Follow up to SS fence question and Gloat!

[Tim Null]

Ok, I finally got my new SS contractor saw all together. I got the cast iron wings, mobile base and industrial fence. Yeah!

For those who followed the fence thread, this industrial fence is the real deal. No wonder Walt thought I was nuts. If I complained about THIS fence I should be committed.

It is a rock. Glides like buttah on a hot griddle........ Went together very easily. Totally rock solid. Did I mention I kinda like it?

The saw itself is great. Haven't cut with it yet.......too tired. Spent all weekend installing three, yes three fences. Incra.......didn't work right. It is too long. This mobile base only has two pivoting wheels, not four like my old saw. With the Incra, to make long or wide cuts over 24" the positioner sticks out so far that you have to push the saw towards the opposite wall and angle it towards the corner. No problem with four pivoting wheels, not so easy with only two.

Then tried the stock contractor fence. POS. Worthless. So today I drove back out to Woodcraft and they returned it and gave me credit towards the industrial fence.

I know, no pics, it doesn't exist. I will post pics tomorrow. Need a nap!

[Thomas L. Miller]

Tim,
I "migrated" from a Craftsman contractor's saw to a SS ICS with "the fence". My first cut left me with the impression: "Holy s*&T!; THIS is what a fence is supposed to do!!!. :D I've read about it but NEVER experienced it! You made the right choice!

[Walt Caza]

For those who followed the fence thread, this industrial fence is the real deal. No wonder Walt thought I was nuts. If I complained about THIS fence I should be committed.


Congrats Tim!!
I'm just so glad you are gonna be happy with your rip fence.
Funny how we had been chatting about 2 different animals!

I did my SawStop homework years ago, at the time of my purchase.
They snuck that lower option right by me.

I believe Incra gear is great, and offers many new benefits...
but for an old school fence hound like me,
I do not see any upgrades from my SS T-glide industrial fence.
It's just a basic fence, with tons of adjustments and works like crazy.
(a mighty Bies knock-off!)

So glad you were able to come to the party.
Using this fence is a celebration of all that a fence can be!
(...and I'm not even kidding?!?)

Good show,
be well
Walt

[Paul Ryan]

Not to rain on your party guys, but I have that fence on my PCS saw. And it is as good or better than a bies fence but it really took me a long time to come around to it. I changed from a Steel City industrial fence to the Saw Stop T-glide. Some day when I have some extra $$ I would like to change back to the steel city fence. I believe it is far superior to the SS fence. It glides even better, locks down tighter, is much stronger and more precise. It also have plastic fence faces that I like better. It also has more and better adjustments. The only complaint I have with it is that it uses a rear foot to glide on the rear rail. Not that big of a deal but causes problems when installing an out feed table.

[Don Bullock]

Congratulations Tim. Welcome to the SS owners group.:D

[Tim Null]

Thanks Don,

The saw is really well made. Went together very easily. Best directions and packaging of parts of all of the machines I have put together so far.

I have a friend from the adult airgun forum who lives in your neck of the woods. Jon Bart. He does audio for small venues and churches. Lives in a box canyon in Fallbrook.

Really neat area. My wife is from Escondido, Valley Center. Small world eh?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Did you buy the SS mobile base? My moblie base for the ICS has 4 swivel casters. Makes moving the beast much easier..... Big bucks though.

[Tim Null]

The mobile base for the contractor saw has two pivoting wheels and two stationary wheels. Moves like the HFC mobile bases.

[Jason White]

They also sell a "wheelbarrow" type job-site base for the contractor saw.

Jason



The mobile base for the contractor saw has two pivoting wheels and two stationary wheels. Moves like the HFC mobile bases.

[Jerome Hanby]

Then tried the stock contractor fence. POS. Worthless. So today I drove back out to Woodcraft and they returned it and gave me credit towards the industrial fence.

That's a pretty stand-up thing for your Woodcraft to do. Might have been easy for them to say the saw you bought came with that fence it's part of the deal.

[dan lemkin]

I have the same setup... and love it. I only wish I had known about the new hybrid cabinet saw--- it is not much more, and appears to be a better saw...

That being said, I still love my SS contractor with big wings and the t-glide fence...

A little tip... I took the stamped wings I had left over and bolted one to the left of the left cast iron wing, to extend the support left of the blade. It works well. (although doesn't support a ton of weight, b/c on rail extension that far)

I managed to test my system unfortunately by running my incra miter fence into the blade while cutting a 45deg cut. It worked. Didn't even cut through the gold anodizing on the alum fence. It is worth keeping a spare cartridge... you can't bypass the mechanism without a functional cartridge in place.

[Walt Caza]

Hi Paul,
Just a quick clarification. SawStop now offers 3 different riprences.
The aluminum entry level fence, and two versions of the SS T-glide fence.

The fence that comes with your SS Professional Cabinet Saw is the
mid level model, T-Glide™ Professional Series Fence.
(unless perhaps you upgraded at the time of purchase)

The fence that Tim and I have and were saying we are thrilled about is
the T-GLIDE™ INDUSTRIAL SERIES FENCE SYSTEM.

I am surprised that you say the mid level SS Pro fence is as good or
better than a Bies fence. Not trying to get into a whole big thing here...
but the SS Industrial fence is much more robust in construction.

I have tried the Steel City fence, and did not feel it was in any way
superior to my SS industrial.
So, you didn't rain on our party... we are speaking about different fences.
If the time comes that you do want to upgrade your fence, maybe
you should also include the SS industrial in your shopping?
It's built like a brick um... outhouse!

Besides... Tim and I are more than happy with our gear, so it seems
everyone is in good shape.
Hope you get some shop time,
be well,
Walt

ps oops... just added... I meant to ask, Why do you prefer plastic fence faces?

[Tim Null]

Quick follow up: Got to cut a little wood today. Saw cuts like a dream. And the fence is a brick.....

Took just a few minutes to adjust it to perfect parallel. 5 cut test was spot on.

I liked my Incra for it's ability to dial in a measurement to the nth degree. But to be honest, I usually just used the gross measurement and did not bother with the micro adjusting wheel. I also did not feel that the fence was quite as solid as it could be, always got a little drift away at the far end, no matter how I adjusted it.

This SS fence is just so solid, there is absolutely no drift at all.

I am a happy camper.

[John Coloccia]

This is part of what I love about the saw. The contractor saw is NOT a cabinet saw, but it sure acts like one for light work. I also cut some pretty thick stuff with it (3 laminations of 1" ply that I use for forms....that's just about the saw's capacity) and it goes through it much better than my last saw.

I was accustomed to fences that front and rear rails so I wasn't sure how I'd like the SS fence. After using it for 6 months I decided I love it.