Replies

1. 
   Vibart2 | Jan 29, 2005 08:13am | #1

   Hi Tom

    

   I saw you note over in my post about my saw.

   As you know I have the Shopfox fence.

   I rehabbed my saw in a friends shop. He has a Grizzly G1023 with a commercial Biesemeyer fence & we compared my Shopfox Classic I can tell you there is not enough difference to talk about other than the materials used for the wear surface on both sides of the fence. So far I like this fence its real easy to set up & use. My fence has HDPE on both sides & the Biesemeyer has what looks like a good quality plywood covered with some kind of laminate.

   My fence has screws in the face to allow for shimming if necessary . The Biesemeyer doesn't have this feature, I understand this makes this fence difficult to shim if need be.

   You can buy the extension table. I laminated up 2 layers of MDF & wrapped it with 13/16 red oak. I routed out areas on the under side of the MDF where I needed to be able to get to the bolts to fasten the tables to the saw. I also cut & chiseled an area on the front & back side of the oak frame so that the braces for the legs to the extended right table could inset into it.

   Over all I am very happy with the Shopfox fence.

    

    

   Sucking.......Whoosh.......Yowl........Whoosh.........Thrump puttytat up the DC..
1. 
   highfigh | Jan 29, 2005 08:23am | #3

   I have the same saw and the fence is very stable and accurate. I went to the 7' rails after getting the saw with the 50" and am very happy with it. Re: the HDPE- it does tend to "grow" with high temperatures and when I have sighted down the fence, I noticed that it does waver a bit. I am going to change to laminated Baltic Birch plywood for the new faces soon, but only because I'm really picky about accuracy. I now use the scale on the rail for all measurements when I cut, only occasionally checking the piece after I cut it. It doesn't change, since the saw and extension table are on a ShopFox mobile base w/ extension. I have looked at the Beis and other fences, but when I check for deflection with side load, I don't see any benefit to going with another brand. I haven't adjusted it since I installed the 7' rails but have checked it periodically.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

2. 
   BG | Jan 29, 2005 07:41pm | #6

   Orginal-Bart,

   Have you ever taken the ply/laminate off your friends Bies?...Has it been shimmed?

   I'd like to swap out my shop fox classic plastic...but I noticed a lot of shimming when I took the side off and am fearful it might be difficult to get flat with a ply/laminate replacment....don't know if the issue is with the plastic or the metal square tube.  Also, there was sawdust back there ...possibly causing the waves on the face...  I'd be interested in your experience... 

1. 
   Vibart2 | Jan 29, 2005 09:16pm | #7

   No. But I've heard that its not easy because of the fact it has no through the face screws.

   I don't see why you couldn't use some Baltic Birch Plywood  faced with laminate & drilled & counter sunk to accept your screws.Sucking.......Whoosh.......Yowl........Whoosh.........Thrump puttytat up the DC..

2. 
   hammer1 | Jan 29, 2005 08:21am | #2

   I upgraded three older Rockwell saws with Unifences. There are quite a few adjustments and positions that you can do with the Unifence. The fence is extruded aluminum, it can be slid back for a cut off guide or for a euro style rip position. You can flip it from a 4" high to 1/2" high. You can buy a short piece of the fence for a cross cut stop.

   The fence can be removed with just a very slight twist of the lock handle. Sometimes this is a problem for those not used to it. The fence rides on some nylon? buttons. These can be adjusted to make the fence or any added accessory fence 90° to the table. The large cast iron T assembly has a large button that slides on the saw table. When making adjustments, this button will hang up slightly on the miter ways as it passes. You have to hold up on the fence slightly to overcome this.

   Because the fence is an aluminum box like structure, attaching auxiliary fences to it requires special fasteners. There are a variety of tinnerman nuts and such that work well. Again, due to the aluminum, you need to attach an auxiliary face when doing dado work that is buried in the fence. It is a good idea with any fence, not only for close dado work but just to protect the face, in case someone moves the fence too close while the blade is running. Someone with the Bees will have to tell you how they attach auxiliary faces to them without hurting the original face.

   The fence assembly slides effortlessly and does not jump around when you lock down. The indicator pointer for the measurement function is a little hard to see and confusing, since there are two lines for the different fence positions, standing up or laying down. They don't work anyway with an extra face added. Although the fence can be dropped tight to the table top for thin materials like Formica, I still use a special support in those cases. If you want to move the fence to the opposite side of the blade, you have to loosen and reverse the clip that holds the fence to the cast iron T.

