Welding up a biesemyer clone in central ohio...

[Andrew Nemeth]

I'm thinking about building a biesemeyer fence clone from some of the designs I have seen posted on the internet. Does anyone know where in central ohio I can get a couple of welds done for a reasonable price?

Also, has anyone on this forum built their own? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks again,

Andrew

[Dick Brown]

Andrew,

Have no intention of throwing cold water on your plan but here are a few things to think about:
If you have to go to a welding shop to get your fence built, it will be costly, as in our area, $60-70 per hr.
I have built 10-12 Biese. and Delta t-2 fence clones and it takes a fair amount of time. Also, the plans I have found on the net are not up to Biese. standards. You will need taps and dies for threading for set screws and as I will explain later, threading UHMW rod. If you will look up Western Tool Stores on the net, they sell Pioneer saws with a Biese. clone fence but with UHMW set screws next to the lockdown to hold the fence straght when moving it and I do that on the fences I build. Another "borrowed" idea is a UHMW block on the outer end of the fence like the T-2 uses and a rail for it to run on. Like it better than the pad running on the saw table itself as some do. Then, to make it more interesting, all the rails and fence sides must be set to a very close tolerance to work right to say nothing of the fence itself
needing to be perfectly square.
Hope this does not scare you off but if your time is worth anything and if you don't have a welder, drill press, tap and die set, available UHMW, steel and other hardware supplier, ability to drill your saw table and such, the name brand ones look much better. You should do some shopping at Western Tool, Lowes and others. Even Sears is selling the Biese. and will price match - 10%

Dick

[Andrew Nemeth]

Dick, thanks for the info,

I actually own a good drill press and wanted an excuse to purchase a few taps and dies anyway. I would even consider purchasing a cheap stick electrode welder if I knew that the little ones would do what I want. I'm not at all put off by the work as I enjoy building and machining both furniture and tools. I did a bit of metal work in school and I thought this would be a good project to get back into it again. I know that especially if I spend the extra money for taps and dies (and possibly an arc welder) that I may not save any money but I will have the tools and the experience to move on to the next project.

Do you happen to have any plans on file that work for you?

Thanks again for your help,

Andrew

[Dick Brown]

Dandrew,

Good to hear you want to do this. I didn't mean to sound negative in my other post but better to know what you are looking at. As far as you enjoying this type project, I hear what you are saying. I build all my own stuff that I possibly can, not for the $ saved but for the satisfaction of looking at it and saying to myself,Job well done. I feel that is what woodworking is all about also.
When I get a little time, I will see what I can draw up that makes sense and get it to you. Send me your e-mail address and when I get it done, will let you know.
I am very bad about never drawing plans but just working from the ideas in my head . Both good and bad but very seldom build two items exactly alike as I try to learn somthing new from the one I am working on that will make the next one better. May or may not always work!!!
Dick

[cecil rolfe]

Here is a link to plans from a guy that made one.
http://home.san.rr.com/jeffnann/WoodWorking/Shop/Shop.html

Cecil

[Bob Wingard]

I've made a few myself, and I think I have a spare cam and the little "flapper" device that goes between the cam & front tube, if you need them, holler ..

[Josiah Bartlett]

It would be a good idea to collect all the hardware you need before you finalize the dimensions of the fabricated steel. Get the teflon slider pads, the gripper stuff, and the scale and pointer before you start spending money on steel. Figure out if you are going to paint it or powder coat it and make sure you account for the thickness of your coatings on the box beam front rail section. You will also need to have the face of the rail that the adjustment screws clamp against ground flat or you are going to see the fence to blade angle change depending on how close to the blade the fence is set. The wider the T, the less the effect, but having a machine shop do a precision grind on such a long rail is going to be expensive.

The Shop Fox bies clone is only $275 for the 7' rail version, and its a steal and its well made.

[Grant Davis]

Andrew,
Send me a PM and I can put you in contact with a friend of mine in Lancaster that will probably do the welding for you at a very reasonable price.

Grant

[tim mathis]

hi
andrew where are you located , i am in centerville and i am a welder by day( and weekends sometime.)
the cheap arc welder 120 / 220 volt buzz boxes are ok for light home use,about $100.00.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have built several of the Biese clones. For the cam, I use the cam out of an old Delta "Jet lock fence. Often these can be had for free. Biese will sell you the pads. The original Bieses used a piece of "Formica" for pads. I have made them using both. Metals Supermarket will sell you the steel, cut to length. Otherwise, you may have to buy 20 foot lengths, which aren't cheap any more. I use a 5/8" X 2" X 3" spacer between my 2' X 2" angle and fence tube. Lucky for me I have a neighbor who has a Bridgeport to mill and drill front rail assembly. First, I drill angle with a bit that is correct size for a 1/4-20 tap. then I clamp tube to rail, with three spacers in between tube and short leg of angle. Using previously drilled holes in angle, I drill tube. Then I tap tube (1/4-20), and drill out holes in angle to 1/4". This makes for perfect alignment. Welding only involves four 2" long welds, and two plug welds. Less than 30 minutes

[Chee Fang]

I am really interested in hearing that several of you have actually built the fence. Could you guys post a few pictures of the fences you made?

[Dick Brown]

Hi,
I plan on building one ( cross of Delta T2 and Biese. ) sometime soon for an old Craftsman saw. Will try to take pictures and post it step by step. The Biese clone is the same as what this one will be except 2"x3" tube rather than 2"x2" tube.

Dick

[Andrew Nemeth]

For those of you who have built clones, have any of you had the rails precision ground? If not, how much variation do you get on the fence when you are perpendicular to the blade?

-Andrew

[Dick Brown]

Andrew,

As I said before, I have built a fair number of these fences and have found the tubing to be very uniform. I wash it with paint thinner to clean it up, run my belt sander over the areas that are in contact with the pads to take off any mill scale (which there never seems to be any) and some times mask off before painting but lots of the time paint the whole thing. If the paint is cured well and you keep the rails waxed, the paint stays just fine even where the UHMW pads ride. Have never been able to find any inconsistincy in the fence alighnment as it is moved across the width of the table. For a picture of one of my fences, check SMC for http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=41813&highlight=Dick+Brown

I no longer use a roller but do use UHMW "Set Screws" next to the locking cam to keep the fence very parallel to the blade when moving it
Dick

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have never had tube ground, as it is straight out of the box. Just be sure to put seam on the bottom. Having metal working tools ( horizontal metal cutting band saw, drill press, neighbor with a Bridgeport mill, stick and mig welder) really helps with these type of projects. But recently when Lowes was clearancing the Biese for $80, I picked up a couple.

[Mike Harrison]

Here are some pics of my fence. It has had alot of use over the years and shows it.

The materials cost is on the order of $50-$60 and the majority of time is spent cutting out the parts, sawing the tube to lenght and tapping all the holes.

I too have made a few of these for friends and as mentioned by others, have never found it necessary to grind any of the tubes.

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/12/34908462951.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7297561)

I have drawings in .DWG and .DXF formats, if anyone is interested, just PM me with your email addy.