Woodpeckers New StealthStop Miter Saw Fence & Stop System

[Bob D.]

I'm looking forward to the availability of this miter saw fence stop system.

I wish I could get this now as I am revising my miter saw setup now by taking
it off a portable miter saw stand and placing it on a bench.

For now I will use the Kreg stops I had on the miter saw stand but would rather
be able to build the WP StealthStop in from the beginning. It shouldn't be difficult
to build with changing over to the StealthStop later on. But that's 5 months away.
By then I might decide to stick with what I have.

 

[ChuckM]

I like the built-in stop concept and its micro-adj feature, but it should be a tool-free execution, without the need to use a screwdriver to set up the stop.

The stop's flip wing, made of plastic, seems small, and I can't tell from the video if it would flex when heavy pieces of lumber (e.g., 1-1.2" thick, 10" wide) are butt against it for identical cuts.

The price is reasonable.

 

[Cheese]

I like the built-in stop concept and its micro-adj feature, but it should be a tool-free execution, without the need to use a screwdriver to set up the stop.

The stop's flip wing, made of plastic, seems small, and I can't tell from the video if it would flex when heavy pieces of lumber (e.g., 1-1.2" thick, 10" wide) are butt against it for identical cuts.

The price is reasonable.

I agree with everything Chuck... [smile]  I was really disappointed when I saw the flip wing end was molded, I've owned other Woodpecker molded flip stops and they were terrible. I eventually replaced them with Woodpecker all-metal flip stops and that was the charm.

I'm also interested in what style ends the set screws have, the "big foot" design or a smaller point style that dents the aluminum rail?

 

[ChuckM]

Thanks, Cheese. It isn't too often that two woodworkers would see eye to eye on "everything" in a forum post. It must a "great minds think alike" thing!  [big grin] ;D

 

[Cheese]

Thanks, Cheese. It isn't too often that two woodworkers would see eye to eye on "everything" in a forum post. It must a "great minds think alike" thing!  [big grin] ;D

Now the thought of that is really, really  [scared].    [smile]

 

[jeffinsgf]

Next week's Deep Dive will address some of these issues, and I'll show you the back of the clamping mechanism (Bigfoot). After using these for about 6 months in my personal shop I can say that I prefer the screwdriver-handled hex wrench over a knob that might fit the design. I can unlock, move and relock in one swift motion. The design mission was to build a stop that fit completely within the slot of the track. Any locking mechanism that would do that would have been difficult to manipulate with an arthritic ham-fist.

In my experience with these, they will take as much abuse as any metal stop I've used without breaking or moving. What it doesn't do is "flex". If you ram into it hard enough it will slip in the track, but so will any stop that you hit hard enough. In normal use, even with heavy timber, the flag stays square and in position, even through long runs of repetitive pieces. The micro-adjust is particularly nice. It has absolutely minimal play even when fully extended and almost no backlash in changing direction.

My personal analysis of them is their convenience and accuracy in use far outweighs the fact that I have to keep a hex wrench stored behind the fence. And, in trying to abuse them, I've failed in normal practice. I broke a couple when I was trying, but I was really trying.

I've put them on both my radial arm saws and my SCMS. I am about to build a cut-off table for my table saw with it, too.

 

[ChuckM]

A screwdriver or a hex wrench...I was thinking about some kind of cam clamp mechanism.

 

[Jason.L.Hagen]

A screwdriver or a hex wrench...I was thinking about some kind of cam clamp mechanism.

Like the cam that Shaper Origin has on their workstation? Or something else?

 

[glass1]

I will not selling my sawhelper for this. This looked to geared for the hobbyist.

 

[elfick]

[member=7266]jeffinsgf[/member] for v2, how about a stop that locks in place with the lifting of the stop flag... so completely free moving until the flag is lifted which engages cams or something to lock in place. Also, a version that could fit in a standard slot would be pure gold. Sounds like if you made them out of aluminum you could start printing your own money.

 

[fshanno]

You have to use a tool to lock the stop.  They're kidding right?  This is some kind of a gag. 

Although the price is shockingly low for this fence considering it's a Woodpecker product I certainly wouldn't replace my homemade stop with this one. 

One of these days I'm going to get off dead center and install a positive locking Incra fence system for my Kapex.  Here's a vid with none other than Peter Parfitt about using the "IncraLOCK Incremental Flip Shop Stop Cut-off Fence" or IIFSSCF (what a silly long name) and the Incra flip stop.  This is the same fence system as on the Miter 5000.

How to fit the Incra Flip Fence on your mitre station

 

[jeffinsgf]

... Also, a version that could fit in a standard slot would be pure gold. ...

