Features:
- Turn your beam saw into a tracksaw system.
- Custom made ( machine base) offers stability and total control.
- The heavy duty track provides accuracy and ease of use.
- Straight line and finished rip or cross cuts on thick lumber are now safely done..
- Binding : Misc.
- Brand : Eurekazone
- Label : Saw by Makita. Track by Eurekazone
- List Price : $225.00 (USD)
- Manufacturer : Saw by Makita. Track by Eurekazone
- Model : MTSK-1
- MPN : MTSK-1
- Publisher : Saw by Makita. Track by Eurekazone
- Studio : Saw by Makita. Track by Eurekazone
The base is made from solid HDPE 1/2" plastic. The antichip insert and stabilizer bar are provide additional stability and control as well as clean cuts. The tracks are made from anodized, double wall aluminum extrusion for extra strength. The system is self aligning via dovetail channels and connectors. Extendable to any length.
- Product Description
Customer Reviews:
Customers rated Eurekazone SGS-1 EZ Smart Guide System 100 Inch 4.5 stars out of 5.0 based on 33 reviews:Best Money Invested
by Stephenaswann (Maryland) - 2009-07-10
I had two major projects to complete where sheet goods had to be cut in a small shop. I had a cheap saw guide that I was not happy with. I read a professional review in one of the major magazines on the EZ Smart. I was a little hesitant to spend the money but was I glad I did. The first major project was a entertainment center for my living room. The old cheap had the habit of bowing and was difficult to use. The EZ Smart is accurate, quick and easy to use. My cuts were not only perfectly straight,but faster to complete and splinter free without having to tape the cuts first. As I write this, Iam half way through building kitchen cabinets and again the EZ Smart guide works flawless. In one particular case, I had to remove 1/32 from a eight foot long piece of oak veneer plywood. Accuracy with this is unbelievable. If you have to make long rips through any type of wood, and like me have a very small shop, do yourself a favor, get the EZ Smart. P.S. Get the vac attachment also.well worth the money, I would buy it again...
by H. Mendez (Los Angeles CA. USA) - 2009-05-21
...In fact I order another guide so I don't have take apart the 100" guide for shorter runs, I try the festool system and the EZ Smart system before I purchased the EZ Smart System, they're both very good, but the price of the festool system really turned me away, this is a pretty straight forward system, easy to set up and use, it took me approximately 45 mins to set my saw into the smart base, my router into smart router base and to cut and put together the Smart table, very easy and exact system, I own different cheap guides (including the psi portable panel saw, which works okay at 48", but doesn't compare at all), but now each and every guide I own is going directly on Craigslist, cause this system is a keeper, if you rip 4X8 sheets of plywood on a regular basis this system is for you...Good, Not Great
by Showkoy (Utah) - 2008-10-17
I too was initially impressed, but that enthusiasm faded. Evidently I did not connect the base properly, and the cut was not "Zero Clearance" nor was it chip free. It was about 1/16 of an inch short on all cuts. That is no problem really, just make the cut 1/16" wider. They sent me a modified base that would work better on my saw, as well as a new set of inserts all around. It appeared that customer service is excellent...at least at first. The responded promptly the first time, but it has been hit or miss since then. I think they factor in the cost of these extra inserts into the cost of the original unit, based on the number of reviews I have read where initial set up may have not turned out so good. As for not responding to my emails, they told me it might be a Spam filter that was preventing my email from coming through....so I started emailing directly through the web site...still no answers. My problem is that I bought the 100" system, and one guide rail ribs are slightly larger than the other. The Router attachment will glide effortlessly along one rail, but binds terribly on the other, making it unusable. I cleaned both rails just in case there was some residue on them with no help. I totally removed the locking screws from the router base, and still it would not glide on the other rail. It is like one rail is a few thousandths wider than the other. I have emailed this problem to them a number of times. He told me I needed new rails...but I really don't know what that means. Do they send them to me, do I have to send the old ones back, who pays...kind of frustrating. I also later noticed that one edge on each rail is not square. Not a huge problem, I just took a magic marker and made a carpenters triangle along the back so I know which ends to connect together. I have not installed the new guide and inserts yet, I had an accident on my table saw. Great timing!. I still have all my digits, just had to get 7 stitches due to a nasty kickback. Believe it or not I am still pretty much satisfied with the product. It is much safer to use than my table saw for large sheet goods. I doubt it will ever replace the table saw (even after my accident!) but it is definitely safer, and if the new inserts and base plate work as I hope they will, almost as accurate. I will just take the rail to my machinist friend and see if he can mill the rib down to an acceptable tolerance for me, that should alleviate the binding problem, then maybe this will work as I envisioned it for long rabbets and dadoes on large cabinets. I'll also have him cut the edges perfectly square. I don't think I should have to do this but I can't let my projects sit and wait...things need to get done and too many emails have gone unanswered. One word about design- Evidently Eurekazone is on to something. Festool and Dewalt have released similar products. They obviously see the benefits and safety of this type of system. Dino's design is so simple, and at times almost primitive, but any one who appreciates ingenuity will love this. I could care less how a product looks, or if it is designed to be attractive (The Festool and Dewalt systems look great). This is backyard engineering at its best, functional and so simple it doesn't require 50 pages of directions and cute little icon sticker to highlight what a knob is used for. The fact we can use the skillsaw we already have instead of a $700 plus system is another bonus. Hopefully I am the exception to the rule, and the only one with these problems because the tool has excellent potential and it is nice to know it is manufactured in the US. Overall, I would recommend it, just don't expect perfection out of the box. The price is reasonable, and it is much more accurate than any similar home jigs I have made, and is much cheaper than the new designer brand offerings. ******************* This is an update. The folks at EZ made my original problem right by sending out two new rails. The router kit works fine now. In addition, the more I have used this the more I like it. It is much safer than my table saw, and I have been able to rip some oak rails and stiles for a cabinet I am building. The cuts were accurate to within well under a sixteenth of an inch and clean and chip free. The original problem I had with the 1/16" off was my fault with set up not the guide. I have since cut up some full sheets of 1/4 ply on the mark. I also trimmed a door that was a tad too big with this system yesterday, something I would never have dreamed with a conventional circular saw and straight edge. My plan is to slowly build a full system and eventually get rid of the table saw. One kickback and too many shop teachers with missing fingers is enough to make me at least consider an alternative and the merits of this system.High Price for Low Precision
