Upgrade my whole Grizzly 1023Z TS rip fence or just buy some longer ~50" rails?

[Bruno Frontera dela Cruz]

Hi all, I am new hear and figured I would pick the brains of the experts and those with more experience than I right off the bat....

I have the G1023Z saw with the 25" rail Shop Fox Fence listed below:
http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/Fence-...rd-Rails/G4722

I currently don't have issues with parallelism or deflection but just don't have enough rip capacity and have ordered the 49" rip length rails. Unfortunately, the rails arrived looking like bananas and have been promptly returned / exchanged.

The more I think about the length of these rails vs. their thickness and lack of cast iron for support at the far right of the saw, the more I am concerned that I will never get a set of perfectly straight rails long enough for a 49" rip. my other concern is that this fence locks on the back rail and as a result won't allow an out feed table to butt against the saw. In fact it won't get any closer than around 7.5" to the table which is less than ideal but with a small chamfer to prevent binding could be worked around.

So now for the questions:
-Which commercially available fences allow an out feed table to butt up right to the back of the table saw?
-Has anyone had success with the 49" rip rails on this exact fence / saw setup?
-Is the 7"-8" gap formed by the "free standing" out feed table really an issue (if I chamfer it to give a ramp effect)
-Can I assume that the big rectangular bar on the Bessy-type fence will survive UPS and remain straight and true?

Thanks

[glenn bradley]

-Which commercially available fences allow an out feed table to butt up right to the back of the table saw?
I would not be concerned about your outfeed having to butt right up to the saw. Most saws have some kind of rail to connect the wings to the top and a small gap shouldn't cause you any trouble. My gap is about 8 inches to allow some 6" DC pipe to pass between the saw and the outfeed and I just bridge the gap with a piece of sheet material.

-Has anyone had success with the 49" rip rails on this exact fence / saw setup?
Not I. Sorry.

-Is the 7"-8" gap formed by the "free standing" out feed table really an issue (if I chamfer it to give a ramp effect)
See answer above ;-)

-Can I assume that the big rectangular bar on the Bessy-type fence will survive UPS and remain straight and true?
I think you mean a Biesemeyer(?). Through a shipping error I received two complete Bies fence and rail sets on two different days. Both sets arrived without issue. One was returned reluctantly. Packing was reasonable but, not outstanding.

[Chip Lindley]

Bruno, taking a look at the fence you link to, I think you can do much better. But, if you are satisfied with the way the fence performs on it's present short rails, long rails will work fine too.

If you are dissatisfied with the fence overall, by all means spring for a Biesemeyer (for top dollar) OR one of the Biese-clones like the Shop Fox which is virtually identical. I doubt you will curse the day you did. Grizzly ships and replaces stuff all the time, damaged in transit. I had rather buy from them than others, and have no fear that a quick replacement would be forthcoming.

Having an outfeed table butted directly to your saw (or not) is no issue. As long as stock does not jam against a sharp edge on the outfeed side, all will be well.

[David Helm]

193024I don't quite understand your problem. Here is a photo of my 1023 with outfeed table and long fence rails. As you can see, the outfeed table is directly against the back of the saw. Add photos so we can actually see your problem.

[Jesse Tutterrow]

-Is the 7"-8" gap formed by the "free standing" out feed table really an issue (if I chamfer it to give a ramp effect)

I can't say about your shop, but I have a free standing router table behind my Delta contractors saw. Everything is housed in a 80 year old garage with uneven floors. Depending on the day and exact placement a 3/4" plywood will slide across the 10" gap with no problems, other days the router table is in a slightly different position and it droops and hits the chamfer and I have problems. I have been thinking of extending the router table top to be closer to the TS.

-Has anyone had success with the 49" rip rails on this exact fence / saw setup?

Sorry, I don't have your setup. But, I have watched the demonstrator for the Incra TS fence tip a contractor's saw up on two legs by lifting up on their rail system.
Before buying the fence, I had him make a couple of cuts, then bounce the table saw up & down by lifting on the rails and then make another cut. Everything remained accurate.

