Jessem stock guides

[Tom Bussey]

I bought the Jessem stock guides. I mounted it to a board and I used (2 )150 magnates to hold it on my fence. I did it this way because I have two table saws and it enables me to use it on both.

I have seen a couple of people on You Tube showing how it enables them to rip full sheet of plywood with out help and Bla Bla Bla.. Yes if you are set up with out riggers and do it everyday, and you are highly experienced they will do the job very well. but if you plan on doing it once a month, even with out riggers I would highly recommend that you find a different way of braking down plywood into manageable sized pieces..

Please do not take me wrong, I like the Jessem stock guides. I am glade I bought them. They do exactly what they say they will do.

But here are some short comings I have ran into. The first picture is of a 7 inch wide board and between the guard on the saw and fench and with the stock pusher installed there is only about 2 inches to spare. How I have to admit I misplaced my higher stock pusher. The one pictured is only 4 inches high. Even here I would prefer a higher hand placement.

As the width of the piece getting sawn becomes thinner The distance shrinks and at 3 1/4 inches one has run out of width. My stock pushers are 1/4 thick. and the and anything thinner than 3 1/4 and the guard has to come off and if you are making styles and rails for a kitchen cabinate and they are 1 1/2 inches wide the stock cant be used. Actually I stop using them at about 3 inches wide.

Do I like them, yes I do, but the thinner the work piece the more of a liability they become. I though I would write about some of what I have experienced while using them.
When it has to be right and it is up close I still revert back to feather boards. Anything 8 inches and wider a person couldn't ask for anything better. The piece of plywood in the last picture is 6 inches high and it really needs to be at the very least 8 inches.

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[Bernie Kopfer]

I had them and used them and sold them for the reasons you just listed. For me they were inconvenient and sometimes dangerous when trying to cut anything in the 1-3” wide category. But for sheet goods they were terrific.

[John Kananis]

I have a pair and like them for certain tasks. They tuck away into the top of the fence when you don't want to use them but they're handy with certain cuts. For narrow cuts, they're more handy if you're not using a blade guard. I am not suggesting that you don't use one, just speaking matter-of-factly.

[eliot feldman]

If asked about these Jessem guides,which I own and use, I would respond EXACTLY as you did. I'm beginning to think, for precisely the reasons that you have mentioned, that they are actually dangerous in some circumstances.
What I have is another setup with no roller guides that also sits on top of the TS fence (I use magnets for both the Jessem and this one to take them on and off). This second one, with no rollers in the way, but with a built-in top-riding push stick, allows much thinner stock (as thin as I feel safe using) -- but you give up the whole side- force idea of the Jessem guides.

[Rick Potter]

I must agree with most of the comments, but when I do a dozen or so narrow pieces at a time, I have good results simply feeding one after the other, with the final one pushed through with a dowel that slides under the guides.

That being said, they are still unwieldy at times.

PS: No complaints about the router table guides, except for the O-rings turning to mush after a few years.

[Michael Burnside]

I love mine and wouldn’t be without them. I have mine permanently mounted as I have a few jigs that utilize the slot and don’t find they get in the way.

I agree on thinner stock they’re not as useful but honestly they aren’t really needed either. I do occasionally just use the one at the outfeed in those cases which helps keep the cut to the fence.

I bought a lifetime supply of the o-rings in bulk off eBay.

[Sean Nagle]

Michael, what size of o-rings do the stock guides use? Do you mind sharing your eBay source?

[John Kananis]

Jessem sent me a free replacement for the guides on my router table. Give them a ring.

Michael, what size of o-rings do the stock guides use? Do you mind sharing your eBay source?

[Derek Cohen]

I use mine within 1" of the fence. No problem.

To do this, the guides need to be situated before and after the blade guard (you do use a blade guard?!). Then you need a slim push stick (to reach past the guides). I use a long 3/8" dowel. One end has a rubber cap for a non-slip push.

You can see the rubber stop of the push stick tucked into the end of the rip fence on my Hammer K3 slider.


Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jonathan Jung]

Here's my solution. A push stick that slides underneath the rollers. Works a treat for thin and narrow rips.

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[Michael Burnside]

Michael, what size of o-rings do the stock guides use? Do you mind sharing your eBay source?

I'll have to go look for the ebay source, but a quick look at the package they are "JessEm M0307 Replacement Rings" and run 6 bucks each. I think, at the time, 5 sets and shipping was around 35 bucks. The original set of 3 years is still going strong, but I'll probably replace them next summer.

[Michael Burnside]

Jonathan, that's a cool idea. As I mentioned though, I don't find that for thin stock like that the infeed is strictly needed since a small feather-board or even a finger with a little inward pressure is all that is needed to make the cut safely and still maintain inward pressure on the outfeed side of the fence.

[Sean Nagle]

I use mine within 1" of the fence. No problem.

To do this, the guides need to be situated before and after the blade guard (you do use a blade guard?!). Then you need a slim push stick (to reach past the guides). I use a long 3/8" dowel. One end has a rubber cap for a non-slip push.

You can see the rubber stop of the push stick tucked into the end of the rip fence on my Hammer K3 slider.

I had to recently cut a 5/8" wide strip for a jig I was building. That 5/8" dimension had to be very accurate. I setup a feather board and with the help of the guides, I easily pushed the strip from behind with a thin stick, similar to Derek's dowel.

Jonathan's handle is brilliant. I will be fashioning one and attaching it to my "stick".

[John Kananis]

Sometimes a safety device becomes... not a safety device when you have to work around it in crazy ways. One safety device does not cover all situations.

Edit: and there's always more than three ways to make any cut.

[Derek Cohen]

Sometimes a safety device becomes... not a safety device when you have to work around it in crazy ways. One safety device does not cover all situations.

Edit: and there's always more than three ways to make any cut.

This is not really applicable in this instance. The Guides hold the workpiece against the rip fence, and not just keep it on the table. The workpiece is not going anywhere. It simply needs to be pushed forwards. With wider boards, just use your hands. For these very narrow boards, you need a push stick to squeeze past the Guides.

The reason for the rubber cap is that one will push pass the Guide with the flat end of (in my case) the dowel, then you may need to push from the other side of the first Guide. The rubber cap provides grip on the workpiece.

Regards from Perth

Derek