Coping Sled vs. Jessem Mite-R-Slide
Who here has experience with both the Jessem Mite-R-slide and coping sleds? I had a Jessem coping sled, but ended up making one that better suits my needs. Now I’m thinking about getting the Mite-R-Slide and ditching the coping sled entirely.
I have three router setups, a Jessem Mast-R-Lift and two Woodpeckers tables and lifts. One for rails, one for stiles, and the third is for panel raising, miter locks, and whatever else I might have to run.
With the Mite-R-Slide, I’m forced to use the Jessem table for rails because it only fits the Jessem fence. I like to keep the Jessem table for panels and whatnot because it’s easiest to adjust in a hurry. A coping sled will work on any table.
So my question is twofold:
First, I get annoyed with coping sleds because they can go out of tune as you’re using them. I’m frequently running 150-200 rails at a shot so I need something that’s rock solid. Is the Mite-R-Slide as solid as it looks?
Second, How easy is it to remove, set aside, and reinstall it when I need it? And how much re-tuning will it need the next time I use it?
Your experience and advice is appreciated. Also, I’m fine with the coping sled. It’s worked for years. I’m just looking for something that is faster and more accurate. If a coping sled is best, I’ll stick with that.
Replies
The Miter Slide works quite well. While I have never run 200 pieces at a time, I never had any problem with anything going out of adjustment. It is built like a Sherman Tank and rock solid.
Taking it on and off the fence would be quite a hassle. Instead, it is designed so that you simply rotate it back behind the fence. Easy peasy.
The only downside is that the work piece is not clamped to anything. You need to hold it against the fence and it is fine for small projects. But with hundreds at a time, well, I don't know.
I bet here are a few videos on YouTube that show it in action.
“[Deleted]”
(Sorry but I originally replied to the wrong comment)
With respect I suggest that your requirements are bringing you close to spindle moulder territory.
You could replace the 3 routers and sill work efficiently and more importantly, accurately.
Just food for thought.
I appreciate the suggestion, but there are a lot of drawbacks to a shaper for running door parts.
First and foremost is the cost of the tooling. I have six different rail and stile profiles and four different panel raising profiles. Replacing all that tooling with shaper bits would be cost prohibitive.
Also, I like to have both the rail and stile cutters set up at the beginning of the project and use the third router for panels, edge profiles, rabbets, etc. That way I'm not constantly changing bits and trying to match them up to existing pieces and to each other. It's pretty common to have to go back and re-run some stuff because a dimension changed or I noticed some other flaw. Multiple routers allows me to have dedicated tooling for the duration. Since a single shaper is roughly the cost of several router set ups, I would be limited to a single machine which means constant tooling changes. That's a hassle.
Lastly, I really don't get the appeal of shapers. Maybe it's just me, but I don't find them to be faster or easier or more accurate - just beefier, which is nice for raised panels, but the weight, cost, power consumption, and limitations make it a bad trade off for me personally. I know a lot of cabinet makers who swear by them and I've used them a lot in other shops, but the appeal simply eludes me.
I think I'm going to try the Mite-R-Slide. A sled is fine, but the rail is only supported by the width of the sled. With the Mite-R-Slide, I'll get the support of the whole flat table top to run long rails and I don't have to worry about sawdust sneaking in under the sled and altering the profile.
Thanks for the replies.
I saw your positive Amazon review of the Mite-R-Slide II where you mention that you designed a hold-down that attaches to the fence. Could you describe it in more detail or upload a photo of it? I have the original Mit-R-Slide and I've thought of adding a hold-down to the sub-fence but haven't yet come up with a design I like. Thanks.
I have an early model of the Jessem Mit- R- Slide. I made a birch ply hold down that attaches to fence-will get pictures of it next day or so.
michaelhauser This fence sled was made with some scrap B Birch and a unused clamp for the orig. Mit r Slide. The blue fence head rail shown. There was some movement when clamp was applied as these types tend to cause some buckling depending. It was made on the fly for some smallish parts probably would make it differently again - but it did work well.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled