to have ordered automatically?

29. Neither the JMP Precision Fence System nor the Table Saw Sled Kits are Auto-Order items–all Auto-Order customers will need to get in the order queue if interested in either of these offerings.

    -John

30. Thank you, John!

    My order is now in the queue.

31. THANK YOU!

    -John

32. John,

    In order to have the best of both worlds,
    Tell me why I would not want to order the JMP “Fence works kit” with one fence being metric and the other imperial? I don’t think I see a conflict with any operation since the blade is “0” and any thing that one would need to measure off from a blade cut – one would cut off into the desirable measurement system.

    I work mainly in an imperial world, but I think the more I venture into the unlimited depths that will open with the JMP-new Fence marriage the more I may want to have “metric” as my partner.

    roger

    I brought this up on talkfestool, but I don’t think I explained my reasoning well enough. (Michael had mentioned that the rod running thru the metric version would be metric as well.
    Which killed my earlier thought of just being able to swap out the knobs.)

33. Roger-

    Your question is valid.

    First, we can accommodate your request easily and there is zero cost impact.

    The Imperial system uses a lead screw that moves the heads .050″ per rev. The metric lead screw advances the heads 1mm per rev. They are really close to being similar, and close enough (in my opinion) for woodworking that they are virtually identical. “Resolution” is not worth debating in my opinion.

    Your idea has merit because I believe there are serious issues with the Imperial measuring system. For example, what is 1/3 of 13-13/32nds? Now what is 1/3 of 340.5 mm? One of these is so primitive it is just plain stupid.

    Here is one example where an in/mm split fence could be problematic; let’s say you are making small drawers and the long side is 4.25 inches and the short is 3.25 inches. Both of these cuts could be done utilizing stops on both fences. That is convenient. Working simultaneously in two systems is not.

    Here is another example; I have on the drawing board a bridge that would connect the two offset tables together–one is further ahead than the other. This would allow you to have two unique setups, one on the left, and one on the right and you could make both cuts simultaneously. That is efficient–particularly if a large qty of parts is involved. I can envision the convenience of the same measuring system and I can envision the inconvenience of two. It is still on the drawing board because table travel is finite-the advance table theoretically would run out of travel first, meaning the lagging table may not make it to the end of the blade. It works on smaller pieces, but not larger. I don’t know that we will offer it, but it is on my mind and serves as a point to your question.

    So to answer your question, if you are going to add this fence system to one of your saws, follow your instinct and request an inch/mm split fence. At ANY TIME, if it turns out awkward, let us know-we will convert the “bad” half at our expense just to validate your experiment.

    –John

34. John,

    Thank you for your gracious response.
    My feeling is that the “inch/mm split fence” is the way to go. I’m still functioning in an imperial world with metric expeditions.

    Now, the stress of deciding which way the split is going to go!

    All that aside for a moment, how crowded would it be on the rail top for a inch/mm readout? – Of course knowing full well that the micro adjust knob would be one or the other.

    hmmm,
    Also,would it not make it easier on the production side not to have to sets of measurements imprinted?

    -roger

35. John,

    Good morning,

    New question concerning the “read” of the measurement of the stops.
    It’s unclear to me from the pictures if the measurement on the rail is read from the edge of the stop (on top) or if one is reading an offset measurement thru a plastic magnifier embedded in the top of the stop.

    (in your first photo on the order page where u are viewing the JMP from behind with the left rail stop down and the right side stop is up – it “seems” as though after the shadow line there is a magnifier rather than two metal parts forming the hinge motion.)

    -roger

36. John,

    Good morning again,
    (I’m on a roll here)

    Referencing your blog post from Nov 10th, second picture down in the earlier “one rail version” you had the opening “cutout” to accommodate an angled position of the blade.
    In the new split rail version with the bias attachment I’m aware that you don’t need to angle the blade, but,,,,,,,,,,
    If you did – how does the split rail accommodate that function? I am aware that one could pull apart the two rails – but in that case should there not be another “larger” or wider bridge element included in order to lock the two rails together when cutting with the blade itself angled?

