Hi Everybody, I am having trouble locating TS fence reviews / tests etc. I’ve tried the advanced search and coming up empty. I would like to stay under 300 dollars or so but only if I can get a quality fence. I can go a bit higher if necessary. Any recommendations?
Thanks Folks, Brian
Replies
Brian, you can take the MuleCab fence for a test-ride risk-free if it appeals to you. I've considered it for my Jet saw, but am going to get a new saw instead. Don't know how it compares with the Biesemeyer, but not sure that's available in the $300 range either. Here's their rip fence page:
http://www.mulecab.com/ripfence.htm 50" fence is $269, free shipping, 90-day "no questions asked" guarantee (excluding abuse, of course) and lifetime guarantee against defects in materials or workmanship.
A year or two ago, several Knots members who owned them posted comments in one particular thread. Wonder if they are still out there?!
Thanks Jamie, Looks nice. Will put it on the list of possibles. Brian
Hi Brian - I've owned two Biesemeyers and a Vega, and have used a couple of Shop Fox Classics and the Mule Cab. The Biese is great, but is also expensive. Unless you can find a bargain on the Biese, IMO the Vega is the better value. The SF Classic is very similar to the Biese but is also quite expensive. The Mule Cab is lighter duty materials...aluminum vs steel. It has more deflection than the steel Biese or SF, plus it's more difficult to remove. The Mule has some nice attachments and t-slots though.
Delta has a steel "T2" that Lowes sells for ~ $150, that's essentially a "Biese Lite". Looks like a lot of fence for the money. Grizzly sells a Shop Fox Aluma Classic that's a steel Biese style fence for ~ $215. It also has t-slots...worth a look.
Epinions Biese Review
Epinions Vega Review
Edited 1/7/2008 4:26 am ET by Knotscott
Thanks my friend. After reading that first review of the Biese I would feel a little guilty NOT getting one. I do want a 50" and micro-adjustment would be nice. And t slots for the board buddies. Hmmm. I know all that can be added jig wise but would be nice getting that sort of stuff stock. Looks like I have a lot of research to do.
Again, Thanks for the help.
Brian
Knottscott...OK if I give you a little cyber-tip for use here at Knots?? Applicable only if you use Internet Explorer though. For those very long URL's, you can make a hyperlink, such as the two below, by highlighting a word or two, then click on the little globe icon that has the chain links, and then paste the URL into the pop-up box that appears.
Biesemeyer reviewVega review
If you can't use it, maybe someone else can. Re: the Shop Fox Aluma classic, have you handled that fence at all??? I've been curious about it.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi FG - We use Firefox on our home PC, so I basically got out of the habit of making hyperlinks. Thanks for the reminder...I added hyperlinks to my pevious post while visiting another PC.
I haven't handled the Griz version of the Aluma Classic, but its the same fence that's used on the King Canada which I have handled, and was also used on the Woodtek and Bridgewood contractor saws, among others....I think HF even sold a version of it once upon a time. It's more similar to a Biese Homeshop fence than the Biese Commercial...it looks like a pretty decent fence to me, and owners give it high marks. It's got steel rails and a steel fence tube with steel angle iron as a crossbrace...the biggest departure from the Biese HS fence is that it uses t-slotted aluminum faces instead of the high pressure laminate faces.
ps: Any tips for posting a thumbnail of a pic vs a link to a pic?
Edited 1/7/2008 4:39 am ET by Knotscott
"ps: Any tips for posting a thumbnail of a pic vs a link to a pic?" Are you wanting said thumbnail to be a link to a bigger picture or web page or something? Or just a tiny, inactive picture?
"the biggest departure from the Biese HS fence is that it uses t-slotted aluminum faces instead of the high pressure laminate faces." Though I don't follow Biesemeyer closely, seems that occasionally people have trouble with those HPL faces. Do you consider that a downside to the Biese?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi FG - "Are you wanting said thumbnail to be a link to a bigger picture or web page or something? Or just a tiny, inactive picture?" ...I'd prefer to be able to attach a pic directly in a response here...is that possible? "Though I don't follow Biesemeyer closely, seems that occasionally people have trouble with those HPL faces. Do you consider that a downside to the Biese?" I hear of very few failures of the Biese HPL, but I do hear some reports of "waviness" with the UHMW plastic faces on fences like the Shop Fox Classic and others that use that material. The HPL faces are harder to replace when they do fail, and the UHMW faces are more prone to issues, but it's a minor issue in either case IMO, and are both fairly easy to overcome. From my view, cost tends to be the biggest issue with the Biese.
