cyclingneko Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I'm looking to upgrade the fence on my table saw. I've looked an not come up with many options. The vega seems popular but I don't know about the rail system, I think I'd prefer a biesemeyer style system. The cheapest option looks like the delta 36-t30, which can be had for 200$ on amazon. I don't know how I feel about Incra, but they seem like a pain to adjust. Another issue is attachment, I think with my ridgid 4512, I'll have to drill and possibly tap any of the aftermarket fences, but the less precision metal work, the better for me. Does anyone have any insight to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 The Delta T2 (36-T30) can be had for < $155 shipped from Tools-plus.com. I don't know how difficult it is to mount, but many folks are grabbing them due to the attractive value, so I figure it can't be too bad. Since your R4512 is left tilt, I'd slide the rails even further to the right for more rip capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 +1 on the Delta T2. I put it on my craftsman contractor TS, and it has proven to be a great move. You will likely need to drill holes in the TS for it. Use a guide block, go slow, and use machine oil frequently. It really wasn't that big of a deal once I got going with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'm looking to upgrade the fence on my table saw. I've looked an not come up with many options. The vega seems popular but I don't know about the rail system, I think I'd prefer a biesemeyer style system. The cheapest option looks like the delta 36-t30, which can be had for 200$ on amazon. I don't know how I feel about Incra, but they seem like a pain to adjust. Another issue is attachment, I think with my ridgid 4512, I'll have to drill and possibly tap any of the aftermarket fences, but the less precision metal work, the better for me. Does anyone have any insight to share? I opted for the Incra system last year and absolutely love it. It's easy to install-the instructions are detailed and nothing is left out. The bolts and screws for each set up step are separately bagged, numbered, and named. And...it has pictures! Using the system is easy - I can do something - like change a TS blade and then re-zero my fence to my blade in 30 seconds. Once it's recalibrated, you move the fence to your measurement and cut! There's absolutely no more bumping the fence and measuring, bumping and measuring. You just move the fence until the right measurment on the stainless steel ruler is under the red hairline cursor, pull the lock into place and cut...with confidence. If, your measurments were a little off....you need the cut to be 10 more thousanths? Click it 10 times...or 5 times or whatever you need. Example, you have a wlanut box and want a maple inlay around it. Raise your TS blade up say 3/16 or 1/4 high (if your box wall is 1/2 thick) and cut a thin kerf around the box. You know that kerf is 1/8 thick. To cut the Maple inlay, move the fence to the 1/8 mark and pull the lock partially into place, then turn the microadjuster 7 clicks (which is 7 thousanths additional) and you're cutting an inlay that's 1/8 plus 7 thousanths. It goes into the kerf with a rubber mallet and stays with no glue. Using the router table, you can cut dovetails just like he shows on the video....quick and accurate. (Sorry Neanderthals) I was skeptical because it is an investment. I watched Mark (with the beard) on the youtube videos demonstrate it probably 10 times per video and then called him at Incra, quizzing him, looking for something wrong. I finally just took the plunge. Glad I did. On the install, my Craftsman TS had the bolts holding the fence rail close together on the back. I went out closer to the edge of the TS table, measured down, and drilled a hole in the table and used a bolt and nut on the back under the table. In the bracket for the Incra rail, there is a slot so if you drill the hole up to 1/8 higher or lower than the hole on the other end, it doesn't matter - the Incra rail will adjust to that. I like it so much, I'm eyeballing another one on Craigs List now. I don't work for Incra either...I'm an insurance agent but if you're considering an aftermarket fence system, all I can say is watch the youtube videos - all of them - and you'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclingneko Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thank you for the replies. I’m definitely interested in the Delta, it almost seems to good to be true at the price. I’m keeping my eye on it for sure. After watching the Incra video's I became quite interested. Definitely seems like it could step up my repeatability and accuracy a notch or two. The two things that hold me back are first the price, but I can get over that if something’s going to really improve my woodworking. The second thing is, I like to use jigs that simply slip on top of my fence and rides along on top of the fence. With the Incra, that wouldn’t work. I’m trying to think of alternatives on a jig that would work just as well and slide over the fence meanwhile