    -roger

37. John,

    Still on my first coffee,,,,,

    Regarding the “THE MITER/TENON ATTACHMENT”,
    The vertical bar that holds the c-clamp – it appears that there are 3 positions from which the c-clamp could be anchored in order to hold the workpiece. Call me crazy, but it seems that in some cases (especially long stock) I would want to hold the piece in two places, let’s say the bottom (the position where it is pictured) and at the top most spot. Are additional clamps going to be available.
    and,
    do you agree with my thought process here?

    -roger

38. John,

    hmmm,
    Regarding the Bias arm,
    In the element to which the c-clamp is attached to there appears to be 3 slots to which to mount the c-clamp. Why are there not two “set screw slots”? on either side of the wider (yet narrower?) middle anchor slot in which to attach the c-clamp?

    -roger

39. John,

    hi.
    Regarding the “Elbow Clamp”,,,,,
    In the picture on the order page you have it positioned where it is reaching out to the table nestled between the fence base and the top rail. I see an application where I would want to raise it’s operational position to where it is reaching out to the table ABOVE the rail – Could you see that working /and provide (as an option) an extension to attach to the fence base?

40. John,
    ok,
    Regarding the elbow clamp where it attaches to the fence base – it appears that it (not seeing the detail) connects to the center in what appears to be a 1/4 -20 hole. Since that is the only base per fence is it possible to double stack them if one wanted two of the far reaching elbow clamps per table? My guess is that a slip spacer could be placed between the top of one and the bottom of the top one.?

    -roger

41. Roger,

    Roger, a dual readout would be really confusing because the lead screw either needs to be metric or imperial.

    I don’t understand your last question, but the rules need to be moveable to index the entire system, they attach to the traverse bars via screws.

    -John

42. Roger-

    When you angle the blade with this system you will need to shift the entire fence to avoid a blade crash-it is tooless, and involves one knob. You loose the ability to index, but I may have just figured out how to avoid that as I write… 🙂

    -John

43. Roger- the clamps friction fit into those slots by an adjustable nylon set screw that is in the clamp, not the arm.

    The arms are unisex so the will work on either the right or left side of the blade.

    -John

44. Roger, that will work- a stack of washers will raise a second elbow clamp.

    -John

45. Roger-you can double stack the elbow clamps, but only one will go under the traverse bar, the other must go over, and your stock needs to be tall enough to avoid running out of clamp screw. If that happens you will need a wood shim out of scrap to engage the clamp pad.

    -John

46. John,

    Thank you for your answers, it cleared up questions- except for,,,,,

    Follow-up question on #38,,,,,
    Why is the middle slot on the Tenon/Miter Arm where the c-clamp is connected not the same as the other two. (It appears smaller) If the holes on the upright bar are not to attach the c-clamps – what are their functions?
    .

    On # 41,,,,,
    Since the rules are moveable (very good!) Then if one were to order a split fence and soon after wanting to switch the split so the split is imperial/mm rather than mm/imperial it would be an easy fix? ( I realize that the set screw would have to be switched out, are the dials side specific?
    .

    On # 42,,,,,
    Would not a wider bridge piece be required?
    Otherwise the two tables are not joined except for the workpiece.
    Referencing again that I see two bridge plates being required, one for when the two fences are joined and one for when you go into blade shift either to the right or left.
    .
    ok, I’m off now to work on my studio move.
    I’ll check back in this evening.
    cheers,
    roger

47. Roger, the clamp slot in the center of the arms does not need to be as large as the end slots because blade clearance is not an issue there.

    The othe holes you mention are tapped so the user could affix a shop made stop extension if desired.

    Regarding reversing a split fence, this is completely doable but would involve complete disassembly of each fence to reverse the mechanisms. And, your rules would read upside down.

    Lastly, only one bridge is required, at no time do the components that the extrusion fences reference intersect the cutting plane. in short, you can tilt away with imputeny, just don’t forget to shift the appropriate fence.

