Finally got the Bies fence installed

[John Gregory]

I bought the fence from Lowe's some time ago for the wonderful price of $80. During the past week or so I built some new TS wings to replace the web ones on my Ridgid saw and moved the router from a table to the table saw wing. My old router table will be used for my Performax 10-20 sander. Floor space being the issue.
The Formica used for the surface was purchased from Lowes for about $15. It was broken almost in half, but the good areas were fine for my use. For router dust collection, I used the dust collection cabinet from Woodpeckers.com. I bought it a year ago at $59. The price today is $110. I drilled a 2.5 inch hole in the side of the cabinet for the 2.5" hose for the fence dust collection. I haven't used the router yet, so I have not tested performance of my set up.
I have used the TS with the new fence and I love it. The Ridgid fence was not bad, the Bies is just really nice. I would not have replaced the Ridgid fence if I had to spend $400+ for the bies fence. I shifted the guide tube to the right and now I have about a bit more than 39" rip to the right of the saw blade.
I have posted some pictures of my new set up. Thanks for looking.

[scott spencer]

That's a really slick set up John, and you can't be the price for such a top shelf rig. Enjoy!

[Duncan Potter]

Really Nice!

[glenn bradley]

John, congrats. That is one sweet looking setup.

[Jim O'Dell]

John, looks very good! I have the same saw and fence, but haven't tackled mounting mine yet. Your's sure seem to have longer rails than the 30" unit I got.
How many holes did you have to redrill to mount it? All of them or just some? I'm thinking I will scoot mine over to the right like I did the OEM fence. I never once had a thought about using it on the left side of the blade, so figure why not get to the side that I use it on the most. I will need to rebuild my extra table to the right when I do this. The one I built out of scrap counter top from a previous work place is not as flat as I would prefer.
Oh, and did you build new tables left and right to get rid of the open web pieces?
Thanks for the pictures! Jim.

[Grant Davis]

Very nice, I want to do the same thing to my Jet contractors saw.

[Robert Meyer]

I bet you're not missing the open grid wings that came with your saw. The new wings won't pinch so bad. Nice job mounting the router and keeping dust under control. I like your chop saw station - kind of like Norm's. Looks like a nice shop to work in!

[Joe Chritz]

What caliber handgun did you use to score that fence for $80? Do you feel guilty?

Nice looking set up, having used both the ridgid fence (on my saw) and the Biesemeyer on dad's I can say I would upgrade for more that $80 in a second. Not that the stock Ridgid fence is bad but it really doesn't compare.

Joe

[John Gregory]

I think I did a couple of holes front and back. I couldn't get the notch for the blade to line up just right because I had to position the holes to avoid interference with the table top. There were some ribs on the CI table top I had to avoid. Mine is the 30" rail set, someone on on the creek said you can move the guide tube 10" to the right and I did. I got about 39.5 inches to the right that way. I did rebuild the tables left and right. I hated the webbed wings the saw came with. I love the new set up that I have now. The stock fence was never a problem, but the bies is just better some how. I like the longer length of it, mades it easier to get the piece past the blade and still have good contact with the fence.


John, looks very good! I have the same saw and fence, but haven't tackled mounting mine yet. Your's sure seem to have longer rails than the 30" unit I got.
How many holes did you have to redrill to mount it? All of them or just some? I'm thinking I will scoot mine over to the right like I did the OEM fence. I never once had a thought about using it on the left side of the blade, so figure why not get to the side that I use it on the most. I will need to rebuild my extra table to the right when I do this. The one I built out of scrap counter top from a previous work place is not as flat as I would prefer.
Oh, and did you build new tables left and right to get rid of the open web pieces?
Thanks for the pictures! Jim.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Nicely done, you have inspired me to put a similar dust collection box under my router. Are you finding that the saw is tippy? I have the Shopfox Bies clone with 7' rails on my Unisaw and it is a bit tippy with the router out that far. I need to scrap the angle braces I made and put a proper outrigger on the mobile base, I guess.

[John Gregory]

The Bies fence system came with steel legs so the TS is very solid


Nicely done, you have inspired me to put a similar dust collection box under my router. Are you finding that the saw is tippy? I have the Shopfox Bies clone with 7' rails on my Unisaw and it is a bit tippy with the router out that far. I need to scrap the angle braces I made and put a proper outrigger on the mobile base, I guess.

[Chris Barnett]

Also scored the Bies from Lowes, but have not opened the box yet. Have Griz 1023 with Shop Fox fence, and not sure I still need it. Box was so heavy I thought it might also include a cast iron wing? Maybe the extra weight is the legs you mention.

[Jim O'Dell]

No wing, Chris. But this thing is STOUT!! All the angle iron is 1/4". It is made of quality materials. Jim.

[Grant Morris]

Do you even use that thing or do you just like to look at it? Not a spec of dust in sight...

[John Gregory]

No dust before I took the pictures. but it is dusty now. We are building a small kitchen cabinet for my MIL. A skinny one to match her existing cabs for cookie sheets. I have not used the router set up yet, just the saw. I love the solid wings covered with formica. And the Bies is a joy to use. The scale is dead on. Since I moved the guide tube 10" to the right, I had to install a new self sticking tape. One issue I had with the Ridgid fence, the red line where you read the tape was too wide IMHO and it was not right over the numbers on the stock tape. The Bies is easy to read.


Do you even use that thing or do you just like to look at it? Not a spec of dust in sight...