Hello,
my table saw is an ancient 10″ Craftsman saw from a garage sale. The motor was fried when I bought it and I replaced it with a 1 1/2hp TEFC motor. I dropped the saw when moving it and destroyed the rails for the fence. My wife doesn’t want me to spend the money to get another, better saw no matter how much I talk up the hybrid or cabinet saws.
To get to the point, what fence would you recommend and about what do they cost. I have the room to have an extended cutting area on the right if that helps.
thanks to all that reply,
10fingers
Replies
The Delta T2 fence (30" to right of blade) is a good value at Lowes -- usually ~$150. That is probably the value leader unless you can find a good sale.
I put a T2 on my older Emerson-built Craftsman saw. You need to drill new holes in both the edge of the saw top as well as the rails, but that isn't too big a deal.
It is a HUGE improvement over the original fence.
The Biesemeyer's are top-rated, but are considerably more expensive. A few are in between the Bies and the T2.
Hope this helps.
-Tom H.
I too have an ancient Craftsman contractor's saw and I put an Accuride fence on it. You have to drill some holes in the cast iron table but this isn't difficult and the result is incredible accuracy from an inexpensive saw. Here's the link: http://www.mulecab.com
your wife will not let you? Thats scary. Get the pants back.
Sears has an aluminum fence with rails upgrade for your saw that gives you 24" rip capacity to the right or left of the blade for $149.00. I upgraded my saw to this rip fence years ago and have been completely happy with it. The fence has T-slots on the top and sides for connecting auxillary fences. It also stays aligned to the blade without having to constantly readjust it. Otherwise, the early post to go with the Delta fence from Lowes is a good idea.
One of my future projects, waiting for me to get motivated, is to replace the stock rails on my 30 year old Craftsman with 65" rails I bought at a steel yard. My stock rails are 1-1/4" x 1/4" angle iron so I bought a 20 foot piece for $27, cut in half so it would fit on the truck. After the new rails are installed I'll have plenty of travel on both sides of the blade. Same crappy rip fence though.
I am planning on a new cabinet saw so I didn't want to spend $150 plus for a new system.
Jim
The Delta T2 is awefully good for the price...it even goes on sale < $130 fairly often. The Vega is a lot of fence for the price too....a little more money, a little more fence IMHO.
You might find a deal on Ebay or Craigslist too.
My wife doesn't want me to spend the money to get another..
I would take her to dinner at her favorite place.. Get her the best wine they have and ask her again after a few... If she does not drink, ask in here for better options..
Hello,
My wife and I live by the budget. She justs happens to be the one who likes to play with numbers. If we didn't live by the budget, I wouldn't be setting up my stuff in a new 20x30 shop with lots of plugs wired.
Thanks to all that replied.
10fingers
My wife and I live by the budget. She justs happens to be the one who likes to play with numbers. ... SHE IS THE SMART ONE!
I for one would go with what she said. You have to live with it and I'd say a good choice! NOTHING LIKE A MATE THAT LOOKS AFTER YOU.. AND HER!
If it were me I'd clamp a STRAIGHT 2x4 to the saw at each end and make her a something!
Seems we both found a perfect mate!
Ain't we lucky!!!!!
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Hey 10, I hear ya when you're talking about budget and the like, some households have to make do with what you got. If you haven't tried yet I might suggest EBay and the following:http://www.exfactory.com/
http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/exchanges/machinery.cgiHopefully you'll get lucky with the last two sights!Good luck and be well,
Steve S
S.F. Bay Area
How much did the Wife put in the budget to get You patched up after the messed up table saw with the 2X4 fence sends you to the emergency room? Maybe it would be better to spend that money on preventing the injury? While I am not a safety at any cost kind of guy, a cheap saw with a missing for patched together or make shift fence is a bit dangerous, and when you consider that you can buy a new saw fairly cheep or replace said fence I am not sure it is a good bet with the money. On the other hand it is not my Fingers, hand, eye, head........Doug
Do what I did. Show your wife the SawStop videos.
Second vote for two things:
1. The Mulecab fence
2. Getting the pants back
Good luck on the fence and the pants!! LoL
Regards,
Mack
"WISH IN ONE HAND, S--T IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"
The Delta T2 is a great little fence, the only reason I got rid of mine was I got a great deal on a Powermatic commercial fence with 80-inch rails. The T2 actually has more adjustments than the new PowerMatic fence.
My brother now has the T2 mounted to his old Craftsman. And, it works great.
I would suggest looking on ebay, craigs list, etc. for used fences.
I have a friend that has an old unisaw that I helped change out the original fence with a Biesmeyer. Would you like to get in contact with him?
keep the motor junk the saw and buy some thing that you can enjoy and improve your skills on.
I wasted 20 years using junk when I didn't have to.
I wish the saw stop was in my price ,power, space range.
A few years ago somebody here mentioned that lowes had biesemeyers on clearance for $80.00. I paid no attention until I needed one awhile back, I remembered that post and asked at my local lowes just on the off chance? Lo and behold they had one stacked way up high covered with dust..for $80.00. Maybe you'll get lucky too.
Hello,
I got the pants back. I decided to go with the Delta T2. Just had to have 2 crowns at the dentist. While they were drilling I could see the powermatic saw of my dreams flying away.
10fingers
10 fingers, good for you , Now do not leave them laying around. I leave my club on top of them when I shower at the end of the week. Oops, got to go wife is calling.
Edited 4/16/2008 8:30 am ET by gofigure57
Just had to have 2 crowns at the dentist. BET you could have gotted a pretty nice saw for that price!
10,
I have both an Accusquare and a Redline fence. They are very nice.
Don
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