Biesemeyer tube & rail length

[Jason White]

Guys --

I'm about to cut down my long Biesemeyer tube and rails to give me 36" to the right of the blade instead of 52"...

Can somebody with a 36" rail set please tell me the exact length of both the tube and front/rear rails? I only get one shot at this.

Thanks!

Jason

[Dick Brown]

Jason, Set your fence at 36"from the blade, mark and cut the rail at the right side of the "T" part of the fence that rides on the rail. Don't know how you can go wrong. Or, if your fence is now a 52" cut and you want a 36, cut off 16 inches. Dick

[Jason White]

Thanks, Dick! I ended up doing the latter (subtracting 16 inches from each). Seems to work fine.

- Jason

[Rick Lizek]

I've shortened several Biesemeyers for friends and took it to another level. I turned the excess length into a drop leaf wing which allowed them to use the 52" rip capability when needed.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hey Rick? Any chance you can post a description of how you did that or some pics? As I thought about it, I couldnt think of a simple way to make that drop leaf work solidly and well. If you've figured it out, I'd sure like to learn from your experience.
Fred

[Dick Brown]

Great idea Rick!!! I have taken the cutoff and made a slip-in slug out of it to get the extra length but it has always left something to be desired. I build what I call Biesemeyer Jr. fences for the old Craftsman saws. Bit lighter and smaller material than the full size, which are IMO a bit of overkill for the Craftsman. Have also made the rails slideable for the extra cut but that is a lot of work also. Next one I do I will try your "Drop down leaf extension." I am with Fred in that I hope you post a description. (Pictures??) Dick

[Rick Lizek]

Drop leaf Biesemeyer is so simple. Mount the hinges on the bottom of the rails first. You will need a spacer on the back rail to equalize the spacing, then mark where to make the cut. The pre-mounted hinges keeps thing lined up. If you cut the existing table down you will eithe move it over for the saw kerf or put in a spacer. Then rig up some kind of support that works. A saw kerf on the metal tube won't affect anything. Pre-mounting the hinges takes alignment issues out of the equation.