Harvey new Big Eye rip fence system

[Pat Rice]

Got an email yesterday about Harvey’s new Big Eye Rip fence system for cabinet saws. I was impressed with the design and features and think it will be a nice fence system. That said I don’t use a cabinet saw since switching to a Felder sliding saw, but I do appreciate innovated design and engineering. https://www.harveywoodworking.com/products/big-eye-b-36-b-52-rip-fence-system

[John Kananis]

That looks like a pretty awesome fence and if it's constructed anything like their sliding table, it's going to perform well. The only thing I don't really like is that you'll have a good sized gap between the saw and outfeed table. All that being said, I wouldn't replace my biesemeyer.

[Jim Becker]

The fact that it provides a high/low fence is a "yuge" plus in my book...that right there would make me interested if I didn't have a saw that had that feature. I run my fence in the "low" position 80+% of the time.

[Tom M King]

I like it a lot, especially that it has a fine adjustment. I miss the fine adjustment feature of the old Powermatic fences. The trouble, like the old Powermatic round rail fences, is that with the rear lock, it will require a gap between the table saw top and outfeed table.

[Edward Weber]

I can appreciate the engineering BUT it's a bit of a solution looking for a problem. IMHO
I have a steel T-square style fence on my saw, it's pretty much rock solid. I don't get deflection and I don't ever see putting that much lateral pressure on the tail end of the fence that it needs to lock on the rear rail.

I suppose for those who are obsessed with keeping their fence aligned to the tens of thousandths, it's your $1k.

I don't see any real ROI on something like this for the average woodworker. Although there are always scenarios where this might excel. YMMV as they say.

[Bert McMahan]

I think the benefit of the rear track is mainly keeping it square even when unlocked. The T-square style fences I've used always move just a bit when you lock them down, meaning I have to try it a couple times to get it to line up right. Deflection at the rear is an added bonus. I bet there are some wacky jigs that puts more pressure towards the back too (like some of the diagonal cove cutting jigs or maybe those spindle turning jigs).

[Michael Burnside]

The fact that it provides a high/low fence is a "yuge" plus in my book...that right there would make me interested if I didn't have a saw that had that feature. I run my fence in the "low" position 80+% of the time.

Agreed. I replaced the fence on my Sawstop with an aluminum extrusion with the option to use a 15x15 attached for a "low" fence. If Sawstop came out with something like this, I'd probably jump on it.

[Robert Hayward]

The T-square style fences I've used always move just a bit when you lock them down, meaning I have to try it a couple times to get it to line up right.
That movement used to drive me nuts. So much that I figured out a way to eliminate it. For way less than the cost of the new Harvey fence. Not knocking the new fence as I think it looks like an excellent fence.

[John Kananis]

The slider has mounting holes for a sawstop, I bet this fence does also.


Agreed. I replaced the fence on my Sawstop with an aluminum extrusion with the option to use a 15x15 attached for a "low" fence. If Sawstop came out with something like this, I'd probably jump on it.

[Bert McMahan]

That movement used to drive me nuts. So much that I figured out a way to eliminate it. For way less than the cost of the new Harvey fence. Not knocking the new fence as I think it looks like an excellent fence.

Very clever! I may steal this one.

[George Yetka]

I might get it just for the locking handle locking forward on top of saw. I have hit my hip so many times on my sawstop. On top of that, when my garage is not being used stuff is stored in front of the saw and it gets hit way too much

[Alan Lightstone]

If it had the ability to attach a DRO (or one attached, which for this price it should), I might go for it, but as it stands, no.

Seriously pricey, though.

[Pat Rice]

Per Harvey website: The BIG EYE Rip Fence System is compatible with the most renowned table saw brands such as SawStop, Powermatic, JET, Laguna Grizzly, andmore

[Robert Hayward]

Very clever! I may steal this one.

It was made using pieces cut off the end of a 4X4X1/4 angle then cut to fit the PM fence. The nylon grub screws are 1/2-13X1/2 and will move slightly over time. I solved that with a Loctite product made for nylon and similar materials. Regular Loctite will degrade/decompose nylon over time. I found this out by using the wrong type the first time. Rock solid now for reading a measurement and locking the fence.

[Ole Anderson]

I was going to say it looks expensive, and it is, $1,049.00. Thanks, but I am very happy with my, now discontinued, HTC Multi-Fence System on my older G1023.

[Darrell Bade]

I would iexpect it to be priced higher than it should be, that is Harvey's marketing strategy. If they have your email address they hammer you with discounts and flash sales. I looked at the sliding table, put in my cart and went as far as almost ordering it for normal price of $1,300 but didn't. Over the next week or so I got $100-$200 discount codes by email then a 24 hour flash sale email with the sliding table $950, that's 350 bucks off. Have seen other on here post similar. When you r marketing is your gonna do that continually, and yes they hammer you with emails your normal price has to be higher.