   Most folks just want an easy to use straight fence for ripping. They do cut off work with a sled or miter gauge. If you want or need a fence that can be used in many configurations, the Unifence is the only one that offers the options. Any of the fences that only lock on the front are not good candidates for stock feeder use. I prefer the old jetlock fence that locks front and rear for that. The older jetlocks are good fences but they do need adjustment from time to time. There is a rubber bushing in the cam lock that sometimes wears out and makes the fence useless.

   All the necessary hardware comes with the Unifence. For the long ones, the table boards and legs, if you want them, are extra. The fence is a heavy duty pro level piece of equipment. I would like to see the T-20 fence Delta makes, it may be a less expensive alternative worth looking into.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
3. 
   BarryO | Jan 29, 2005 06:59pm | #4

   Hard to beat the Biesemeyer.  It locks down rock solid, slides easily, and can be tweaked for perfect alignment.  The fence sides are high-quality laminate, and not "wavy".

   My only complaint is a minor one, and concerns the plastic edge trim they put on the laminate edges.  It's the type that presses into a slot routed on the edge.  Well, mine won't stay put on the corners, and keeps lifting up.  It's just an annoyance, and I'll get around to epoxying it in one of these days, but it is the one flaw that I see.

1. 
   highfigh | Jan 29, 2005 07:12pm | #5

   Was the spline cut all the way down to the bottom at the corners? If not, it needs to be cut a bit so there's a gap of at least 1/8". If you visualize cutting a slot about 1/8" wide at the corner, then miter cut the spline down to the bottom of the cut. This may clear up the problem. Or, you can use hot glue along the spline at the ends.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

4. 
   MarkRD | Jan 30, 2005 03:31am | #8

   I just installed the Vega 50" on my 50 year old craftsman. I'm quite pleased with it. I ripped a full sheet of plywood with no movement at all. It is also quite easy to setup.

   Install front rail (chrome steel tube). Install rear rail "Square" tube.
   The fence slides on both rails but locks on the front rail. It is quite easy to lock. At first I thought I really had to lean on it but now I've gotten used to it and don't press so hard.

   Once you set the fence parallel to a miter slot, you tighten four heavy set screws (wrench with cheater bar provided) and the fence is not going anywhere.
   Adjustments.
   You can move the front tube right and left to zero the scale on your fence.
   You can raise and lower both the front and back rail to ensure proper clearance over your saw. That's it!

   The fence also has a clever and easy to use micro adjustment. Lock the fence with the small lock, turn a thumb wheel then lock the fence with the standard lock.

   You can see a picture of my setup here: http://www.pbase.com/durrenm/image/39076901 and
   here:
   http://www.pbase.com/durrenm/image/39076906

   The mounting plates for the extention table are already attached to the rails so all I had to do was build the table and lag screw it on...

   HTH,
   Mark

5. 
   wrudiger | Jan 30, 2005 10:58am | #9

   The only thing I can add about the Beis and it's clones is that the steel box is easy to drill and tap for fence extensions/jigs.  Once it's dialed in it tends to stay there, and it is a dream to use.

6. 
   Peter36 | Jan 30, 2005 04:05pm | #10

   I have the Unifence. My next saw will have a Bise. The thing that I don't like about the Uni. is when I want to use the saw to cut raised panels. I need to remove the fence extrusion and install it on the other side of the locking head. I would also prefer a Bies. because of the consistent width from front of the saw to the back, makes it much easier for jigs. They are probably all good fences I guess you just need to decide what features you do need and what ones will be a problem.   Peter

1. 
   Vibart2 | Jan 30, 2005 05:25pm | #11

   Peter take a look a this I think it will help you out with the problem your having.

    

   http://www.ttrackusa.com/unifence.htmSucking.......Whoosh.......Yowl........Whoosh.........Thrump puttytat up the DC..

7. 
   mudman | Jan 30, 2005 08:44pm | #12

   Tom,

   Hammer said it all about the Unifence. I have and love it. I've used a lot of Beis and clones as well. The Beis style are better for serious industrial or large shops with more than 5 employees where the people using it are more likely to drop it. It would be damn near impossible to damage a Beis . If you drop a Unifence you could ding the aluminum. Though I dropped mine a couple of times and it caused no real damage. The Unifence is a lot easier to adjust as well. You don't need to remove the fence to reach any adjustments.

   Mike

   please excuse my spelling.