Customer Reviews

Incra IMS2 24-Inch Incra Miter Slider

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This slider has worked well for me. It was packaged well with all needed mounting screws, as well as instructions for making your own jigs. I especially like the ability to adjust the fit of this slider from the top of the jig through adjustment holes. The instuctions were clear and easy to follow. I would like it if Incra offered and even longer version than 24".

The sliders work very good. The instructions for mounting work good and allowed a perfect mounting of the sliders so that the table saw sled moved perfectly parallel
to the saw blade.

At first glance, this looks like a nice design, however, it has two significant flaws that can be annoying and can make it unsuitable for many applications.

The design: Wedges inside the inverted U-channel aluminum bar expand both sides of the bar. Adjusting screws flush with the top surface pull the aluminum wedges up against the matching sloped inside surface of the bar's sides.

Problems:

1. This design expands BOTH sides of the miter bar to make it fit snugly in the miter slot. Unfortunately, that means that the "Miter Slider" has no fixed reference edge. Since most jigs depend on a fixed reference edge, e.g., from one edge of a miter slot to a saw blade, any adjustment in the "Miter Slider" will ruin the initial setup, require the jig be re-calibrated, and possibly ruin the jig. Jigs that use two parallel miter slots, such as a table saw crosscut sled, will also be affected, since the distance between the "Miter Slider" guide bars changes when one of them is tightened or loosened.

Examples I've experienced of the need to adjust the snugness of the "Miter Slider" after the initial fitting include (a) loosening a bar that, in retrospect, is a little too tight or too loose; (b) tightening the bar after it wears in to better fit the shape of the miter slot after a few dozen passes and becomes a little loose (it's an aluminum bar frequently in a cast iron miter slot) or simply becomes loose with wear over time; and (c) loosening the fit of a bar that was snug when it was cool, but has expanded with warmth to be too snug.

Other designs use adjustable plugs, or other means, to adjust only one side of the miter bar. This leaves the other unchanged edge as a reference edge.

To its credit, the Miter Slider's design results in a smooth transition at the point of the adjustable width, while the first adjustable plug on other designs will sometimes catch on the side of the miter slot.

The Miter Slider design is fine for jigs that need only to slide, and don't depend on a constant distance from the miter slot to the saw blade.

2. There is enough friction between the wedges and the matching sloped inside surfaces of the bar sides (both aluminum) that they don't release smoothly, resulting in significant backlash -- as much as a half a turn of the adjusting screws. This means that if you overshoot even slightly (such that the bar is too tight), you cannot just back off a little. You have to back off significantly and start over. I adjust bars by sliding them through the miter slot as I gradually tighten each adjustment screw. If it's nicely snug at one point in the slot, it may bind in another point in the slot, but you can't just back off a little, you wind up backing off significantly before the wedge slides free. A little tapping on the Allen wrench might help free the wedge. This significant backlash in the adjustment is annoying, but isn't a fatal problem since you do it rarely. A little spray wax or lubricant between the wedges and the side walls might resolve this issue.

When i received this item ,I opened the box to find that it was dammaged.
It had been nicked and bent. Note the box had no damaged at all.Who ever packed it had to see that it was Dammaged.I too pictures of it.When i was going to return it cost me more money. And it was my fault.I still have it And can not use it.
Strickly the companys fault not mine.