bennybbc

Hi Mike. Yes, there are other brands and styles available and some will offer some or most of the utility that the EZ offers. I'm quite familiar with the Festool saw guide and while it does have a very loyal following I'm not a big fan of it. As it relates to people with limited mobility, the main reason why is that because it uses a spring loaded plunge cut saw you have to be able to stand above it and push down firmly throughout the entire cut. That's hard enough to do when you have two good legs, a good back and you're stretching all the way across a 4' sheet of plywood. Try doing that from a chair or if you have some severe back or neck pain. I'm not saying it can't be done or that people aren't doing that right now. But in my opinion it makes it far more difficult to use than the EZ Smart with any standard style of circular saw. There are other issues too but suffice it to say that I just don't think it works as well or is as versatile as the EZ system. Others will disagree and that's fine. My point wasn't/isn't to sell the EZ Smart or slam the Festool but rather to offer some insight into how I overcame a problem to others.

There are also some other simpler saw/router guides available that cost less and could help someone with limited mobility. They are designed to use a standard circular saw too. Hartville Tool has one of their own design that looks pretty cool. I guess it comes down to how much you want to spend or can afford and how many useful features you want. But any brand of saw/router guide, (EZ Smart, Hartville, Festool, etc.) will make woodworking more accessible for people with limited mobility and that's something that more disabled people should know about. And you don't need to be disabled to find that they're very useful.

Bruce