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Thread: New Tablesaw Fence Rails?

  1. #1
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    New Tablesaw Fence Rails?

    So I'm looking for a bit of help with extending the fence on my early 90s Grizzly G1023.

    Grizzly has not made a rail kit for this table saw for a number of years. Currently the saw has the original 32" rails, which I like to extend to 52" or longer. Otherwise I'm fine with the fence system, ever if it moves a bit when locking down. The rails themselves are a bit of angle iron in the back, angle iron in the front, and square stock bolted to that. I believe the square stock has been ground in some manner. It seems to me that I can just figure out the square stock, and angle iron dimensions, and have it cut to length.

    Does anybody have any advice for making sure the square stock has a pretty close tolerance? Is there a particular type of steel that I should request? Is it possible to ask for it to be ground flat to further ensure it's reasonable flat.

  2. #2
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    Check out "Very Super Cool Tools". https://vsctools.com/

  3. #3
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    Thanks, I found him (again) after doing some more searching. He doesn't seem to spend any time discussing differences in metal square tubing stock, so I guess it's either a non-issue, or something he doesn't think about. Considering how exhausting the detail he usually goes into is, and how well the final product works, it would appear to be a non issue.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Does anybody have any advice for making sure the square stock has a pretty close tolerance? Is there a particular type of steel that I should request?
    You're probably looking for A513 Cold Drawn Seamless Square/Rectangle Tubing, Also called Mechanical Tubing.

    You want to stay clear of Structural Square/Rectangle Tubing, Structural square tubing usually has rounded corners.

    https://www.wheatland.com/wheatland-...ctural-tubing/

    Doug

  5. #5
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    I had an old Craftsman table saw that I made new rails for. I just went to a local metal supplier and bought matching "square" tubing and angle iron (longer, of course). I even impressed myself at how accurate it was. I don't have that saw any more, but I would have matched the accuracy with the PM66 I have now.

    Wayne

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Walls View Post
    You're probably looking for A513 Cold Drawn Seamless Square/Rectangle Tubing, Also called Mechanical Tubing.

    You want to stay clear of Structural Square/Rectangle Tubing, Structural square tubing usually has rounded corners.
    Thanks, I'll see if I can find something. From what I can tell most structural square tubing has a tolerance of (1/8" X length in feet) / 5, which means a maximum deviation from straight of 0.175 or ~3/16" over the 7'. Currently my plan is to go to the local Metal Supermarkets outlet with a straight edge, and verify.

    What's the issues with rounded corners please?

    Also not seeing A513 outside of online dealers. Is it really that much better in terms of tolerance? I can't seem to find any specs on A513.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    What's the issues with rounded corners please?
    The structural square tubing usually has the rounded corners & sometimes has a slight concave flat surface. It's also usually thicker wall material.

    The mechanical square tubing has a flatter surface & the corners are more defined & square-shaped, It's usually made with thinner wall material.

    Doug
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Also not seeing A513 outside of online dealers. Is it really that much better in terms of tolerance? I can't seem to find any specs on A513.
    Yeah I really never fully understood all the metal specs out there!
    A lot of the information on the steel's specs like (A500/A513) has to do with structural & mechanical requirements.

    I usually try to get the mechanical style square tubing with the squarer corners, I've also seen it listed as architectural square tubing.

    Doug

  9. #9
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    Interesting. It's true that I don't need super thick walls on the tubing, though it might help with deflection of the fence.

    There are a number of specs, but really the out of true seems to be the only number that I need to be concerned about. Everything else any sort of steel should easily exceed.

  10. #10
    I've made several "Biesemeyer" clones over the years. Use 1/4" (or 3/16") 2 X 3 for front angle, with a 14 ga 2 X 3 with tubing attached to it. The hardest part is getting tubing to be EXACTLY parallel with the angle. Since my neighbor has a Bridgeport mill, with DRO table, we drill the angle with the correct hole to tap for a 1/4-20 machine screw. Clamp angle, with a spacer between tubing and angle, then drill one hole at each end using same size drill bit. Remove angle, tap hole in the tube, and drill out these two holes in the angle to 1/4". Bolt angle and tube together, then using bit drill out rest of holes in tube. Detach angle, and drill holes in angle to 1/4". Tap holes in tube for 1/4-20 bolts

  11. #11
    I've made several "Biesemeyer" clones over the years. Use 1/4" (or 3/16") 2 X 3 for front angle, with a 14 ga 2 X 3 with tubing attached to it. The hardest part is getting tubing to be EXACTLY parallel with the angle. Since my neighbor has a Bridgeport mill, with DRO table, we drill the angle with the correct hole to tap for a 1/4-20 machine screw. Clamp angle, with a spacer between tubing and angle, then drill one hole at each end using same size drill bit. Remove angle, tap hole in the tube, and drill out these two holes in the angle to 1/4". Bolt angle and tube together, then using first bit drill out rest of holes in tube. Detach angle, and drill holes in angle to 1/4". Tap holes in tube for 1/4-20 bolts. This way, holes in angle and tube line up exactly.

  12. #12
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    I just recently made a set of rails following the VSCT information for my Grizzly 1023. The new ones are 60" and I love them. As for the tubing and angle, I purchased structural and it worked just fine.

  13. #13
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    Thanks Lisa, that's exactly what I was looking for!

  14. #14
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    Helensburgh, Australia
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    If I was going to build a fence I would take a long hard look at this

    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  15. #15
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    Oakley, CA
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    Ingenious, but sure seems like a lot of work for an old Craftsman contractor saw.

    Wayne

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