Incra 1000 SE crosscut fence

[Rob Mitchell]

My wonderful wife and kids bought me one of these for my birthday recently and it just arrived. The first shock was that taxes and shipping and customs brokerage (plus taxes on that) to Toronto was nearly $70CDN! (Hey Woodpecker, just MAIL it, it's much cheaper)

I installed it, tuned it up, and with the extruded aluminum fence, it cut's 90's great.

However, there are some serious usability problems with this fence I think.

When you move from 90 to 45, you have to find the hex driver, loosen the fence and move it over. Of course this screws up the '1 time alignment' procedure.

The fence itself is too short, and the expansion feature is useless. To expand the fence, I have to find the hex driver, and loosen a screw. And there are 3 separate friction fit scales that all have to be aligned (and not moved) to use the measuring capability. This is definitely not easier or more accurate than a tape measure. The scales are also too small and hard to read.

I wouldn't rely on the built in measuring tapes for anything involving the expansion feature.

The flip stop itself seems to work ok, but I'm not sure if I'd use the dual arms or not. Maybe. I don't think its that much easier than a clamp and a piece of wood.

I had hoped that the flipstop/fence would let me do without my measuring tape and make for more accurate cuts. I seriously doubt it.

This thing is really intended to go in the left hand slot. I never use my left hand slot, only the right one. (I don't know why, force of habit I guess). So I figured that I could reverse the fence by taking it apart, and I could. Except the measuring tapes (useless anyway) are all backwards now, or upside down, I get to pick.

I took the fence off and installed a nice simple, square and LONG fence made of MDF and formica. Zero clearance, very nice. Not quite as stiff as the aluminum extrusion though.

I think I'll use the fence for something else, maybe for my drill press. If I was going to do it again, I'd just get the V27 instead of the

1000SE for sure. Being in Canada, there is no cost effective way to return it.

Does anyone out there use this fence productively? Have I completely missed the point of it?

[Chris Richmond - MD6-FDC ~]

I've got the 1000 (no SE) and love it. Aside from not being able to use the measuring tape, and the length of the fence (which you can by longer ones of), does it work OK? Mine does. I just don't expect the measuring thing to work.

My complaints:

1. Fence is slippery. Solution: Added particleboard subfence with adhesive sandpaper.
2. Need hex driver to adjust frequently. Solution: Suffer for now, by lever knobs someday.

Otherwise happy.

Chris

[Ba r r y]

I have several measuring devices in my shop that I make sure agree. They are my main tape, my rip fence scale, and my combo squares. Everything else is for "rough" measuring.

I usually even go so far as to do the first rip 1/16" or so "fat" to compare it again with the tape.

I also have an Incra 1000, with several fences. The measuring scale is a gimmick. I'm constantly moving the fence to keep the end of it near the blade. I gave up resetting the scale about an hour after I bought the tool. The same would be true with any miter gauge with a movable fence.

FWIW, replacing the socket head screws with thumb screws makes everything tool-free, saving time.

I agree, did the same.

Concur again, but made the hardware store trip.

Barry

[Rob Mitchell]

Yes, the protracter part works very well. Its the SE fence with 'flip stop' that I can't figure out how to use accurately and effectively. Seems you have to adjust the bolts too.

[WoofWoof]

Sound like UPS

[Larry Jaques]

You're in Canada? ALWAYS specify USPS and tell anyone shipping anything to you NEVER to use UPS. Their customs fee, even for a $0.01 sample item, is $35. USPS doesn't charge for it, but they require a customs sticker, which probably equates to taxes for you. When I ship things there, I use the net cost for insurance/customs, leaving out the shipping fees.

I hope you (or SWMBO) wrote to the seller to let them know about it. UPS is despicable in that way, and I've never heard anyone mention that UPS told them of that fee beforehand.

-- Vidi, Vici, Veni ---

Comprehensive Website Development

[WoofWoof]

Absolutely! I learned this lesson about UPS 15 years or more ago and nothing much has changed. USPS is fine for almost everything as long as you don't need the goods real fast (and honestly, how often is that true?). Some companies will refuse to ship anything other than UPS or will otherwise refuse to let the buyer specify the shipping method (I think they call it "Customer Service"). In return, I refuse to deal with those companies (fair exchange).