    -John

48. John,
    From my iPhone.
    …… But my point with the wider bridge span is that both tables would be connected to simulate the bat-cave like opening when your earlier fence was a single unit.
    Otherwise the two tables are not connected when you are pushing and pulling.
    Perhaps I should have Peter translate this for me.
    -roger

49. Continued,,,,

    This is why I see a need for a wider bridge, in ADDITION to the stock bridge.

50. Roger-

    My misunderstanding, you are correct if the fences are at any angle other than 90 degrees to the blade, the tables and fences are unbridged. If the tables are bridged and the blade is tilted, one of the fences needs to be adjusted to clear the cutting plane.

    -John

51. Roger-

    Good suggestion and I will look into a solution!

    – John

52. Thank you.

53. John,

    In retrospect I probably could have clarified my point better – but you did get it without Peter interjecting. (I think we lost him under one of the boulders he’s planting in front of his house.)

    Regarding the “Bridge”,,,,,
    Different question, at any point in the design process did you give consideration to using that element and morphing it into a handle/joystick to operate the push / pull of the JMP?
    .
    roger

54. John,

    Regarding the “table saw sled”,,,
    You are providing – 2 – ¾”x ¼” x 22″ cold rolled steel miter gage slot guides, drilled and tapped.
    .
    Since different table saws have different slot widths, (mine is a metric Inca cabinet saw) how are u allowing for the “variance” factor?
    And the remedy? ,,,for that factor.
    -roger

55. John,
    Continuing my thought process from entry # 53, if you are not considering a hand holding element morphing from the bridge piece as an optional part – would you consider a couple of 1/4 inch holes on the plate?( spaced a little towards the center from the access portals to the fence adjusters below)
    This would accommodate a possible handmade handle one could fashion on ones own.

    (with a countersink for each hole on the bottom side)
    .

    -roger

56. John,

    The JMP just keeps getting better and better- kudos to you. I ordered the works, extra clamps and a second miter set-up; I’m calling on Monday to add the SW version to my order since I can mount it to my SW or the sliding table of my table saw.

    I remember reading somewhere that the clamp in the miter set-up will get a changeable pad for bias cuts. I can’t help but to think those pads might be real nice on the elbow claps for square stock. What do you think?

    Thanks,
    Rutager

57. Good Morning John,

    The grand kids left this morning – I wish I had HALF of their energy!

    Do you realize this offering is now over 50 posts and you didn’t even have a contest going on!

    RE: the step washers on the table saw sled, I agree with you that these are a pain on miter gauges – in fact I have long since taken all of them off of my gauges and LOST them… That being said, these really do help for a cross cut sled. Maybe because you have a larger piece with two guides and you are not trying to pick it up out of the slot all of the time. I think there is a big benefit to keeping the sled level in the full back position. Just a suggestion of course. Thanks for considering the added safety features for this. I think it makes the package more attractive when you can get the “whole kit” minus the sled material. My task for today is to convince my wife I need both units…..

    DJ

58. John,

    Good morning,
    In your previous blog post, in the seventh picture down – where you are showing the bias arm holding what appears to be cocabola,
    Upon future speculation, i would tend to think that two clamping points would be necessary to hold that piece firmly in the bias crib as one is pushing against the blade.
    Your thoughts?

    -roger

59. John,
    Hi.
    In the spirit of adding threaded holes in special places for certain jigs,,,,,,,
    I now draw your attention to the extended fence itself. Since now we have a fence that extends beyond the table surface to a reasonable amount – What about some threaded holes in the bottom of the fence, in extended protrusion?
    This would add the possibility of a slight shelf that could be placed on the bottom of the fence if you have let’s say a long, very fine, very delicate piece of wood.
    Your thoughts?

    -roger

60. Roger,

    We can supply bar widths in any size-let us know.

    John

61. Roger,

    I am going to look at the bridge later today-adding utility holes is easy.

    Good suggestion.