How much more standard can you get than a 3/8" x 3/4" T-shaped miter slot?

 

[Packard]

Once you've seen this miter saw with computerized stop blocks in action, everything else seems jury-rigged.

 

[Bob D.]

[member=7266]jeffinsgf[/member] for v2, how about a stop that locks in place with the lifting of the stop flag... so completely free moving until the flag is lifted which engages cams or something to lock in place. Also, a version that could fit in a standard slot would be pure gold. Sounds like if you made them out of aluminum you could start printing your own money.

How would this work?

You don't want to lose the setting when you flip the stop down so it would have to be a separate lock on the other end of the stop. Flip up to unlock, slide into position, then flip down to lock and stay locked. Then you can flip the stop up or down on the other end as/when needed but still retain the position.

Or maybe we're saying the same thing in a different way.

 

[ChuckM]

A screwdriver or a hex wrench...I was thinking about some kind of cam clamp mechanism.

Like the cam that Shaper Origin has on their workstation? Or something else?

Some kind of a button or camp that engages the locking and unlocking by pushing and un-pushing, etc. The bottomline is the operation should be tool-free. Whether the tester liked the use of a tool or not is not the question. The question should be: given a tool-free version and the version as presented, which one would be preferred by the potential customers.

The micro-adjust feature is great because it's a tool-free process. Imagine what a user would say if she or he had to use an Allen key to do the fine-tuning.

 

[ewils91]

A screwdriver or a hex wrench...I was thinking about some kind of cam clamp mechanism.

Like the cam that Shaper Origin has on their workstation? Or something else?

Some kind of a button or camp that engages the locking and unlocking by pushing and un-pushing, etc. The bottomline is the operation should be tool-free. Whether the tester liked the use of a tool or not is not the question. The question should be: given a tool-free version and the version as presented, which one would be preferred by the potential customers.

The micro-adjust feature is great because it's a tool-free process. Imagine what a user would say if she or he had to use an Allen key to do the fine-tuning.

Id personally like the too adjustment as long as the system had convenient onboard storage. After all, I use tool to adjust my tools everyday. Changing router bits for instance.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip. After all, I use tool to adjust my tools everyday. Changing router bits for instance.

Some routers need two wrenches to change bits, but some go with just one. I prefer to use one wrench, but I even prefer to use no wrenches at all if such an option is available.

It's a matter of convenience, and we woodworkers are well known to be willing to pay a premium just for that. A case in point:  the bluetooth/wireless feature of the Festool dust extraction. Cordless tools are another example.

Yes, it isn't a life or death thing, but the convenience factor is what a lot of manufacturers take care to consider when something is on the the drawing board. I even own duplicates of many tools -- for the sake of convenience, and I know of one guy who has two table saws, one dedicated for making dadoes, because he doesn't like switching blades.

 

[ewils91]

Snip. After all, I use tool to adjust my tools everyday. Changing router bits for instance.

Some routers need two wrenches to change bits, but some go with just one. I prefer to use one wrench, but I even prefer to use no wrenches at all if such an option is available.

It's a matter of convenience, and we woodworkers are well known to be willing to pay a premium just for that. A case in point:  the bluetooth/wireless feature of the Festool dust extraction. Cordless tools are another example.

Yes, it isn't a life or death thing, but the convenience factor is what a lot of manufacturers take care to consider when something is on the the drawing board. I even own duplicates of many tools -- for the sake of convenience, and I know of one guy who has two table saws, one dedicated for making dadoes, because he doesn't like switching blades.

I don't disagree that's what makes all different. Id like the tool method rather than some type of tooless. Now, I also own about 13 routers so I don't have to mess with any wrenches.  [big grin] If I had more room, I'd have 2 or 3 more table saws with different dado blade setups...lol.

 

[ChuckM]

I think I came across a post somewhere about the number of routers people had. One guy claimed to have two dozen or so. In real life, I do know of a woodworker who has three miter saws. He puts all of them on a long bench, with the saws set to cut straight (90*), 45* on the left and 45* on the right. He may have or may not have a smaller miter saw on the floor for mobile tasks.

 

[4nthony]

I'm curious, how many people have their miter stations setup with vertical fences instead of flush mounted track?

I came across a Wood Whisperer video where he switched to a no fence miter station and relied solely on the miter saw fence as the single material point of contact for square cuts. The Woodpeckers video shows both and their new stops work in either orientation and look to be very useful for setting up multiple stops.

I'm still thinking through how I'd like to configure my future miter station and am leaning towards flush mount but am curious what advantages vertical offers that I'm not considering. With these stops, there's the option of having two stops set up close enough that they overlap (one vertical, one flush) but other than that, are there any advantages to vertical track over flush track? Thanks!