USPS shipments will be handled in Canada by Canda Post. They will charge GST and (probably but not always) PST. They will also charge a $5 flat-rate handling fee. If they don't find you at home they will hold the package for pickup at your local postal outlet (usually much closer than courier companies).

[Rob Mitchell]

Yeah, I normally use the USPS for bringing stuff in when I can, but my wife didn't know to specify it.

Usually the Feds don't collect the PST (Provincial Sales Tax, like state tax), so you save 8%.

Although I hate paying taxes as much as the next guy, how much is the government losing by NOT collecting this. In the Atlantic provinces where they have HST (Harmonized Sales Tax, combined federal and provincial) the feds collect 15%, then split with the province. Makes sense to me, but Ontario won't give up their rights to the Fed's, they prefer to lose the tax revenue.

Rob

(apologies to the Americans in the group who probably don't care about PST, GST, or HST)

(or Canadians ;)

[Patriarch]

No. Actually, it's fascinating. I mean, how else does a country provide free health care?

And given the way things are developing here in the 'lower 48', looking for alternatives seems really prudent. It's clear to me that we have no monopoly on smarts.

There are days when BC seems to be calling my name...

Patriarch

[WoofWoof]

That used to be the case, but in the last year or two, Canada Post has started to collect PST along with the GST and handling charge. The PST collection was off and on at first but then seemed to be getting pretty much consistent. (Haven't had anything cross border in some months).

[Nova]

I think the problem with UPS and many other trucking outfits is the fact that, unless the Canadian laws have changed recently, U.S. truck drivers are not allowed to work in Canada. My brother-in-law was a terminal manager of one of the trucking lines. It was one of his pet peeves that Canadian driver are free to drive where ever they please in the United States but an American driver either has to drop the trailer at the border to be picked up by a Canadian driver or the truck's load has to be transferred to a Canadian truck at one of the U.S. terminals.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[johnny999_99]

This is not the problem, American trucks drive in Canada all the time. The problem is UPS' outrageous brokerage fees.

[WoofWoof]

I'd be amazed if that's the case (and I stand to be corrected). I do, though, believe that US drivers have to pay some kind of licence to haul loads in Canada. (Come to think of it, that's actually 20 year old info ... don't know if it's current). And I believe the same is true in reverse.

I see so many US truck's here and Canadian trucks in the US that it doesn't seem feasible that everyone's changing drivers at the border.

And as far as UPS is concerned, Fedex et al (although being higher than USPS) never had these exorbitant fees. And they are subject to the same restrictions, if any, as UPS.

[Rick Cook]

I have a friend who drives from Canada to the US all the time. She's American and her husband is Canadian. I know they don't change drivers at the border and she's never said anything about having to pay to haul loads to and from Canada.

I'll ask her the next time I talk to her.

--RC

[Greg O]

I have a friend that drives truck in Canada, from the US frequently. Seems to be no problem. Greg

[WoofWoof]

My recollection was based on an incident in the early 80's. The company I was working for had some parts being made by an outfit in Michigan. Schedule was really tight so the guys there, when they had the first parts ready, threw them on a truck and personally drove them here. They were stopped by the OPP (or as those guys later called them "The Highwaymen") because they didn't have some kind of license for the truck that they needed to transport goods in Ontario/Canada. They made them pay on the spot (they had a credit-card machine!)and sent them on their way. It was only applicable to commercial vehicles of course (and perhaps even only trucks over a certain weight).

Like I say, 20 year old info and pre-NAFTA as well. I'd actually be suprised if it still applies (since NAFTA) but the earlier poster seemed adamant that that US drivers couldn't haul loads in Canada. I don't believe that but I wondered if it was some similar licence requirement that he was confusing.

[Nova]

After doing a "Google" search it looks like the restrictions barring US commercial drivers from working in Canada were lifted under the free trade agreement (NAFTA) in 1992.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Rob Mitchell]

Well, sometimes the grass is greener on the other side too. While we have a system which provides good critical care to everyone, even if you can't pay for it, the system is straining at the edges, and costs are going up here too. In the past 3 months, both my Father and a friend were in different local hospitals for major surgery (cancer and bypass). One had excellent care, and the other was subjected to a 4 week stay because of a comedy of errors. Some people complain that they can't get a family doctor while foreign trained doctors are often turned away. And doctors in small towns are run ragged because they are the only doctor and on call 24/7.

But we'd love to have you up in the Great White North.

Rob