Adjusting Biesemeyer issues

[Justin Freund]

So I'm in the process of finishing up the restoration of my 1954 Unisaw and have come across something I'm not sure about on the Biesemeyer fence I put on. The fence came on another early 60's Unisaw I got as a parts machine from which I used the fence, rails, goose egg (yes, I know I suck) and motor.

I stripped all the paint off the fence, repainted it, and replaced the laminate on the faces. In all that and the process of adjusting it, I noticed it doesn't have any nylon pads or anything. In reading the parts list on ServiceNet, I see it should have something there, but I don't know if its just the metal pads I have there or not. I see how the set screws true the fence by adjusting the metal pads, but should there be a nylon pad attached to those or something? The metal doesn't glide very well despite plenty of lubricant. When I tighten the handle, its square to the blade, but when its loose, the fence kind of wobbles as its slid up or down the guide tube. The whole operation just isn't as smooth as I'd expect.

Any insight would certainly be appreciated. Pictures of the underside of your Biesemeyer fence would be helpful too if anybody has any.

[Darnell Hagen]

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s168/DarnellHagen/0215001723.jpg

This may be helpful, too.

http://thewayiwood.blogspot.com/2010/02/fresh-faced-fence.html

[Bruce Wrenn]

If your fence doesn't have holes drilled in the clamping assembly where the nylon pads are shown, then it didn't come with them. For several years, Biesemeyer used pieces of "Formica" for the glide pads. I have built clones using both the nylon and "Formica" and can't tell any difference in the operation. You will need to remove any paint where the pads mount. I find it easier to remove more paint than needed, and then after pads are mounted, mask them off and repaint. Mount the "Formica" using contact cement. You can buy a small bottle of contact cement in most hardware stores, along with borgs. You can order the nylon pads from Delta, but its a bear to drill the thin piece of metal after it is welded in place. The needed hole is a numbered size bit. I have one in my "Bieses." parts drawer in the shop.

[Chip Lindley]

+1 on *plain ol' Formica* Here's the underside of an early and well-worn Biese fence that needs rebuilding.

[Justin Freund]

Mine is like Chip's. I still have a lot of Formica left from the side extension table I made. I'll try that and see how it works. Thanks guys.