A fence question...

[Dan Friedrichs]

Hello all,

I have a question about how different table saw fences are designed. I have a Delta T2 fence on my TS, and I notice that it rides along the front rail on nylon screws, and it has a nylon block on the back that rides along the back fence rail. I'd like to build an outfeed table that's actually attached to my saw, but this back nylon block prevents me from attaching anything. Yet, I have seen many outfeed tables that are bolted directly to the back rail. So my questions are:

1) Do the more upscale fences (Bise and clones) have this back end support? If not, how do they ride along the table? Are they cantilevered off the front rail entirely, or do they have low-friction contact points of some sort along the bottom that ride on the table?

2) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to eliminate that back support so I could directly attach an outfeed table to the back rail? I tried removing the nylon block, but the bottom of the fence scraped across the table in an unpleasant way. The location that the block mounts to is raised about 1/16" from the rest of the bottom of the fence, so maybe if I mount an outfeed table on the back rail, that little raised area can ride on the outfeed table.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Dan

[Lee Schierer]

On a Biesmeyer fence there is a pad at the rear of the table that rides on the table surface. As long as your out feed table isn't higher than the top of the cast iron everything works well. I had to relocate this pad on my Biesmeyer when I adapted it to my craftsman saw due to the open grid type extension wings that I have.

If you back guide hangs down over the edge at the back, you will need to make a U shaped adapter to fasten your out feed table to the inside edge of the cast iron so the bracket goes down under and back up around your nylon guide.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thanks, Lee - that's what I suspected. The back support is below the table saw surface, and I currently have a U-shaped setup like you proposed. I don't really care for it, though, and I want the outfeed to mount directly on the back rail.

Maybe I'll try making some sort of teflon pad that I can glue to the bottom of the fence that can ride along the table top?

[Chris Schoolland]

I've seen a commercial fence--don't remember what or where--that had a piece of that slick tape stuff under it that rode on the table. I've used this stuff for other things:

http://www.ptreeusa.com/uhmwproducts.htm

Chris

[Robert Andrew]

Just put a thin piece of UHMW across the bottom of the back of the fence and let it ride on the out-feed table.

Rob

[Gary Muto]

nice post and simple solutions. I have the T2 and planned on leaving a slot for the fence to ride on the rear angle iron. That would have been a poor approach.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Gary,

That's what I'm doing now, but, yeah - it would be nice to get rid of that "slot".

I notice that the back rail sits just about 1/2" below the table top, so I'm planning on removing the nylon block in the back, mounting a 1/2" thick sheet of melamine onto it, and using some of the slick tape mentioned above to let the back of the fence just ride across the outfeed table.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!