Upgrading TS Fence

[Daniel McCurdy]

Hello everyone. I'm in need of a better fence for my Grizzly G1023. Its an older model that has a basic short rail fence. Saw is in great shape, and I got it at a good price. I don't have a picture with me here, but I'll try to get one up a little later tonight. I'm not sure its worth the time explaining why the fence needs to be replaced, so let me get to the main question here...

While I'd like to put a REALLY nice fence on there like a Biesemeyer, it just doesn't seem to make sense for me to do that when I'd pay almost as much for the fence as I did for the saw. Plus, if I wanted to spend that right now, it would probably make more sense to sell the saw and get a new one with a Shop Fox classic fence on there. Not ready to pull the trigger on that yet, so I'm looking for some advice here.

Can anyone give me their opinion on the Aluma-classic Fence from Shop Fox? I see these more on the contractor type saws as opposed to the cabinet saws. Not so much asking if it will fit, but more if its a good fence. The other option I see within a decent price range would be the Shop Fox Classic Fence. Still, not sure I want to drop (with tax and shipping) $335 for the long rail Classic. What would you all think if I could get a long rail Aluma-classic for around $135 to my door?

THANKS!!!

[Lee Koepke]

i sent a PM.

i re-read your post, and you may be looking for a larger rip capacity, so if so, never mind....

[Mark Engel]

Check CraigsList and EBay.

When I upgraded the fence on my 1023 I sold my 50" ShopFox Classic on CraigsList for $150.00. For that price I also included the tableboard I had made for it.

[Daniel McCurdy]

Check CraigsList and EBay.

When I upgraded the fence on my 1023 I sold my 50" ShopFox Classic on CraigsList for $150.00.

Done it. Haven't seen much of what I'm looking for...at least for now. Can you give me your opinion on the classic fence?

[Chris Padilla]

Well, even if you spend as much on your fence as you did your saw, you can always upgrade the saw later and keep the newer fence.

I wouldn't necessarily compare the price of the saw with the price of the fence. Grizzly saws last a while and are a very good value even brand new (I have a 1023Z bought in 2000--doing well). Spend some money (~300-400) on a good fence and it will last a long time. I'm partial to Incra for my TS fence.

Best of luck to you.

[Cary Falk]

Daniel,
I like my Shop Fox Classic fence except for the cursor. Did you price the fence through a Shop Fox Dealer? I got my fence (7' with legs)last summer through a local dealer for $279.

[Mark Engel]

Done it. Haven't seen much of what I'm looking for...at least for now. Can you give me your opinion on the classic fence?

As many have stated, I did not like the cursor system. I never was able to get the original measuring tape set up correctly. I purchased a new one that was a bit wider and that one got pretty chewed up over the course of a couple of years because the fence clamping mechanism clamped right down on the edge of the tape.

I also did not like having a back rail that the fence rides on. Before I got the 1023Z I had a Delta contractors saw with a Unifence that I liked a lot. I ended up buying a Unifence with the Uni-T-Fence bar as an upgrade. That fence will be installed on any saw I may get in the future. But I probably won't ever need to replace the Griz.

[Eddie Darby]

I have a after-market fence that is a Mule Accusquare and I am quite happy with it.
There now is out a improved version, Red Line, that doesn't cost a whole lot like the big guys.

http://store.thesawshop.com/catalogue/default.php

The nice thing about it is that you don't have to drill any holes into your saw.
Nice "T" tracks, and beefier construction.

[Tom Henderson2]

Lowe's has the Delta T2 30" for $150, sometimes on sale for less. To me, that seemed to be the value leader and I installed one on my old Craftsman CS last weekend.

The Craftsman top is 1 1/2 inches thick, while the T2 is designed for Delta saws that have 1 5/8 thick tops. So the edge distance for the mounting holes is a bit tight, and requires providing your own 1/4" fasteners instead of the Delta-provided M8 stuff. It also requires some fairly precise layout work to get everything to fit properly, but once that is done it seems to work quite well.

It is surely a HUGE step up from the mid-sixties vintage Sears fence.

If I had it to do over again... I might pop for a Bies. It has more resale value if/when I ever upgrade to a cabinet saw, or I could keep it if it made sense. With the Delta, the resale value is much less. So in the long run, the Bies may be a better deal.

But for me, right now, saving $300 on the fence made since since I have many other needs.... as I'm kinda just getting started in this woodworking stuff.

Hope this helps.

=Tom H.
Ventura, CA

[James Suzda]

Keep checking Craig's list for Shop Fox and Bies fences. There are still some Lowe's Sale Bies fences for sale out there. But, even if you find one for $50 or a $100 the shipping will kill you! (Why don't you put a "wanted" ad on Craig's list.)
I've got a Shop Fox Classic on my Grizzly saw and I find that it is very accurate but it took me awhile to get it that way. There are a few thousands of "wavyness" to the faces, but it all evens out by time the wood gets to the sharp parts of the blade. Also, I tossed the magnifying glass cursor and made a new one out of some plexiglas.

[Don Eddard]

I see the fence as being as important as the saw. It's hard to get good accurate cuts if either of them is not pretty decent. Your Grizzly saw is a good foundation to build upon, so any investment in a good fence will likely pay off in the long run. Plus as was already mentioned, you can always keep the fence if you happen to upgrade the saw. I'd recommend buying the best you can, and not cutting corners (within the limits of your budget).

[Daniel McCurdy]

Hey everyone, I was lucky enough to have a father that held onto his past issues of Wood Magazine and he had the issue that reviewed the TS fences. Its a tough call here. From the review, looks like the Bies and the Vega are at the top list for performance and cost value with the ShopFox Classic up there as well. The T2 didn't do that great, but was certainly respectable at the current Lowes price of $150.

I think what I'll do is just plan on waiting a bit for the right deal to come by on either a ShopFox Classic, Biesemeyer, or Vega fence. I've got some time before my next project comes up anyway, plus I can still use my current fence for a bit even if I have to measure every cut first. If it comes to where I need it before I can find the right deal, I'll pull the trigger on it and go get one new.