    -John

62. Rutager,

    The clamp pads for swivel clamps are different than the elbow/c clamp pads but you did give me an idea…

    More later…

    John

    PS: Thanks for the business too!

63. Dennis-

    We need to keep coffee away from Roger Savatteri …

    I will take a look at the step washer–it is a small issue since we specified 1/4″ thick stock, your comments are not falling on deaf ears.

    And hopefully your bride is equally receptive!

    -John

64. Roger-

    Maybe a second clamp would be of benefit. We discussed it here and came to the conclusion that if desired, any clamp will work. We did put the extra pocket in the arms as an added convience. Commercial clamps are much less expensive than our custom c-clamp.

    -John

65. Roger,

    Regarding your request for the ability to attach stuff to the bottoms af the extrusions…it is already there. The bottom of the extrusions will captive receive 6-32 nuts.

    -John

66. Thanks John.

    Btw.
    Your a little late,
    I’m already walking out of Starbucks!
    On the way to old studio.
    Till later.

    -roger

    .
    Rutager,
    So I guess now your going to hold onto your tablesaw!

67. Roger,

    The table saw was always safe; it’s a Northfied #4 with a 16″ blade and a sweet sliding table- made right here in MN. It’s the drill press that was banished from my shop; I’m doing everything drilling wise with my DJ-1. It has been almost a year now and I haven’t missed it at all. I used the space for my JMPs!

    -Rutager

68. John,

    I was just looking over some of the fence images and reading different posts about angling the fence(s) and possible blade interference, and the thought occured to me that if the bridge piece was made longer and with more sets of holes in the right places, it would take the guess work and possible mis-cut out of the equation. Just move the fence over one set of holes and you could angle safely to that side. Move it over on both sides for compound cuts. Any Merit?

    -Rutager

69. Rutager-

    The bridge does not fasten to the extrusions, it connects their bases. Angling the fences does require the user to make sure the cutting plane is free of metal components. Not sure there is an “error free” solution.

    -John

70. John,

    I guess u could always fashion a lazer showing the blade path to make it error free.
    .
    Lol.

71. I’m confused. In #33 you say the Imperial lead screw is .05″/rev (20tpi) and the metric is 1mm/rev. Is that not 25.4tpi?

72. It can be confusing. The Imperial thread is 1/4-20 TPI which is .050″ of head travel per rev, so the thread pitch is .050″.
    The metric thread is a #6×1, meaning the diameter is 6mm and the pitch is 1 mm –which is the same as saying the head travel is 1 mm per rev.

    -John

73. I should have added that in #33 you said they were the same for all practical purposes and that is the part that confuses me. 1mm pitch = 25.4 tpi.

74. Sorry about the confusion! I see your point. At least now, others will be less confused! 🙂
    -John

75. John,

    Digging deeper,,,,,
    .
    What is the max opening clearance for the C-clamp on the Bias Arm?
    .
    While we are at it – could you give a list of the max clearances for the other 2 clamps?
    (the elbow clamp and the pivot clamp)
    .

    (forgive me if u mentioned it somewhere along the line – I didn’t see it on any of the specific clamp order pages)
    .

    cheers,
    roger

76. Regarding posts 36 / 42, I too wood make use of a fence solution that could handle an angled cutting blade.

    Order placed in 3, 2, 1…

77. Roger-

    The max. opening for the “v” groove pad on the c-clamp in the bias arm is 2.25″

    The max. opening of the pivot clamp is 2.75″

    The max. opening of the c-clamp with the flat clamp pad is 2.3″.

    The max. opening for the elbow clamp under the traverse bar is 1.75″, over the traverse bar it is 2.25″

    -John

78. Matthew,

    This fence system will support angled fences and a tilted blade. The tables are not bridged, nor are they on the original version.

    We don’t have a bridge available at the momentt for angled fences, but one could easily be shop made out of scrap- the fence bases are already drilled and tapped.

