EZSmart Universal Edge Guide w/ univ. base

[reible]

The wife and I walked down to the pole and voted then added our daily walk in and by the time we got back home a box from Rockler was waiting for me by the front door.

This was a very quick delivery having just ordered this item over the weekend and it is now only Tuesday.

As you are expecting the box contained another box. The second box was what I ordered, the EZSmart Universal Edge Guide with Universal Saw Base.

I would guess the box was just about 5 pounds, yes about the same as a bag of sugar. I don't have a good scale for weighing this sort of thing so I have to go with a best guess. Weight is both a friend and foe for this sort of tool, and the reason I'm mentioning it. Too light and it will feel flimsy and too heavy and it will tire you out dealing with it.

IMG_6643sc.jpg (488.74 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

So job one was to open the box to check for damage and or missing parts. No apparent damage so that was good news. Inside the materials were wrapped in to bundles with the plastic stretch tape, no nasty adhesive stuff to deal with.

IMG_6644sc.jpg (478.95 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

It was easy to separate the parts of the edge guide and the saw base.

IMG_6645sc.jpg (494.38 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

It was clear what part was what part and besides there were not that many parts to start with.

IMG_6646sc.jpg (492.46 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

Assembly is very fast and to be honest the instructions leave a lot to be desired so I went on my own mechanical skill set rather then having to deal with them. If you owned an erector set as a child you are over qualified to put this together.

I will say I'm not impressed with the design, if you like that sort of thing then you will be left wondering who worked on this. Functional yes, elegant, not at all. Certainly not the level of work done by established design teams.

When assembled minus the saw base it looks like this:

IMG_6647sc.jpg (480.67 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

I did open the saw base to have a look at the parts involved.

IMG_6648sc.jpg (465.94 KiB) Viewed 19118 times

I have not yet decided if I will be using one of my existing saws or if I will get a new one for just this application. So until I decide which direction I think is best for me I will not be mounting a saw. This means that things are going to be on hold for now. Once I get going on this again I will continue this review.

Ed

[beeg]

I would guess the box was just about 5 pounds, yes about the same as a bag of sugar.
Ed

I think a bag of sugar is 4 pounds for many years now.

[reible]

I would guess the box was just about 5 pounds, yes about the same as a bag of sugar.
Ed

I think a bag of sugar is 4 pounds for many years now.

Yes you can buy 4 pounds but they still sell it in the old 5 pound bags at Walmart and other stores. Here is an example:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/10447782?wmls ... 15&veh=sem

When we used a lot more of it we went with the 10 pound bags but with the wife and I and me not using very much anymore 5 pounds lasts a long time. BTW I'm one who likes cane sugar, that beet stuff is NOT the same flavor. The wife has tried to trick me a couple of times because she can't tell the difference but I can. After all making an ice tea is an art form you know.

Ed

[roy_okc]

I have not yet decided if I will be using one of my existing saws or if I will get a new one for just this application. So until I decide which direction I think is best for me I will not be mounting a saw. This means that things are going to be on hold for now. Once I get going on this again I will continue this review.
Ed

Ed,

Congrats. I'm confident that you'll have good experiences with the UEG.

Unless your current saw is in really bad shape, I'd recommend using what you have to get started. You can always remove the base later and put it on a different saw if you desire. If you don't have a good blade, I can highly recommend the Freud Diablos. People often don't realize how bad their blades are, either out of the box or after months/years of use/abuse. Also, the Diablos are a thin kerf blade which can help give a marginal saw an effective boost in power. Also, I think being guided helps the saw cut more efficiently, again giving a less powerful saw a bit of a boost.

Whichever saw you go with, be very slow and methodical while mounting the base. The new base is much easier to align and install than the older bases, but you can still get it skewed to the saw. If you have trouble getting it aligned, you can use double-side tape to adhere it in place, then drill the screw holes.

Assuming that you have a 7-1/4" saw, and don't yet have track, the base by itself doesn't take up enough space to prevent cutting through 2X material. Thus, you can leave the base on full time.

If you haven't already, peruse Youtube for videos. You might still be able to find some that Dino made intentionally putting the UEG through several forms of torture through some pretty serious materials. The worst that happened was binding the blade to a halt. No kickback, no jump out, nothing but (usually) good clean cuts.

Roy

[reible]

Ed,

Congrats. I'm confident that you'll have good experiences with the UEG.

Unless your current saw is in really bad shape, I'd recommend using what you have to get started. You can always remove the base later and put it on a different saw if you desire. If you don't have a good blade, I can highly recommend the Freud Diablos. People often don't realize how bad their blades are, either out of the box or after months/years of use/abuse. Also, the Diablos are a thin kerf blade which can help give a marginal saw an effective boost in power. Also, I think being guided helps the saw cut more efficiently, again giving a less powerful saw a bit of a boost.

Whichever saw you go with, be very slow and methodical while mounting the base. The new base is much easier to align and install than the older bases, but you can still get it skewed to the saw. If you have trouble getting it aligned, you can use double-side tape to adhere it in place, then drill the screw holes.

