Rex Edgar Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 I was surfing the other day and ran into Bridge City Tools and their web page. The 'Kerfmaker' caught my eye and I did some further investigating, to find that there are many shop made alternatives. I settled on a design by "JAY'S Creation" . His was very basic, I added a few upgrades and it does work well. My question to those who have and use this jig is, what is themost use you get from this guy. I have found that it is very accurate, but if it is used with a long piece, you run out of sled or table area to clamp the jig and line up the work. Here are a few photos of what I came up with. Oh, the place mat reminds me "Merry Christmas" to all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 I have the BCTW one. It's extremely accurate. I use it mostly on the tablesaw when doing grooves for drawer bottoms, boxes, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_r_ Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 I have the BCTW one as well. Very nice little tool. Table saw for me and I use it for any dado cuts I can. Even did a 3D model of it too. I was bored (LINK) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chet Posted December 14, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Okay, I give up, how do these things work/what are they for? I may need one and don't even know it. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 NP. They got me with the super cheap cost to get on the wait list, talked to a rep late last month and they hope to ship them this month. I'd almost prefer they waited until next month though. Or at least until after next payday, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Edgar Posted December 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 I found it necessary to change to a smaller round knob due to interference when laying the jig on it's side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandorLush Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 17 hours ago, Rex Edgar said: I found it necessary to change to a smaller round knob due to interference when laying the jig on it's side. Thanks for the update, I have a big box of jig parts I got from rockler that are itching for a use so this might be a good place to start, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_r_ Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 On 12/14/2016 at 11:59 AM, xxdabroxx said: NP. They got me with the super cheap cost to get on the wait list, talked to a rep late last month and they hope to ship them this month. I'd almost prefer they waited until next month though. Or at least until after next payday, haha. They discounted them? How much were they going for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 No discount, but the pre-order price was something like $7, you have to pay the rest when they ship. 31 minutes ago, ben_r_ said: They discounted them? How much were they going for? I figured it was a good way to get one of their tools in my hands to see if the quality is worth it to pick up any of their bigger tools. I know what it is like to use Snap-On over craftsman so I'm curious to see if BCT is like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Does anyone know of one not made by BCTW, or is this one of their inventions? I don't see anything at Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 It is a BCTW invention. Lots of DIY knock offs around but it's theirs exclusively . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Edgar Posted December 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 2 hours ago, ben_r_ said: They discounted them? How much were they going for? Ben-r Don't do what you did to the Festool 5" sander!!!!! Please.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_r_ Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 2 hours ago, Rex Edgar said: Ben-r Don't do what you did to the Festool 5" sander!!!!! Please.... Ha, it's not a discount, just a down payment on a pre-order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Staehling Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 On 12/14/2016 at 6:51 AM, Rex Edgar said: I was surfing the other day and ran into Bridge City Tools and their web page. The 'Kerfmaker' caught my eye and I did some further investigating, to find that there are many shop made alternatives. I settled on a design by "JAY'S Creation" . His was very basic, I added a few upgrades and it does work well. My question to those who have and use this jig is, what is themost use you get from this guy. I have found that it is very accurate, but if it is used with a long piece, you run out of sled or table area to clamp the jig and line up the work. Here are a few photos of what I came up with. Oh, the place mat reminds me "Merry Christmas" to all! I made and use something similar to that. It works great and took about as long to make as I would have spent buying one. Maybe I am too much of a cheapskate, but I don't see spending $$$ on the BCTW one. Mine isn't adjustable for different blade widths, but I decided that, to me at least, it made sense to just make more than one if I want them for different blades. I also made a thickness gauge to use with it to get the depth right with less fuss. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elroy Skimms Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Dear Santa... -E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 That might be my gateway tool to the harder BCTW stuff. I watched a couple of videos of shop made versions, & really, my labor is worth a lot more than the cost of buying it. And it's beautiful to look at. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 2 hours ago, drzaius said: That might be my gateway tool to the harder BCTW stuff. I watched a couple of videos of shop made versions, & really, my labor is worth a lot more than the cost of buying it. And it's beautiful to look at. Thats about where I fell on this one. It wasn't so expensive as to be cost prohibitive and I figured the metal would hold better and probably be less frustrating in the long run to a shop built version. Although, a shop built version would be pretty easy to build I would think. I just have more confidence in tapping a fence into a metal tool and having it not move over a wooden one that I built. That and I wanted to get a taste for their quality without dropping a few hundo on a plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 On 12/14/2016 at 0:15 PM, Chet K said: Okay, I give up, how do these things work/what are they for? I may need one and don't even know it. I have never heard of that before but, now that I have seen it, I know that I can't live another minute without one. Time to DIY. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Edgar Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 17 hours ago, drzaius said: I watched a couple of videos of shop made versions, & really, my labor is worth a lot more than the cost of buying it. And it's beautiful to look at. I Envy your time, sir. The longest step I found was waiting for the glue to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaziri Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 20 hours ago, drzaius said: That might be my gateway tool to the harder BCTW stuff. I watched a couple of videos of shop made versions, & really, my labor is worth a lot more than the cost of buying it. And it's beautiful to look at. I looked at the Kerfmaker and really wanted one. I also watched some videos on how to make one. Well, it did not take me long to go back and order the Kerfmaker by BCTW. Can't wait to get my new toy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Edgar Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Back to the drawing board, as I said earlier, I replaced the knob with a smaller one so that there is no interference when laying on it's side. I also added a channel for the slider to ride on. I also liked the look of the BC version and ordered one. The seem to have attended the same business school as the folks known for the Red tools. Take orders, then produce. I answered my own questions by watching the BC video. Clever using the rip fence scale to make the longer dados. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 So are the shop made versions just not as accurate as BC's? I just watched Jay's video...obviously one of his earlier works...but the jig looks painfully easy to build. It's hard to imagine paying for one, unless it's an accuracy thing. I'm not sure I would even use the thing, but I'll certainly build one to see. If I do find it useful, perhaps I'll get in on a BC order later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 I have the BCTW version, and it is great. I also bought a 3D printed version to see how they compared, but received an incomplete version and haven't taken the time to get the other wheel printed. As you can see, the 3D printed one is huge... It ended up costing around $35 with shipping. The real one isn't that expensive... There is a lot of messing around to make one, and it won't be as accurate as the one you can buy. Maybe it's just me... But if I'm going to make something it is because I can do it better. Not so I can save a few bucks. Time is money, and the money spent on the genuine article is well worth knowing that you will be able to count on it being accurate for as long as you live. Wood moves, and so will your shop made thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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