CSC SYS 50 with Jess-Em hold downs

jujigatame

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May 4, 2010
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This may be overkill, but it does work perfectly.  Just needed to grind the nuts a touch so they fit in the top fence track.

[attachimg=1]

They're solid as a rock and are easily removable and adjustable.
 

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Sweet.

Overkill or not, when used correctly, that accessory adds accuracy and safety (against kickback) to your saw.

How is it mounted to the fence?
 
ChuckS said:
Sweet.

Overkill or not, when used correctly, that accessory adds accuracy and safety (against kickback) to your saw.

How is it mounted to the fence?

I just used the T track nuts and bolts they supplied and ground the nuts a touch to fit in the top track. I did need a 1/4 washer, or I could have cut the bolt a bit. It overhangs the fence a touch, but I can reverse it for full clearance (but that does block the fence lock lever a bit).

I'm super happy with it. It really pushes the stock up to the fence and locks the stock down.
 
Btw, you can use the front stock guide as a cross-cut stop block for the miter gauge where applicable, saving the need to clamp a stock block on the fence.
 
ChuckS said:
Btw, you can use the front stock guide as a cross-cut stop block for the miter gauge where applicable, saving the need to clamp a stock block on the fence.

Thanks, I know.

The saw is so well designed!
 
Jujigatame said:
This may be overkill, but it does work perfectly.  Just needed to grind the nuts a touch so they fit in the top fence track.

[attachimg=1]

They're solid as a rock and are easily removable and adjustable.

Amazing mod! I love the idea of the Jess Em Guides- wish I had a pair!!!
 
Could the hold down units be used directly in the Festool fence top T-track? And dispense with the Jessem T-track rail?

Seth
 
SRSemenza said:
Could the hold down units be used directly in the Festool fence top T-track? And dispense with the Jessem T-track rail?

Seth

Unfortunately no, they need their rail, and it's oddly sized. I tried a bunch of combinations and options. This was the best I could do.

It's a very solid system though.
 
SRSemenza said:
Could the hold down units be used directly in the Festool fence top T-track? And dispense with the Jessem T-track rail?

Seth
Late to the party on this thread. I bought the JessEm Clear Cut FLEX Stock Guides for my old CMS OF router table and they work a treat:

[attachimg=1]

I plan to also make them work on the CSC SYS 50 with a custom (and longer) fence.

You can see this use-case in the pics on the JessEm site. They show a plywood fence with strategically drilled holes on a Bosch site saw. The manual that comes with the guides shows you where to drill the holes on the front of the plywood fence. They might need a bit of adjustment to account for the smaller blade on the CSC SYS.

As to the back of the fence, to attach it to the CSC SYS fence, you simply need to rout out a t-track at the exact same height as Festool's Fence. I already checked that my CMT keyhole bit is perfect for this:

[attachimg=2] 

I'll either make a full-length t-track like the Festool fence, or I'll make a few strategically-placed keyhole slots in order to attach it to the fence. It all depends on the thickness (and thus stability) of the material I eventually use.

These smaller stock guides are 1/3 of the cost of the fence/guides combo ($99 vs $308), and yet at the business end they are essentially the same. So for the price of a piece of plywood, they're probably a better bet (unless you already have the fence/guides combo, of course).

The only downside is that making your own fence will reduce the max ripping width on the CSC SYS by the extra width of your new fence.

The upside is that you can make your new fence longer and taller -- and maybe even incorporate infeed and outfeed supports, similar to the Bow xtender fence (which doesn't fit the CSC SYS, unfortunately -- I checked).

Edited to add: When I say it doesn't fit, I mean that the groove isn't at the right height to fit onto the CSC's bolting mechanism. It will only fit with the clamps onto the current fence.
 

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I surely can understand why the first reviewer of the product sounded his warning on the TSO's product page:

[attachimg=1]

The "fine print" is simply too small or color inconspicuous if its intention is to draw a potential buyer's attention that the price includes only the brackets. I suppose it's even worse if one is viewing it on a smart phone.
 

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ChuckS said:
I surely can understand why the first reviewer of the product sounded his warning on the TSO's product page:

[attachimg=1]

The "fine print" is simply too small or color inconspicuous if its intention is to draw a potential buyer's attention that the price includes only the brackets. I suppose it's even worse if one is viewing it on a smart phone.

Yeah - TSO could make it more clear it's $50 for the brackets but if the guides are $100 do you really think they could sell them for $50 with the brackets?
 
Mike Goetzke said:
Yeah - TSO could make it more clear it's $50 for the brackets but if the guides are $100 do you really think they could sell them for $50 with the brackets?

Apparently the first reviewer (and presumably a buyer, too) did think so. Not everyone is familiar with Jess-Em products and their prices. I know many people are visual and can easily miss the details that are provided further down.

It all boils down to what the seller's intention was. If it was to make sure the potential buyer wouldn't misunderstand anything, a larger and more conspicuous "warning" wouldn't hurt... and it's easy to do. To be clear, I am not suggesting that TSO is trying to mislead.
 
On another note - I like the ratcheting handle on these newer guides. I bought both the router and TS guides years ago and don’t like needing a hex wrench for the router table guides. I’ll have to see if it’s an easy upgrade.
 
Mike Goetzke said:
ChuckS said:
I surely can understand why the first reviewer of the product sounded his warning on the TSO's product page:

[attachimg=1]

The "fine print" is simply too small or color inconspicuous if its intention is to draw a potential buyer's attention that the price includes only the brackets. I suppose it's even worse if one is viewing it on a smart phone.

Folks,
I was part of the team which reviewed how this is shown on TSO’s website [sad]. Agreed - that turns out to be a “miss” on presenting an excellent product enhancement.
Expect to see that made more obvious on our product page.

Thanks for your comments
Hans

Yeah - TSO could make it more clear it's $50 for the brackets but if the guides are $100 do you really think they could sell them for $50 with the brackets?
 
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