Andy (in ) said:

| I remember a few months ago that Morris posted a link to a site
| offering his newly-licensed, Made In USA circular saw cut-off guide.
| For one thing, the "new item" link at saw-jaw.com doesn't work any
| more - is your cutoff guide still being produced? Anyway, I was
| browsing Lee Valley's website tonight, and saw (no pun intended)
| this wonderful new item - looks familiar!
| http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...02&cat=51&ap=1
| Of course the idea of a right-angle circular saw guide is not new;
| probably many of us already have something equivalent to this in our
| shops. But this commercial version seems pretty similar to the one
| licensed by Morris. Is this OK because it's made in Canada, or is
| it different enough because it doesn't start with a triangular
| "speed-square"?
| Thoughts?
| Andy

The licensee had an initial batch made of the things made up, and
being a prudent, thrifty kind of guy, went with a soft aluminum that
if dropped on a concrete floor, would bend. Rather than beef up the
product he decided to abandon it. When I asked how use of a tougher
alloy would affect the production cost, he answered that he didn't
know.

I was aware that he sent samples to Lee Valley, Woodcraft Supply, and
at least a few other places. I half-expected that at least one of the
samples might motivate a competitive offering - that's just how the
world works. I'd expect that producers of the knock-offs would say
that it was something they'd already been working on.

According to the licensee, none of these were ever sold; and that as
far as he's concerned: "It's a dead product."

There was never any real obstacle to competition. If the product was
going to succeed, it would have been because it was the "real deal"
and the obviously right product to buy; and as things developed, that
wasn't the case.

My 30-year old original (that I'd called a Saw Square) was made of
tougher stuff. It's been much used and abused and is still square and
undamaged.

The Lee Valley version is a disappointment. The design doesn't provide
for built-in alignment of the fence; and looks more like an attempt to
produce a competitive product by drilling two holes in an existing
product. I'd have expected better.

Andy, if it didn't come from Canada, it'd've come from China. :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto