New Fence suggestions

[Tommy Curtiss]

I have a craftsman contractors style saw about 5 years old and I am looking in to up gradind the fence to a beis style fence system with a singe rail. Yes cost does play a part in this but I want the best I can get for the money that I will spend. My budget is about $250.00, this is going in my new 18 x 30 shop with living quarters that I am building.The "old" fence that came with the saw moves if you bump it and you can adjust it as much as you want and it still dosen't stay parallel,I am just tired of working with it,but the saw blade is fine,and I am pleased with the saw itself,,,one of these days a cab will take it's place but not now,,,

o.k.,,2 things,,,better fence in budget?,,,where to buy from? (sorry for the long wind,but I am building this new shop with living quarters so we can build the new house,,and yes the new 1 1/2 dc will be bought next week,the wife doesn't want ANY dust in the little house,,,that's how I got that, the fence is for the new cabnets) Thank for your help,,,Tommy :)

[Paul Dwight]

It should be easy enough to get a nice fence within your budget, so long as: (1) you don't need long rails; and (2) you're willing to accept a "homeshop" version -- which would be entirely appropriate for your contractors saw, IMHO. Have you checked Amazon? I would think the Biesemeyer homeshop fence with 32" rails is within your budget. Vega also makes nice aftermarket fences which tend to be a little less expensive than the Biesemeyer stuff. I used a Vega homeshop fence for many years and was completely happy with it. Well, maybe not "completely" happy -- adjusting the fence to be parallel to the blade is much easier with a Biesemeyer-style fence than with the Vega. On the other hand, I think the Vega mounting system is easier to retrofit to different saws than the Biesemeyer system.

Since you said you wanted a single-rail fence, I should mention that the Vega uses a back rail, although the fence only locks on the front rail. The far end of the Vega fence glides on top of the back rail.

Redmond's sometimes has scratch-and-dent Biesemeyer fences. Might be worth checking their website.

Good luck! -- Paul

[Lee Schierer]

I have the beisemeyer fence on my craftsman saw and couldn't be happier. It took about 1/2 hour to install it and no adjustments were needed. I had to drill one hole in an extension wing and one in the mounting angle for the fence to fit my saw.

http://home.earthlink.net/~us71na/lsfence1.jpg

[Jim W. White]

I put a VEGA fence on my Craftsman TS about 6 years ago and it has been the best upgrade to a peice of shop equipment I have ever done.

I think the Beismeyer option would also be great. A couple of things I like about the VEGA:

1.) extremely easy installation
2.) micro-adjust
3.) very accurate and reliable
4.) much lighter to take on/off than the Beismeyer
5.) less $$ than the Beis.

...you can order them through Amazon now. I have the 27" UTILITY model

[Scott Coffelt]

I have a friend who put a Vega on his about 12 years ago, still to this day he says it's the best choice he made.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I installed a Biesemeyer fence on a Craftsman contractor saw a number of years back. The installation was easy, and the fence worked great. When I sold the saw, I got a great price for it because it had the Biesemeyer fence and table extension on it.

[Scott Loven]

I have a Unifence on my Sears saw, and am very happy with it. Got the 30" model for $250 from Amazon a few years back.
Scott

[Mike Vermeil]

Tommy,

One thing to keep in mind is that cost of new replacement fences is much higher than the cost of the same fence when sold with a saw - whether the saw is new or used. I know you have a budget to think about, but if you're at all considering upgrading your saw, now might be the time to do it. If you sell your current saw - should be able to get $100 - $200 depending on the model & condition, and throw in 3 or 4 hundred more, there are a bunch of nice saws available with fence systems much nicer than what you have now. Just something to consider.