"...I'd prefer to be able to attach a pic directly in a response here...is that possible? " Yes, it is, but to get the instructions from me, you have to swear on a stack of quilted maple not to post pictures that are more than about 40-50kb in file size. ;-) The thing with posting pictures "in-line" as I call it is that the reader has no choice whether they download or not, and if the picture is too big it slows everything down.
Taunton software makes it easy to do this if the picture already exists elsewhere on the internet. Simply right-click said picture and select copy. Then go back to where you are composing your message and click paste. Sometimes you need to hit the spacebar after that to get it to show itself, but there it will be.
If you want to do this with your own pictures, which live on your computer, you have to get them to an ftp site and then type the html code to have them show up. I can help you with this if that's what you're looking to do.
Now I have to go and see if my Ivan horse pictures violated my own file size rule, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
forestgirl,
If you want to do this with your own pictures, which live on your computer, you have to get them to an ftp site and then type the html code to have them show up.
Nope, there's a way to do it without the HTML but you still have to attach them to your post. They only get uploaded once, not twice.
After attaching them then select Review and it shows the post with the attachments. You can then click on the pic and it'll open in another window using your default program for the pic, i.e. Irfanview. Once in Irfanview you can right click on the pic and select Copy.
Then go back to your revision in process, go to where you want it to appear, and the hit Ctrl + V and it'll paste the pic into your post.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/7/2008 3:30 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
That's just plain weird, Bob. I'll have to go through that process, and then look at the HTML code and see how it works.
I don't mind doing the ftp thing, as the pictures I host there often also go to friends, in the case of dogs, horses or grandchildren (not necessarily in that order) or to WWA, in the case of tools or other woodworking stuff.
Hmmmmm let's see what I can play with here.
View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"You can then click on the pic and it'll open in another window using your default program for the pic, i.e. Irfanview." Hmmmmm, not for me. It opened in a browser (IE) window with Taunton -- that makes sense that the copy/paste thing would work because it's just like copying a picture from another web site and pasting it into the composition. What did not make sense to me was that I could copy it from a graphics editing program on my computer, and it could then be pasted into the composition. What's really pasting in is the location of the picture on the internet.
Isn't he cute?! ;-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I have the Mulecab on an old craftsman contractor saw and it really works well.
Thanks. I have a Craftsman too but it's a little newer. Any problems installing the MuleCab?
Brian
Great saw. What year?
No problems installing the Mulecab at all. It comes with clear instructions. After installation I checked the runout and it was less than 5 thousandths. Not bad for a saw made back in the 50's. In fact, I would bet it's better than some of the new contractor's saws being offered today.
You're probably right about that. Most things are.
Brian
Hello , I have the T-2 Delta fence , works great very accurate . My 2 cents .
Thx Dove, Will check it out. Brian
If you rip thin strips or have any other reason for keeping stock snugged-up to the fence, consider a hollow fence (like the MiniMax version) that you can convert into a vacuum fence.
A couple of years ago I converted my MM fence into vacuum fence by plugging one end, drilling a series of holes into the hollow interior, and applying a shop vac or a cheap Chinese household vacuum to the other end.
This means I can safely rip strips down to a millimetre or 2 thick (3 inches by 1/16? No trouble), and not have them fall into the blade or fly all over the shop. I can also rip small pieces and do other jobs that are easier if the offcuts stick to the fence
Keeps the workspace dust free as well
Malcolm
Thanks Malcolm, Would really like to see a picture if possible. I have a 4" hose running underneath my contractors saw which does a great job. Not sure it would be worth the trouble of adding something on top.
Thx again, Brian
pics, I hope!Mhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz
Good pics! And nice shop! Noticed some stained glass in the back there. You do stained glass too? Brian
Stained glass?No. The cabinet in the back of the workshop view (previous pic) is recycled (actually twice, my late Mother found it at the tip years ago and put some legs on it to display her ceramic dolls, and when I cleared out her workshop I did away with the legs and installed it in mine).Thought about it once, and one of the daughters had a play, and we bought some books, but too much else to do!Malcolmhttp://www.macpherson.co.nz
I took a class a couple years ago and have made a couple things. It's fun but not like WW. I'll get back to it cause I bought all the *&^% to do it with....maybe incorporate something into a furniture piece or box. At least I can build a frame for a window or something. It's all about creativity right?
