Table Saw fence Face?

[Jim Fox]

Have people replaced their plastic strip on the business side of their Table Saw fence? If so, with what and how?

To thick and wouldn't it mess up the scale readout?

I figure I can joint one face, then run the other through my planer, plus square up one side on the jointer.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Plywood, similar to baltic birch is the substrate on my fence. It is better to shim the faces before attaching the laminate, as screws are accessable then. Jointing won't correct problems that originate in the steel tube. Hair line indicator is also adjustable.

[Michael Stanley]

I used a piece of 1/2" mdf to replace the very curvey plastic face on my AccuFence. I used the original as a pattern and cut the slots for the mounting bolts on my router table using a slot cutter. The mdf is much more uniform in thickness then the plastic was.

[Tom Leftley]

I assume that you have a fence that came with the table saw.
First, Igore to tape measuement on the saw and adust your cut with a tape measure or other acurate measuring device.
I added a 1" thick 3" high auxilliary face to the fence. It works very well.
Consider installing a Beismeir or simialar fence. They are much more accurate and will improve your table saw cutting tremendously.
Sorry for the spelling, It's a Candaian,(british) thing.

[Jim Fox]

I assume that you have a fence that came with the table saw.
First, Igore to tape measuement on the saw and adust your cut with a tape measure or other acurate measuring device.
I added a 1" thick 3" high auxilliary face to the fence. It works very well.
Consider installing a Beismeir or simialar fence. They are much more accurate and will improve your table saw cutting tremendously.
Sorry for the spelling, It's a Candaian,(british) thing.

I have the Beisy Clone on my Shop Fox.

[John Thompson]

Evening Jim..

You don't necessarily have to "ignore" the tape on the saw. For instanace.. if you add an exact 1" face, simply subtract the 1" from the tape reading and you have your reading. Example.. if you set the fence to read 2".. you have a true 1" with the new facing.

Another method is to remove the tape on the TS and replace with a Starrett self adhesive tape you can purchase from Highland Woodworking or Lee Valley.. etc. That's the easy way so just in case you get old and forget as I do, the potential mistake is avoided. That's what I do as I put a home-made short fence over my Biesemeyer on my Uni-saw.

But... but.. I will concur with Tom Leftley to just ignore to some degree. Even though I know the tape is set "dead-on", I put it to where it should be and then measure with a framing square from fence face to front of blade. Then I reverse the square and measure from fence face to rear of blade. You never know if that indicator got bumped somehow.. so I feel it can't be totally trusted from experience.

BTW.. I don't trust the reading on a framing square either. I used one of the Starrett tapes and adhered it to the face of the square for a true read from both fence tape and framing square tape.

Measure twice and cut once... and keep the lane clear when ya crank it up!

Regards...

Sarge..

[Rob Blaustein]

I also replaced mine and replaced the ruler with a Starrett one.
For the fence I used phenolic coated baltic birch from Woodcraft (also avail at Woodpeckers). Ripped a piece of the same length as the fence, rounded over the top with a router and used old fence face as a template for the screw holes, and just screwed it in. It's much flatter.

[Chris Parks]

Evening Jim..

You don't necessarily have to "ignore" the tape on the saw. For instanace.. if you add an exact 1" face, simply subtract the 1" from the tape reading and you have your reading. Example.. if you set the fence to read 2".. you have a true 1" with the new facing.

Another method is to remove the tape on the TS and replace with a Starrett self adhesive tape you can purchase from Highland Woodworking or Lee Valley.. etc. That's the easy way so just in case you get old and forget as I do, the potential mistake is avoided. That's what I do as I put a home-made short fence over my Biesemeyer on my Uni-saw.

Or just get a digital readout ala Wixey or Digitech. These can be zeroed allowing for the new fence face.

[Jim Fox]

I do have some 1/2 Baltic Birch here I could use, or some 3/4 MDF.

I also have some countertop laminate that I could put on, but is it really needed?

[Rob Blaustein]

I would think either would be fine, but you also want it to be smooth and not provide any resistance. So if I were using the 1/2" bb I would probably put a few coats of something on like a poly or shellac and then some wax. That's why I like the phenolic coated stuff--no extra work.

[Charles Wiggins]

Have people replaced their plastic strip on the business side of their Table Saw fence? If so, with what and how?

To thick and wouldn't it mess up the scale readout?

I figure I can joint one face, then run the other through my planer, plus square up one side on the jointer.

Jim,

I was using a piece of 3/4 HW ply, but after after seeing John's remarks on this post the other day, about a 1" face, I laminated a piece of 1/4 tempered hardboard onto my ply and adjusted the indicator on my rule and viola! I just compensate by 1". So if I want a 20" cut I set for 21". And the hardboard is as slick (and cheap!) a guide surface as I could want.

[Rob Blaustein]

Not sure I understand why one would need to compensate each time you use the rip fence--why not just replace the tape with one of these (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32550&cat=1,43513)? Not expensive, fairly accurate (probably at least as accurate as the one that came with the saw), and very easy to install. Put the new tape down, rip a piece, measure carefully, and adjust the cursor.

[Charles Wiggins]

Not sure I understand why one would need to compensate each time you use the rip fence--why not just replace the tape with one of these (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32550&cat=1,43513)? Not expensive, fairly accurate (probably at least as accurate as the one that came with the saw), and very easy to install. Put the new tape down, rip a piece, measure carefully, and adjust the cursor.

What tape? My TS is older than me. The markings are etched into the metal, and I don't think there's any clearance under the guide for aftermarket measuring tape.

[Jesse Cloud]

Before you spend $$, look carefully at the scale. Many are somewhat adjustable.

[Steve Sawyer]

I faced my Excalibur fence with 1/4" UHMW. Very stable and very slick - offers virtually no friction to the workpiece.

As to the measurement issue, the pointer on most fences is adjustable. If it's one of those little sheet-metal I made mine from some plexiglass with a hairline on the bottom, and shimmed and adjusted it to minimize any parallax. Each time I change the saw blade I position the fence against the saw teeth, clamp the fence, then adjust the "pointer" window so the hairline is perfectly on zero and I'm good to go (see pictures).
http://www.stephensawyer.com/images/FenceAndGrippers1.jpg

http://www.stephensawyer.com/images/RipFenceCursor.jpg

[Rob Blaustein]

What tape? My TS is older than me. The markings are etched into the metal, and I don't think there's any clearance under the guide for aftermarket measuring tape.

Oh, sorry Charles--mine has tape and I didn't realize there were models that couldn't accommodate it. So I guess you're stuck with compensating. Unless of course you want to go with the Wixey or equivalent.