So the cat is out of the bag – and being Stu’s Shed readers you are (afaik) the first in the world to know about it (other than the retailers – thus the delay before I could release the info).
Yes – MagSwitch have added a number of new products to their lineup, and what I am ecstatic about is it is all based around…the Universal Base.
* A featherboard that can be reversed
* A thin-stock jig / rip guide
* A snake light!
* A universal track / fence
And the system still includes the single and double roller fences, vertical featherboard etc.
So onto the details:
Ever since the MagFence kit came out, I was hoping for 2 things. 1. For a featherboard that uses the same base, and therefore can be reversed as needed. 2. A featherboard kit similar to the MagFence kit.
Guess someone was listening (and no, I doubt it was anything to do with me, but sometime Mick Jagger isn’t always right (“you can’t always get what you want”))
There will be a featherboard kit – I’m dubbing it the MagSafe, but not sure whether that name will be picked up or not (kind of hope so). I’ve also suggested that the kit includes some risers – currently sold separately.
However, there is also some possibility of discontinuing the MagFence combo kit – but personally, from someone who has sold dozens and dozens of these kits when helping out at wood shows – if you can’t sell a MagFence Combo kit, you should find a different occupation! I think it would be a killer to have both the MagFence Combo kit and the MagSafe kit on the shelves at the same time. I would have sold SO many of one, or the other…..or both!
But enough of me rabbiting on – time for some photos – screen shot from a web-resolution PDF, so sorry about the quality but these are the first photos out there.
Reversible Featherboard w Universal Base
The reversible featherboard can be flipped, and also (I’m lead to believe) able to be used in place of the vertical attachment.
Reversible Featherboard w Vertical Attachment
And being based around the Universal Base, the MagJigs can be removed in other jigs of your design. Sadly, no MagBroom :( But it wouldn’t be hard to take that Universal Base and turn it into one ;)
Risers
Note too, the MagJigs are quite close to the front edge of the base, so about the same amount of distance between the MagSwitches and the front of the featherboard as there is with the Pro Featherboard.
Thin Stock Jig
Now here is a jig to take home to Mum, with 3 ways to use it – as a stepped holddown, with the bevelled edge holding down and against the fence simultaneously, and with the bearing as a point fence. Be interesting to see how it also works on the router table, directly above a router bit of matching diameter so it can be a surrogate to a bearinged router bit.
3 Ways to use the Ultimate Jig
And it looks the goods!
Holding against, and down simultaneously - clever jig :)
The bearing is actually there primarily for thin ripping, but there are a number of ways I can think of already that it will be useful in other applications.
I still would like MagSwitch to bring out a simple pushstick, something like the Bench Dog one. Not for any good reason other than safety on top of the tool is pretty much covered, and a push stick would complete the package. Not my idea, but the concept of “If it is on top of your tools, it is a MagSwitch” sounds like a great line, and one worth pursuing. Taken one step further, it could also include an after-market blade guard for saws that come with shoddy offerings, and perhaps a tune-up kit for the saw fence that includes some of the MagSquares.
fence
One use I could see for the Universal track would be as a replacement fence for a router table. This would conceivably be 2 universal tracks, 2 universal bases (one on the infeed side, one outfeed side, and a joining piece that slides along the top slot to keep both fences in line with each other. That way the infeed and outfeed could be moved closer together or further apart, depending on the size of the router bit being used. It will apparently be sold that way, and joiners are coming.
The fence will also fit other brands of holddowns, stops etc, and importantly, it will take the vertical attachment.
Snake Light
The snake light attaches directly to the Universal Base, providing illumination wherever it is required. Powered by a couple of AA batteries.
Auto-cupboard latch
And finally, I don’t have a full product photo, but this is part of the auto-on latch. Reading between the lines of the description, unlike other MagSwitches, this one cannot remain in a switched-off state. When you twist the knob to open the cupboard, the magnet is turned off, and it auto-springs back to on once the knob is released. That is how I’m guessing it operates anyway.
My suggestion would be that a child-safe design could be incorporated, so that new parents could change the various cupboard locks in their house, and then once they were no longer needed for safety, they could have something changed/added/removed so they are rendered into a superb (standard) MagSwitched cupboard latch!
So there you have it – “You heard it here first folks”
Filed under: Manufactures and Suppliers, Tools Tagged: Exclusive, Featherboard, Fence, Jig, MagJig, MagSquare, MagSwitch, Revesible, Snake Light, Thin Rip, Universal Base