by Cernunnos (NYC) - 2008-09-18
I bought this system after much research and consideration of other systems out there. I often have to build cabinetry for customers and have been looking for a way to save time and money in doing so. Unfortunately, the EZ Smart Guide System has wasted my time and money. While I applaud the company's concept and their attempt to make a precision cutting system than can adapt to off-the-shelf circular saws, the execution of that concept falls well short my personal value vs. cost ratio. These are the major problems: There is at least 1/32" play between the Smart Base (that is the interface between the saw and the Gide Rail) and the Guide Rail. This makes for imprecise cuts and an uneven trimming of the anti-chip edge, which in turn, makes lining up the guide to your marks imprecise. It also reduces the effectiveness of the anti chip edge. I was cutting melamine coated fiber board and even with a 60 tooth blade the material was chipping badly. As an earlier reviewer mentioned, when joining sections of the Guide Rail it is difficult to get them lined up to create a continuous straight line. I have to say that I was getting as precise a result using my $20 straight edge from Home Depot and a gauge block as I was using the EZ smart-in about the same length of time. In addition to the Gide System, I also purchased their "Smart Square" and Cabinet Repeater. The Smart Square attaches to the under side of the Guide Rail empolying the same type of extrusions used to join Guide Rail sections and is meant to speed up the cutting process by only having to measure along one edge of a panel. In theory, it should square itself to the guide each time it is tightened. In reality I had to manually square it each time I changed it's position on the rail and no matter how tightly I secured it to the rail it would go out of square each time I would set the apparatus down-an enormous waste of time. The Cabinet Repeater is an indexing guide for making repetitive cuts, but once again the sloppy execution of a clever design makes for a useless accessory. To be specific, there is a swing arm at the end of an adjustable track with an adjustable truss head screw that is meant to act as an index for successive cuts. The problem is that the screw is not tapped perpendicular to the arm so that if the arm moves in its rotation between cuts, your boards will be a different dimension. While the EZ Smart Guide System is fine for ripping down bookshelves it is simply not precise enough to be useful for cabinet making. Part of the problem may be the fact that circular saws are essentially framing tools and are not designed with that level of precision in mind. I feel like my money would have been better spent on a Festool. I'm hoping they will make good on their 30-day money back guarantee.Great Product and excellent support
by Nasar Azam (Glen Ellyn, IL United States) - 2008-09-18
I am fairly new to woodworking. I bought a used Rockwell Table Saw but frankly was scared to use it. Pushing the hand towards the blade and then seeing some table Saw accidents on Youtube was no fun. I came across the Eurekazone product. I was a little hesitant in the beginning but due to their "No question ask 30 days Return Policy", I ordered the product. With the new Hitachi saw, I was right into business, cutting some narrow strips for some Garden Lattice using Cedar wood. The clamping system worked great. I then used it to cut plywood and wanted an easier mechanism then using the clamps for every cut. The Easy square (another of their product) cam to rescue. I now use that to cut plywood without clamping the stock. I have not yet used it on hardwood but again this is the saw and the blades' ability and nothing to do with Eurekazone guide system. Although the manual is very childish (just photocopies), the wealth of "how to" videos on Youtube makes up for this shortcoming My only complaint is about the bevel cut and the depth of the cut. You need to use second slot of the rail for bevel cuts. When you do this, the cuts are no more flushed with the guide rail. You need to do a test cut and figure out the distance from the rail. (I accidently used the same slot and cut the rail !!!). I also cracked the Ac-2 insert trying to do the bevel cut. The instructions were not clear that you need to take out the insert for bevel cuts. Dino, their main guy and owner was kind enough to send me a replacement insert. Bevel cuts is one place where I feel Festool wins (but it is way too expensive and you are locked into their products while Eurekazone gives you the freedom to pick and choose). Their support is top notch and Dino takes real passion in helping you out. I replaced the stock blade on my circular saw and it cuts even smoother. If I had to do again, I would probably buy a bigger 10" saw as you are very limited by the depth of cut due to blade size. To get a little more depth, you can glide the saw along the rail instead of on the rail - but I personally do not like this approach. How easy is a bigger saw to handle, I do not know. Next I am going to try their SRK - the router guide system. The good things is, it is an extension of what I already have, it uses the same rails - creativity at it's best ! I highly recommend this product. Wishlist - Make the instructions more professional. Dust collection for the saw is good but has room for improvement. This is a great product specially if you are cutting sheets of plywood. This does not mean it does not excel in cutting strips of wood. Great accuracy, top notch support and safe way to cut the wood - What more can you ask for ! ---- Update Feb 21 2009 I have tried it on Oak and it cuts good. I have few issues that I did not discover earlier. When I change the Stock Blade with different thickness blade, the white plastic guide strips if off by about 1/8. Your cuts are now 1/8 to 1/16th off ! I do not like to order new strips every time I change the blade size (thickness). It also now drags the plastic strip - kind of pain and little hard to explain. It slides away with the saw when cutting instead of staying with the guide. The Dust collection is is quite mediocre. Nasar
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