New Tablesaw Fence Advice Needed

[Dennis Peacock]

OK....I have a Jet 10" Left Tilt cabinet saw. I would like to get a much better fence than the original eXacta fence that came with the saw. I would like to have a fence that will stay in alignment better AND have a fine adjustment control on the fence.

So what is the advise from all my WW'ing buddies out there?

[Jim Becker]

Dennis, if money were not a concern, I'd change my Xacta fence out for a UniFence...I miss it a great deal from my previous contractors' style saw. (I like the flexibility of positioning, etc.) But my existing fence is quite accurate and never let me down. If I were to change one thing, it would be to bag the UMHW faces and replace them with something solid and slick. Other than that...it works just as well as any fence would.

What you need to ascertain is what you really want to accomplish by replacing your current fence system...if you just want micro-adjustment, you can buy the Jet Xacta-II or HTC fence with micro-adjust and use the existing rails. I believe you can do the same with a Biesemeyer, too, although I don't think they have the micro-adjust feature available. There are also a variety of third-party fences, such as Vega, Incra and Jointech (big paradigm change there) and others out there! But if your existing fence is constantly going out of alignment, that's a symptom of loose fasteners and adjustment points--there may be a less-expensive solution without replacing everything.

[Don Abele]

Dennis, on my previous tablesaw I installed an aftermarket vega fence with micro adjust. I loved it and it stayed very accurate. When my saw died I took the fence off and it's now stored in the corner awaiting further use.

I bought the Jet left-tilt with 50" rails and Xacta-II fence. It's much better than my old Vega and the micro adjust works very well.

As Jim said, if you are just looking for the micro adjust, I'd just upgrade to the Xacta-II. If absolute micro adjust and repeatablity is what you want, the incra would be my choice (I've used one and love it, but $$$).

Be well,

Doc

[Jamie Buxton]

Dennis ---
Other posters are suggesting installation of the Jet Exacta II fence, which I believe is identical to the HTC. I'm part-way through installing the HTC on my Unisaw, and I'm not happy. What's making me unhappy is that the fence is not straight. It has about 1/32" of curve in it. That is, an edge-jointed board noticeably rocks against the fence.

You might look into a retrofit microadjuster from Tahoe Tools (www.tahoetools.com). A friend has one on a Beisemeyer, and likes it.

Jamie

[Ken Salisbury]

Dennis - I have a 50" Vega on my Jet cabinet saw and I love it. I have never had to readjust it since I installed it.

[Tyler Howell]

Dennis, if money were not a concern, I'd change my Xacta fence out for a UniFence...I miss it a great deal from my previous contractors' style saw. (I like the flexibility of positioning, etc.) But my existing fence is quite accurate and never let me down. If I were to change one thing, it would be to bag the UMHW faces and replace them with something solid and slick. Other than that...it works just as well as any fence would.

Mr Becker,

What are UMHW faces???

Thanks
Tyler

[Jim Becker]

Mr Becker,

Geepers...that makes me feel old!


What are UMHW faces???

That's that high density slick plastic that the Jet Xacta fence has, unlike the Biesemeyer that uses laminate faces. (I may have the acronym slightly wrong) Yes, it's slick. But it is also easily distorted by the mounting screws and other "ethereal forces" so they tend not to be perfectly flat. That's why Jamie is noticing a gap with a jointed board against his fence.

[Glenn Clabo]

Geepers...that makes me feel old!
That's that high density slick plastic that the Jet Xacta fence has, unlike the Biesemeyer that uses laminate faces. (I may have the acronym slightly wrong) Yes, it's slick. But it is also easily distorted by the mounting screws and other "ethereal forces" so they tend not to be perfectly flat. That's why Jamie is noticing a gap with a jointed board against his fence.

Just to clarify....
Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene
(UHMWP)

[Jason Roehl]

What are UMHW faces???

Thanks
Tyler

Ultra High Molecular Weight

It's a polyethylene plastic. It's the white, kinda grainy feeling stuff, though it probably comes in different iterations.

[Jim Becker]

Just to clarify....
Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene
(UHMWP)


Ultra High Molecular Weight

It's a polyethylene plastic. It's the white, kinda grainy feeling stuff, though it probably comes in different iterations.

