Do you use the tape on table saw fence?

[Dick Brown]

I like the tape on my saw fence but if I need something exact, I don't depend on it. Have a cabinet maker friend that doesn't have one on his saw at all. What is your favor?

[Brian Brightwell]

I use mine all the time. It is very accurate. Why not use it.
I use them on my two radial arm saws also, with one of those Brosett sliding stops.

[Stephen Cherry]

I've got a digital fence- once calibrated, it's super accurate. Used to have a normal fence- once set up it was very accurate.

Basically, you install your blade, lock the fence to make a cut whose width you can measure, make the cut on a test piece, measure the test piece with calipers, move the little pointer so that it aligns at that measurement.

It takes some care to set it up, but once set it can work very well. All this is assuming the fence is well built to produce repeatable cuts.

[Bruce Page]

I used to have to measure everything with my old Craftsman TS. The one on my Unisaw is dead nuts accurate. I use it all the time.

[glenn bradley]

I put a Starrett stick-on metal tape after I moved my fence tubes over to get more capacity. I have a DRO for the actual measurements but, the tape gets me in the ball park quickly.

[Jim Andrew]

My unisaw has the tape on the Biesmeyer fence. There is an adjustable arrow, so once it is set it is right on. I used to think I had to measure every time, because I did with the old cman saw.

[Jeff Miller]

I use mine all the time. It is very accurate. Why not use it.
I use them on my two radial arm saws also, with one of those Brosett sliding stops.


Me----Same as he does


JEFF

[Kevin Groenke]

We rely primarily on our SawStop T-square style fences and also the scales on our Exactor sliding tables. If the blades are the same width, the scales on the fences are accurate to .005" - probably better than you can do with a ruler or ESPECIALLY a measuring tape since they really don't start at 0" due to the sliding hook. Since the arbor is on the left and the fence is on the right on our saws, the blade width will throw off the scale, as a result we try to stick to .125" blades though it is easy to recalibrate the scale with a dial caliper and a scrap of wood.

-kg

[Jay Rasmussen]

I used to have to measure everything with my old Craftsman TS. The one on my Unisaw is dead nuts accurate. I use it all the time.


Bruce and I have the same history. Never a second guess with my Unisaw.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

I've got a sawstop, and I use the built in tape to get it close, but always tweak it with my tape measure. It seems like I can dial the saw into the built in tape, and get it right on. But then a few cuts later it is no longer accurate, or if I move the fence. I'm not sure what is moving on the saw to get this so far off, but something is.

[Peter Quinn]

I use the tape on my accu fence (powermatic) all the time, its as close as I need for wood working. I batch cut parts that must mate or be the same. Say I'm cutting plywood for cabinets. Do I really care if they are 23.243", or 23.237", or 23.259"? Not hardly as long as they are all the same. If I have to remake something I can usually get pretty close with the "bump" method. The tape is a reasonably accurate and repeatable reference for a device as crude as a TS. On the shaper I use a dial caliper to facilitate quicker set ups, and there a few thousands matters to me when running mating joints or something.

All that said, I've used a slider at work that has a large magnifier on the fence, and it has a rack and pinion set up for micro adjust. Throw a digital read out on that, thats just about perfect. No bumping just a hair, no hunting and pecking. Its probably more accuracy than is really necessary, but its more about speed and repeatability over time in that environment. I haven't gone through the trouble or expense to add that sort of functionality to the home shop, but it sure would be a nice way to work.

[Troy Turner]

I've got a Vega on my old craftsman. Once it got dialed in, I put the tape measure up. Only time I measure is when I have a dado set in.

[Mark Ashmeade]

Yes.

Ten characters.

[Dick Mahany]

I set up a Biesemeyer fence with integrated tape on a unisaw over 10 years ago. Still absolutely perfect, never has needed adjustment and I still never have to measure the cuts afterward as they are always right on. For narrow pieces less than 1" thick, I will occasionally use calipers and the "tap to tweak" fence adjustment to fine tune but only for the most precise requirements. I think it has to do with how well the tape and fence are positioned and set up in the first place.

[Todd Burch]

I've been changing blades too often lately to use the stuck on tape.

