Did You Buy or DIY Your Table Saw Router Fence?

[Julie Moriarty]

There doesn't seem to be much in the pre-made world in the way of router fences made for a table saw extension wing. Years ago I made and there's a lot I really love about it but it's made entirely of laminated MDF and the seasonal changes in the wood create snags when feeding through.

I was just wondering what those of you who have a router mounted in a table saw wing did for the router fence?

[Dave Cav]

I have a SawStop CI wing in the left side of my PM65 cabinet saw. I made a fence that can either clamp to the table saw's Biesmeyer fence, or clamp down to the slots on the router table. About 99% of the time it's the former; I only use the table saw fence when I need the extra distance from the router bit to the fence. I'm going to convert the fence positioning duties to an Incra LS positioner as soon as the new 24" one arrives and I can take the 18" one off my slider.

[Jim Dwight]

I had a second router setup on my last table saw but I put a box with drawers under the extension table of my SawStop so no room for a router setup. But when I did this, I made the fence. I put T-nuts under the extension table and had a slotted hole on each side of the fence for adjustment. Worked well. I prefer a stand alone router table, however, because it seemed like I was always needing to use the saw when the router table was set up and vice versa. But if you want to do this, I would definitely make the fence.

[Wes Grass]

I don't have this issue, but I think I'd look at inletting t-slot extrusion at the correct spacing for a commercial fence.

Or take a second look at what Derek did.

[David Lageman]

For what it's worth, I went the extruded aluminum route and love it. It's easy to attach sacrificial fences (jigs and other things as well) to and I can use one side for the table saw and the other for the router. I do agree that if I had room, I would prefer a separate router table configuration vs. having it attached to the table saw, but alas, space doesn't allow it for me. The picture is older and right after installation, prior to installing the tape measure.

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[Jack Frederick]

I made the fences for my Norm RT’s and they worked well. I went the SS with the SS RT wing and use the supplied fence with it and it has been excellent for my use so far. I would recommend it.

[Derek Cohen]

There doesn't seem to be much in the pre-made world in the way of router fences made for a table saw extension wing. Years ago I made and there's a lot I really love about it but it's made entirely of laminated MDF and the seasonal changes in the wood create snags when feeding through.

I was just wondering what those of you who have a router mounted in a table saw wing did for the router fence?

Julie, I’ve posted the details of my build here before, so the link is for you (a little boring for others!) ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Powered%20Tools%20and%20Machinery/RouterTableAdventure.html

https://i.postimg.cc/15scSWMB/RTF7a.jpg

This is built into the outfeed of a Hammer K3. The dust extraction system is terrific.

I recently saw photos if the new Harvey fence and, although it is more than I would want to spend, it looks amazing ...

https://www.harveywoodworking.com/products/compass-router-table-system?_pos=1&_sid=db309812c&_ss=r

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Ole Anderson]

I started with a 48" length of 2"x2"x 1/4" aluminum angle, anodized. Moved on to the Freud fence.

[Lisa Starr]

I have a 2nd Bessy style homemade fence that utilizes my TS Rail. I have split MDF faces attached to the 80/20 Aluminum Bar.

[roger wiegand]

I use the back side of my TS Biesemeyer fence as the router table fence. Seems to work perfectly and didn't involve any extra investment.

[Frank Pratt]

I built an MDF box for dust collection & bit clearance that drops & locks over my table saw fence. It's a pretty basic fence, but does what I need it to. And with dust collection in the fence & below the table, there's almost no dust that gets away.

[Julie Moriarty]

If I went DIY again, I'd definitely use aluminum extrusions.

I like the end of the fence dust port I now have, and the 6" high fence. I was just running some drawer fronts through the router and had to run them through standing up. The 6" fence was great but the angle brackets I have for securing fence in place are a little weak to handle pressure at the top of the fence. So that would have to be addressed.

I also like the storage compartment I made in my existing fence. Everything I need is right there.

After the neighbor's job is done, I'll look into this some more.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

Julie

[Jim Becker]

When I acquired the cast iron BenchDog top (originally designed to be used as a table saw wing) I opted to get their fence, too. It's aluminum with MDF sliding inserts that are replaceable as they get buggered over time near the cutter when you either get them close to the spinning bit or even embed the tooling in the fence for "zero clearance". Previous router table setups have used shop made fences. Either way works. The most important design thing is to be absolutely sure that the face is perfectly perpendicular to the table top...

[Bruce Wrenn]

Different prospective for me. I want to put router in left wing, instead of right wing. First routing direction is the same as ripping direction. You don't have to walk around the saw to route an edge profile. Second because most routing operating is near the edge of stock, you don't need a lot of table in front of the bit. Thirdly you can keep table saw fence in place to allow for ripping off routed profile. Fourthly, most of the time right side of the saw are butted up against either a wall, or support column. Fence could be made quickly removable when not needed. Woodsmith / ShopNotes featured such an installation several years back. When I build fence, it will be either a Rockler (that I have,) or shop made using a combination of aluminum angle, and laminate faced MDF, which I also have.