Side by Side Comparison of: Powermatic vs Shop Fox

Incredible product. Clamp is a bit awkward sometimes but I just use one-handed bar clamps.

Finally a very easy and fast way to cut tenons works great.

Excellent tool was as advertised delivered on time well pleased.

Product as described, delivered on time.

Best of the group, also the most expensive

Powermatic really made this one right. From the moment one opens the box it's obvious that this jig is first class.Packaging is great and includes all he tools required to assemble the jig.Fit and finish of the jig is first rate, with high quality parts....it looks and feels great, (ergonomics are spot on). The thing just exudes quality.Only thing I had to do, that wasn't included in the instructions, was remove the miter slot bar washers, but I have a 1940 Delta Unisaw so no biggie.No more laying out Tenons, just select the mortise size, by using a chisel of the same width and then use the same stock that you're going to cut the tenon into and you're ready to cut!Even though I have a couple of different table saw jigs in the past couple of years I have been using my Incra router system & Freud Tenon bit along with a sliding router table feed to cut all my tenons. My router system produces very precise tenons, but no more precise than the Powematic Tenon Jig.Now I can cut tenons in about 1/10 the time it use to take me and they are just about prefect.....Hesitated to purchase this jig because of the price, the picture does not do it justice, and if I had been able to handle the jig there would have been no hesitation.Would be surprised if anyone is disappointed with this jig....

this item is excellenteand the support it's wonderful

Good tool

Good

I use this tool regularly. It is a bit difficult to calibrate---but it is absolutely worth it. The tolerances are excellent. It take a lot of abuse to get it out of calibration. Suggestion is to read the manual carefully at the onset.

I was looking to increase my woodworking shop capability to build furniture with professional mortise and tenon joints. After researching, I purchased a Shop Fox Mortising Machine, and now a Shop Fox Tenoning jig. Both machines are very nice for their prices. They are not ultra high tech nor highly engineered. The SF Mortising Machine seems better engineered and built than the SF tenoning jig. The mortising machine has several nice features, and with a simple modification to the table is rugged and versatile. (I removed the adjustable fence, and screwed a piece of plywood 3/4" x 12" x 18" to the existing table, and held my work down with a 2 x 4 x 18" and two clamps) I like it a lot. The SF Tenoning Jig also works very nicely, but after a lot of adjusting. The SF Tenoning Jig looks so much like all the other jigs in this price range that they may all come from the same assembly line. The Shop Fox is white and has a clamping wheel; The Delta is grey and has a clamping crank; Grissly is Green, Rockler is -- well you get the idea. They all sport very visible machined surfaces, but when you turn the SF over it is simply the corrogated casting -- albeit machined flat -- which is sliding on the table saw. (Maybe the cavities between the machined rubbing surfaces provide space for sawdust.) The SF has levers where some others have knobs. The SF has two vertical push handles where some others have differently shaped or differently placed handles. The SF has a helpful but not too accurate scale and pointer that assist when adjusting left/right movement. The adjustments for the vertical machined surface are crude, but useable. The adjustments for leaning the work back to make an angled tenon are also crude, but useable. The screws to move the carriage (?) closer or farther from the table saw blade work well; and you can loosen a threaded sliding bushing for a "quick release" if you wish. Although I am not sure it was meant to do that. There are no adjustments to square the alignment track/rod with the jig. However, the mounting bolt holes are oversize so after some carefull tightening, tapping and retighting you will be able to exactly aline the jig (and the vertical machined surface that holds the work) parallel with the table saw blade. And, yes some of the small screws require very careful attention to "break free" and some threaded holes may need to be re-tapped to allow easy assembly. In any case, once you get all these little details taken care of, the Shop Fox Tenoning Jig will allow you to cut absolutely perfect tenons time after time, every time. And I like the SF white paint, the levers, and the clamping wheel. All this for under $100. Nice.

Works just like any other similar tenoning jig. All the models like this are pretty much identical. It's heavy and the movement is solid. I don't trust the little sticker for measuring, but that's to be expected.

Expensive but easy to set set and get going. Clamping is a bit awkward and should be re-visited by Powermatic engineering folks..

