# Incra fence



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Last March, I think it was, my so Jason bought me a 32" Incra fence for my Ridgid TS3650 saw. All I can say about the Incra Fence and the Incra miter that I bought is WOW it has sure made a difference in my projects!! No more measuring at the blade and then at the table making sure the dimension is correct and the fence is parallel to the blade, just set the dimension at the scale , lock the fence you are dead on every time and the repeatability is flawless every time. The fence is adjustable to .002"and the miter to .1 degree.

I am fairly sure anyone who has used this set up would agree that when properly installed and calibrated the accuracy is incredible.

Oh yes the planer you see is not my primary planer but the one pictured below is, this DeWalt 735 awesome.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

I agree, Jerry.

The accuracy (once set up) and repeatability are what counts.


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## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

*planing tiger maple*

Hi Jerry, I replaced my fence on my TS with the Incra several months ago. I love it. I always hated the bumping of the old one and once I thought I had the right place once I locked the fence it moved. As for the Dewalt planer...I have the 735 but I replaced the cutter head with a Byrd spiral cutter head. I couldn't plane tiger maple and some of the other woods without it. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

kywoodchopper said:


> Hi Jerry, I replaced my fence on my TS with the Incra several months ago. I love it. I always hated the bumping of the old one and once I thought I had the right place once I locked the fence it moved. As for the Dewalt planer...I have the 735 but I replaced the cutter head with a Byrd spiral cutter head. I couldn't plane tiger maple and some of the other woods without it. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


Really nice box, yes I am considering strongly changing to a spiral cutter, was it hard to install? I am very mechanical doing all my own work. Why did you pick the Byrd cutter?


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## twallace (Jan 15, 2012)

Jerry, 
I have been trying to overcome the sin of envy........boy oh boy....you sure know how to make a man fall. but I am so glad for you ......enjoy it.... as for me I will continue to dream......


tom


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh man!!! Saaaaaaaweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!! 

Shop is looking good Jerry!! and its looking used...tis a good thing


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

About the time that I was shopping for my first TS I ran across the Incra LS TS system and after talking to Mark Mueller at Incra Tools about it I ordered a 52" model and never set the fence up that came with the new saw but put the new Incra fence on it from the get go.

Consequently I may not appreciate the accuracy of the the LS system as much as I would have if I had worked without it for awhile. 

As those that are familier with my set up already know, I have a second LS set up to the left of the TS blade for the router. Today I was working on a jig at with the router in the table and using the second LS system. The micro adjust knob seemed to be turning easier than it had earlier. The cut that I was making with the router was very critical and I began to wonder if the fence was moving or not. Looked at the scale and kept turning and the fence was indeed moving as it should. The micro adjust seems to vary from time to time in regard to how hard it is to turn the knob but the accuracy of the movement is constant and dependable. The variation is related to the position of the clamping lever. I wonder if anyone else has experienced what I'm talking about. It'a a great system, couldn't imagine not having them.

Jerry


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

kywoodchopper said:


> Hi Jerry, I replaced my fence on my TS with the Incra several months ago. I love it. I always hated the bumping of the old one and once I thought I had the right place once I locked the fence it moved. As for the Dewalt planer...I have the 735 but I replaced the cutter head with a Byrd spiral cutter head. I couldn't plane tiger maple and some of the other woods without it. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


@xplorx4--I also put a Byrd on my 735. Grizzly sells that head at a pretty good price and i used a 10% off coupon. I'm not particularly mechanical, but the install went smoothly with Byrd's instruction sheet (step by step with photos of a 735) and reading a few posts on the process somewhere. Word of caution--the cutters are sharp and there is not much area that doesn't have a cutter on it--and they cut so cleanly you may not feel it until you start looking for where the red fluid is coming from!! 

Detractors mention the expense of adding a Byrd to a "lunchbox" planer driving the price up to the $1200 range, which i find a little overstated. With careful shopping, i think i'm at about $650-$700 on my set-up. Two to 3 pairs of knives a year compared to the life expectancy of the 4 sided carbides may very well make the Byrd a pretty good value over 4 or 5 years if that pans out.