[Roger Feeley]

I like it a lot, especially that it has a fine adjustment. I miss the fine adjustment feature of the old Powermatic fences.

I had fine adjustment on my last fence. It was a Vega utility. I let it go when I sold the PM h3 contractor saw and upgraded to a Sawstop. I missed the fine adjustment so much, I installed a dro on the SS fence just for nudging.

[Wes Grass]

I think the 8" Craftsman my Dad bought when I was a kid locked the fence at both ends. My DeWalt portable had rack and pinion to keep it square. Worked pretty good, but I kinda remember doing some work to get the fence face square to the table.

[Cary Falk]

The one issue I see for me would be that you can't easily remove/ lift it off like you can with a Beisemeyer

[Johnny Barr]

The Incra LS TS fence system is more accurate, more repeatable, adjustable to a 1000th of an inch and less expensive.

[Larry Frank]

I will not be buying it but appreciate when companies come up with new accessories. Harvey has had several innovative accessories.

[lou Brava]

The Incra LS TS fence system is more accurate, more repeatable, adjustable to a 1000th of an inch and less expensive.

Been using "standard" Biesemeyer & Bessy knock off type fences on different saws and never really thought I needed anything more. IMO the Harvey at almost 1/2 the cost of a complete decent cabinet saw is out of my league. I've never seen the Incra fence if it's solid as a Biesemeyer it seems like a good option.

[Rod Sheridan]

The fact that it provides a high/low fence is a "yuge" plus in my book...that right there would make me interested if I didn't have a saw that had that feature. I run my fence in the "low" position 80+% of the time.

Agreed, I looked at it online and it looks nicely made.

I wasn’t able to determine if also has short/long capabilities, that would a “yuge” plus as well.

Regards, Rod

[Edward Weber]

Ono thing I would add to my earlier post is this.
IMO, it has far too many moving parts and parts in general.
My T-square fence has a small handful and only a couple that move.

[Michael Burnside]

Ono thing I would add to my earlier post is this.
IMO, it has far too many moving parts and parts in general.
My T-square fence has a small handful and only a couple that move.

Very good points Edward. I really don't have any complaints in accuracy, squareness or difficulty in use for my existing fence. I just want something for micro adjust and doing a few repeat cuts. I recently did a pretty complex turn-table cabinet that had a lot of waterfall miters and dado positions and I would have loved the ability to have a few stops and a micro adjust. I went ahead and ordered the Woodpeckers rip-flip and extra stop and I'm going to give that a try.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have a Bies and for very fine adjustments I just use a dial indicator with a magnetic base and set it on the back side of the fence. Zero it before unlocking the fence, then unlock and nudge, relock and check the indicator. You can make an adjustment from 0.001" to whatever. Hardest part is not confusing yourself about which direction to nudge it.

Also, while the Bies fence is pretty sturdy it can flex a little out at the end if you're pushing hard into the fence. So if I feel the need, after locking the fence I'll take another magnetic base and slide it up against the backside of the fence out past the blade and lock it down. Makes it rock solid. Most of the time not necessary.

I use the dial indicator on bandsaw and router table fences as well. And the magnetic base to back up the bandsaw fence for resawing and joinery cuts like tenon cheeks.

[Edward Weber]

When doing segmenting or anything where extremely small measurement are necessary, I use this fro micro-adjustments.
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[John Kananis]

Robert, I like that. I've done the caliper between blade and fence thing but your method sounds way better. Thanks for posting this.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Michael,

I have the rip-flip and I think you'll find it does exactly what you're looking for.

Cliff

[johnny means]

25 years in the business and it always come back top one thing. A simple, bomb proof t-square is better than anything with multiple points of failure. Now a micro adjustment on a Biessy might intrigue me

[Warren Lake]

have over 40 years on the besmeiyers and the fine adjust works well, its called a hammer.

Now on a slider I cant get uised to the magnifier for one inches is above that other system and a bit hard to see but more so what bugs me is I can see measures but now am looking at a thing where 1/8" proportionally is more like a quarter or more. Its easy enough to screw up. There is a turn handle for left and right movement and that works fine, if I need to tap I can as well hammer again no issues. Small ball peen has a really nice feel and sensitive. this will work for now.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have the General International micro adjuster (works similar to the Rockler one shown above), as well as a Accurate Technology DRO on my Sawstop Biesenmeyer fence. Works well for me. But I have an add-on fence with a pusher that pushes thin pieces through my saw instead of using a push stick that is better than all of them. It was called a Duelen Safety Fence. The company only made about 34 of them, then stopped making them due to financial issues. It was a 2015 Wood Magazine Innov8 award winner for the year, which is how I heard of it. I spoke to him in 2020 - he was talking about making an automated version of that which would be sensational to use, but it never seemed to happen.

