EZ Smart - Worth buying in the UK?

[Dave S]

One thing to bear in mind is that the US shipper won't take items over s certain length - hence of you get the 114" rails from the US they will have to cut the rail down and provide extra connectors. If you can avoid this by buying here then I would definitely recommend it. Joining three rails together and getting the rail straight is a pita!!

Dave

The 114" consist of a 50" and 64" guide the girth should meet the allowed packages size. (If i'm correct with USPS the maximum girth for rectangular packages was length + width <= 108") But the maximum sizes fepend also on the type of server and the shipper. For larger packages FexEd and UPS can get more economical than USPS.

I don't recall whether it was UPS or USPS who shipped mine, but I was informed by Dinos office that they would not take anything over a certain length (60" I think) and hence the 64" rail had to be cut. I wasn't offered an alternative shipper and I didn't press the issue because I didn't realise at that time how difficult it is to join rails together and keep them straight.

 

[wizer]

I use 2 50's, never had a problem with alignment. Do you back the guides away from eachother just a fraction when tightening?

 

[tnimble]

I just entered a package size of 64x10x10" in my UPS and FedEx shipping tool, neither of them complain about it being to large to ship such an item from Edison NJ to the UK or NL. Altough the costs are rather on the high side because of the dimensional weight being higher than the actual weigth of a length of alu of that size.

 

[Vormulac]

I've never had a problem keeping the guide straight when connecting two together either - how odd.

 

[xraymtb]

Does anybody use a 235mm (9 1/4") saw with the EZ?

I have been emailing Dino about my order and he recommends getting the larger base at an extra $75.

 

[wizer]

Would that be a Triton saw? I don't currently have my Triton setup on it, but probably will in the future. Dunno. My intended use for the EZ rails is purely knocking down ply. So my 190mm Hitachi is perfect, it also has a brake which I like.

 

[xraymtb]

Its not the Triton - that really was a big beast for handheld use. Its a Hitachi C9U2.

The reason I ask is that paying another $75 for a large base really starts to make the system look expensive.

Is there any chance someone could measure the Smart base so I can work out how much the Hitachi would overhang by?

 

[wizer]

the base is 320mm x 180mm and the opening is 70mm x 240mm

Mike have you come across the SMC EZ forum yet?

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?f=26

 

[xraymtb]

Thanks Wizer.

My saw is around 400mm x 180mm. So width wise its fine. Lengthwise, to allow the saw guard to close, I would need to cut straight through the back of the smart base.

What do you think? Will the base twist? Too dangerous?

 

[Dave S]

I use 2 50's, never had a problem with alignment. Do you back the guides away from eachother just a fraction when tightening?

Yes, I do. But the rails don't self-align. On an 8' rip they can be 8mm out. I therefore have to tighten the connectors, turn over the rail and check with a straight edge across the join or else stretch a piece of cord from end to end to check for straightness. The turn over, adjust the join etc etc. There have been posts on the forum about this and there has been no suggestion that it is anything unusual :?

Hmm - do you use the centre connector as well, or just the two side connectors? I was only supplied with the side connectors.

Dave

 

[wizer]

I'm not sure. I think it will be fine tbh. Have a chat with Dino, surely he can do you a deal on the larger base, seeing as you won't be needing the regular.

 

[wizer]

Hmm - do you use the centre connector as well, or just the two side connectors? I was only supplied with the side connectors.

Dave

Yes I do use the centre one. TBH I have never closely scrutinised the resulting cuts. Next time I use it, I will make some tests.

 

[tnimble]

Its not the Triton - that really was a big beast for handheld use. Its a Hitachi C9U2.

Hmm, do you already have that saw? As I have seen that saw its (just as with my bosch) near impossible to get a consistent perpendicular cut. (besides that problem my bosch has also lot of side play in the blade on top of that)

 

[tnimble]

Hmm - do you use the centre connector as well, or just the two side connectors? I was only supplied with the side connectors.

Looking at the extrusion profiles on Dino's site with only the two outside connector strips inplace the extrusion should align perfectly.

I can see three ways a misalignment could occur. The first is there is a burr on the guide rails. The misalignment should be more or les consistent (at least angle wise), the second would be a burr on the botto size of the connector strips, the third one would be a thickness variance on the connector strips or wall thickness o the guide rail.

 

[xraymtb]

Its not the Triton - that really was a big beast for handheld use. Its a Hitachi C9U2.

Hmm, do you already have that saw? As I have seen that saw its (just as with my bosch) near impossible to get a consistent perpendicular cut. (besides that problem my bosch has also lot of side play in the blade on top of that)

I already have the saw and have had no problems with the cut so far. I do check it before each big use and have never had to adjust it unless I've changed the blade.

 

[tnimble]

I already have the saw and have had no problems with the cut so far. I do check it before each big use and have never had to adjust it unless I've changed the blade.

Might be a production tolerance thing then. With both my bosch and the Hitachi U2 series it seems to be caused by a sloppy fit of the pivot point for the height adjustment. Making the blade still able to change the angle a little bit whilst the angle adjustment remains unchanged.