I just purchased a used Unisaw w/Beisemeyer fence and have a question. Is the fence supposed to ride directly on the table? Seems like a lot of resistance to me. Also, the rear rail doesn’t do anything except keep the extension table up…maybe part of the fence should/could ride on the rear rail? I just think edge of the plywood fence should be raised up off the table somehow…suggestions or help?
lostcreek
Edited 9/14/2008 2:23 pm ET by lostcreek
Replies
I have installed Biesmier fences in the past.I do not recall a rail on the rear of the saw.The front rail is installed with the fence slightly above the table.The Biesmier and clones are installed the same way.Install washers between the angle and the tube irons to raise the fence. The fence will be slightly above the table at the front and touching or almost touching at the rear.Now the fence will move easier.
mike
OK, you lost me, what is supposed to hold up the rear of the fence if it is not sitting on the table? The so called rear rail is just and angle used to keep the table attached to the saw in the rear. But on the one I have (and all the others I have ever seen) the fence basically rides on the table (touching at the rear, and riding on the fence rail in the front.)
I wonder if you could do something like the SC fence has with a bolt with Teflon or whatever on it running on the rear rail keeping the fence off the table? I may have to look into this
Doug M.
That was the original question...I've never had one of these fences. From all the replies, I think I have the answers. First, my wear pads seem to be worn out or too low to work well. I'll fix that. Also, I will try to "invent" some way to utilize the rear angle to allow a bolt with teflon pad to ride on it since the fence overlaps by 6" or so. Thanks to all for your help.
lostcreek
Here's a link for the part.
http://www.mikestools.com/download/Delta-Parts-Lists/79-016-Biesemeyer-T-Square-Fence-Systems-52-Inch-capacity-CS13.pdf
Bies has been around for a long time, and I believe originally had a foot like the SC, though I've never seen one. It was originally made under licence by General. When Delta bought out the co. they stopped General using the name, but they continued making the fence as the copyright had run out, so the General T-fence is a Bies in everything but name.
Jim
Lost, when you go to your new set-up, be sure the fence just barely clears the table. If you get too much space between the table and the bottom of the fence, thin sheetgoods can work their way under the fence when you're sawing and cause all kinds of grief.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Gotcha...I'm just going for minimal clearance. If the new pads work, I won't even mess with the "new invention"
Thanks,
lostcreek
best thing to do here is to clamp on an auxiliary fence to the fence. I use a 1x4 piece of oak.
Yep, I do that when the stock is realllly thin (my Unifence rides very close to the table), but I brought the issue up because it's an easy one to overlook.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 9/17/2008 12:39 pm by forestgirl
You can replace the pad with a "chair slide" . I do not recall what they are called but HD sells them in various sizes. I replaced one on my shopfox fence,which is a biesmier clone.They come in a package of four, save the others for a three legged stool.
mike
The fence has a stick on glide under the fence.This keeps the fence off the table.
mike
There should be a nylon pad adhered to the underside of the fence tube to prevent the edge of the laminated faces from rubbing the table. If it's missing you'll want to look into getting it replaced.
One rationale for this system is that it allows the rear rail to act as an outfeed table support bracket. My former GI contractor saw had a good Biesemeyer Home Edition copy that used a nylon foot on a 1/4" threaded bolt that rode on the rear fence rail. That rear angle bracket was inverted relative to the rear rail of the Commercial Biese.
Hi lostcreek ,
Yes the fence face does ride directly on the table usually .
You are correct about the rear rail , it has to do with the support for the table width needed not the operation of the fence .
You could set it up so the rear rail is slightly raised
What can be done is to relieve the face of the fence by sanding or grinding away except for near the ends .
I try and keep my saw table tops waxed and that really helps with the fence and sheet goods also .
regards dusty
Did you install the front rail yourself and if so did you use the template for setting the height? The template is an L shaped piece of hardboard.
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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES...THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT...THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
Yes, I set it myself , but only for "square". The saw is used, so I had no template. Wonder where I can pick one up...
lostcreek
Try mikestools.com. He can order most Biesemeyer parts if he doesn't stock them.
Jim
I'll try and take a picture with dimensions this afternoon. It would only take you a few minutes to make.
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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES...THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT...THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
Hi Lostcreek,
One other solution that I've seen (and David Mark's uses) is to create a lift of sorts that sits on the rear rail and a matching saddle that mounts under the fence. David's rides just above the table (1/32-1/16) and is very effortless to use. If you watch one of the woodworks reruns, you will see what I'm talking about as it was installed before the series began and has been present ever since.
I've often considered doing the same thing as I don't like the additional drag (I do have a piece of teflon tape applied under mine, but it's not perfect).
michael
That's the idea I was thinking about...I'll check it out. It seems a waste not to use the rear rail, and one small point of contact should be much better than whatever rides on the table now.
lostcreek
The bolt with teflon pad on the Steel City fence was on the original Biesemeyers. The Steel City fence just glides on the bolt with teflon pad and front adjustable teflon pads as the fence itself does not touch the table period. If you want to raise or lower the fence.. you simply grab a 6M metric allen head and screw the front teflon raisers up and down. There are two teflon nuts on the front also that will move in and out to adjust tension as to how fast it will slide. The rear bolt simply screws up and down.
The rear bolt will hit a rear extension table if you slide the fence close to the blade. But there is a way around that as I simply cut a slot in the rear table to allow free movement.. added two wooden blocks to the back rails and put dowels in them to correspond to holes in the rear fence. I can now slide the fence all the way to the blade and enjoy the slickest gliding fence on the market. I am a happy camper.
The fence does ride on the table on a plastic skid on the far end and skids on the front rail. The rails have to be perfect aligned with the table surface to work right. If you still encounter excess drag after aligning the rails, shim up the front tube with some thin washers where it is connected to the angle iron. This is what Beismeyer told me to do when I ran into the same problem... Hope this helps.
Tom
I've read all the other posts and there appear to be many solutions. My advice would be to wax the snot out of your saw top, the side table and the underside of the Baltic Birch fence sides. This has to be done somewhat frequently because wax unlike diamonds is not forever.
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