The tenoning jig body is heavy, large, and well machined. Extruded handles are conveniently positioned on body. The screws are stainless steel.Assembly was straightforward following the “Operating Instructions and Parts Manual”. A metric hex key wrench set was included.The magnified angle indicator was offset, so it was not accurate. It’s more accurate to use square to set workstop. In my opinion, the workstop is too short for most routine tenoning.The clamp locking lever bar is undersized for the clamping assembly. The clamp has a swing arm (knuckle), making it more versatile for different sized workpieces. The clamp pad is made of good quality rubber, but it’s too soft.Therefore, it requires several screw rotations tighten the soft clamp pad securely against workpiece. (Leaves a black ring on the workpiece.) The clamp bar bends considerably at the point when the workpiece does not move against the fence and the workstop. Because of the clamp knuckle, it’s a three-hand job securing the workpiece against the fence. The clamp assembly was over engineered and doesn’t function for what it was designed…simply holding the workpiece so it does not move.I tested the jig using 2-3/8 wide flat sawn white oak. Although I really tightened the clamp on the workpiece, the blade pushed (rotated) the workpiece slightly. Therefore, the cuts were not square using a new Forrest blade. I fabricated a sliding block and attached it to the fence, sandwiching the workpiece tightly between sliding block and workstop. This prevents any workpiece movement and makes it easier to clamp the workpieces against the fence. I‘m replacing the workstop with a longer one.The “Micro Adjust System”, did not function as designed, carefully following the instructions. Tightening the fence locking level knob did not prevent the fence from moving freely. The insert (PMTJ-80) was not thick enough to grab the guide rod. So I called Powermatic customer service to confirm my problem. Unfortunately, it was an unpleasant experience. Although, the service rep implied I could not follow simple instructions, he did not have a clue how the Micro Adjust System functioned. He read the Instruction Manual to me. He put me on hold for almost 15 minutes. When he returned, it sounded as if he a jig in front of him. He finally agreed I had a problem after he figured out how it worked, and then he told me to return the jig to Amazon.The replacement jig arrived three days after requesting it from Amazon . The Micro Adjust System functioned properly on replacement jig. I noticed the serial number on the replacement jig was higher. So I don’t know if Powermatic modified the insert on later jigs or if my first jig insert was just defective.Overall, the jig is a dramatic improvement over the cast iron jigs, but it should be for the price. I have made 23 doors with the jig without any issues using my fabricated sliding block. When I find the right bar clamp, I will replace the current one. It a shame to spend over $300 for a jig, and then have to modify to get a 100 percent out of it.

It looks great but the finished item isn't as finely finished as I'd hoped. See other reviews to read more...

While one of the plastic locking handles was snapped off in shipping a call to Shop Fox had a new one delivered within a week. Great service from Shop Fox. I had to shim up the sheet metal guide for the table tilt mechanism so that the slot would line up with the locking bolt.Once the set up and adjustments were complete this has proven to be accurate and easy to use. I've been using this with a dado head on the table saw so I can remove more than 1/8" of material.

I recommend this jig based on the Shop Fox D3246 Tenoning Jig I received from PeachtreeWoodworking Supply Inc.I was hesitant to order based on Mr. Decker's review. The jigs he examined all rocked on the saw table. The jig I received also initially exhibited rocking. Inspection showed rocking was the result of the main lock lever's stud slightly protruding below the base plate and resting on the saw table. Thus, the stud lifted the base plate from the table at one point. Retracting the stud allowed base plate to sit flat on the table and eliminated rocking.The jig is designed for use only on the left side of the blade. There are two sets of guide bar mounting holes in the base plate. The base plate's holes are positioned at about 3-3/4 inches (right tilting saw), and 4-15/16 inches (left tilting saw) from the saw blade edge of the base plate.This jig is now used with a Craftsman 113.299040 10 inch left tilt table saw I purchased in the mid '70s. After positioning the guide bar for my left hand tilting saw, the base plate clears the blade by about 7/16 inch.The Instruction Manual is well written. Safety, adjustment, operations, and partssections are provided. All threads are metric, and five Allen wrenches are supplied.One complaint is the use of plastic for the four black locking levers. Each lever drives a locking bolt or nut via splines (like those on faucet stems). Levers are repositioned on the splines by lifting, rotating, and releasing. For durability, I would prefer metal levers driving hexagonal locking bolts or nuts rather than splines. Plastic locking levers were the only reason for a one star demerit.Examination of images of other (e.g., Delta, Grizzly, Jet, Powermatic, and Rockler) tenoning jig images, shows them all to be very similar in design. My neighbor's ten year old Delta jig is identical except for make, paint color, and a different style wood clamp knob. It appears all makes use plastic locking levers.The unit was ordered in the evening of Nov. 24th. Peachtree shipped the unit via USPS on the 25th and it arrived on the 27th.At about $70 delivered, the Shop Fox was the best value I found on the internet. On eBay, a similar Powermatic jig recently fetched about $425 delivered. I speculate some bidders didn't do their research.

