Nicholas Christensen Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I have been looking for a good deal on a Unifence for years and today I finally got one ($50 for a saw with rails and two fence heads). I want to replace the t-square fence on my SawStop (I have always hated those style fences). I know there are a few people who have done this and was wondering if you could give me some pointers. Thanks!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'm not familiar with the hole pattern on the SS but I believe the unisaw rails are either 16 or 16.5" oc. If you bought the fence and rails, it should be as easy as attaching it to the saw correct? Saw stop has a deeper cast table than the old unisaw. I believe 30 vs 27 but the unifence was made 6" too long so you should be golden there. Attaching the rails to the machine if the holes don't match up will require either drilling in the rails or the top. It seems pretty straight forward to me unless something I'm missing. Have you tried bolting it up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 4 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: I'm not familiar with the hole pattern on the SS but I believe the unisaw rails are either 16 or 16.5" oc. If you bought the fence and rails, it should be as easy as attaching it to the saw correct? Saw stop has a deeper cast table than the old unisaw. I believe 30 vs 27 but the unifence was made 6" too long so you should be golden there. Attaching the rails to the machine if the holes don't match up will require either drilling in the rails or the top. It seems pretty straight forward to me unless something I'm missing. Have you tried bolting it up? Drill the holes slightly over sized and use washes to allow for some adjustment. I don't get the love for that fence but different strokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Or you can drill & tap the cast iron. It works very easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 3 hours ago, Chestnut said: I don't get the love for that fence but different strokes. I had on and kind of wish I had kept it. Because you can adjust it and change its orientation It has some versatility that other fences don't offer. It is kind of one of those things where when you get the chance to use it long term you start to see some advantages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Chestnut said: I don't get the love for that fence but different strokes. Yeah man, me either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Christensen Posted May 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 47 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: Yeah man, me either. I love them for a few reasons, the cursor for one has a much finer line that lends itself to more accurate measurements. Two the fence can be adjusted backward for much safer ripping, and can be pulled back for a more accurate cross cutting stop. The fence can be flipped to make a low profile, that comes in handy for narrower rips. It is also dead flat which is nice. The only thing I don't like about it is there is no where to store your push sticks. It is much more like the sliding table saw fences which I also like. It is also the type of fence that I learned on so there is also that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 Huh i can see those advantages. It'd be nice if they used the biesimyer T style locking mechanism. I think that's what wireds me out is the locking mechanism is relying on the 2 lips from that C channel. Also is the C channel aluminum? I just don't do as much with my table saw any more. I've been leaning on the band saw more and more and honestly have been considering a driftmaster for mine because i hate the stock laguna fence. So i get having fence preference, thanks for the explanation @Nicholas Christensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Nicholas Christensen said: I love them for a few reasons, the cursor for one has a much finer line that lends itself to more accurate measurements. Two the fence can be adjusted backward for much safer ripping, and can be pulled back for a more accurate cross cutting stop. The fence can be flipped to make a low profile, that comes in handy for narrower rips. It is also dead flat which is nice. The only thing I don't like about it is there is no where to store your push sticks. It is much more like the sliding table saw fences which I also like. It is also the type of fence that I learned on so there is also that. But it's really, really ugly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Christensen Posted May 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 27 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: But it's really, really ugly! Ha! Well that is one reason I guess. I actually think they are quite sexy. but again different strokes I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 Great deal on a great fence. Leaning towards what you know is natural. Knowing that is what you are doing is not so common, kudos. I loved my Beis fence and now run a 'better-than-Bies' on my Saw Stop. I still get sentimental when I visit dad and go out and slide the Beis along the rails with the touch of a finger. The Saw Stop fence takes a bit of a push but, the enhanced adjustability and easy face board changes balance that out.. Folks who subscribe to the fence face ending at the front edge of the blade school of woodworking get that and more from the Unifence. It is a rock solid, long proven design. I am pretty tool agnostic as long as it is suitable for the job but, like you, I do prefer what I learned on and a T-Square style fence is comfortable for me. You could probably make your money back selling one of the fence heads locally if you don't want to keep both. Like tenon jigs and other large castings, shipping costs really narrow your market circle. Enjoy the fence and again, congrats on a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeset202 Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 I had a Unifence on my Unisaw that I bought back in the early 90’s. I upgraded the fence to the Incra fence which is overkill on a tablesaw but great for the router table. I sold the unifence and wished I didn’t as I now have a much bigger shop so I would like a dedicated router table. If I find a Unifence on Craigslist I would probably buy it. It is a strange looking fence but it works very well, easy to adjust and once set it stays there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 I think that you will love the Unifence. I have not used one, however it looks very similar to the one on my Hammer K3 ... Included is also a Wixey digital scale for the fence. If you are looking for examples how it is used, you could find something on Youtube featuring the Hammer/Felder fence. Regards from Perth Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 Also a big fan of the unifence. I had regret after selling my delta contractor saw with a unifence and stepping up to a unisaw with a bies. Everyone always blabs about the bies, so i thought i was upgrading. Wrong. The faces arent flat, and the fence face and fence head dont have the same level of adjustment as the unifence. I quickly ditched the bies head for a VSCT fence. I think the VSCT fence is good, but it could be great if it had some of the features the unifence has. Conversely, if the unifence had the t tracks that the VSCT fence has then it would be very good. I have a Felder saw with a fence similar to Derek's and that is a unifence on steroids. The delta uni will deflect flightly if you really push on it. The felder means business. The fence head is 2-3x larger than the unifence. The fence rail almost whacked the hell out of me when i was disassembling it for transport. I assumed it was a hollow tube steel, nope! Sucker weighs about 75lbs, and surprised me as i loosened the bolts. The felder also has a very quick and easy lever for adjusting the position of the fence. The clamping lever could be longer or smoother action. Anyways, dont knock the uni/euro fences before you try them, because they have a lot of merit to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Christensen Posted May 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 9 hours ago, derekcohen said: I think that you will love the Unifence. I have not used one, however it looks very similar to the one on my Hammer K3 ... Included is also a Wixey digital scale for the fence. If you are looking for examples how it is used, you could find something on Youtube featuring the Hammer/Felder fence. Regards from Perth Derek I do love them! I learned on a unifence and we had one at the cabinet shop that I worked on for years. I'm really excited to have time to put it on. I would love to get a nice sliding table saw. Maybe next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Christensen Posted May 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 7 hours ago, Pwk5017 said: Also a big fan of the unifence. I had regret after selling my delta contractor saw with a unifence and stepping up to a unisaw with a bies. Everyone always blabs about the bies, so i thought i was upgrading. Wrong. The faces arent flat, and the fence face and fence head dont have the same level of adjustment as the unifence. I quickly ditched the bies head for a VSCT fence. I think the VSCT fence is good, but it could be great if it had some of the features the unifence has. Conversely, if the unifence had the t tracks that the VSCT fence has then it would be very good. I have a Felder saw with a fence similar to Derek's and that is a unifence on steroids. The delta uni will deflect flightly if you really push on it. The felder means business. The fence head is 2-3x larger than the unifence. The fence rail almost whacked the hell out of me when i was disassembling it for transport. I assumed it was a hollow tube steel, nope! Sucker weighs about 75lbs, and surprised me as i loosened the bolts. The felder also has a very quick and easy lever for adjusting the position of the fence. The clamping lever could be longer or smoother action. Anyways, dont knock the uni/euro fences before you try them, because they have a lot of merit to them. I hear a lot of people regret getting rid of their unifence. I'm glad that I found one and for such a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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