Well...I had SOME of the letters correct! Thanks, Guys!!

[Tyler Howell]

Ohhhh!
The white, kinda grainy feeling stuff! :D Why didn't you say that in the first place??

Thank you all. Knowledge is power

Tyler

[mike malone]

OK....I have a Jet 10" Left Tilt cabinet saw. I would like to get a much better fence than the original eXacta fence that came with the saw. I would ....?

Hi Dennis
whatever you do...call Rick at Gen'l Ind Supply (1-800-371-2220 one of our sponsors) and tell him you're from Saw Mill Creek. He'll cut you a good deal on Powermatic and Jet stuff.
I just got a new comm PM66 fence only for $90
Definitely a good place.
best mike

[Tyler Howell]

PS Mr. Becker,

The " Mr" is a sign of respect. I think I have 10 years on you but am just a child when it comes to WW. Thanks for sharing all the power.

TJH

[Jamie Buxton]

That's that high density slick plastic that the Jet Xacta fence. It's slick. But it is also easily distorted by the mounting screws and other "ethereal forces" so they tend not to be perfectly flat. That's why Jamie is noticing a gap with a jointed board against his fence.

Jim --

You're correct. In my fence, the bow was primarily in the UHMW faces. Last night I replaced them with wood, and the fence is now usable.

This is a case of "What are those guys thinking?" They're selling to woodworkers. Woodworkers love wood. In this fence, wood stays straighter than the plastic. Even nice clear hardwood costs less than UHMW plastic. So instead of choosing the material which is less expensive, performs better, and is loved by the customer, somebody chose plastic. Doh!

Jamie

[Jim Becker]

This is a case of "What are those guys thinking?" They're selling to woodworkers. Woodworkers love wood. In this fence, wood stays straighter than the plastic. Even nice clear hardwood costs less than UHMW plastic. So instead of choosing the material which is less expensive, performs better, and is loved by the customer, somebody chose plastic. Doh!

I "think they were thinking" that the UHMW will wear "forever"...and in that, they are largely correct. It's a very durable and slippery material. But it has a downside and that is it can distort easily. Some folks actually shim it on the fence to make it level. Like you, I'm going to replace the faces...in my copious free time. It's on the list, but the list is long.

[Jamie Buxton]

I "think they were thinking" that the UHMW will wear "forever"...

Yup. As delivered, the face would last forever --- because it would never get used.

While I'm muttering about this fence, I should also report that as delivered the microadjuster had about 1/16" of backlash. For a device intended to provide fine adjustment, that's very bad. Fortunately, the adjuster can be tightened up so that it has lots less backlash. But, again, what were these guys thinking? They design in a nice feature, but don't adjust it at the factory to perform well.

[Jim Becker]

Yup. As delivered, the face would last forever --- because it would But, again, what were these guys thinking? They design in a nice feature, but don't adjust it at the factory to perform well.

The really interesting thing is that the Xacta fence was always the one domestically produced part of the saw system... :rolleyes:

[Robert Goodwin]

I have the Incra TS3A and love it. Probably not for everyone, but I tend to make alot of mistakes, or cut things our of order. The fence allows me to repeat a cut exactly. Seems solid, but I do not use much sheet goods. If I were a production outfit and speed was a concern, I might go with something else, but for me, this is the perfect fence.

Rob

[Pat Rice FL Woodworker]

For years I had a Craftsman contractor saw that I struggled with until I upgraded to a Biesmeyer fence which made it a real pleasure to use. Several years ago I was forunate to purchase a Jet 10" Left Tilt cabinet saw with their Bies clone fence and it too worked fine until I attended a woodworking show and saw the Incra TS III fence in use and fell in love with it. After having owned the TS III for several years now with a lot of varied use I would highly recommend it to you or anyone else. I really like it's accuracy and repeatability. I like knowing that 4" is always 4" without having to bump the fence little this way or a little that way. I do use, occassionally the microadjust feature and find it very helpful for those final adjustments. I have used my TS III to rip a lot of sheet goods, 1x pine, and hardwoods. It has held up excellent in all cases.