Received my newly purchased PM-TJ tenoning jig from Powermatic on April 6, 2017. One of the setup instructions required the tenoning face plate to lay flush with the saw blade in order to zero out the jig. This is very critical in as much all accurate cut measurements are depended on it.However, my jig had a 1/16 gap between the blade and the jig’s face which would raise havoc with any accurate measurement. I called Powermatic’s technical group for any recommend solutions. Per the technician, if the measurement from the raised blade to the left miter is more than 5.70 inches than the jig will not work. Mine was 5.75 inches. He suggested that I use filler spacing to equal the gap during any cutting.That seemed to me to be a very awkward and confusing solution to the problem. So I decided to remove the face plated from the body and insert large washers which brought the plate flushed with the blade thus ensuring an accurate zero.My rating is predicated on three factors. The first is that nowhere in the operating instructions or any write-ups did they mention the 5.7 inch limiting factor. The second is that a better solution for correcting the problem, such as the washers, should have been known and offered by the technician. The third is if the company was aware of the 5.70 limiting factor they should have disclosed it and provided some form of adjustment mechanism.The rating as given is predicated is based upon the engineering of the jig (minus the gap problem). The rating may change after using the jig for a period of time…or not.

with some slight modifications it worked out very well

This Tenoning Jig arrived with some damage and one missing bolt, I needed it now so went to the hardware store and coughed up a buck and a half for a replacement bolt, also one of the two cheapo plastic vertical handles was crushed as it appears someone did not like lifting this hefty package and just dropped it at some point and despite the Styrofoam packaging that cushioned and took most of the impact the handle was crushed by the weight of the cast iron parts so I had to get out the gray tape and do a field expedient repair. A few minutes of degreasing and final assembly and it was time to cut some tenons. Once all that was out of the way it worked fine for the tenons that I had to cut and the busted handle was totally unnecessary to the use of the jig so I just unscrewed it and tossed it aside.Too bad if it had been all there and not busted I would have given it 4 stars as it was about the level of quality I expected to get for the price and from reading reviews.Need to cut some tenons and not to fussy about things being perfect out of the box and taking a chance of shipping damage due to the weight of the box then this jig should work for you.

The design was not quite ideal. My saw is an older model Craftsman with a blade that tilts to the left. I did not think through the design of the jig which places my hands ahead of the blade. Not the best position.I was really disappointed in the quality. Assembly was difficult due to paint filling the threads of the holes receiving the machine screws to assemble the jig. A major inconvenience! Made it very easy to crossthread the machine screws during assemblyBut after assembly, i found that the nylon parts used to lock the adjustments immediately failed, leaving no way to secure the adjustments. Left me with the decision of returning the jig,or the inconvenience and expense of finding a quality replacement part to safely use the jig

I have used several brands of tenoning jigs over the years in the wood program where I teach and this one is by far the worst! I purchased two of these jigs and really regret not having done more research! The plastic handles used to lock the various adjustments in place are very flimsy - one has broken after only a couple of months of use. Students must now use a wrench to loosen the bolt that we replaced the broken handle with, which is a pain. Also, you have to use an allen wrench to slide the clamp forward and backward, to accommodate boards of various widths - this could have easily been designed as a a tool-less adjustment. Overall, the design and quality of this jig are very poor - don't buy!

Waste of time and money.The face plate where the wood is held is way off from front to rear. Making this tool unusable. WASTED too many hours trying to install and configure (if there is anything like that). Jigs are supposed to help and not re-engineered!!!!Waste of time and money. I need full refund along with any shipping charges. Those who produce these junk, should be fined for not considering the time they waste.The product itself feels solid and heavy; but if it does not allow to cut parallel then what is the use of all the features???Just cleaning all the grease too a good hour and then the sketchy instructions.... a nightmare.

I believe most of the tenon jigs presently in the US all share this same problem as they seem to come from the same foundry in China. The problem is that the bases are not milled flat and the jigs rock on the saw table, something one does not want with a tenon jig. I've ordered 2 Grizzly jigs, one Shop Fox and purchased locally a Delta tenon jig. ALL rock on the saw and are warped in the same plane. The Delta jig (4th one) I purchased from a local Western Tool Distributor and when I explained that the 3 previous (Amazon) jigs were warped, we took it out of the box and put in on a brand new Delta saw. He was scratching his head when it rocked also. We measured a front to back warp of .005" and corner to corner .012" warp. All of these jigs are exactly the same right out of the box except for the paint and name...right down to the broken styrofoam corner over the jig backstop in each box. Until this present stock of jigs get thrown in the recycle pile one will be hard pressed to get a well machined jig. As for me, I returned both Grizzly Jigs and the Delta (it was+$40 more with tax than the SF Jig). I needed one for a project and ended up gluing plastic shim stock to the base of the Shop Fox jig so it would not rock.