Ash and cherry plane very nicely. Sound is significantly reduced. Grizzly has a 10% off coupon on Wood mag i think right now--a worthy consideration.

earl


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

greenacres2 said:


> @xplorx4--I also put a Byrd on my 735. Grizzly sells that head at a pretty good price and i used a 10% off coupon. I'm not particularly mechanical, but the install went smoothly with Byrd's instruction sheet (step by step with photos of a 735) and reading a few posts on the process somewhere. Word of caution--the cutters are sharp and there is not much area that doesn't have a cutter on it--and they cut so cleanly you may not feel it until you start looking for where the red fluid is coming from!!
> 
> Detractors mention the expense of adding a Byrd to a "lunchbox" planer driving the price up to the $1200 range, which i find a little overstated. With careful shopping, i think i'm at about $650-$700 on my set-up. Two to 3 pairs of knives a year compared to the life expectancy of the 4 sided carbides may very well make the Byrd a pretty good value over 4 or 5 years if that pans out.
> 
> ...


Thank you, not sure when but looking forward to that upgrade.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Jerry Bowen said:


> About the time that I was shopping for my first TS I ran across the Incra LS TS system and after talking to Mark Mueller at Incra Tools about it I ordered a 52" model and never set the fence up that came with the new saw but put the new Incra fence on it from the get go.
> 
> Consequently I may not appreciate the accuracy of the the LS system as much as I would have if I had worked without it for awhile.
> 
> ...


If I understand you correctly the locking lever must be in the fully locked position (straight up) or the fence is loose. When I set and lock mine I always lock the thumb screw last thing just to make sure. I have not tuned mine up other than to re-zero it from time to time. Before I got the fence and the miter I never understood what repeatable and accurate cuts were


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Jerry Bowen said:


> About the time that I was shopping for my first TS I ran across the Incra LS TS system and after talking to Mark Mueller at Incra Tools about it I ordered a 52" model and never set the fence up that came with the new saw but put the new Incra fence on it from the get go.
> 
> Consequently I may not appreciate the accuracy of the the LS system as much as I would have if I had worked without it for awhile.
> 
> ...


Hey Jerry, just to make sure--on the LS, the locking lever at the scale has 3 positions. Horizontal is unlocked. Vertical is locked. In between, at about 45 degrees, the lead screw is engaged and the micro-adjust functions. In the locked position, the micro-adjust should not function (though i think the micro-adjust turns pretty easily). You probably know this already, just a reminder.
earl


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

greenacres2 said:


> Hey Jerry, just to make sure--on the LS, the locking lever at the scale has 3 positions. Horizontal is unlocked. Vertical is locked. In between, at about 45 degrees, the lead screw is engaged and the micro-adjust functions. In the locked position, the micro-adjust should not function (though i think the micro-adjust turns pretty easily). You probably know this already, just a reminder.
> earl




Yes Earl, I do understand all of that. On other point that I ran into one time a person needs to pay attention to is to keep the set screw tight on the knob that turns the lead screw. I had the one on my my first system come just loose enough that it caused a bit of slop that was quickly eliminated when the set screw was tightened. I would bout a dial indicator on the fence when the screw was loose and it might take severa clicks on othe knob before the fence would begin to move, but of course when I discovered the problem all of the slop as I call it was eliminated. The fence moved on the first click and moved in opposite direction when the knob was turned back, no slop in either direction. There is more variation the the flutter of the saw blade than there is in the accuracy provided by the LS system. With a full kert blade and stabilizers the cuts can be extremely accurate, far more so so that most people ever need for most wool working. Understanding the mechanics of how the system works is important in order to fully appreciate the tool, at least that is my personal opinion.


I notice that there are getting to be a few members by the name of Jerry on the forum so from now on I'm going to sign off as Jerry B.

Jerry B.
C. City, Texas


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

greenacres2 said:


> Hey Jerry, just to make sure--on the LS, the locking lever at the scale has 3 positions. Horizontal is unlocked. Vertical is locked. In between, at about 45 degrees, the lead screw is engaged and the micro-adjust functions. In the locked position, the micro-adjust should not function (though i think the micro-adjust turns pretty easily). You probably know this already, just a reminder.
> earl


That is correct the micro wheel only makes adjustments in the in-between setting.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

xplorx4 said:


> If I understand you correctly the locking lever must be in the fully locked position (straight up) or the fence is loose. When I set and lock mine I always lock the thumb screw last thing just to make sure. I have not tuned mine up other than to re-zero it from time to time. Before I got the fence and the miter I never understood what repeatable and accurate cuts were



Not understanding can cause some confusion and when I first started using mine and was cutting dovetail I was thinking that there might be some parallax between the cursor and the scale as I tried to set the cursor right on a mark. Then when listening to Mark Mueller do his demo and thinking about the mechanics of the lead screw concept I realized that you cannot miss the mark that you are trying to set the cursor on if you are just reasonably close as the threads in the clamp will mesh with the those in the lead screw which is what contributes to the accuracy of the system.

I did find however when cutting dovetail that often the fit was of the tails and pins was tighter than I liked and so I learned to, after making a cut to turn the micro adjust about five clicks in one direction, make another cut, then reverse the MA ten clicks and make a third pass over the bit and then reverse the MA five clicks to get it back to it's original position before moveing to the next cut. By doing this I was widening the cuts just a bit and the final fit was was easier to put put together and was still very satisfactory. The issue probably is that the bit is just slightly undersize. This procedure is, in my case absolutely necessary when making corner post jointery as unless I do so the posts would often break upon attempting to do the assembly, but widening the cuts just slightly as described fixed that proglem.

Jerry B.
C. City, Texas


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## Lrryfrrw (Apr 16, 2014)

*Very Nice Setup*

Jerry,
I see a few things in your pics - you have built a deflector for your dust collection hose on the planer. I have the same problem with mine:yes4:. I too have a Ridgid, a granite top which I am very happy with. I have an outfeed table on my saw and wonder what effect the MICRA fence system may have on mounting it. I have been looking at this system for some time now. Thanks for showing us. I am also interested in upgrading the cutter head to spiral. I now have a floor model Craftex and am wondering if it is upgradable.

Thanks again,
Larry F


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

Lrryfrrw said:


> Jerry,
> I see a few things in your pics - you have built a deflector for your dust collection hose on the planer. I have the same problem with mine:yes4:. I too have a Ridgid, a granite top which I am very happy with. I have an outfeed table on my saw and wonder what effect the MICRA fence system may have on mounting it. I have been looking at this system for some time now. Thanks for showing us. I am also interested in upgrading the cutter head to spiral. I now have a floor model Craftex and am wondering if it is upgradable.
> 
> Thanks again,
> Larry F




Larry,

I'm not sure what you are referring to about the deflector on the dust collection hose on the planer, help me out here.

As to the outfeed table, I don't know how your's is attached, but mine is very simple. It is attached to the rail that is part of the LS system at one corner with a bolt and a rectangular nut that fits the T slot on the top edge of the rail. This allows the table to be moved from one position on the rail to another or it can be swung out of the way which is has to be when using the Incra Express Sled and/or a miter gauge.

I assure you that you will never regret buying the LS system for your saw.

Jerry


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

The hose was hanging down getting in the way of the outfeed table on the 735 so I juryrigged a way to keep the hose out of the way. This will be done away with when I run the dust collection on the ceiling. Not fancy but effective.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

xplorx4 said:


> The hose was hanging down getting in the way of the outfeed table on the 735 so I juryrigged a way to keep the hose out of the way. This will be done away with when I run the dust collection on the ceiling. Not fancy but effective.


Jerry,
Now I understand your question. When working on wider stock I jury rig the hose in a couple of ways to get it out of the way. It is the only part of the 735 design that is a bit ackward, but the planer sure is a great machine isn't it?

Jerry B.
C. City, Texas


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

yes I really like mine it is great


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## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

It took a couple hours to install. Instructions come with it. It comes with the bearings and it tells how to take out the old and install the new. I could not plane the wood I do without it. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

One of the things that I have found with the 735 is that the rollers do not need to be cleaned as often as the ones in the 734. I suspect, but don't know for sure, is that the fan on the 735 keeps the machine much cleaner and therefore reduces the issue of pitch and residue from accumulating on the rollers. This feature is extremely important to me and unless a person has used the 734 model they would not know about this. Before I upgraded to the 735 and was using the 734 the rollers were constantly in need of being cleaned as they would quit moving the workpiece through the planer, it was a PITB and I sure don't miss it with the 735. I have had to clean the roller only one time on the newer machine and found another feature that the 734 did not have. When the head of the 735 is lifted to it's maximum height you can get to the roller from the side. The only way to get to the roller on the 734 was from the front and/or the rear which made cleaning the roller more difficult compared to the 735. 

When the 734's rollers are clean it works as well as the 735 as far the results are concerned and anybody using the 734 is not really at any disadvantage, the 735 is just a bit more convenient and pleasant to use. I have not seen a great advantage of the two speed option on the 735 by the way.