balancing a tall board. I’m coming up short, but my creativity on jigs isn’t the best either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclingneko Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 OK, I got the Delta T2 and installed it today. So far, I'm very happy with it! Installation went better than I expected. The holes didn't line up between the tabletop and the rails, expected that. So I lined up one of the holes. For the second attachment on the front rail I drilled the tabletop. The angle iron had countersunk holes for the mounting screws, so it was easier to drill the tabletop than drilling the angle iron and trying to bore a perfectly centered countersink. Easy! For the back rail I used the existing holes on the table top, and drilled the angle iron. On the rear the table top the holes were threaded, and there isn't much clearance between the edge of the table and the "cabinet" of the saw. Thus making it easier to use the table's existing holes. The most challening thing was actually mounting the power switch. the bracket that mounted in on the back side of the old fence was at about a 45 degree angle. I ended up using a dremel to cut a groove in the mounting bracket, I'd dremel then try to bend it, dremel some more and so on. Finally I got it thin enough to bend. I bent it and then welded the seam, reminding me how lacking my welding skills are, UGLY. I drilled a couple holes in the front tube and bolted it on. So far I love the fence but there are some things I don't like. The first is after I adjusted the fence to be as close to the table top as possible it is still 1/4"+ off the table. I"ll just have to throw on an auxilary fence for cutting thin stock. Also if you try to use the right side of the fence, the screws which hold the line indicator sit up above the table top, I'm going to look to get some lower profile screw's. They are quite large pan head screws and they don't stick up a ton, just enough to catch. I thought "well I never use the right side of the fence anyways," but I just realized while typing this that over the fence style jigs will hit the screws, so they need to be taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
over40pirate Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 It sounds like your angle, the tube rides on, needs to be lowered, so the fence will ride closer to the table, and work will clear the curser screws. Either elongate the holes, or shift the angle an inch or so, and drill new holes. It the angle is too low, just shim it until perfect. The fence being 1/4" off the table is not right. I think you made a good choice on the fence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I agree with pirate...you should be able to dictate the height the fence rides above the table by changing the height of the angle iron brackets. That should eliminate both complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclingneko Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Yep you guys are right. The problem is I don't have the know how or tooling required to elongate these large counter sunk holes in this thick angle iron. I could elongate the holes on the tabletop much easier but they are already quite close to the bottom edge of the table, I'm not sure I'm comfortable getting much closer. The rear would also be a problem because the holes in the angle iron are already very close to the corner not leaving much room for a washer ( I had to grind down one side of a washer to get it to lay flat.). Another option for the rear would be to just cut down the plastic guide block, but i still need to deal with the front. With these limitations in mind it seemed better for me to accept the height of the fence and hopefully the screws will be an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclingneko Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Well, I went back out with intensions to maybe enlongate the holes on the front of the saw, and I was thinking maybe I'd use some smaller bolts to lower the rails a bit also. I decided to measure just how high the fence is off the saw, as my 1/4 inch was eyeballing. The height is actually closer to 3/16th maybe even as low as 5/32's. Not really as bad as I thought initially. I did cut down the back guide block to lower the rear of the fence closer to 1/8th. This should be good for 99% of my cut's but on the rare occaision of dealing with extremely thin material, I'll clamp on an auxillary fence. As for the screws holding the indicator in place, I took them off to see what kind of threads they use, and to my surprise there was a washer also. I should have noticed yesturday, but wasn't extremely worried about it then. I pulled out the washers and that got one screw down completely out of the way, and the other I had to grind down a tiny bit. Now they are both completely out of the way. I guess you can take any negatives I had about the fence and throw them out of the window. I am extremely please to say the least. Possibly the best 150$ my shop has ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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