Brian
Oh and I really feel better ripping thin stuff on the left side of the blade. I should just have built a jig (millions out there) but I had to spend $20.00 on a Rockler thin strip jig. Works great and simple to set up.
Brian
I think vacuum fences really only come into their own with sliding-table Euro saws, which rip differently. There was an extnded discussion about this a couple of years ago, and I posted some pics I think. I'll find them. There are some jobs that are best, and fastest, done with a vacuum fence and a glue-line ripping blade.Malcolm
http://www.macpherson.co.nz
It has me thinking though. I have an extruded aluminum fence on my Craftsman table that could somehow be made into a vacuum fence. Still though, the 4" underneath does a good job. That would probably be more trouble then it's worth in my case.
brian
Thanks
It's not about clean air tho - I also have an undertable extractor removing dust. This is about holding work pieces firmly to the fence. I can rip 4 or 5 foot strips of 3 inch by 1/16th to a consistent accuracy and finish standard (no saw marks) time after time because the vacuum holds the ripped-off strip firmly to the fence through the length of the cut.
Not always necessary, I only fire it up occasionally, but when applicable, its a real boon.
Malcolm
I have a 50" Vega that I bought through Amazon. It really transformed my saw. I got the Woxey digital fence for it from my wife for Christmas. That has been a good addition.
John
Hi John, I just got the beall tilt angle. Like the Wixey. Very handy and accurate. Cut some miters recently that were as perfect as they can be. I like the fence and will keep it in mind.
brian
Oh wait..Digital fence. For the miter sled right? Mine attaches to the blade or any other metal surface.
Man I miss my Vega, best fence I have ever used, But what is the digital bit? I have a digital that tells me blade tilt but I am not sure what you are talking about. Please explain?
Doug
I got the package deal from Woodcraft. A Wixey Digital fence packaged with the same digital angle meter that you are talking about. $99 for the two together.
http://www.wixey.com/fence/index.html
The fence includes an aluminium rail that you bolt on parallel to your fence rail, and a digital read out head. It is easy to zero out with your fence touching your table saw blade.
I may have to get their planer height gauge next.John
Nice deal. Yep, gotta have one of those but I already have the tilt angle so have to find a better deal then $130.00 for the TS read out. I'll do some research this weekend and see what I come up with.
I also have a Craftsman TS with odd shaped rails. Could be a problem.
Later, Brian
Ok the digital read out looks really great and I will have to look into it.
As for fence, I have the Beisemeyer, and it is nice but I would swap it for my old Vega in a heart beat. The micro adjust of the Vega (pro) is just the best. And the Vega, was smoother and simpler to adjust (not that I ever needed to after installing it the first time) To answer why I have the beisemeyer now, it came with the new saw, and the old saw/fence/shop/house was lost to a house fire.
Doug
Biesmeyer.
Hi, Is that an opinion, spelling correction ( I wasn't sure) or both? I do like the Biese...mucho dinero.
Thanks, Brian
Well I finaly bit the bullet and installed a Biesemeyer two years ago and man what a difference that fence makes. It was hard to part with that kind of money but it has paid for itself. I saw the NZ fellow's fence with the vacuum holes and hose connected and that is a super solution.
I'm with you. That's a lot of loot but I'm reasoning that if everyone is copying it...sorta like the niner offense, you should go with the best. K maybe not this years niners but...
There are an awful lot of quality fence systems on the market now. Hard to choose. May just have to come up a bit in price and go for the Biese.
Question for you. I use board buddies a lot. Can you attach them to the Biesemeyer? I don't remember seeing T-slots and mine use them. Are you pretty much stuck with using clamps to attach stuff? Guess I could build some sort of T-track jig....
Hmmm.
Thanks for the reply.
Brian
Hi Brian,
I have the Homeshop Bies and really like it al lot. After using it for 2+ years I would highly recommend it to anyone. It's not the Commercial fence but it sure is nice.
Also have the Board Buddies, but they're still sitting in the box as I have yet to determine a good way of attaching them. Would also like to use them for the router table too.
Hopefully someone with experience using both will chime in here.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
80/20 extrusion in 1030 size bolted right to the top of my Accufence. Which results in three slots on top and one on each side.
The sell offcuts on ebay for not too much. Just search for "80/20 1030".
Cool. Didn't know such a animal existed.
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