Need advice selecting fence for Unisaw

[Bill Dufour]

I've enjoyed my Unifence for almost 30 years. The only shortcoming is swapping sides of the blade takes a little more time. It's advantages far outweigh that. If you can find one, snap it up quickly.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

If that is a big deal just permanently mount a peachtree fence on the other side.
Bill D

[Charles Lent]

For tose of you that like the Unifence, but complain about it's stiffness and the lack of T slots to attach things like Board Buddies, Peachtree Woodworking sells a new fence extrusion for the Unifence. It has T slots on the top, perfectly spaced for Board Buddies, and a T slot high on the face side for feather boards, etc. This fence extrusion is more square in profile, and slides on and off of the Unifence casting just like the original Unifence extrusion. I have one, but kept the original, so I can quickly switch to the fence that will work best for the job at hand. Peachtree also sold a 16" long version of this extrusion and I have one that I used frequently as a stop when cutting pieces to length with the miter gauge. Of course, you can pull the long fence extrusion back to do the same thing, but for me this gets in my way.
The Peachtree fence extrusion can be found here. https://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_unifence.html . They don't seem to list the 16" long version of this fence any more, but may still have it, if you ask about it.

Charley

[Jim Andrew]

I have a Bies on my Unisaw, and the adjustable euro fence on my Hammer K3, and there are advantages to be able to adjust the fence for length, and rotate it for low or high. Think I would just buy what comes up handy for your saw. Either are good.

[Ed Edwards]

I noticed a small amount of flex at the rear end of the Unifence when 3/4" 4x8 plywood.
All I did to correct the concern was to after setting the fence, I clamped a wood block to the back side of the fence, actually to the table. EZ on,EZ off.

Ed

[Rod Sheridan]

In my opinion the Unifence is the best choice, it gives you safety advantages of a multifunction Euro fence.....Regards, Rod

[Jim Becker]

I've enjoyed my Unifence for almost 30 years. The only shortcoming is swapping sides of the blade takes a little more time. It's advantages far outweigh that. If you can find one, snap it up quickly.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

It's pretty rare that a worker will put their table saw fence on the opposite side of the blade so for most folks, that's not a factor.

[Charles Lent]

I can't believe that anyone would complain about shifting a Unifence for left or right side cutting when all that is necessary is to loosen two wing nuts, slide the fence extrusion forward on the saw table, rotate it end for end, remove the clamping plate and wing nuts and reverse it's position, and then slide the fence extrusion back into position on the opposite side of the main fence casting and tighten the wing nuts. Yea, a little more time than just using the opposite side of a Biesmeyer Fence, but certainly not a lot of trouble, and I like how much straighter the Unifence or Uni-T-Fence extrusion is over the side covers of a Biesmeyer fence, and how much more can be done with a Unifence. I use a Biesmeyer at work and much prefer using my Unifence on my home Unisaw.

Charley

[Mike Kees]

I can't believe that anyone would complain about shifting a Unifence for left or right side cutting when all that is necessary is to loosen two wing nuts, slide the fence extrusion forward on the saw table, rotate it end for end, remove the clamping plate and wing nuts and reverse it's position, and then slide the fence extrusion back into position on the opposite side of the main fence casting and tighten the wing nuts. Yea, a little more time than just using the opposite side of a Biesmeyer Fence, but certainly not a lot of trouble, and I like how much straighter the Unifence or Uni-T-Fence extrusion is over the side covers of a Biesmeyer fence, and how much more can be done with a Unifence. I use a Biesmeyer at work and much prefer using my Unifence on my home Unisaw.

Charley

I agree with Charley completely. When I bought my first Unisaw it was about 15 years old and had never been used,the switch was not even wired in. it came with a 52'' Unifence complete with all the hardware in little bags ready to be assembled. It also included a short fence section about 12'' long. That is the most useful thing,especially with a crosscut box. I use both a Unifence and a Biesmeyer fence regularily. In my mind they are the two best fence systems ever designed. The Bies is perfect for ham handed users and heavy stock. The Uni is the more versatile and refined . kind of like a comparison of a Budwieser draft horse to a Throughbred race horse. They both have their strengths ,but if I had to choose only one it would be a Unifence.

[Andy D Jones]

If that is a big deal just permanently mount a peachtree fence on the other side.
Bill D

The extrusion clamping knobs (loosened to slide the fence extrusion fore/aft, tweak it's height above table, or swap between high/low faces) would interfere with another fence extrusion on the opposite side of the head.

It really isn't difficult to swap sides, but it is more involved than just sliding a B fence to the other side of the blade.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Michael Drew]

I have a mid 90's unisaw. Installed the Incra fence. Love it so much, I installed one on my router table too. They are not perfect, or for everyone. What I like most, is the repeatability and micro adjustment - one click is one thou.