E. Emerson Tool Co. All-In-One system

[reible]

Hi,

I have an older version of their system but it does resemble the "A-series":
http://www.eemersontool.com/products/products.html#a

I hope this will help you understand the basics of this system and I hope the trip will not be seen as anything but my review of this product. Expect a lot of pictures.

First I want to show you the equipment I gathered to do this. One of my favorite saws of all time is the Porter Cable 345 6" circular saw. They have a newer version with even "better" features but this one is classic PC. The saw is mounted on the XSP plate (not sure if that is the exact same one but really close if not).

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Note the not so perfect cut-out I did to get the guard to work in this picture.

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On this table of items the blue anodized clamp is the one I have. The smaller one with the blue handle near by is I think is one of the newer version but I can't find any marking to be sure.

The blue clamp would be the A50, it is long enough to cut the 4' width of a sheet of plywood. It also has jaw extensions, XWJ or similar older product.

I will post the next section and more photos a bit later.

Ed

[reible]

For part two I wanted to show you the "extra" length of the clamp, that being over and above the 48". This is handy if you add "story sticks".

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Next I wanted to show you the clamping method used. In this first picture notice the bright metal pieces in the loose state. This is on the "far end" of the clamp, the one away from the user and handle end. This end is designed to slide along to adjust to the width you need.

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In operation you would slide this end up to the edge of the wood then use the black smaller portion of the slide to lock it in position. The above picture shows the locked position. Keep in mind this is the bottom side view.

From the top, first as it is in the slide position.

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Moved into the locked position.

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Next we will start talking about the lever end and how the clamping on that end is done. Because of the limitations of the number of photos that will happen in the next posting.

Ed

[reible]

Clamp positions from loose to tight.

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I know I know how simple can it get....

Ed

[dusty]

I was embarrassed when I realized I had this hanging on the wall and hardly ever used it. It was a gift from one of my daughters and I had none of the accessories. When the saw track discussion arose, I did some research and discovered that there was a saw plate available. I when to Woodworkers Source and got one.

I have the 54" model (U54) so it is not useful for ripping 8' sheets. I will probably solve that with a U99.

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The profile of my rail is a lot different than yours and would facilitate a saw plate that rode up top rather than along side. BUT, that is not the way the plate is built.

My plate also functions as a zero clearance devise. (Maybe I mounted the saw wrong.)

[reible]

Now we can start putting things together, the bottom view of the plate shows the sliding part that will go over the extrusion.

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The way I like to use plate is to have it free and not trapped to the extrusion, you simply put it on and take it off when you want. It would be harder to do if the two were attached. Just how I feel and I'm sure others would think other wise.

Here is the track and saw together, just "plopped" on.

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There is a provision via a the t-track to contain the two parts or so it appears.

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Ed

[Ed in Tampa]

I think mine that have absolutely no name are the same clamps. I have a saw plate but it is broken and I have wanted to replace it but didn't know for sure if the e emerson clamp were the same.
Here is what mine look like
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[reible]

This about covers the hardware. Now for a couple of pictures of how I set it up to use.

I have a 4 foot long piece of hardboard (painted black so I can find it and remember to not cut it up) that was cut so the if the edge matches the distance from the guide to the blade. As shown this part is to be aligned to the the cut line and then clamped to the work piece. The guide is then slid up to it and locked. The cut and waste is the the right. I have a second piece of hardboard of another width to allow to cut to the other side of the blade. The nails are for yet another method of clamping, if you know what I mean.

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Another method of location is by story sticks. The larger jaws have holes that allow the sticks to be attached. The holes are on both jaws so you can chose to have a story stick on both ends, given the way these things work that is a good idea.

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I didn't feel like taking the time to attach them for real but this is about what you end up with when they are attached.

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Ed

[reible]

Just a few more things to cover.

So far we have talked about the plate with saw attached. You of course have the option of using the edge with a saw or router without the plate. Some people worry about coming away from the guide while sawing, a bit like what could happen on a table saw while ripping. Just take your time and think what you are doing, it isn't all that hard.

There are a few thing you do need to think about before you start. Again the tool you use can make a difference. In my case I have a Porter Cable 347 which has a really nice base, you can see it here.

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Those edges are great for riding against a guide. Your saw may or may not work well out of the box but this one I liked from day one.

You will also need to check for things like this:

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It might be a little hard to see but the blade will be cutting off part of jaw of the guide. This is with the guard side next to the guide. If you go with the guard side of the saw away from the guide you might find that you have this problem:

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Yep the motor is hitting the guide, can't use it this way so you need to readjust the depth of cut so it clears. That can be seen here:

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More next post.

Ed

[reible]

When using a router against the guide, and depending on what router you have and what adjustments you have done... the router sub base may or may not be concentric with the bit. (I personally have never seen a from the factory round sub base router that was adjusted in this way.) What happens is if the sub base is rotated as you route along the guide the line will not be straight but rather have a wave.

The easy way to solve this is either make the sub base concentric or change to a base with a flat long part of it. You can buy, make, convert a stock sub base for this. This is what one of my bases looks like.

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If you do it this way you can get a really nice straight route.

Ed

[reible]

As you may have noticed I have my fair share of guides. One thing I found that I did not like on some of them was this method of locking them in place. Moving the lever always seemed to cause something to move and it would take several takes to get the alignment right. Maybe it is me or maybe it is the clamping method but for me I'm never going to buy this style again.

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One other thing about these guides, they can also be use for a lot more then it first appears. Here is an example of a guide on the bandsaw. It has it limitations but then doesn't everything?

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Coming up will be a small summery.

Ed