I have used very nice miter gauge and fences over the years made by Incra, Woodpeckers, and played around with an almost $400 Jessem. This miter gauge and fence pair by Hongdui is at least as nice as that Jessem, and considerably nicer than both of the others.
They can be found for between $260-$300 on Amazon, and for less than that if one looks to Chinese sites like AliExpress or Banggood. The pieces are also sold separately from each other at $179 for the gauge and $149 for the fence, both on Amazon. Though both pieces are heirloom quality on their own, they really complement each other as a pair.
For the purpose of this review, I’m going to go through each of them separately. So, starting with the HD-TB01 miter gauge, wow is it ever a beautiful piece of work. To start with is the look, which is a stunning black with silver gauge and handle. At the center there is a very functional magnifier over the angle setting. There is an immaculate silver handle with a gem-like multifaceted top just to give it that extra touch. Behind the handle is a spring-loaded brass button that must be pulled back to release it. Once retracted, the gauge moves easily left and right with audible clicks from the common angle detents. But what sets this apart from the pack is that there are positive indexing stops for EVERY SINGLE DEGREE: 70° left through 70° right. Yet even with positive stops at every degree, you can easily lock the gauge for 22.5° and 67.5°. While not exclusive to Hongdui, this feature is only found at the nicest miter gauges.
There are multiple adjustments and options to use other brand fences or shop-made fences, but of course it fits perfectly with the Hongdui fence. There are four expansion discs within the miter bar, and a washer/disc at the front of the bar for t-track style slots that can also be removed for straight sides.
My 3HP 1970s Rockwell unisaw has t track slots in it, but the T bottom of the track was a touch too narrow for the disc. It did fit fine when removed, but it didn’t give me the protection of being unable to tip the gauge backwards out of the slot. Frustrated with the situation, I ended up grinding down two sides of the disc until it was wide enough to bite, but narrow enough to slide freely. If I was going to list any fault with this gauge, it would be the size of that disc. Though I suspect that may be more of an issue with my saw than with the miter bar. And the set includes extra hardware to make using your own fence that much easier. But where this gauge really shines is when you combine it with the Hongdui KS22 miter gauge fence.
The gauge has square nuts that easily slide into the tracks on the fence. The **** to tighten the gauge to the fence are knurled around their head for easy grasp with hands, but they also accept a hex wrench to really cinch it down, so your fence won’t move.
The fence itself is a marvel, and quite hefty to boot. Made from extruded aluminum with black powder coat like the gauge, it is really a treat to use. Through the center of the fence, there are two long steel rods that slide easily into the main body, but allow the fence to reach full extension at approximately 36”. Though the fence rule comes in metric, it is as simple as removing a hex ****, sliding the ruler out, flipping it over, and reinserting. Now you’re on imperial. There is also an adjustment **** to allow the rule to be calibrated to your saw blade, and a knurled **** in the back to release or lock down the extension.
The flip-stop on the fence is solid, and once set, it’s not going anywhere. The fence even includes a ‘stop extension’ that connects to the stop and changes the angle to accommodate and sit flat against a sub-fence. Also included are a number of pins that can be screwed on in multiple locations on the stop to aid in securing any angled pieces and ensuring that they do not wobble. There is also a micro-adjust **** on the stop as well that gives you a good amount of left/right play.
In fact, I only have a single negative observation, which is that this fence can only be used when the miter gauge is in the left miter track. The extension cannot be relocated to the right side of the fence, as it has a square end. That means that if you don’t have table extensions on the left side of your saw, both the fence and your material will be hanging over thin air anytime you need to extend the fence.
After looking into it, Hongdui does in fact sell a different version of this fence: The HD- MG21-BS. In this case, I’m assuming the BS refers to ‘both sides’ as this fence ends in a 45° angle on both sides. This lets you place the extension to the left or right of your blade, thus allowing you to use it in either miter track on your saw. With the caveat being that you have a shorter fence extending from around 14” - 24” fully extended, versus 22” - 36” fully extended in this version of the fence.
The bottom line is that this is an impeccably designed miter gauge and fence combo...