[scott spencer]

193024I don't quite understand your problem. Here is a photo of my 1023 with outfeed table and long fence rails. As you can see, the outfeed table is directly against the back of the saw. Add photos so we can actually see your problem.

David - He's got the Shop Fox "Original" fence which interferes with an outfeed table at the back, unlike the Shop Fox Classic (Biese clone) that you have. It's a matter of preference, but I sure prefer the Classic over the "Original" and believe it's the more popular choice. I also think the tubing on the SF Classic or any comparable Biese clone would be tough to bend, but if anyone could do it, a delivery service could :eek: :rolleyes:.

[Bruno Frontera dela Cruz]

David - He's got the Shop Fox "Original" fence which interferes with an outfeed table at the back, unlike the Shop Fox Classic (Biese clone) that you have. It's a matter of preference, but I sure prefer the Classic over the "Original" and believe it's the more popular choice. I also think the tubing on the SF Classic or any comparable Biese clone would be tough to bend.

This is 100% correct, my current fence has 3 points of contact (two rollers in front and one in back), so it is not possible to to configure the outfeed table directly on the rear rail of the saw.

[Ben Hatcher]

I’m very happy with my Shop Fox fence and would buy it again. I wish I’d done it sooner. Mine came via common carrier. The box was banged up, but everything inside was fine.
While it is true that the Shop Fox Classic is designed to use the back rail as a 3rd point of contact, it isn’t required. When I installed mine, I added a furniture slider to the bottom of the fence and aligned it so that it slides on the saw top instead. This let me get my out feed table right up against the back of the saw. It was tricky to set it up this way as the faces of the fence will drop into the miter slots if the fence is set too low. If you set it too high, thin material can get trapped under the fence.

[Alan Wright]

I have the same saw, with the shop fox classic, which I really like. Maybe I just don't kno w any better. In any event, I was going to upgrade to the longer rails for the same reason you gave. But Griz wanted $249. MY set up is a lot like David's pic above. I have substantial table extensions on both the back and side of the saw, and so I don 't use the rea rail that came with the fence. That being the case, all I needed was a new front rail. I ended up looing at local metal shops and got the rail for about $50. The width from to back was correct. the height was an 1/8 too much, but there is "play" in the brackets, and you just need to lower the rail a little

The rail I got is HEAVY... at least twice as heavy as the original rail. MY advice is to keep the fence, ditch the rear rail, build some outfeed tables, and look around locally for a new front rail.

[scott spencer]

I get the feeling we might be confusing the two Shop Fox fences....just so we're all clear, below is a pic of the original Shop Fox fence:

http://cdn0.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg500/g/g4722_det1.jpg


Here's a pic of the Shop Fox "Classic" fence (Biese clone):
http://cdn0.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg500/g/g8826_det3.jpg

[Bruno Frontera dela Cruz]

Thanks to all for the replies. Looking to Grizzly's site there is around a $110 difference (including freight) between their Shop Fox "Classic" fence (Biese clone) and a true Biesemeyer fence; is it worth the extra $$$ to get the real-deal?

[Cary Falk]

Thanks to all for the replies. Looking to Grizzly's site there is around a $110 difference (including freight) between their Shop Fox "Classic" fence (Biese clone) and a true Biesemeyer fence; is it worth the extra $$$ to get the real-deal?
I would say it isn't worth the money. I have a Shfo Fox Classic for 5 years and I don't wish I spent the extra bucks. The magnified cursor on the Shop Fox sucks though, but it is easily fixed.

[scott spencer]

Thanks to all for the replies. Looking to Grizzly's site there is around a $110 difference (including freight) between their Shop Fox "Classic" fence (Biese clone) and a true Biesemeyer fence; is it worth the extra $$$ to get the real-deal?

At even money I prefer the Biese to the SF Classic, but don't feel it's worth a $100+ premium....I suppose it really depends on what else you could do with a c-note.

[Terry Beadle]

I have a 1023 with the Shop Fox "Classic" fence (Biese clone) and it's been great over 7 years of use. No significant wear. Only adjusted once per year ( mostly not needed but I like to check ). Recommended.