Assuming that you have a 7-1/4" saw, and don't yet have track, the base by itself doesn't take up enough space to prevent cutting through 2X material. Thus, you can leave the base on full time.

If you haven't already, peruse Youtube for videos. You might still be able to find some that Dino made intentionally putting the UEG through several forms of torture through some pretty serious materials. The worst that happened was binding the blade to a halt. No kickback, no jump out, nothing but (usually) good clean cuts.

Roy

I own 5 circular saws. My old saw has been relegated to abrasive blade use and all that that entails. My PC saw boss (model 345) has a special plate for the current guide system I have and I don't want to deal with changing that at least for now. The third saw is a PC 347 that is my "job site" saw that I would like to keep in its traveling case. The small rockwell I use with my Kreg jig and it would not make a good saw for this base anyway. The last saw is my battery one and again not a good choice for this application. This leaves me with thinking about yet another saw.

Today I visited the Home Depot and had a look at what they had to offer. I came home with nothing but I did learn that I could eliminate some of the saws due to excessive weight. Weather permitting I plan to visit both Menards and Lowes tomorrow. We also have a Farm and Fleet store that has a nice selection of tools so I can also visit them. I want to have a hands on experience before I make up my mind. I think I'm looking for something lighter then the run of the mill saws I've seen. I was quite disappointed with the cheaper end of what I saw so I might be spending more then I first thought on this.

I too like the Diablo blades and I'll be looking to upgrade to one of their finish blades if I do get a new saw. I would like to have the new blade in hand when I fit the saw to the base so I will not have to mess with readjustments. Mount it once and use it that way looks like the best option for me.

I have a 6" 40 tooth diablo for my saw boss so I am familiar with them. That blade has an extremely thin kerf and works really well on plywood which is pretty much why I went that way in the first place. In my book better blades are a great investment.

Ed

[MinnesotaMarty]

Ed,
I just order my UEG from the Eureka on 4/7/15. UPS sent me an email that they will deliver on Monday 4/13/15. My plan is to put a Magnesium base circular saw on this tool. Due to the weight. I also want a left blade saw because I want to hold the saw with my right hand and see the blade as I cut. For me, it is just a matter of preference. I will report back to how I like the tool with the saw attached.
I have a Ridgid Fuego 6 1/2" saw that is magnesium but blade in on the right. That saw weighs only 8 lbs. and I like it alot. Except for not being able to see the blade.
Let us know how you come out with the UEG. I think its going to work pretty slick for knocking down plywood sheets.

Marty

[dusty]

I must admit that this looks like a really smart method for cutting down sheet goods. I must give this tool some serious consideration.

[reible]

So I went to the Lowes by us and found what I think is just what I want in a new saw.

Dewalt DWE575sb. It is a light weight 7-1/4" saw, 8.8 pounds and 15 amp. They had a display model to handle and it felt right so I came home with it. Full price was $124 minus a 10% discount and then add local tax so it came to just about what my top price was of $120.

The blade was a different story, it seems that Lowes doesn't care the Freud Diablos blades. I had to pick a second choice or go on line to order it as the other store I shop at, Menards doesn't care that blade either. Last time I had to go to Ace and paid a premium to get what I wanted. Today I was not in the mood so I opted for a blade they do stock. The Dewalt fine finish 40 tooth blade (DW3194) seemed reasonable and they are stocked at several of the places I shop.... the kerf will not be as thin but still pretty thin. I've used this same blade model before and it worked pretty well. So it was a compromise but I have it in hand.

When I looked up the saw on amazon it was the same price as it was local. So the deal looks OK. Lot of people seem to like it and I plan to check my saw for the problem that has shown up in the reviews, that being the plate not being parallel to the blade. If it not then it goes back even if it will not matter to me for the use intended. Just want it to be right after paying that much money for it.

So more details to follow as they unfold.

Ed

[reible]

Getting ready to unbox the saw and I noticed that a shipping label for the saw going to the store had a date of 4/1 or April Fools Day. Hope that doesn't mean anything more then it is new..... It would be quite the joke to find a couple of bricks packed inside and no saw.

OK not I have to get back to the task at hand.

Ed

[reible]

Wild weather day in IL yesterday. While we were not in the effected area and received no damage there were those that were not so fortunate. Players go out to them.

Our weather radio was really busy so I had to curtain my plans and pay attention to the situation locally. I did have time to get the saw out of the box, and yes there was a saw in the box. I did check to make sure it ran and functioned because what was coming next was drilling some holes in the base and I'm pretty sure they would not want me returning it after I did that.

I snapped a couple of pictures cause as they say if there are no pictures then it didn't happen.

IMG_6649sc.jpg (543.11 KiB) Viewed 18790 times

The saw came with a blade but it was not what I wanted for this project. Yes I'm sure it would have cut fast with the supplied blade but again more teeth will give me the finer cut that I want.

IMG_6650sc.jpg (546.82 KiB) Viewed 18790 times

Ed