# Table saw fence



## qulevrius (Mar 18, 2019)

As I mentioned in another thread, I’s gots me a Delta 36-6000 series for a bargain of a price. It’s a contractor saw with a 24” table, and not without its quirks. The biggest one by far is that the rip fence is utter schlock. Not only that I had to take apart & fix the clamp assembly to set the rotating pin right (it was popping out of alignment and the clamp would’ve crooked and not work as it should), but it also that the fence won’t clamp true square. Ea time I need to make a rip cut, I end up spending time with a caliper to make sure the fence is parallel to the blade. So far the only somewhat quick fix was to screw a strip of HDPE to the fence to reduce the friction.

I’ve been looking into replacing this junk, but couldn’t find anything compatible for cheaper than $200. And that’s more than I paid for the saw. My question , therefore, is how you experienced folks deal with these issues and if there’s an affordable solution to this ?


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Without seeing the mechanism I can’t say if it can be fixed. I bought a cheap Sears that couldn’t be but I have an Excalibur/ Unifence type on a Unisaw that is good but pricey and I have an Accusquare on an old Rockwell that is just as good and not nearly as pricey. Still more than $200 but not a lot more.


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## ger21 (Feb 10, 2019)

To me, the fence is the most important part of the saw, and if the saw itself is decent, a good fence can make a world of difference.
30 years ago, I put a Vega fence on a Craftsman contractor saw, and used it for many years until I got a new Unisaw.
It was about $275, and worth every penny.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

ger21 said:


> To me, the fence is the most important part of the saw, and if the saw itself is decent, a good fence can make a world of difference.
> 30 years ago, I put a Vega fence on a Craftsman contractor saw, and used it for many years until I got a new Unisaw.
> It was about $275, and worth every penny.


Exactly the way I feel . I had a 10” delta contractors saw with a Biesemeyer fence , and it was just a joy to work with . I learned my lesson from a friend who had a cheaper fence that could drive you to fits


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## qulevrius (Mar 18, 2019)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Without seeing the mechanism I can’t say if it can be fixed. I bought a cheap Sears that couldn’t be but I have an Excalibur/ Unifence type on a Unisaw that is good but pricey and I have an Accusquare on an old Rockwell that is just as good and not nearly as pricey. Still more than $200 but not a lot more.




As a rule, I’m willing to shell out a decent amount to make life worth living. But lately, I’m forced to do it because otherwise the tools are not performing up to the expectations. For example, I find it nearly impossible to cut a miter runner that won’t have a play and won’t require additional sanding to fit right. I am actually opting for aluminum t-tracks that cost ~$9 per 24”, but perform admirably. It’s just difficult to digest the fact that a vital accessory can cost twice as much as a tool it’s intended to be used with.


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## ger21 (Feb 10, 2019)

> It’s just difficult to digest the fact that a vital accessory can cost twice as much as a tool it’s intended to be used with.......................





> It’s a contractor saw with a 24” table


What you have is not what most call a "contractors" saw. You have a jobsite or benchtop saw. 
What's commonly called a "contractor's saw" is a full size saw, with a cast iron top, with a belt driven arbor and induction motor. There's a night and day difference between a jobsite saw and a contractors saw.
To be honest, I've never seen anyone put a really good fence on a jobsite saw, and I'm not even sure you could without a lot of modifications.

Generally, anyone buying a $200-$350 fence is putting it on a saw that costs much more.


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## qulevrius (Mar 18, 2019)

ger21 said:


> What you have is not what most call a "contractors" saw. You have a jobsite or benchtop saw.
> What's commonly called a "contractor's saw" is a full size saw, with a cast iron top, with a belt driven arbor and induction motor. There's a night and day difference between a jobsite saw and a contractors saw.
> To be honest, I've never seen anyone put a really good fence on a jobsite saw, and I'm not even sure you could without a lot of modifications.
> 
> Generally, anyone buying a $200-$350 fence is putting it on a saw that costs much more.




Apologies for the confusion. I always thought the difference is between a bench top to contractor’s to hybrid to cabinet saws.

That’s exactly my point, I cannot justify spending twice the cost of the tool on an accessory. Nor I’ll be able to justify it to the wife. That’s why I was asking whether there’s an affordable fix or a DIY alternative.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Mule Cabinetmaker - Carpentry Tools for Carpenters that Need Precision & Reliability! Like I said, not much more.


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## FreeTime (Dec 2, 2012)

It is nice to have a saw with the functioning rip fence but when I was running my craftsman hybrid tablesaw, I developed and used something like the following to set the fence. It took the independent measurements out of the process.

https://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/44931-tablesaw-rip-fence-setting-guide.html


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## ger21 (Feb 10, 2019)

You can find a lot of DIY fences with Google.


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## qulevrius (Mar 18, 2019)

FreeTime said:


> It is nice to have a saw with the functioning rip fence but when I was running my craftsman hybrid tablesaw, I developed and used something like the following to set the fence. It took the independent measurements out of the process.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/44931-tablesaw-rip-fence-setting-guide.html




Brilliant. That’s exactly what I needed, thanks !


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## qulevrius (Mar 18, 2019)

So, after a few days of trying to fine tune the fence with both built in adjustments and external aids, I finally gave up. Spent the whole makeup bag on this pig, but it still looks nothing like a supermodel. Did some additional research & finally decided to bite the bullet with a 3rd party fence, namely the Shop Fox W1410. According to many, it’s the one modeled after the Excalibur system and doesn’t require heavy modding of the table to be installed. It’s on sale right now on OpticsPlanet and the total is less than $200 (plus a 10% off for Memorial Day), if anyone’s interested. 

Will post updates as soon as it gets here.


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