PDA

View Full Version : Custom Unirail/Unifence Mounting Question



Greg Scull
03-17-2010, 6:46 PM
I'm hoping some of you who have been working with table saws for a long time might be able to help me or provide advice on this dilemma.

I recently purchased a Rockwell/Delta 34-388 Contractors Saw off of Craigslist for a great price. The saw is in good condition and I plan to move
it to a mobile bench eventually, allowing me to replace the rusted feet of the original stand. The seller also included: 83" unirail, 43" unifence, 44" extension table he got when he bought his new unisaw, with the purchase.

I built some legs for the extension table and am going to use it in place of the original aluminum wing that came on the saw. Now that I have the table built im getting ready
to mount the rail to the saw but the holes don't line up. Extensive googling yeilded that I need to drill a few holes in the cast iron table of the saw to accomplish this.

Now to my question.

The Rail being 83" is pretty long. Since I have to drill holes im wondering if 52" of right rip capacity is really necessary or if I might be better off mounting the rail further to the left of the saw to enhance the left rip? Is this a benefit? The rail is missing the tape measure so I get to replace it anyways. I dont really want to trim the rail down but the current configuration is hanging off the end of the 44" extension table. The picture attached shows the rail lined up on one of the bolt holes which corresponds to the enforced middle hole on the front of the saw.

I was thinking I would mount it and trim it someday once I build the mobile bench for it. But I don't want to drill more than I have to should the configuration change.

I am also curious about if anyone has opted to drill the rail and not the saw to accomplish the mounting on a non standard hole pattern?

Ray Newman
03-17-2010, 6:59 PM
Once had a sliding table mounted to my Uni-saw, which still has the 53" Uni-fence.

Rather than cut the rail to accommodate the sliding table, I did some very careful measuring, and drilled holes in the rail to mount it to the saw. Was not much of a job, just took a bit of time to make sure I measured and marked correctly, then to the drill press for accurate drilling.

MO: if you have room, the extending the rail to the left might come in handy.

Chris Rosenberger
03-17-2010, 7:38 PM
That is what I did on this Unisaw. I drilled the rail & not the saw.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/chrisrosenb/HPIM0031.jpg

Mike Heidrick
03-17-2010, 8:16 PM
Welcome Greg. You have email with the Unifence manuals.

Mikie

Greg Scull
03-26-2010, 12:27 AM
Thanks for all your help. I got the Unifence mounted for the time being with some small modifications until I build the saw's new home. I opted for bolting it to an existing hole in the extension wing. I don't know why I didn't see this option sooner, but I was too busy trying to mount the rail using the holes it had previously. I don't have full right rip capacity but I had seriously doubted my need for the full 53" in my projects.

I managed to get it up and running, adjust it, and mount my router to the temporary extension table and get it working on the fence :)

Now I can use the new fence to build the cabinets it will rest on for its life in my new shop :)