JimReed Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 I am in need of a tenoning jig. I did a brief search online and I saw the Stumpy Nubs incremental tenoning jig http://www.stumpynubs.com/tenon-jig.html ) which is pretty cool but I was wondering if there is any commercially available tenoning jig as I am short on time so I would rather buy than build if there is a highly recommended jig? Any good recommendations? Thanks, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 Yeah there's a million of them. They all come out of one or two factories and are painted different colors depending on which brand is selling them. PM - poop yellow; Jet - white; Rockler - blue...etc. When I bought mine I did have a little trouble finding one that went through any kind of QC at the factory...the first two I bought had warped bases. Delta was the first and I believe the second one was Woodcraft branded. Finally I went to Rockler and found one with a nice flat base. But the basic design is always identical... There's also the crazy PM-TJ if you feel like buying way more jig than you'll ever need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 Like Eric said they all are pretty much the same. I have the Grizzy and use the Woodcraft's instructions because they are better. If you buy that Powermatic, once you buy a mortiser you're almost at Domino price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 I also have the Grizly but, I tend to use the one I built more than that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 The generic cast iron marketed under various names has done fine for me for many years. I got mine at Rockler on sale for about $45 back then. Seems the going rate today with a bit of shopping about is $80+. Mine came in a Rockler box but, it came with Jet instructions. With a bit of fettling these basic models will do a good job. I've played with the Powermatic and from a strictly engineering design standpoint it is quite the little item. Beautifully finished as well I might add. everything seemed to be well thought out, ergonomic and no sharp edges to the touch. three times what the generic costs but, it is far from an apples to apples comparison. Do you need all that? Probably not. The miter bar that came with mine had not adjustments. Although you can dimple the sides with a punch I was after a more consistent fit throughout the range in which I use the jig. I just cut a "bar" out of some straight grained oak, waxed it and it fits snug after many years of use. I also added a bit of rubber to the clamp pad to make it a little more grippy. I use it on the tablesaw and the router table. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 I wouldn't trade my old Delta 1172 for one each of all the others made. I can run hundreds of pieces with it, and every one is dead on. It probably weighs 30 lbs. You can find them occasionally on ebay for upwards of $200, plus a big shipping fee. I keep looking to see if I can buy a second one, but so far, no good deals enough to be worth paying the price for a second one. I don't know which one I'd buy if these weren't available, but probably the Powermatic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 You can always just make your tenons with the dado stack. That's what I do. I usually only use my TJ for angled tenons and bridle joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_r_ Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 Man that Powermatic PM-TJ is one fine looking piece of equipment though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 I have lusted after that old Delta tenon jig that Tom has. I've seen them go for $400 , way to rich for my budget. But I've used one and they are rock steady. I've got the same one Eric showed, not as stable or easy to adjust but affordable and it gets the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 Theres quite a few used ones on Ebay. Im not sure a tenon jig is something id have to have brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 20 minutes ago, woodbutcher said: Theres quite a few used ones on Ebay. Im not sure a tenon jig is something id have to have brand new. Only problem with that is you can't check them for QC issues before you buy it...a warped base makes it useless and seems to be a fairly common problem in my experience. Also something that heavy would kill your bargain with the cost of shipping. I think I paid a hundred bucks for mine brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted September 9, 2017 Report Share Posted September 9, 2017 I had the delta version for a while, and it collected dust mostly. I sold it after buying the domino. When I need tenons, I cut them flat with a dado stack. While I had it, the delta worked just fine. I would buy it again if I needed a jig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawdustdad Posted September 14, 2017 Report Share Posted September 14, 2017 I have an older Delta tenoning jig. Don't use it very often, but when you need it, you need it. I, too, use a dado stack for most tenons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 I have a Delta tenon jig, but it's not the old style that seems to be so much sought after,. My jig looks like the one in Eric's picture only it is painted gray and likely came from the same chiwanese factory as all of the other brands and colors with the same appearance. It has been quite satisfactory for my needs, except the base casting of it had sharp machined edge burrs that were scratching my Unisaw table when I first bought it. I tried filing and sanding the sharp edges of the base, but then I cut a piece of scrap counter top laminate and attached it to the bottom of the jig - no more scratches. It was a quick and easy solution. I recently used this tenon jig to make thin cross grained splines to use for splined miter joints of 5" square boxes. The splines needed to be about 0.187" thick, the kerf width of my saw blade.. I set the jig up as you would to cut tenons, but adjusted it so that the off cut from making the tenon would be the thickness that I needed. I then cut one spline from each side of the board, then flipped the board end for end and made two more spline cuts. I then used my miter saw with a stop set for the spline width, and cut the splines free from both ends of the board. The tenons made during this became the scrap. All of the splines made this way were within 0.004" of the desired thickness, and were a perfect fit with glue up. Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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