Sawhelper Ultrafence

[Brice Burrell]

  This is a short review of the Sawhelper Ultrafence miter saw stand and table extensions. The model I have is the U55, from last year. Since then the company has changed ownership, and has a new name, Sawtooth Specialty Tools, Inc. They have also made some improvements and raised their prices. For more info from users try a search under AD&E stand or Sawhelper at JLC, JLC: Finish carpentry Forum or JLC: Tools & Equipment Forum.

 
  The model U55, now the U55S, has two 50" extension wings, saw stand and flipstop. The saw attaches to a MDF top that fits into the saw stand. Hardware than gets bolted to the saw, I had to drill the holes in my saw, that then accepts the fence.

Fence hardware.

Close up of the saw and fence together. The hardware holds this end in alignment.
  The great thing about the sawhelper is that you can set it up in a few minutes, dead on every time.   

The hardware self aligns, all you have to do is tighten the hand screw on the fence and get the fences coplanar to the saw I use a 6' level to do that.

Shown here is the leg to the fence, notice the T-screw to adjust the height of the leg, used to get this end coplaner.

 

 

[Brice Burrell]

  I have found the sawhelper to be very robust, the extension wings (fences) are made from heavy duty tempered aluminum, the hardware, stand and fence legs are a thick gauge steel. This puppy will stand up to years of hard use.

  In the next picture you can see that I have added wooden extensions to the fences, I also use them to set my glasses and muffs on.

Here is a shot of the flipstop.

As the name implies, it flips out of the way why not is use.

The fences have recesses for tapes (a left and right are included). I picked up a couple more, this one reads from left to right with zero at the end of the fence. Just line the end of the stock to th end of the fence to get your measurement, no need to pull out the tape. Trust me that saves some time.

When you need to get a measurement from a point that you can't hook the tape onto, this is when the continuous extensions come in real handy. Set the the tape and the point you need the measurement from on the end of the extension wing........

.....now pull your measurement.
The sawhelper really is made for everyday transport to the job, it breaks down/sets up easily. Folds up to fit in the truck nicely too.

Fence folded up, the stand folds up also, sorry no picture of that.
  If your saw never leaves the shop this may not be the setup for you, because of the price, $400-$600 (prices here are only ballpark). It may be easier to make your own extensions and stand. A few more tidbits, you have to call to get a price quote/ to place an order. They do sell this stuff in parts, so you can buy only what you need, if you want to make your own. The wings range from 50" to 100". BTW, the wing span of my setup is 10'5". I have got to say, this is one of the best investments I have ever made, great tool. As always, if time allows, I'll make a short video clip of the setup.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Here a short video clip.  Sawhelper Video

 

[Dan Clark]

Brice,

Nice review.  Very interesting product.  One question...

In the video you were leveling the wings.  It's a little hard to tell from the pics and the video.  Can you level the stand?  I.e., are the legs adjustable?

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Brice Burrell]

  Sorry, yes, the legs are adjustable. In the video, I'm using the level to get the extension wings and the bed of the saw coplanar, by adjusting the height of the legs. Note that I am using the word coplanar, not level, the setup doesn't need to be level, you know what I mean, I hope.

 

[Dan Clark]

Brice,

Coplanar!   Yes, of course.  (Duh!)  When I saw you whip out the level, I didn't notice that it was laying on the saw bed.   

I have a Bosch 4410L that works pretty well for me but two things about it really bug me.  The first is the Delta miter saw stand.   It's "suboptimal" (a POS).   

The second is much more serious.  The left self-contained wing are not coplaner with the bed.  I haven't had time to fiddle with it.  I just took it out.  When you combine the two issues, the saw is a pain to deal with.   

Now combine those two issues with mediocre dust collection and a weight of 75Lbs (including stand adapter) and the saw is really getting to me.  So far, my work hasn't been that critical, but it will shortly.  Since the Kapex is months away from US delivery, I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with it.

Thanks and regards,

Dan.

 

[Brice Burrell]

  As for dust colletion, I was reading over at the JLC forum about the ChopShop miter saw hood.

Sound like they are having trouble getting them out, the release date keeps getting pushed back. Too bad, I was hoping to hear how these work out. With a ChopShop and the Kapex dust collection would be very near 100%.

 

[Dan Clark]

Brice,

No pic.  It looks like the link is broken. 

Dan.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice,

No pic.  It looks like the link is broken. 

Dan.

Dan, it seem to be working for me.

 

[Dan Clark]

Brice,

I right-clicked to get the properties and then pasted them into IE as a URL.  I pasted the link and added img tags.  it looks like this:

http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6722&d=1180294655

Now I see it fine:

Odd.  In any case, I like that hood.   Looks light and easy to set up.

Thanks,

Dan.

Edit: That's really bizarre.  After posting, now I see my image link AND yours!   Very odd!

 

[Lou Miller]

I like the look of that hood as well. Only thing that concerns me is how it'll hold up. Things tend to get beat up pretty bad in the back of my truck. That's what happens when you cram 5 pounds of crap into a 2 pound bag. (sorry, that's 2.27 KG into a .9 KG bag for our non US friends here )

 

[Brent b]

Hi Brice, great content.  I've never taken the plunge with any miter-stand system, I've always managed to make due.  The best, most productive carpenter I've met just set up sawhorses.  I'm wondering what it is about a sawstand, other than repetitive cuts, which I find myself doing intermettently,that makes one proclaim the mitersaw alone is only half realized?
Thanks,
Brent

 

[Brice Burrell]

  Brent, great question. First, is repetitive cuts. Second, having the saw on the floor will wear you out from getting up and down all day. Third, sawhorses and roller stands can be wobbly, how many times have you knocked over a roller stand while using it??? Tweaking a miter means that the stock needs to be back on the saw the same way every time, if the setup is a little shaky, it going to be a problem. Forth, Using the continuous extensions to get pull a measurement., try that with a roller stand! And lastly, being able to set up stops along the fences. That's the short answer.

 

[Brent b]

Brice,
I'm thinking you might need to send the owner of the AD&E this link and get some endorsements!!
I'm going to wait until the Kapex comes out and you intrepid explorerers rig it all out before getting committed to the Kapex system or AD&E.
Thanks again,
Brent