When I was woodworking professionally, I would install a blade, adjust the sight glass for the tape, and cut away. Now, with all the diverse cutting and blade changing I'm doing, it's quicker just to use the tape to get it close enough for "ballpark" cuts, but then I use the measuring tape when precision is needed.

Todd

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Not on my Unisaw, yes on the Felder. No only because the last owner did not install something right and it is 6 5/32" off, which is too complicated to just adjust for in my head, and I have not taken the time to fix it.

[Todd Burch]

... it is 6 5/32" off,...

That has GOT to be a record! :D

[Alan Lightstone]

I use a DRO now on my Sawstop, but previous to that I was quite happy just using the scale on the SawStop's Biesenmeyer fence. Interestingly, with the DRO on now when I tighten down the fence it moves 0.005". Not sure that matters one whit, but with a DRO it drives you nuts.

[Leo Graywacz]

Been using a Wixey digital tape on my Unisaw with the Biesemeyer fence. .005" Changes the way you do things. You know it is spot on.

[Chris Fournier]

It all comes down to understanding how projects come together. If you are a pattern maker then your finished piece needs to be built to the dimensions in a drawing and you will require some pretty precision measuring tools. If you are building furniture and you use your tape on a saw fence then you are okay as long as you use the tape all the time. Perhaps your project will be slightly under or over sized but that is rarely a serious problem. Most of the time my fence tape is good enough but when building acrylic case lids for museum displays there is no room for error due to the construction technique and visible glue lines, in this instance I break out straight rules etc.

[Tru Thach]

What's DRO??

[Bruce Page]

What's DRO??

Digital readout

[Phil Thien]

The tape on my fence rail is a Starrett. My Stanley tape is very close. One of these days I'm going to get a Starrett tape.

[george wilson]

I still measure every cut. The cursor changes W/blade width.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

That has GOT to be a record! :D

It's got to be! Pretty sure the rail is off a mounting hole...

[Bryan Wiesendahl]

I've noticed that my fence tape and my hand tape are out 1/16 by the time I'm ripping something 40"+. Must be a common thing since it's so hard to find two tapes that are consistent. I mainly setup with story sticks, or other already cut pieces if I'm making a box or cabinet square.

[mreza Salav]

I am surprised at the number of people who don't use the tape on their fence. I have never ever used a tape measure on my saw and always use the fence tape
(btw it's a Sawstop). Even if I move the fence I can bring it back to about 1/64" or less accuracy (as far as my eye could read).
Tape measures aren't accurate enough for *my* taste as the hook slides a bit always.

[J.R. Rutter]

Nope :-)

http://i.imgur.com/lXJRC.jpg

[Rick Potter]

Blade changing changes the reading on a left tilt saw more than it changes on a right tilt saw. You are still measuring to the side of the blade that doesn't change, except for tooth offset. Of course, on the other hand, dado's are easier to measure on a left tilt, since the only difference is how much offset the teeth on the first blade have.

Rick Potter

[Todd Burch]

nope :-)

get out of town!!! Lol

[Todd Burch]

I've noticed that my fence tape and my hand tape are out 1/16 by the time I'm ripping something 40"+. Must be a common thing since it's so hard to find two tapes that are consistent.

I think we have the same tape!

[Mike Cutler]

If I'm doing multiple repetetive cuts, I'll use it. In this case it's not accuracy that is the issue, but repeatability.
If I have to cut something to size, then no, I'll break out the steel rules.
Any cuts under 6', and greater that 24", I use a 6' Starrett rule. The tape on the saw is referenced to this rule.

[Jamie Lynch]

I almost never look at the tape on the rail. My fence doesn't always like to square up when tightened down. I use a combination square to measure and make sure the fence is square on every cut. One day in the not too distant future this saw will explode and SWMBO will let me get a new one with a decent fence.

[Bill Huber]

I let the guys here talk me into a DRO and love it, I do use the tape to get it close, like within a 14" then watch the read out to set it where it needs to be.
I thought that it was crazy to get a DRO for the table saw until there was a thread on it and I got one, now I am not sure I could do with out it. I am a blade changer and the DRO is so easy to zero that it is really no big deal.
In fact it is so easy to zero that I use it with the miter gauge and the stop on the fence, slide the stop down and push it against the blade zero it and then move it to the length I need to cut, works great.

