Newer Shop Fox fence vs. older Biesemeyer

[Patrick Varley]

Any thoughts on the relative value/utility of the two? I have an opportunity to buy one or the other, and I'm unsure which way to go. Pictures below. The Shop Fox is obviously newer, and $150. The Biesemeyer is older and $100. I figure I might need to refurb the glide pads and faces on the Biesemeyer which would add to the cost. Obviously I like less expensive, but $50 could be worth a newer item or one that's more functional. Thoughts?

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[Frederick Skelly]

Patrick, I can't compare one to the other for you because I haven't tried a Shopfox. But I have a Biesemeyer that I bought used. I'd say it's 20-25 years old and still going strong. It's still rock solid and moves easily enough. I can see why it was pretty much the gold standard "in its day". I wouldn't trade that old Biese for any other fence I've tried.

Good luck,
Fred

[Scott Buehler]

I have had both, and they are both great fences. I still have my old contractors saw that I use for dados and it has a beismeyer fence on it, 20 plus years old and still as accurate as the day I bought it new.

[Mike Walsh]

similar to Fred I've had a Biesemeyer on a Delta cabinet saw for more than 20 yrs and it still works very well. Only maintenance was replacing glide pads about 5 yrs ago

[Bruce Page]

I would pick the Biesemeyer even if the prices were reversed. I put a Shop Fox fence on my old Craftsman contractor years ago. It was an improvement over the Craftsman OEM fence but is not in the same league as the Bies on my Unisaw.

[johnny means]

Check the fence rails for signs of crushing. Different iterations of the T-Square fences used different guages of tubing. Overzealous clamping can leave distortions in the tubing that do have an effect on fence alignment.