Jerry B.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Jerry Bowen said:


> One of the things that I have found with the 735 is that the rollers do not need to be cleaned as often as the ones in the 734. I suspect, but don't know for sure, is that the fan on the 735 keeps the machine much cleaner and therefore reduces the issue of pitch and residue from accumulating on the rollers. This feature is extremely important to me and unless a person has used the 734 model they would not know about this. Before I upgraded to the 735 and was using the 734 the rollers were constantly in need of being cleaned as they would quit moving the workpiece through the planer, it was a PITB and I sure don't miss it with the 735. I have had to clean the roller only one time on the newer machine and found another feature that the 734 did not have. When the head of the 735 is lifted to it's maximum height you can get to the roller from the side. The only way to get to the roller on the 734 was from the front and/or the rear which made cleaning the roller more difficult compared to the 735.
> 
> When the 734's rollers are clean it works as well as the 735 as far the results are concerned and anybody using the 734 is not really at any disadvantage, the 735 is just a bit more convenient and pleasant to use. I have not seen a great advantage of the two speed option on the 735 by the way.
> 
> Jerry B.


Jerry hit it right on. I had a 733 before, and like the 734 i had to lock/unlock the cutterhead which we don't have to do on the 735.

Regarding the fan/chip ejector on the 735--it's potent. Twice i've forgotten (or missed the ON button) to turn on the dust collector. That fan is strong enough to blow chips through 20' of 4" hose (mounted at a 90 degree angle), into the chip separator, lift the lid and send the chips at least another 15'. Might have gone farther but the back wall stopped them. Makes a bit of a pile i might add!!

earl


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

greenacres2 said:


> Jerry hit it right on. I had a 733 before, and like the 734 i had to lock/unlock the cutterhead which we don't have to do on the 735.
> 
> Regarding the fan/chip ejector on the 735--it's potent. Twice i've forgotten (or missed the ON button) to turn on the dust collector. That fan is strong enough to blow chips through 20' of 4" hose (mounted at a 90 degree angle), into the chip separator, lift the lid and send the chips at least another 15'. Might have gone farther but the back wall stopped them. Makes a bit of a pile i might add!!
> 
> earl



Earl,

Along that line about the blower on the 735. I fine it almost impossible to keep the lid on the trash can, the chip collector, tight enough to keep the blower from lifting the lid enough to allow debri from coming out. I have several bungy cords and a heavy cinder block holding the lid down, but the blower still lifts the lid and clean up is needed. I could fix it, but I seem to always want to do something else than to mess with fixing the lid, clean up isn't that difficult. I can't imagine using the planer very long without a DC, it would really create a mess in a hurry. 

The jointer to for that matter cannot be run very long without a good DC connected as anybody knows that uses a jointer.

Jerry B.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Wow Jerry, that's some power!! I've read of folks that use the 735 daily basis in shops that complain about having to change the chip ejector housing inside the planer on occasion--wears from the friction of the chips. I've got a 90 degree Dust Right elbow coming out from the back of mine and in less than 1,000 bf had to wrap it with duct tape!!

earl


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

greenacres2 said:


> Wow Jerry, that's some power!! I've read of folks that use the 735 daily basis in shops that complain about having to change the chip ejector housing inside the planer on occasion--wears from the friction of the chips. I've got a 90 degree Dust Right elbow coming out from the back of mine and in less than 1,000 bf had to wrap it with duct tape!!
> 
> earl



Earl,
Do I understand you that you wrapped the 90 degree elbow with duct tape due to the chip wearing through it. I may have misunderstood you. I'm not familiar with the chip ejector housing inside of the planer. I do see that a right angle elbow with a two foot or so piece of straight pipe pointing out to the right side of the outfeed table might take care of the issue of the hose being in the way. Maybe another elbow on the far end of the straight pipe wouldn't be a bad idea, you have my attention on that possibility. 

I probably use my planer so much less than what one being used in a full fledged work shop that the ejector housing in my planer will probably last a much a much longer time. I suspect that the planer is designed more for hobbyists use than for a commercial applications but that's marvelously philosophical on my part. 

I would like to find a way to seal the lid on the trash can and get rid of that ugly cinder block, but nobody sees it except me. May another cider block would help. In any event the blower is indeed powerful.

Jerry B.


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## Roger Leclercq (Jan 28, 2009)

I have had a INCRA TS system for 11+ years About 5 years ago I ungraded to the newest TS and built my workstation around it. I love the accuracy and repeatability.



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Roger0220 said:


> Here is my Custom Combo Table that I finished in December it has the following functions
> <1> Stockroom supply 24” sander on left side.
> <2> Craftsman 10” Contractors saw in Middle.
> <3> Lighted Enclosed Router Table Porta Cable 7539 Router
> ...


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