Customer Reviews

General Tools #846 EZ Jointer Clamps, 2-Pack

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

The big problem with this that the straight edge does not reliably lie flat because the bottom of these clamp things surround the straightedge. This causes two things to happen. One, if you are jointing wide boards, the jig can rock, which can cause either a bad cut, or worse, binding and kickback.

The second problem is that the second clamp will catch on the edge of your table saw as you feed it through unless you are really careful - again, a bad cut or binding and kickback.

I'm chucking mine before I get hurt and am going to build a simple jig with surface mounted toggle clamps.

I am writing this review in response to the negative reviews. It seems to me that if used properly, it can be very effective.
I have pictures of glued up panels to prove it.

The main purpose of the clamps are to remove crooks from the lumber. The second function is to put a "straight" edge on the board.

To achieve either of the objectives, one must use a true straight edge as the guide board. Longer stock will require more than 2 clamps. 2 clamps will be good up to about 4 feet. Additonal clamps should be used about every foot after that (my estimation. (i.e up to 5 feet, 3 clamps). This means you would need to get another set. The technique I use is the make an initial pass. Then remove the board from the clamps, place the side you just ripped against the fence and rip again. Lastly, flipped the board over and rip the first side again. That should give you stock that should be adequat for glue-up.

Some additional tips, invest in a good saw blade (Freud Diablo), this will help minimize vibration and give a nice cut. Check the guide board periodically to make sure it is straight and true. Always cut you stock over size and then trim it to fit.

The clamps are not as good as an actual jointer and require a bit more work, but it is cheaper. Infact, I have used these in conjuction with my bench top jointer. And a little more advice, if you are looking to get a bench top jointer, go the extra $200 dollars and get yourself a bigger one (6" x 47") if you have the space.

Holy cow, what a piece of garbage. One of the previous reviewers explained it perfectly. The board you're straight lining can not be held flat on the saw. Not only that, but if you're doing a board, say, six feet long, then as you slide this along, the bottom of the clamp comes off your saw and then the piece sits flat. This causes the cut NOT to be true. You would need to put a clamp every 15" inches or so down the length of your board to keep it consistant. And even if you do that, it's still not lying flat.

What a piece of garbage. I tried it once and threw it in the trash (after smashing it with a hammer since it screwed up my cherry). Luckily, I took my cherry back to my wood store and they straight lined it for me so I didn't lose any.

This is a handy device to have. Let's you use wood you would otherwise have to scrap.

I cut one side of every piece of rough cut maple for my 1000 square foot floor using these clamps. It took a while, but it worked great. Terrific for straightening out of square pieces.

The EZ Jointer Clamps are simple to use once you find a straight board and make the rabbet. I started using them on 8'x 7" cherry boards. The setup was extremely awkward and unstable at first, but after a few passes, it become almost comfortable yet still somewhat unstable. The cut edge wasn't perfect, but close enough to hug the fence to cut the other edge. I then switched to 5' x 5" cherry and the ease of operation and quaility of the finished edge increased significantly. I purchased 2 2packs and the four clamps were great on the shorter boards. If working with boards longer than 6'I would recommend purchasing three 2packs.

This is one way you can put a joined edge on a warped piece of wood if the clamps come with an already joined piece of wood to use as a straightedge against your rip fence. Another way to join an edge is to make a sliding table jig for your mitre slot of your table saw. Holding it down tightly with your hands or with clamps will work with both set-ups, but I recommend using adjustable clamps. A good sharp saw blade should give you results close to a edge straightened on a joiner.