Gloat Unifence upgrade

[Mike Putnam]

Hello all finally got a "good deal" to share with you all. 30" unifence w/ table and legs 150$ NIB at lowes. I'm sure this will be a nice upgrade from the T2 fence that I had. Now my questions, this only came with a 14" table and I have steel wings on that side of the saw seems like if I replaced them and put the table on instead when I remove the rear rail from the T2 fence any fence position greater that about 14" wouldn't the fence drop as the would be no support for it anymore? thinking of building a torsion box extension for that side (melamine) top, ply inner supports? any ideas or good materials to use instead? BTW on delta contractor saw w/ bench dog cast router table on left side of saw with pro lift and PC 7518 so the box could be pretty heavy without big balance issues.

thanks for your input60120

[glenn bradley]

Wait, you forgot to include your Visa number on the receipt! Just kidding. Good score!

[Paul Johnstone]

Good deal.

Definitely lose the stamped steel wing on the right and build a larger table.
That way you only have one piece to level instead of two.

On my saw, I used a piece of 3/4 plywood with formica on top. Added a 2x4 skirt on the underside of the top and added legs.. was pretty easy.

[Jim Becker]

Nice buy, Mike. And the UniFence is a great one...I loved the one I had two saws back but the cabinet saw I had after that had the more common Biesemeyer style fence. My slider is back to having a fence design similar to the UniFence and I'm a happy camper! Congrats on your new fence system!

BTW, there is an alternative fence face available called the Uni-T or something like that, I believe, which gives you easy jig mounting when you need it.

[Steve Evans]

Good deal. I had heard of this deal and checked when I was in Dallas last week. The Spring store didn't have it, and I just checked with the Port Huron, Michigan store and their price is $250. Still looking. Good score.

Steve

[Frederick Rowe]

Mike, A great price on the Unifence. I had the T2 fence on my Delta Hybrid, which I thought were both quite good for the price, and upgraded to a Unisaw w/Unifence when Amazon had one of their 4 hour sales and was too good to pass up.

The flexibility of the Unifence will grow on you in time. A longer than average fence, with the ability to slide it forward and back, as well as high and low sides. You must, however, have a table to support it along it's entire travel across your table, which is different than your old T2 or other T-Square fence which is supported by rails in the front and back of the table. As you described, a torsion box extension table should easily bolt to your iron table. No need for a bottom, just about any flat straight wood product will do. Plywood will be fine, if you use MDF, just make sure to pre-drill your screw holes or "mushrooming" may take your joint out of square.

As Jim mentioned, there are aftermarket fences which incorporate T-Slots for accessories, however I have found that in the tall position, there is room to clamp an auxiliary fence or other accesories to the standard Unifence. Norm Abrams built an auxiliary fence which slid over the extruded profile of the Unifence and mounted hold down clamps, etc . . . on it. The beauty of it is that you can build your own custom purpose fence and mount it to the Unifence support arm just as the factory fence attaches. Many examples can be found in woodworking forums.

Take the time to make friends with it, as it is different, and you'll have to get used to setting / adusting the fence parallel to the table, and the height of the support arm. Enjoy it.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

As Jim mentioned, there are aftermarket fences which incorporate T-Slots for accessories, however I have found that in the tall position, there is room to clamp an auxiliary fence or other accesories to the standard Unifence. Norm Abrams built an auxiliary fence which slid over the extruded profile of the Unifence and mounted hold down clamps, etc . . . on it. The beauty of it is that you can build your own custom purpose fence and mount it to the Unifence support arm just as the factory fence attaches. Many examples can be found in woodworking forums.


Fredrick:

I had forgotten that Norm built an auxiliary fence for the Unifence until you mentioned it. But don't remember how he built the aux fence either. I have not seen any attachments for the support arm could you provide some pointers that you have seen.

Thanks

Greg

[Frederick Rowe]

Hi Greg,

The episode was Classic Kitchen Cabinets. The stills I captured from the video are a bit blurry, but you can see the auxiliary fence/jig slides over the profile of the Unifence and is used as a sliding jig for cutting raised panels on the table saw. The auxiliary fence/jig can be clamped on and any number of attachments can be screwed on (such as board buddies, feather boards, etc . . .) For other ideas, check out Phil Bumbalough's web page on Unifence jigs and attachments. There are some great ideas.

