Todd wrote:
Hi,

I aquired a radial arm saw without a table. I've built a new table out
of 2 pieces of 3/4 MDF laminated together. I plan on putting a
sacrificial top on it, as well embedding a fence into it. Which brings
me to the actual question. I need to know where to put the fence. How
far from the post of the RAS? Do I want the blade to be COMPLETELY
behind the fence when pushed all the way back?

I'm not going to be using the RAS for anything but cross cutting, so
I'm not going to use any clamping mechanisms to hold the fence in
place. I assumed I would put a 3/4 dado where I want the fence, and
just place a 3/4 MDF fence in the slot.


So...any thoughts about this? Also, how tall should the fence be?

- Thanks,

Todd

For the most part, whatever seems to make sense for your intended use
will be fine regarding both the position and the height of the fence.
Many factory fences are designed to allow you to reposition the fence
within the range of a few inches. Since I am of the camp that prefers
to pull the blade through the workpiece, I like the blade to be able to
sit completely behind the fence in the rest position. Occasionally I
will move the fence to get a few extra inches of crosscut capacity and
push the blade through the work. I do this much less now that I have a
table saw.

I made a taller fence for mine to give me some additional room to clamp
hold-downs and stops for repetitive cuts. You just have to make sure
it's not so tall as to interfere with the travel of the motor carriage.

It's a real timesaver to have a crosscut-dedicated RAS in the shop,
especially if you're in anything like a production mode. You might also
want to make some jigs for common mitre angles. It's nice to be able to
do that on the RAS if you have a table saw setup that you don't want to
change.

Enjoy it!
Tom