Is it worth fixing Jet miter gauge?

[Ian Dodd]

A couple days ago I discoverd that the pivot pin on the miter gauge of my Jet contactor's saw had fallen out. It had actually fallen out on me once before but I noticed it immediately and slid it back in. Even then I couldn't figure out what was supposed to hold it in place; it just seems to fit by friction in the machined holes in the head and bar. This time, though, I didn't discover it was missing until I made a crosscut that was WAY out of square. After I finished cursing, I searched high and low for the pin but never found it.

Today I spent quite a bit of time carefully constructing a crosscut sled (à la Kelly Mehler) and making sure it cuts dead nuts square. It was a good way to vent some of my frustration at the POS miter gauge.

Is it worth trying to get a replacement pin from Jet and findng out the way it's supposed to be held in place? Or am I better off getting an aftermarket miter? I went back to the FWW article from last summer reviewing several. The Woodhaven Standard is only $60 and was reviewed as excellent, but it is limited to 90º abd 45º in either direction. I have looked at the Rockler miter at their store ($90 or $150 with auxilary fence and flip down stop) and it seems quite simple and robust, as well as more flexible than the Woodhaven, but the FWW article only gave it a fair rating. The high end Incras and Osbornes seem overpriced and over-sophisticated for my needs.

Anybody have any experience with the Rockler? Any others you particularly like or dislike?

[bob]

Ian, The EXACT same thing happened to me. The pin in my POS miter that came with my Jet TS fell out, just like yours. I had never been happy with that miter anyway, and I threw it out. Bought a Woodhaven Deluxe ($120) and I'm very happy. It cuts dead on every time and has positive stops with a screw in pin at 22.5, 30, 45, 67.5 and 90. Might be one at 15 as well. Also has good adjustment for a snug in the miter slot. Go for a good aftermarket.

Bob

[Rob Stokes]

I too built a sled, and I have an Incra 1000 miter gauge that I use all the time. I also bought a second "factory" JET miter gauge for a spare. You want a quick cross cut without man-handling the sled? Keep one of the miter gauges with a long piece of straight hardwood permanently attached to it. Put it backwards in the miter slot and instead of using the number on the gauge, I square mine to my Incra (this takes about 10 seconds to do, 30 seconds to read about it!) and it's ready for use (or I'll square it on my "square" block that I use for layout/set-up). You doing a job that requires several miters? Use the same set up trick but pre-set it for xx degrees. I'll set one for 22.5 one way and the other for 22.5 the other...one for the left slot, one for the right. No fuss, no muss....

I also use them on the band saw and the spindle sander...You get the idea

Yup, I'd fix it.

Good luck Rob

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

Buy it! Then, make a nice zero clearance, sacrificial fence for it. If you want to get really fancy, screw a T-track to the top of the fence you just made and add a sliding flip stop.

I have several excellent miter gauges and have noticed that 99% of the time, my cuts are 90 or 45 degrees. For the other 1% of the cuts, set your old gauge with a good protractor.

I feel that the extra money I spent on my Incra 1000SE, and several other units was pretty much wasted. If you make lots of stuff with more than 4 sides, maybe you're mileage will vary.

Barry

[Bob G]

=========================

Your experience is pretty close to mine...I have an Incra 2000 and I have posted many many times that it was a waste of money... I took the time to makea few sleds (90 45 & 22.5 degree cuts ..that are dead on accurate That covers 99.95 percent of my miter cuts..

Bob Griffiths

[Frank Dennis]

I had the same problem with my Jet Contractor saw, JWTS-10, after about four years. I called Jet, explained, and they sent me three pins no charge. No hassle about serial number, or how long I had the saw. The only bad side was that they sent it UPS insured, and the driver wouldn't leave it without a signature.

Frank

[Lawrence A. Ramsey]

Love my JDS Accu-Miter but it IS heavy. Wish they would go to a Carbon-fiber or composite setup. Incra gets good reviews.

[MrJohn]

replying to Ian Dodd, MrJohn wrote: Thanks for posting this 15 years ago ! I thought I was the only one with this problem. I did find the pin as Jet part number 150031. A few places have it for $5.

[Jay Irvine]

I realize this is a really old post, but I just ran across it because the pin fell out of my miter gauge during a move. After reading it and all the replies. I was set to buy a new one because I didn't find replacement pins on any of the parts or Jet website. I went over to Lowes and bought a package of 1/4" roll pins for $.98. (2 pack) drove one in and problem solved. the gauge works perfectly and I don't think I'll ever need the 2nd pin.

[Leon]

You will need the second pin just after you forget where the second one is it.

[krw]

Throw it away not. You'll save yourself a lot of grief down the road. ;-)

[krw]

^^^ now