Here is the link:
http://benchmark.20m.com/tools/Unisaw/UnisawUnifence/unisaw_unifence.html

There is also the Uni-T-Fence, here's the link:
http://www.ttrackusa.com/unifence.htm

The sliding extrusion of the Unifence gives a lot of flexibility, if you come up with a new idea, make sure to post it with pictures. Have fun.

[Frederick Rowe]

Greg,
Here's another variation: http://christophermerrill.net/ww/shop/bigafence.html

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Fredrick:

Thanks for the pointers, will have to spend some time reviewing these site. But at first blush looks interesting.

Greg

[Joe Trotter]

Mike, A great price on the Unifence. I had the T2 fence on my Delta Hybrid, which I thought were both quite good for the price, and upgraded to a Unisaw w/Unifence when Amazon had one of their 4 hour sales and was too good to pass up.

The flexibility of the Unifence will grow on you in time. A longer than average fence, with the ability to slide it forward and back, as well as high and low sides. You must, however, have a table to support it along it's entire travel across your table, which is different than your old T2 or other T-Square fence which is supported by rails in the front and back of the table. As you described, a torsion box extension table should easily bolt to your iron table. No need for a bottom, just about any flat straight wood product will do. Plywood will be fine, if you use MDF, just make sure to pre-drill your screw holes or "mushrooming" may take your joint out of square.

As Jim mentioned, there are aftermarket fences which incorporate T-Slots for accessories, however I have found that in the tall position, there is room to clamp an auxiliary fence or other accesories to the standard Unifence. Norm Abrams built an auxiliary fence which slid over the extruded profile of the Unifence and mounted hold down clamps, etc . . . on it. The beauty of it is that you can build your own custom purpose fence and mount it to the Unifence support arm just as the factory fence attaches. Many examples can be found in woodworking forums.

Take the time to make friends with it, as it is different, and you'll have to get used to setting / adusting the fence parallel to the table, and the height of the support arm. Enjoy it.

This fence wont work on a webbed cast table?

My saw has a webbed table on each side of the main table. Can I make it work?

Thanks, Joe

[Mike Putnam]

This fence wont work on a webbed cast table?

My saw has a webbed table on each side of the main table. Can I make it work?

Thanks, Joe

joe
i think your right on that one, the fence uses no rear rail to support it. instead it has a support that rides on the surface of the saw and wings. but on the plus side I built a new right side extension wing from melamine and ply without to much trouble. I'm sure you could do the same if you wanted

Mike

[Frederick Rowe]

Sorry Joe, the Unifence won't work on a webbed table. It is supported by an arm which rides on a UHMW disk, not dissimilar to that of a good chair leg glide.

[James Carmichael]

Sorry Joe, the Unifence won't work on a webbed table. It is supported by an arm which rides on a UHMW disk, not dissimilar to that of a good chair leg glide.

He could always replace the wing with a shop-built one.

[Frederick Rowe]

Joe,
Here are some pics of my Unisaw's Unifence. You can clearly see the arm and it's support which must ride on a table. In the last photo you can see how the extruded aluminum fence bolts to the left side of the arm. It can be moved to the right side if desired, or rotated 90 degrees resulting in a low fence. This is typically used for thin stock where the low position allows better access to pushing the wood. You would have to replace your webbed extension table and replace with either solid iron, or wood/melamine table.

[Joe Trotter]

Joe,
Here are some pics of my Unisaw's Unifence. You can clearly see the arm and it's support which must ride on a table. In the last photo you can see how the extruded aluminum fence bolts to the left side of the arm. It can be moved to the right side if desired, or rotated 90 degrees resulting in a low fence. This is typically used for thin stock where the low position allows better access to pushing the wood. You would have to replace your webbed extension table and replace with either solid iron, or wood/melamine table.

I went ahead and drove to Cheyenne tonight and bought one. It came with a board and rails so I will do what it takes to make it fit.

I am glad this gloat was posted, I got mine for $154.50 :eek: :D :eek:

I cancelled my order for a T2 from Amazon :) :D :)

[Frederick Rowe]

Joe,
I think you be pleased with the Unifence. Moving from your old style fence to a professional one (whether a Unifence, Biesemeyer, or other) will open your work to a broad variety of working techniques which you would likely had difficulty performing before. Post any questions you have, and enjoy.