Biesemeyer fence versus SS T-Glide

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Had anyone moved from a Biesemeyer fence to a SawStop T-Glide? I really debated keeping my old fence, but decided to get the new one and keep the old one on the old saw. Any feedback or opinions?

[Jason White]

I have a real Biesemeyer on my Grizzly cabinet saw and have used a SawStop contractor saw with their Bies clone. The SawStop fence seems far superior. It glides across the table with just the push of a finger and appears to hold its setting very well.

Given a choice, I'd personally go with the SawStop T-square fence.

Jason



Had anyone moved from a Biesemeyer fence to a SawStop T-Glide? I really debated keeping my old fence, but decided to get the new one and keep the old one on the old saw. Any feedback or opinions?

[glenn bradley]

I have a Bies but have often heard of the SS fence (like the Steel City) referred to as one of the "better than Bies" clones. I wouldn't be concerned.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Thanks Glenn and Jason. I had debated this and the mobile base, but figured as long as I was getting 'new', I'd splurge on it all.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Are you going to buy a SS fence? I have no idea how much a SS fence costs, but you may want to check out the INCRA fence system. I've heard other SS users ditch thier fence and get the INCRA. If it's around the cost of the SS fence, it may be worth considering. There is a HUGE drawback to the INCRA fence, is that if you get all the bells and whistles, you'll need another few FEET of clearance at the end of the saw. THe basic fence is not that costly.....

Not that there is anything wrong with the SS fence. Some say that the INCRA is better (more solid) and repeatable, if you're into that kind of stuff. Of course the solid part is someone else's opinion. I'm happy with mine, and probably not going to "upgrade", unless I start to make those small boxes, exactly the same size. In large numbers.

Just another opinion...

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Thanks Kyle. I picked up the SS fence with the table, but before purchase I had been toying with not getting the fence to save a few $$. In the end, I figured I would have regretting not gettin the new fence and the old fence (15+ year old Bies) can go with the old saw.

I definitely do not have the extra space to go with anything like the Incra....

[Simon Dupay]

IMHO, the biesemeyer fence is the better fence the locking mechanism on the biese is far beefer then the SS and the scale is easier to read.

[Dan Lee]

I've had a Biesmeyer on a PM66 and a C'man saws. I have the SS fence on my ICS. Pretty much the same deal. The SS fence has an adjusment for the fence to be 90 deg to the table that the Bies didn't have.

The SS fence has adjustments to flatten the fence along the length. This was not an issue with either fence and I have not needed it on the SS fence.
Came down to color matching on the SS :D. and easier to sell the PM66 with a the Bies installed

[Andrew Schlosser]

one thing that the SS fence does not have that my Bies clone on my grizzly cabinet saw did have, is weight. The SS fence glides really well, and when I'm tapping over to the appropriate dimension, I usually overshoot it. I thought about putting a brick or two inside the fence to slow it down.

But, as that requires more effort than doing nothing at all, chances are I'll just get used to it.

[Paul Ryan]

John,

I have not owned an acutual bies fence, but have used one quite a bit on a friends saw. They are really baically the same fence. A few minor differences. My biggest complaint with the saw stop fence is lock down pressure. I like the lever to lock my fence down to be fairly snug when I push it. It makes me feel better that the fence will not move. In the past on cheap saws I had troubles with fences moving once locked down, because they were a POS. So that has stuck in my mind. In order to tighten up the SS fence you can only adjust the wings that align it. That determines how tight it is on the tube and how much clearance is taken up when you push the lever. So in order for the fence to slide smoothly it can't be to tight, but if it is too loose when you lock the fence it can move when it is taking up the slack. I fought with my fence for a few days until I can up with a method to set it so it slide smoothly doesn't move when locking down. As far as setting the lock pressure you are kind of stuck at that point. But set properly it should lock tight and not move. Mine just doesn't take much pressure to lock it and that kind of bugs me. The Steel City industrial fence has more adjustments including a lock pressure adjustment and a foot on the rear of the fence that keeps it from sliding on the table and marking up the table. Of all the fences I have used the SC industrial is the best and it isn't even close. But the T-glide is a decent fence, I like it better than a bies because it slides smoother once set up properly.