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Now build those features into that Harvey fence, and wow. Someone get to work.

[Steve Demuth]

The one issue I see for me would be that you can't easily remove/ lift it off like you can with a Beisemeyerthat w

I'm not at all sure that's true. I think that with the clamp released, the front lifts off the rail, and then with a slight forward movement of the fence, the whole think lifts off. Would be nice to see in a video review to be sure.

[Steve Demuth]

I think the 8" Craftsman my Dad bought when I was a kid locked the fence at both ends. My DeWalt portable had rack and pinion to keep it square. Worked pretty good, but I kinda remember doing some work to get the fence face square to the table.

I've got a Porter Cable branded (made by Hitachi, I think) saw that has a much more cheaply manufactured version of the Harvey bearing guided, doubled-ended locking fence. For some reason Lowes has the saw on their website, even though I don't believe it's been manufactured or sold in the US for over a decade: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-10-in-Carbide-Tipped-Steel-Blade-15-Amp-Table-Saw/3161103

So, the double rail / double locking idea is hardly new to the table saw business.

[Patrick Varley]

Tangential to the original post, I also saw this one come up as a new startup.

https://rip-itfence.com/

Personally I just see something that may break and become useless, plus potentially loses some of the added functionality of a Bies-style fence with sub-fences, etc. However it does look cool. Seems like something that could be nice if you had a two-saw setup.

[Robert Hazelwood]

have over 40 years on the besmeiyers and the fine adjust works well, its called a hammer.




Yeah, a hammer, block of wood, or heel of your hand is capable of making .001" adjustments if you need to. Trouble is knowing how far a particular tap actually moved it...1 thou or 10 thou? A dial indicator on the fence solves that issue and so I don't see any need to add other mechanisms.

A sturdy and accurate DRO is the only thing I'd consider as an upgrade, to allow accuracy in absolute positioning instead of just accuracy relative to the previous fence setting. But I'd have to be doing a particular sort of high $$$ production work to really justify it as it wouldn't save any noticeable time at my hobby scale. It takes one extra test cut, measurement, and measured fence adjustment with my method to get the same result. And most parts won't need that special level of accuracy.

[Michael Burnside]

Michael,

I have the rip-flip and I think you'll find it does exactly what you're looking for.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff, installed the rip-flip and did a few tests. It’s the perfect addition to an otherwise great setup. The dado adjustment was cool, will even work for drawer bottoms.

[Warren Lake]

its choosing the right hammer, ive used the wrong ones enough times. Small quality ball peen now nice feel to it. When I tap my left hand is on the base of the fence. I feel if it moves or not and can tell how much force. Two machines fences have different weights. One is locked the other is not engaged. Im often running a test cut on scrap same time, its fast. I can figure out some turn screw add on when there is more time for now this works fine.

[Ronald Blue]

When doing segmenting or anything where extremely small measurement are necessary, I use this fro micro-adjustments.
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This fine adjustment tool was very appealing but it seems they no longer market it. Oh well....

[Alan Lightstone]

This fine adjustment tool was very appealing but it seems they no longer market it. Oh well....
Hmmm.... Bummer. I love my General International version of that. Similar design. It looks like that one may no longer be made either.

It sounds like this is a build your own task now. Shouldn't be too hard with magnets. Need the right screw/handle.

[George Kasten]

I just installed a Big-Eye 36 on my Harvey 2HP saw. It's certainly not cheap, but it's an amazing piece of engineering; elegant design work and precision machining; new useful features that I have never seen anywhere else.

To answer your question about fence removal, the front AND rear of the fence cannot be lifted off either rail, even with the locking handle in the release position.

There is a small red flip stop at each end of the front rail that prevents fence over travel --- i.e. you can't accidentally push the fence off the saw on either side. If you lower either of those right or left side flip stops, the fence will easily glide off either end. (These two flip stops are different and separate from the four red moveable flip stops that can be adjusted for repeat cuts.)

Brilliant!

[Cary Falk]

I had the Wixey table saw DRO and hated it. Trying to move the fence .001" without a micro adjust was a nightmare. Why chase .001" you ask? If I have a DRO that can measure 3.000" I don't want to cut a board at 3.001" I ended up getting rid for the DRO. I love my DRO on my planer though.