Unifence vs Biesemeyer

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, I know there are probably some posts on this already, but wanted some new opinions. I have a Unisaw with the 52" unifence. Is it worth the money to upgrade to the Biesemeyer fence system?

I have no problems with my unifence. It cuts perfectly square and I have it zeroed in perfectly. The only thing is because of it's design, it is hard or impossible to use some basic fence mounted jigs. I always find a way around using them, but for safety reasons I would like to be able to attach a featherboard jig to keep the stock pressed down against the table but pretty much impossible with the design. And it's aluminum so the magnetic featherboards are out.

So is it worth the $$$ to go with the Biesemeyer?

[Mike Heidrick]

Nope. Just do this.

http://christophermerrill.net/ww/shop/bigafence.html

[Leo Graywacz]

I don't think the Biesemeyer fence is going to help you with the featherboard issue. It will raise up just like the UniFence and it isn't metal so magnets won't stick either.

I think the UniFence is a more functional fence. But the Biesemeyer is a bit stiffer and is usable on both sides of the blade without having to move the fence around. I have two saws and one of each fence, one for each saw. My primary saw has the Biesemeyer fence.

[Joe Shinall]

Mike, is it okay on a big manly woodworking forum to say that "I LOVE YOU!!!!" You just saved me a headache and possibly a few hundred bucks! Have searched for something like this over and over and found nothing. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[Leo Graywacz]

That's a neat add on Mike. Great job.

[Mike Heidrick]

When I owned my Delta 36-752 hybrid saw I had the unifence and a second fence and a router plate in the extension table. I made this bigafence add-on to attach a home made router fence. It was awesome.

Enjoy it boys/gals - Chris and his long running webpage on it deserve all the credit! I just have a good tool memory!

[Bob Borzelleri]

I think Chris's mod is very cool. Had I seen it earlier, I might not have bought this for my Unifence.


http://www.ttrackusa.com/unifence.htm

[Mike Heidrick]

Thanks for posting the other solution Bob. I did not have time to find that one. Had Chris's not worked I was going to order it as well. If the price had been $40 or $50 I would have bought it just because it looks really really nice. Building Chris's MDF Bigafence was a super easy fix and worked perfectly and free so as I had teh mdf and hardware already. I never even mounted the T-Track as I was using it more for clamp on jigs.

[Sean Nagle]

I purchased the Uni-T-Fence that Bob linked to for my Unifence. I really like it. I have only had it for about 6 months so I haven't come up with any interesting jigs to attach to the T-slots yet. I purchased it from Peachtree last summer when they had their 25% off sale so I felt it was well worth the purchase over building the "Bigafence".

[Chip Lindley]

The Unifence has earned it's own reputation as a very good one, BUT I'm just a Biesemeyer Kinda Guy!

I like the fact that the Biese and it's clones are all welded steel rather than aluminum. The Biese can be mounted either side of the blade, if need be. The faces can be replaced (even homemade) much cheaper than purchasing a new aluminum extrusion. There is a rear clamp-down kit available for the Biese, but a big c-clamp battens down the fence firmly for featherboard or jig use. Not so easy with the Uni as it does not use a back rail to my knowledge. The Biese is already *box-shaped* which allows easier adaptation to jigs or fixtures without much head-scratching. But that Bigafence is pretty neato too!

Since the OP already owns the Unifence, adapting it would be much cheaper than starting over with a Biese T-square.

[Mike Heidrick]

After seeing one up close tonight I may be a Vega fence guy now.

[Joe Shinall]

Chris Rosenberger was nice enough to sell me his old T-Track for the Unifence today. So this solves all of my problems. At least the fence problem that is. There are always problems and conundrums in my shop.

But Mike, I know what you mean about the Vega. Friend of mine just got one for his Powermatic cabinet and it is very nice. Very smooth.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Vega? Thought this was a Unifence vs Biesemeyer thread.. :D

I been kicking the idea of Vega vs Shop Fox Classic around myself.. But have been keeping up with this thread as uni and bies are still of interest.

[Joe Shinall]

Well I can tell you Scott, I have no problems with the Unifence not riding on a rear rail like everyone complains about. It stays 90 wherever I put it. I got the saw and fence combo over a year ago and have not had to adjust it since initial setup.

Now that I am going to have that T-Track attachment, I will not blow the money on the Bies or Vega. The Uni is very smooth on the rail and easy to adjust if necessary. When it locks down, it aint goin anywhere!

