# router table fence



## rdenardo47 (Mar 20, 2011)

I am going to buy either a kreg or jessem router fence. Any suggestions as to which is the easier to install and use by a beginner?


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## jcr3 (Mar 12, 2011)

I do not have any experience with either fence you have mentioned. I am sure they are both good, but I would suggest you make your own! The first fence I ever used was two pieces of MDF maybe 3"x24" glued and screwed together to form an "L" shaped device. I would clamp the flat horizontal piece to my plywood router table with "C" clamps and it worked good enuf, then I graduated to using the Tsquare fence of my tablesaw, but scabbed on 2 aux pieces of MDF to cover the face of my fence so as to not damage it, and that worked even better. Then i finally made my own dedicated fence from a plan I saw in a magazine a few years ago (not sure which magazine) and it works perfect for me, plus it was a fun project! BTW, you can incorporate all the cool stuff the expensive store bought fences have like: dust collection, feather boards, T track, adjustable opening for size of bit, etc.


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## Titus A Duxass (Jan 6, 2010)

^^^^^WHS^^^^

Make your own from offcuts.

Here's my simple fence










Here's my split fence










And finally my sliding fence










All built from bits salvaged from the off cuts bin at my local DIY Centre.
Give it a whirl, it's very satisfying.


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## 2bigfeet (Mar 3, 2011)

I have the Kreg fence on one of my tables and don't care for it. It has a slight bow and twist to it. I have shimmed it behind the mounting hardware with paper to compensate for the rather thin aluminum extrusion. The clamping system is a PIA to set up and maintain. Lots of little plastic squaring set screws, plastic ruler magnifier screws that are always vibrating out etc. The clamping action is sticky and notchy and when you clamp down the fence moves just a little, because the squaring set screws have moved again. Once the clamp is down you then screw tight the opposite end of the fence... tedious. Their tables are great, the fence... not so much.

I recently took a good look at the Jessem fence (there are two) and almost bought it but ended up with the Woodpeckers RF-3. The Jessem's fence & system is more robust than the Kreg. The extrusion is heavier to start with. The two knob clamping system works quicker and easier than the Kreg. The Rout R Fence (just over $100) is about a hundred bucks less than the Mast R Fence. Only difference I see is a ruler on top and an extra 1/4" T-track. I've never needed a ruler on my router fence for the things I do and didn't see the need for yet another T-track slot.

Things to consider are you table's mounting options. The Kreg has a mount on one side of the table and requires a slot in top on the other end. The Jessem has an under table mount on each end and can accommodate almost any table. If your table has track mounts on top like mine did, as long as the spread is the same, you can use a fence like the Woodpeckers. The RF-3 will only work with a 17" spread. I think the Super Fence can be adjusted or (modified) to any.

Other fences to look at: Bench Dog Pro Fence, Woodpeckers RF-3, Woodpeckers Super Fence, Peachtree router fences, Rockler etc.

I would have been as happy with the Jessem.

Good luck!


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

I don't have either one of the fences you asked about..but I do have a CMT fence, a rockler fence and a few MDF attachments that slip over my table saw fence for routing, but invariably the fence I usually seem to use the most is the oak-park style poly fence. 

the simplicity of the oak-park fence has to make it the best fence design out there.The main purpose of a fence is just to guide the workpiece in relationship to the bit and for the majority of routing jobs I have not used another fence design that works better than the oak-park.

The fence is made from polyethylene which is inexpensive, straight and offers low resistance so the workpiece glides easily along it. You can easily bury the bit to make a zero clearance cut, and then you can just flip the fence over to get another clean uncut surface to work with.

But the best feature is that the short height of the fence helps to prevent transferring imperfections from the side of the workpiece to the cut. The table top supports the workpiece so ideally the fence should have as little surface area as possible...just enough contact to make sure the workpiece follows the intended path to ensure a straight cut.

It took me a while to figure it out but the K.I.S.S. method of router fence design definitely works better for me :yes4:


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## TomE (Dec 17, 2010)

I have the Kreg on their table and have been lucky enough not to have the problems reported by Kerry. The nylon screws, which act as glides, have locking nuts and have not come loose on my setup after years of use. My rail is straight and I don't think that locking down both ends of the fence is any more difficult than any other setup I've worked with.

For ease of installation I would not recommend the Kreg for a beginner if they are not comfortable in cutting the slot required for the outfeed clamp. It's actually two concentric slots of different widths, the wider slot below accomodates the nut on the clamp. 

The Jessem appears to have bolted tracks and no slots to cut, easier to install.
The extrusion is full length like the Kreg with adjustable faces and if it is more robust then that's a plus.

Fences like the Woodpeckers Superfence use an angle bracket to attach the fence face.
Some have complained that the slotted (adjustable) angle bracket can be hard to get spot on for alignment during edge planing or straight outfeed.


A quality fence that clamps under the table is by far the easiest way to go.


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