Tablesaw Fence System

[Mike Burke]

I have a Grizzly G0690 cabinet tablesaw that has 30" fence. I am wanting to get a 36" fence . I'm thinking I have two options. Keep my fence and get different steel tube and fabricate new rails and guide...or invest in a all new system with everything included.

I would need to make a different table extension for that side of the saw.

I'm going to contact Grizzly and see if they have 36" rails for my saw.

I'm asking for suggestions ? Ideas ?
What is a good aftermarket fence system ?

link to my saw
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029VN2SA

Thanks

[glenn bradley]

Tubes show up on the used market now and again so keep an eye out there. A longer tube will be less expensive than a whole new fence setup unless there are other reasons to forklift your current fence. Location is the challenge for used as these things don't ship well. The important thing to me is good machining on the faces where the fence rides when looking at used. Being straight is a must as well of course. ;-)

[Andrew Seemann]

It is worth checking around for used tubes and rails. When I extended my Unisaw from 32" to 52", I was planning on getting the steel, drilling it out etc. It isn't hard, but it is a fair amount of work. Then I happened to see a set of new-old-stock Biesemeyer tube and rails on the Bay, pre-Delta buy out & made in Arizona even, for around $200 more than what I figured the steel would cost. I clicked buy-it-now in about two seconds:) I like doing that kind of metal work and have all the tools, but buying them was way too fast and easy to pass up.

I don't know what the exact measurements of the Grizzly are, but there is a good chance they are the same as all the other systems of that size, so it is possible other brands would also work. It seems to me my Biesemeyer tube is a standard, off the shelf 2"x"3 box beam. I'll need to check.

[Lisa Starr]

Look at the Very Super Cool Tools information. He provides a wealth of information on fabricating your own tubes and rail, even if you're inclined tokeep your existing fence.

[Doug Garson]

I think for an extra six inches you could get away with just replacing the tube. You could just pick up the 36" 4 x 3 steel tube, clean it up, paint it and drill and tap it. The extra six inches for the rails might be needed to support the extension table but you may be able to just shift the rails. I made new rails and tube for my Biesemeyer fence on my new to me General 350 table saw and it wasn't hard. The Very Cool Super Tools videos are a good guide on how to do it.

[Christopher Charles]

Can you shift the rail to the right enough to get the 6”?

[Jim Becker]

I have a similar issue with a SS PCS I recently acquired for my temporary shop. I was going to try and source "official" rails, but dealers are not cooperating, so I've decided to just buy a piece of appropriate steel tubing and fabricate a longer fence rail that meets my needs. (The previous owner had to cut it down for space reasons) I haven't priced the steel yet, but do not expect it to be very expensive, honestly.

[Patrick Irish]

Fences on these saws are just 2x3 box steel. Not sure price now but on a Unisaw I bought years ago I had to make my own front rail. The rear is 3x2 angle iron. Be pretty simple to get that material from steel yard and drill and tap the holes.

[Michael Elliott]

Try contacting Harvey. They built that saw, and probably still have a fence system that will fit it.

[William Hodge]

Can you shift the rail to the right enough to get the 6”?


I have done this. It works great. Just drill some holes. The fence can always go back.

The only problem is when one needs to cut something kind of wide on the left side of the blade. Even worse is putting the fence on the left, and making a bevel cut, because then you have converted a left tilt saw to a right tilt saw, and people will talk.

[Mike Burke]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions... I have made different rails for my other table saw fence. I do have access to metal tubing and a machine shop so that might me an option and would be to difficult for me...and cheaper than buying new ones.

I didn't know Harvey made that saw. Looks just my fence system. I am going to contact them and ask. Thanks

[Mike Burke]

Update: I ended up just moving the rails to the right one hole. All the bolts didn’t line up with a hole, but enough to be good and strong. A little adjusting on a couple things and I went from
29 1/2 “ ripping capacity to 36 3/4 “ . A good modification project 👍

[Christopher Charles]

Glad it worked out. Fwiw, I’m not sure I’ve ever used the fence to the left of the blade, but have always had a left tilt saw.

[Lee Schierer]

If all you want is 6-7 additional inches, fabricate a tube extension from a glued up block of hard maple. Trim down one end of the block to fit tightly on the inside of the tube, then make the part sticking out match the exterior of your existing tube. Then you can try the extension so you can see if 6 additional inches are really what you need.

If you aren't happy with the length of the extension you can burn the evidence and do something different. You can also replace the existing tube and wood extension with a steel tube once you are sure of the length you want.