[Scott Hildenbrand]

I wish there were some place where you could just walk in and play with three or four different kinds of fences and rails set up on the same saw.. Be like an amusement park! :D

Well.. At least to me it would be.. Can't think of anyone local who is a distributor for anything though.. Except maybe Fastenal, but I'm not sure what all they offer.. Should stop in tomorrow when I go to pay the utility bills.

[Mike Heidrick]

Our Fastenal has nothing like that. Yours must be much larger. You might be able to get screws for a fence at ours - maybe.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

No clue.. It's a fairly large building though.. Like I said, never been in it.. :D

Will see tomorrow though, for sure.

[Joe Shinall]

Yeah, just remember to pay those utility bills BEFORE you go in there ;)

Yeah, I hate going to each place and being able to look at just their one brand and not being able to see side by side. By the time you get to the next place and look at their model, you forgot about the first. It does suck.

[Ray Newman]

The best and probably unsung feature of the Unifence is that it can positioned to work in a low position. Tried it for awhile and now probably 90% of time, I don't turn the fence to the high fence position.

One thing that I did need to learn about using the fence in the low position -- I will not go into all the details right now:o:o -- it is best to put tape over the tape measure cursor showing the fence in the high position....

[Joe Shinall]

Yeah Ray, I know exactly what you mean. I have tried both as well. And I have to be careful not to use the wrong cursor each time. Been there, done that, should make a t-shirt.

[Jim Becker]

I always preferred the UniFence and am very happy that my slider has a similar setup. Yes, jigs are more work with the "original" fence, but even that's been taken care of by an aftermarket "square" fence that has tee-slots galore. I'm in no way disparaging the Biesemeyer style fence, just expressing my preference.

[dan carter]

I discarded my uni fence in favor of a Biesemeyer on my last TS. I bought the Biesemeyer for my current TS. I guess you might say I wouldn't give you 2¢ for the uni fence. It seems to me a uni fence is prone to kick backs. I watched a fellow shop teacher have repeated kick backs one day, a few days later, a substitute reported to me he would never sub again for us; the uni fence had struck again. I've never once regretted my buying the Biesemeyer. My vote is for you to buy the Biesemeyer.

[Leo Graywacz]

The unifence needs to be adjusted properly just like the Biesemeyer. The unifence has two plastic screws on the front of it that adjust the tension of the lever and the tilt relative to the TS blade. A very easy adjustment, but it needs to be made.

[Leo Graywacz]

Unifence and Biesemeyer Rip Fence Comparison (http://benchmark.20m.com/articles/UnifenceVersusBessy/unifenceversusbessy.html)

[ed vitanovec]

I would recommed the uni-t fence, I really liked mine. I have since sold my unisaw but kept the uni-t fence to set up as a router fence. It is a nice quality fence.

Regards!
Ed

[james bell]

at a trade show a few years ago i got some magnetic featherboards but they came with a steel plate which attached to my uni. much cheaper than upgrading.

[Thomas S Stockton]

I'm sorry any shop teacher who doesn't understand what causes kickbacks and how to prevent them by having the saw fence set properly should not be teaching. Both a unifence and biesemeyer if set up with the fence toed in will cause kickback, that is why there are adjustments to make sure they are parallel to the blade.
I would be interested to know what design flaw causes a unifence to be more prone to kickback?
Bottom line is both are good fences and do what they are supposed to and you should buy the one that works best for you. My preference is the european style like the unifence, I find it to be more versatile for my work style.
Tom

[Rick Potter]

Some people have mentioned not wanting to drill into the Unifence. That's fine, but I would like to mention that I did that 10 years ago and have never had any problem because of it.

I simply drilled two 1/4" holes into the fence, and have several wood facings I use for dado's etc. Two bolts with plastic wing nuts on the back side of the fence. Couldn't be easier. I touched up the holes with a countersink and nothing ever drags on them.

Rick Potter

[Mike Heidrick]

Rick, did you loose the ability to flip to the lower position without disassembling? Mine also had a wooden face and i left it in the high position but I also bought a second fence (mainly for a router table fence setup in the extension) so I was covered.

[Rick Potter]

Hey Mike,

The wood face comes off in about 15 seconds, just spin off two plastic knobs. I only put in on when using a dado blade, or when needing an extra high fence.

I also have a second piece of fence. The dealer had a scratched fence, and cut it into thirds for using as a starter for crosscuts. Hardly ever use it.

I also bought a Peachtree fence, but don't use it too much.

Rick P