Incra ULTRA16SYS 16-Inch Jig Ultra Woodworking System


Astrounding accuracy.5

This fence along with the templates provided at first seems to be aimed solely at delivering fancy dovetail operations. The tool provides the best accuracy I've seen for this task. If you know and understand dovetails the specific methods of use for the fence and templates will be clear and you will appreciate its ability to repeat accurate dovetails as well as streamline your operation. On the other hand if you have never cut a dovetail by hand - or do not understand the geometry needed to make good dovetails this is not the way to learn. If you just have to have this tool "to grow into" be sure to work a few joints by hand or by router first until you understand the nature of the task before learning this system. Learning on this system could very well confuse or frustrate a dovetail novice. There are other excellent dovetail jigs and fixtures out there (and some really poor ones as well) but the set of templates provided in this system along with the extreme adjustment capabilities make this unit the most flexible by far. If you are into `trick' dovetails this is the tool.

To me the best thing about this fence is what it can do aside from dovetails. It can pop onto your table saw drill press shaper or sander and turn it into a machine-shop quality wood cutting machine (or metal I suppose although I don't do metal so I can't truly say). Precise movements of the micrometer style adjustment of this fence can get you an accuracy that is not easy to get any other way. Precise ripping drilling or sanding - in the order of about two thousandths of an inch are easily obtained (the tool adjust to 1 thousandth. But in my humble opinion the flexibility of wood and cutting heads make the practical everyday accuracy about 2 thousandths). In my endeavors I have used it to make a precise repair parts for an intricate inlaid floor repair replacing a cooling tower watertight wooden connector and to make an airtight joint on a vacuum table without using sealers or glues. Just wood to glass - but very accurate wood.

It is not a tool I use everyday. Quite often however there arises a task that only this tool can accomplish. For the serious woodworker this tool can expand your horizons by giving you an accuracy that is easy to obtain and highly repeatable. With the caveats mentioned above this fence gets a five.More detail ...

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