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Note that I have not made use of these and cannot comment on their practical application.Other thoughts:1. They are not precisely on the edge and are plastic-covered paper, making them prone to shrinkage and movement. I have used this for two years now to cut down large stock to size and it has worked well. Lateral strength - the width makes this straight edge very stable over distance- important when cutting large stock down to size. The built-in ruler on the sides are of marginal utility. It clamps easily and holds fast, allowing no deflection over the course of the cut.3. T-tracks on either side increase the utility and the ability to use accessories, like router and circular saw guides.
2. Hasn't become an issue with mine, but you may want to consider this if you anticipate frequent, daily use.
Clamping mechanism - the ability to actuate the clamp only on one end for an 8 foot piece of plywood is really nice. Mine does this also and I can see that while it may not affect clamping ability, it may well affect the smoothness of the sliding jaw over time.
Pros:1. One other reviewer recently pointed out that each clamping event leaves tiny indents in the surface of the clamping rod.
(mine got wet on a job during a rainy day and curled up) I would trust mine if I only needed accuracy to within an eighth of an inch or so.I still give this product five stars based on its utility- ability to guide straight 8 foot cuts- and value. I have a very small shop that won't fit large extension and outfeed tables for my circular saw that would allow me to handle large sheet stock in this way.2.
Straight - It is possible to approach the quality of a table saw cut with a circular saw when done carefully.4.
How it works is there is a bar that runs the length of the guide underneath and it has a carriage that rides on this bar with three steel plates that are at an angle to the bar. Also my carriage broke within two weeks of having it. This item is great the first couple of times but after prolonged use, (in my case one week) the bar underneath starts to get little grooves marked on it and then you can't slide the clamps easily.
The bar appears to be made out of chrome plated steel and after very few uses you start to get grooves on the bar and even when you pull the plastic "slide" at the end of the bar to release the clips and have the lever all the way up you still can't slide the carriage back and forth easily as it catches in all these grooves. The job I was at I had to cut in the garage and the temp was about 40 degrees, I don't know if this contributed to the plastic breaking or not but I don't feel this is a quality product by any stretch of the imagination.The bottom line,If you are a homeowner and will use it very little and have all the time in the world this will be fine for you.If you plan to use it more that a few times or expect it to be a fast setup forget it.It does make a nice strait cut and does not bow, now I just clamp it with my clamps and don't use the built in one.Also the clamps that come with it are too small, not to clamp well, but to get a good initial alignment. This adds way to much time to the setup.
As an experienced cabinet builder I was hoping to find a nice, fast, strait edge for "on the job" type of cuts using a circular saw. When you fold down the lever at the end this pulls the bar through the angled metal plates and they catch and clamp on the bar. Go for the bigger clamps.
I have this one as well as the shorter one for 48" and they both do the same thing. When you push in the plastic clip at the back it "preloads" these metal plates and they get at more of an angle to the bar.
As others have pointed out, this will not square itself up with the work you're cutting, so you have to do that.I did not find the clamps to hold particularly tight to the wood. The clamping mechanism is ok. Even with the "wide" clamps (which only are the width of the track).Also, the unit could be a bit longer, particularly to help on the start and finish of the cut to give plenty of room for the shoe of the circular saw to track.Realistically, you're probably better off just making a cutting guide using a factory edge from a piece of wood, angle iron, etc. It's a straight edge. But probably not worth $100.I don't know if anyone would actually use the T-slots, as they look a bit small and may be prone to binding.
Thank you, FedEx. I ordered this clamp with some trepidation, after reading a review about how it would be shipped by UPS and might well arrive damaged. Well, it was shipped by FedEx, and arrived intact.
highly recommended excellent wood working tool. now I can make a straight cut on plywood easily.Work perfectly with circle saw.
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