Table Saw Fence Scale (Tape)

[Jason Morgan]

Anyone know of where I can get a steel tape to replace the tape on my table saw. The one I have on there isnt very accurate and I would like to get something on there that is. I thought about just attaching a steel ruler, but I'd like something at least 48" long. TIA

[Frank Pellow]

I have this one and I like it: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32550&cat=1,43513,43517

[Jamie Buxton]

You can buy a steel machinists rule which is 48" long. That's what I did for my table saw. A machinists rule is more accurate than a tape. Enco (www.use-enco.com) has them for $75 or so.

[M. A. Espinoza]

Custom Service Hardware sells Fastcap tapes which are nice and available in a few different types. The one I prefer is 1" wide and blank on the bottom half so you can make your memory marks. They are designed to be written on with pencil.

Amazon has replacement Biesemeyer tapes and I believe Woodcraft sells Starrett.

[Jim Becker]

I bought mine from Lee Valley a few years ago.

[Charlie Plesums]

This may be the time to go digital...
http://www.wixey.com/fence/index.html

There are other brands that have been out a while, but they are substantially more expensive. Wixley has proven himself on the Planer readout, and is moving on to the saw.

[Barry O'Mahony]

The one I have on there isnt very accurate and I would like to get something on there that is. TIAJust because it's steel doesn't necessarily mean it's more accurate. They are printed in the same way as the plastic ones, and are often just as "sloppy". One benefit they do have is that they won't change due to temperature, and they don't stretch during installation.

If you wish good accuracy, you can use the machinist's rule as Jamie suggested.

[Russ Filtz]

I never trust my tape either. I always measure from the blade to the fence directly with an accurate steel rule.

[nic obie]

This may be the time to go digital...
http://www.wixey.com/fence/index.html

There are other brands that have been out a while, but they are substantially more expensive. Wixley has proven himself on the Planer readout, and is moving on to the saw.



Thanks for the link Charlie.

It's tempting

[Jason Morgan]

thanks for all the replies.

People that bought the Lee Valley, are you happy with it? Does it seem accuate? I think I am going to try that first since its only a few dollars. Then I may make the plunge to the Wixey. That sure looks neat. I could use a good machinists rule though.

Hmmmmmm...

[Mark Rios]

I remember the talk about the Wixey for the TS back when there was a sale on the planer model. Then, I read that the TS model was still in production and testing. Why wasn't I told that it was out and available. I bought the planer model. Do I need to spend MORE money just to be put on the email list? Do I need to be part of some special Wixey club. GEEEEZZZZ..... what's a guy got to do to be told to spend more money???? :D :D :D :D :D





Thanks for the link Charlie.

[Gary Curtis]

Oregon Rule makes a bewildering variety of self-adhesive tapes for machinery. I just took delivery of a router fence and miter gauge from WoodHaven. Both have Oregon tapes. On the web oregonruleco.com.

One is a right-to-left, the other a center out. I like the numbering a little better than the rule on my Biesemeyer saw fence.

The good things is that you have choices.

Gary Curtis

[Charlie Plesums]

.... Why wasn't I told that it was out and available. ...
It won't be out until May 1st. Keep watching the mail:o

I had talked with him about testing a version for combo machines (My rip fence has two different rails, which means it doesn't work with most digital readouts). I haven't heard from him either. :(

[Brandon Shew]

I never trust my tape either. I always measure from the blade to the fence directly with an accurate steel rule.

Me too (until I bought the Incra TS-III).

Even with an accurate tape on the saw itself, every time you change the blade you may be dealing w/ a different kerf and that throws it off anyway. What happens when you put a dado on? I only found the tape handy for incremental reference when moving from the tape measured point that I marked first.

The tape on the TS-III is magnetic and can be reset to "0" very easily which is useful when changing blades. You may want to look into a magnetic one for that purpose (unless you're one of the WWII users that never changes his blade).

[Chris Giles]

Gentlemen,
Consider before buying the Wixey model that the specifications on the web site list a fudge-factor of .005" plus or minus per linear foot. That translates to about 1/64" per three feet, 1/32" per six feet in length. For my machining operations, this is well out of acceptable tolerance. I cannot consider it for this reason, otherwise it would be perfect for my table saws.:(

[Brandon Shew]

Chris - If you need to be that precise then I would suggest at the very least a machinist rule and measuting every adjustment or some sort of laser mesurement device.

[John Russell]

Brandon,
Do you know of any laser type devices that are made for this purpose or is this is a matter of adapting something designed for other uses? Laser's also seem to have their accuracy issues, so I am just curious if there is something that may exist that could be easily adapted to a table saw fence?
Thanks

[Charlie Plesums]

Gentlemen,
Consider before buying the Wixey model that the specifications on the web site list a fudge-factor of .005" plus or minus per linear foot. That translates to about 1/64" per three feet, 1/32" per six feet in length. For my machining operations, this is well out of acceptable tolerance. I cannot consider it for this reason, otherwise it would be perfect for my table saws.:(
The upscale version of the Wixley is at
http://www.digi-kit.com/digifence.htm
which claims a higher accuracy since it is total, not per foot. A tape with repeated marks is attached to the rail, and the digital readout counts the marks. Presumably that tape is accurate....

[Brandon Shew]

Brandon,
Do you know of any laser type devices that are made for this purpose or is this is a matter of adapting something designed for other uses? Laser's also seem to have their accuracy issues, so I am just curious if there is something that may exist that could be easily adapted to a table saw fence?
Thanks

I don't know of any Laser products made speciffically for that purpose. I do know that survey instruments can measure within a 1/100 of an inch in precision over distance. Not sure if the close proximity would affect the laser measurement accuracy in any way.

What about some sort of caliper used to measure inside diameter? That might work on cuts less than a foot depending on the caliper size & scale

[John Russell]

This thread was an eye opener -- doing some searches here and elsewhere indicates that the stick on tapes have inherent problems. It seems that if you rely on the tape at longer distances, this could lead to inaccuracy that may or may not be a problem. I think the Jointech and Incra fences address some of this problem, otherwise the digifence seems like a good option unless there is something else?

[Jamie Buxton]

This thread was an eye opener -- doing some searches here and elsewhere indicates that the stick on tapes have inherent problems. It seems that if you rely on the tape at longer distances, this could lead to inaccuracy that may or may not be a problem. I think the Jointech and Incra fences address some of this problem, otherwise the digifence seems like a good option unless there is something else?

Yes, there is something else. Like I said before, use a long machinists rule. They are manufactured with a different process than those printed tapes, and are much higher accuracy.

[John Russell]

Jamie,
Looks as if the max length on the Enco rules is 48". I did some searching and found these folks who will make a rule to custom sizes, like for a 52" fence:

http://www.schlenkerenterprises.com/21-whittam_precision_scales.htm