Additional information
Material | Aluminum |
---|---|
Brand | KREG |
Product Dimensions | 30.88"L x 8.75"W |
Color | Blue |
Style | Circular Saw Guide |
Item Weight | 2.45 pounds |
Compatible Material | Engineered Wood |
UPC | 647096807160 827165703535 |
Global Trade Identification Number | 00647096807160 |
Manufacturer | Kreg Tool Inc |
Part Number | KMA2685 |
Country of Origin | India |
Item model number | KMA2685 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Item Package Quantity | 1 |
Number Of Pieces | 1 |
Measurement System | Metric |
Mounting Type | Plate Mount |
Included Components | Universal Saw Sled, Aluminum Guide Rail, Precision Edge Guide, Instructions |
Batteries Included | No |
Batteries Required | No |
Warranty Description | 90 day warranty |
SarahLawrence Scott –
Great to have for various projects
Richard S. –
Nice guide…worked very well for cutting sheets of plywood to the specific size I needed.
Prepgirl –
Presumably you’re considering this guide either because you don’t have a table saw or because you sometimes do wood-working “in the field.” I fall into the first category–I don’t have a proper space for an indoor workshop, so no table saw, and I do most of my work on my patio. (Which is now covered in sawdust!)
You’re probably hoping this guide can help your circular saw do three things: cut straight, cut reproducibility, and cut accurately.
The common alternative is to just use a straight piece of wood as a fence, and guide your circular saw along that. So in this review, I’m going to focus on how it compares to using a fence for each of the three goals.
CUTTTING STRAIGHT:
When using a circular saw with a fence, I find it very hard not to have the last several inches of the cut deviate from a straight line. That’s because the stress of the wood as it’s about to separate tends to pull or push and change the cut. For me, it typically makes the last few inches of the cut a bit wider (i.e. further from the fence) than the rest, and sometimes miters the end of the cut a bit. Maybe if you’re really good at figuring out how to support and clamp the pieces, you don’t have that problem, but no matter how I arrange supports it comes up for me a lot. So is the Kreg guide better in this respect? No–it suffers from the same problem. In fact, it’s maybe a bit harder to avoid, because the long ruler part makes it more difficult to locate clamps appropriately. Still, it’s just the last few inches, so if you’re ripping a four foot long piece, it’s not a big deal: you can either cross-cut the last few inches, or block plane it back into alignment if you need the whole length.
CUTTING REPRODUCIBLY:
Say you want a bunch of pieces ripped to exactly the same width. With a fence, that’s a bit tricky, because you have to make sure the fence and the piece are positioned exactly the same way each time. With the Kreg guide, it’s effortless; just leave it set in the same position and use it on one piece after the next, and each will be exactly the same width (except maybe for the wonky part at the end of the cut discussed above). So for this purpose, the Kreg wins over a regular fence.
CUTTING ACCURATELY:
This is where the Kreg really shines! Say you need a piece ripped to exactly 6 7/16″ wide–no more and no less. (That might well be the case if you’re doing cabinet work or something like that.) With the Kreg, just take a piece of scrap wood and make a cut, measure the width of the result, and set the cursor to match. You can then set the Kreg to any width you want, and that is exactly the width you’ll get (again, with a possibly wonky bit at the end of the cut). It’s much harder to do that with a traditional fence; you need to think about kerf, and sled width, and the pencil width, if you measured and marked with a pencil, etc..
Note: This guide is described as for rip-cuts, and that’s what it’s good for (well, long cross-cuts are fine too). It’s not going to work well for, say, a cross-cut across a piece of wood that’s only 3″ wide. But if you’ve got something a couple of feet or more long that you need to rip to a precise width, it’s great.
DJPrime –
Once set up it makes extremely accurate cuts. The plastic is a little flimsy and is not up to a lot of abuse. Handled gently, should last a long time. I was getting less than 1/64″ variation on ripping LP siding and OSB sheeting. Removing and re installing the circular saw for me, did not require recalibration. Saw hold down clamps do not need a gazillion pounds of torque since most of your concentration should be on the edge guide. Hand on the saw is only there for the trigger and a push. Table saw results….love this thing!
GOT –
Key words “Saw guide”!
This item works as it should and is well worth the money. It’s amusing that so many bad reviews have been left because the item “feels like it’ll break”.
This item is made of ABS plastic which is the same material found in the interior and exterior of cars! Its durable hard plastic. Indestructible? No absolutely not.
I purchased this to use as a GUIDE and it did exactly what the marketed name implies.
Other reviews state that it wasn’t square out of the package. Mine was slightly off but I unscrewed the guide handle and adjusted it prior to use. Other reviews stated that the “ruler guide” was off by an 8th of an inch so I didn’t even bother using it. I used a T-edge that I already knew to be accurate to mark my cutting point prior to adjusting my saw/saw guide.
My only complaint is that i wish this guide attached to the saw at both ends because when you attach it to the nose of the saw the guide pulls away from the saw base plate at the opposite end. This doesn’t impact its effectiveness for once the saw is laid down the weight of the saw closes the gap but some people tend to lift their saw at the end of the cut instead of pushing all the way through the cut which could be problematic resulting in chipping especially if you’re cutting a MDF/HDF with a veneer as I was. FYI i used a 40T blade to prevent the veneer from chipping.
FatDaddy42 –
Just tried the rip cut on a sheet of T1-11. Set up was cumbersome for me even after watching a couple
u-tube videos. 😩
The tool worked well and will be used when needed. What I don’t like is the quality of the plastic material this thing is made of. Using this tool you have to tighten screws each time you set your saw in the sled. The plastic eventually will give way if you use this tool over and over again. (My opinion)
I expected better from Kreg.
DJPrime –
As described. Easy to add and remove from saw. Makes long rip cuts easy. An alternative to not having a Table Saw available. Kreg Product, Plastic and Aluminum construction, sound quality. Would recommend.
Heather VanderMeulen –
Good enough for the price. It doesn’t hold the saw in place as tight as I wanted it to. The plastic frame flexes a little too much.
The screws that hold the saw in place will fall out. Mine fell behind some material and it was a difficult recovery. Finally found it. They need a safety string or something to keep them with the fixture. Other than that, a good method for breaking down plywood and other lumber.
Leroy James –
Price is right, delivered to my door. Setup my sawhorses to cut plywood and it worked great. A little setup required to get use to it but once you get your first cut, it is easy to do. I had an old circular saw that I can leave the guide attached as this setup if required daily may be tedious for some.
Leroy James –
Great value for money and a must have for anyone using a circular saw. Perfect consistent cuts every time.