    -John

79. John,

    On your Nov 10th blog entry – second picture down you have one solid fence, which when locked into both tables in effect locks them together. When you say “The tables are not bridged, nor are they on the original version.”,,,,,,, is not by virtue of the fact that they (both tables) move together in effect a de-facto bridge?
    My brain cells keep tripping over this, perhaps because I haven’t had my morning coffee yet..
    -roger

80. John,
    Coffee in hand,
    .
    A question of scale,,,
    After one has ordered a “complete works” JMP kit with all the additional clamps,etc and then one is gazing over at the shadow of the table saw thru the forest of the Festool saw system (saw/rail/mft table set-up)….
    I’m thinking OK, the JMP System (the JMP is now in a system category) could do this and that “up to a certain scale”, the Festool system circumvents a lot of operations I would have earlier done on a table saw/jointer set up. What then really stands out in regards to the “Precision saw system” to the table saw is the ability to fashion a “Tenon/Miter Accessory” to work on a larger scale then I can on the JMP system.
    Which leads to a few questions: (for now)
    Firstly, if my main intent is to use the Tenon/Miter Accessory how stable do you see using a one rail set up (say the SW version on the table saw as compared to using a sled with the Tenon/Miter Accessory attached)
    Secondly, the Tenon/Miter Accessory set up, for doing “larger scale” Joinery do you eventually see a more macho version?
    Thirdly, When going beyond the 2.3 inch capacity of the c-clamp on the Tenon/Miter Accessory (present size) do you see taping 120 grit sandpaper to the clamping edge of the tower to help prevent slippage?
    (my main thought here is that blade spinning at about 3700 rpms)

    thank you,
    -roger

81. Speaking of coffee….I was up until 12:30 last night making a series of miniature jig saw puzzle trays (the puzzles are Japanese postage stamps). These will stack and slide into a small 1/4″ box. The JMP is awesome for small precision work. I can’t think of another tool I have ever seen (let alone used) which comes even close to accuracy and ease of use for this type of detailed work. While I was doing this last night a thought occurred to me…..imagine that! (Unlike Roger I am rather slow in the A.M. but watch out after midnight…)

    I was wondering if with the new fence offering you had thought of a RIP saw clamp for small pieces? It may be a game changer in this catagory as well!

    Dennis

82. Dennis, I am working on a little fixture that will allow rips. Next year sometime.

    -John

    PS: Post pics of your work on the Design section of our forum! I for one would like to see your work.

83. Roger, Working to the strengths of the JMP is part of the appeal. That said, if one were to remove the MDF skins off of the table saw version of our fence kit, there are two slots that support 6-32 captive nuts. A much bigger miter/tenon attachment would then be possible.

    Let’s how it sells before we invest any further resources in this project.

    The miter/ tenon arm was designed to work equally well on both the Pro and the SW versions.

    -John

84. Roger,

    The solid lead screw design that we rejected was bridged by both the traverse rod, lead screw and the MDF skins. The solid feedback from you folks made me re-open an earlier design that I rejected because split fences are more expensive.

    -John

85. Dennis, I second the motion that you post pictures in the design forum. Those puzzles sound interesting.

86. I will try to get these posted soon. I’m in a crunch as the little box is going with me to Japan in a few days. I need to hand deliver it to my new grand daughter’s OTHER grand father.

    I plan to visit some Shogun mansions (Shogun is the leader of the Saumari warriers). I hope to pick up some really neat ideas from the visit. Lots of 18th and 19th century Japanese carvings and archetecture.

    p.s. I sent an e-mail with my order, for some reason I’m not getting the founder’s circle discount on the web site. I did pay….
    DJ

87. John-

    Regarding the miter/ tenon arm, specifically the tower part – would you be adverse to adding a couple of threaded holes into it in order to add a shop made extension to it?
    What I’m seeing is the “side” that you don’t see in the photo (where one would normally seat the shop clamp that would lock on to the miter arm.
    That’s the side I see the threaded holes. I would add an extended thin ply extension to that and then another filler piece on to the ply to take care of the step that would be created by doing so.
    That would give me (and any one else, including Rutager & Ron) a wider surface area to seat a larger workpiece if necessary.
    I hope this is clear.

