Classic Unifence issues

[Ray Schafer]

I love my unifence, but I haven't made any jigs for it yet. I especially need a sacrificial fence. Please share your ideas and point me to any designs for building jigs and fixtures for the unifence.

[Alan Turner]

It is not the easiest fence to jig up. I ended up making a piece of solid stock exactly 1" thick (so I could use the tape measure on the front rail more easily), and drilled through the rear side of the "T" track, and then attached with 3/4" screws. You will need a larger hole to accommodate the diameter of the screw head, and a smaller hole at the bottom of that. I use an electrician's split blade screwdriver to hold the screw, and use a slotted sheet metal screw for its coarse threads.

Mark the location of the screws so that you don't end up cutting them as you move the fence back and forth. I made it just a bit taller than the height of the fence, and sanded the top edge so I would not get splinters as I sort of grab the fence with my outside fingers as a registration device when I rip.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I bought an extra fence rail & attached a wood face to it. I later bought a Uni T fence rail from Peach Tree. It has worked out very well & has several T slots on it.

http://www.ptreeusa.com/uni_t_fence.htm

[Alex Carrera]

Rockler's universal fence clamps work well to hold on a sacrificial fence.

[Eric Haycraft]

I bought an extra fence rail & attached a wood face to it. I later bought a Uni T fence rail from Peach Tree. It has worked out very well & has several T slots on it.

http://www.ptreeusa.com/uni_t_fence.htm

I'll second the uni-t. Attaching featherboards / accessories is a breeze and I picked up the extra length one which is also a wonderful upgrade. It is pretty easy to attach things to it since it has tons of t slots for bolting to. I have it on my Dewalt Hybrid and I have been trying to think up a way to get it on my XACTA when that arrives.

[Lance Norris]

For a sacrificial fence for the Unifence, I just clamp a jointed flat 2x4 to the tall side of the fence face with F-clamps. If you have an extra $100 bucks, the Uni-T is the way to go. I have one and its a good upgrade.

[David DeCristoforo]

Drill a couple of holes in the fence bar. Get a couple of screws. This is "one of those things" that I don't understand...why do the mfgrs not provide these in the first place?

YM

PS Same thing for "Biesemeyer" type fences except the holes are not as easy to drill and you need longer screws...

[Rick Potter]

I just drilled two 3/16" or so holes in the fence, did a slight countersink on the face so nothing would catch on it, slapped a piece of melamine coated part board against it, an used short screws to attach it to the fence. Took all of 5 minutes, and cost nada.

Later, I machined 't' slots in the board. Now I can use it for jigs and featherboards.

It has worked fine for years.


Rick Potter

[Ray Schafer]

That is what I am going to do. Thanks for the ideas. I was afraid to drill a hole until I had looked at the options.