[Rod Sheridan]

I always use the fence graduations, and I always the crosscut fence graduations for cutting to length, both are very accurate.............Rod.

[Keith Weber]

If you use a tape measure to measure the size that things need to be, and then use the fence scale to make the cut, then you'll be off if there's a discrepancy between the two. I just use the tape measure that I'm using on the project to set the fence. No worries about tapes and scales matching up.

J.R.,

I gotta ask... what in the heck is that thing? By the topic, I'm guessing that it's some kind of linear scale, but I don't see a readout.

Keith

[Todd Burch]

J.R.,

I gotta ask... what in the heck is that thing? By the topic, I'm guessing that it's some kind of linear scale, but I don't see a readout.

Keith

If I can answer - it's a Tiger Stop. Look at the big yellow arm on the upper right side of the photo and the whole control panel / readout.

Todd

[Ole Anderson]

I couldn't trust my tape on the original fence that came with my G1023 years ago, but since I replaced it with an HTC fence (no longer available) I trust the tape. The cursor has two lines offset vertically, so when you line them up you eliminate any parallax. I still use the bump method to make fine adjustments, even though it has a fine adjustment screw, just quicker. Sooo nice not to have to find the metal ruler to measure between the fence and the blade. And with the bit the fence moves to get perpendicular when you lock it down, it is tough to use that method anyway.

[Todd Burch]

Back in the 10th grade in high school, when I took wood shop, the old industrial delta tablesaw fence we had was so out of whack, that not only did you have to measure at the front of the blade, but also at the back of the blade. And even then, you had to go back and check and double check anytime when adjusting the fence. It was terrible.

A couple things I learned in that class: (fond memories...)

1) Don't even PRETEND you are using a chisel as a screwdriver when the teacher is looking. I thought "coach" was going to punch me.
2) Don't try to remove 3/8" in a single pass when planing 14" wide white oak, unless you want the whole building to shake.

;)

[Leo Graywacz]

The tape that came with my biesemeyer was accurate to about 24" and then gains a 1/32". I had always noticed it and assumed I was wrong. Then I got my DRO and proved that the tape was off at that point.

I always use the tape to get to the reading and fine tune it with the DRO.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Mine is repeatable to within 1/64".

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz35/HarveyMelvinRichards/Woodworking%20Tools/IMG_0747Medium_zps2a7e39bb.jpg

[Bobby O'Neal]

I use my fence tape all the time. Twofold, it's accurate and table saw cuts are generally somewhat rough.

[Mike Henderson]

Well, I hate to admit this, but I always measure my cuts from the blade to the fence. But after hearing all the good stories (above) I'm going to go calibrate the tape on the fence rail.

Mike

[Danny Hamsley]

My SawStop is dead on the money.

[steven c newman]

Mine doesn't even have a tape on it. I use the tape measure I use for the rest of a project for wider cuts. Anything narrow, I'll use a combo square to set the fence. Usually referenced off the miter slot at the blade, then set both ends of the fence. Yes, I check both ends of the fence. Fence may be square, but I'd rather check it, anyway. Works no matter which side of the cut is the "scrap" side. I can also set for the center of the blade, for running grooves.

[Frank Drew]

Once I retrofitted my first table saw, a '60s Powermatic model 70(?), with a Biesmeyer fence, I never again needed to measure from the blade to the fence and my cuts were always dead on accurate. IMO, the Biesmeyer deserved the Nobel Prize or equivalent -- easy to read cursor and scale, adjustable for different blades, kept it's settings, etc.

[Michael Koenig]

Always use the one on my unisaw it is always accurate.

[Rick Lizek]

Check your scale with a reliable reference and replace if necessary. The scale on a fence is what makes it useful. I've had cabinet makers tell me they could do extra kitchen a week when they installed a biesemeyer fence.

[Jim Becker]

Every table saw I've owned, with the exception of a benchtop that I mistakenly bought as my first table saw, has had a very accurate scale on the fence. Even the Benchtop "got accurate" when I put it in a portable table system that had a "real" fence setup on it once it was zeroed in.