    -roger

88. John-

    Regarding posts 79 and 84, don’t get me wrong I much prefer your split rail version to the solid one you had previously. I just want to make sure that there is a way to link the two sides in which ever configuration I would deem necessary.
    So I’m really glad your adding the holes to the bridge plate.
    .
    What I’m also seeing is the option of purchasing a extra bridge plate or two or three to add to a dedicated handle/joystick addition or by using one on either fence – let’s say I had both fences at a 45 degree setting and I would use those two bridges as a way to fit a shop built fence to join them, and the possibilities go on…..

    -roger

89. opps,

    I meant to say a shop built “bridge” to join them.

90. Roger,

    There are already threaded holes for attaching a shop made extension.

    Regarding the bridge…wait till tomorrow …

    John

91. “Regarding the bridge…wait till tomorrow …”

    .
    hmmmm,
    tick, tock, tic tock
    I think I have some “ambien” around here somewhere.

92. Dennis,

    If you are near Kobe, the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum seems like an interesting place to visit.

    http://www.dougukan.jp/

    I’ve not yet been, but I’d like to work it into my next trip there.

    Either way, congratulations on the granddaughter and enjoy the trip.

93. John,
    Regarding the slot glides for the tablesaw sled – you settled on cold rolled bar stock for the material. Have you given much thought to using polyethylene instead? I would think that that material has inate “sliding qualities” that steel doesn’t have. As to “structure”; the glides are attached to the bottom of the sled(except for the slight extension at the rear if brought back all the way.) so structural stiffness is probably less of a factor than “ease of the slide”
    – roger

94. Roger-

    Two serious issues with polyethylene as a guide bar; it is hygroscopic and it doesn’t hold a thread.

    The way we make sleds is to fasten the sled material to the guide bar via screws from the top. These screws reside in slightly over sized holes in the sled material. Once the sled halves are cut and the bridges semi-attached, the guide bar screws are loosened, and the tops are pushed toward the blade and tightened as well as the bridges. This takes all the slop out of the the sled as the guide bars are now rubbing against the insides of the miter gage grooves. One last pass of the entire sled over a live blade makes for a free running sled.

    –John

95. Webb,

    Thanks for the tip! I may have to see if I can get there – looks very interesting.

    DJ

96. John,

    Any chance that you could offer a micro adjuster to set the angle of the fence and possibly one for the miter/tenon piece? I really like having the ability to set an angle, do a test cut and then be able to dial the setting in to perfection. Fence “bumping” is such a crude and frustrating method and the worse part is if you’re almost perfect; as soon as the fence is loosened it is just liking starting from scratch each time.

    Thanks,
    Rutager

97. Rutager;

    I will be completely surprised if you can’t get to your intent in the first go using the AngleMaster Pro. “Fence bumping” should be extinct for owners of the AMP.

    Seriously.

    –John

98. John,
    I KNEW you were going to say that…..Well I got my little box done tonight – just in time I might add. The JMP did a wonderful job cutting every cut but one. The front of the box (the lid) was made with a sliding dovetail on the bottom and 30 deg. bevels on the side to make a friction slide fit. This worked great. Where I had problems is the mating side pieces. In order to cut these I had to put the 1/4″ pieces on edge and rip them along the grain. The saw had to intersect at the corner of the piece and cut at 60 deg. until I reached the 1/8″ depth I was shooting for. The micrometer fence will take care of the positioning beautifully, but I couldn’t hold the piece well enough to get a clean cut. I tried stacking blocks and clamping these to the fence and then clamping the piece against the blocks – no dice. I finally cut them with a chisel. Somehow we need to come up with a device that rides perpendicular to the fence that you can clamp against and will hold a piece solid enough to make a clean cut. I’m not sure if this is best done at 90 deg saw positon or by holding the piece vertical and tilting the blade. More food for thought John. You are doing GREAT with this effort and this will be a very useful addition if you come up with the solution!

    DJ