Dan wrote in message .. .
On Thu 04 Dec 2003 04:34:11p, (Tom Murphy) wrote in
om:

Hi Everyone,

I've done my due diligence with a Google search, but since I'm so new
to this world I'm not sure I understand what I'm reading.

Okay, to the point...

I'm considering the purchase of a modestly priced table saw such as
the Grizzly 1022 series. What is a reasonable expectation for accuracy
of the standard fence on a quality machine, specifically with regard
to it being parallel to the blade?

I will not be doing super precise work so I'm less concerned about the
width scale, but in my opinion, a table saw fence is useless if it
does not reliably clamp to parallel within a few hundredths of an inch
over the length of the table.

Am I going to have to buy a top-end fence to get there? I truly feel
that if I have to manually adjust the angle of the fence for every
set-up, then I might as well stick with the circular saw for my
current work.

I have a Griz 1022, and unless they've improved it within the last year or
so, yes, you have to check the fence every time you move it. Before I put
the Vega fence on it I followed DJ Delories' advice and kept a rule handy.
Half-clamp the fence, check the distance from the fence to the nearest
miter slot at the front, check it again again at the back. Most of the time
it was off by a little bit. A sixteenth or so. It was easy to tap it into
line then fully clamp the fence tight and then it stayed right there. Other
times it was dead on. But the Vega fence is dead on, every single time.

I believe you can get the Griz contractor's saw - I don't think they make
the 1022 anymore, they've started selling that saw, slightly modified,
under a new number - with a Shop Fox option. I've heard good things about
that fence. Not great, but good.

But yeah, I don't believe you can trust the standard Griz fence to always
be within a few hundredths of an inch front to back, no matter how long you
mess with the adjustments. It works fine if you keep an eye on it, but I
don't consider it to be a "move it and clamp it" fence.

Others might have different opinions. :-)

Dan

That pretty much answers the question. A quality fence that is
properly adjusted is expected to repeatably clamp parallel within
"useful" accuracy. If I go with the Grizzly, I'll wait until I can
afford the fence upgrade.

Thanks Dan and everyone!

Tom