Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the Craftsman?

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as stable
as I'd hoped. Since the saw works just fine my thought was to fit it with a
Bies rip fence but I can no longer find any information concerning Craftsman
saws on the Biesemeyer web site.

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed. Yes, I
know I'll eventually have to replace the TS but that won't be for a while.
I have a brand-new-in-the-box flexidrive shaft on the shelf so I'm good to
go for the foreseeable future.

I have used the Biesemeyer fence but never really noticed how it is mounted.
Just put a Vega on my Hitachi a few weeks ago. Highly recommended. You might
want to look into this. It is very easy to mount on a wide range of saws
and, such as was the case with my saw, If you do have to make any
modifications, it would be no more than drilling a new hole in one of the
rails. The fence locks up solid and strait and stays that way.

"Chuck Hoffman" wrote in message
. ..
Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the
Craftsman?

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as
stable
as I'd hoped. Since the saw works just fine my thought was to fit it with
a
Bies rip fence but I can no longer find any information concerning
Craftsman
saws on the Biesemeyer web site.

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed. Yes,
I
know I'll eventually have to replace the TS but that won't be for a while.
I have a brand-new-in-the-box flexidrive shaft on the shelf so I'm good to
go for the foreseeable future.

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as
stable as I'd hoped.

What do you mean by "not as stable"?

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed.

How inaccurate is your current fence? What is causing it to be inaccurate?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

I can set the fence to about .002" over its length but it doesn't stay there
very long. It's slow to position because I have to be very careful not to
knock it out of adjustment. And because it's a rear-locking type it WILL
easily lock in a non-parallel position. I'm looking for a T-square type -
prefereably steel - so I can be confident that it's true when I set it.

Also, I'd like to make an outfeed table that fastens to the rear angle iron
and you can't do that with a rear-locking fence like the Align-A-Rip.
Another point - all of the reviews I read say the Bies deflects less than
the other T-square types when in use.

Am I trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear? Perhaps, but as long
as the table is flat, the motor turns the blade (and a stacked dado set) and
the arbor is parallel to the miter slot what else do I need?

"Stoutman" .@. wrote in message
...
I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as
stable as I'd hoped.

What do you mean by "not as stable"?

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed.

How inaccurate is your current fence? What is causing it to be
inaccurate?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

Am I trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

I don't think so. My fence isn't the best (stock fence on a delta
contractor's saw), but it is good enough for now until I upgrade my saw.

Perhaps, but as long as the table is flat, the motor turns the blade (and a
stacked dado set) and the arbor is parallel to the miter slot what else do
I need?

I see nothing wrong with trying to get the most precision possible out of a
table saw.

You might want to check out my review of the TS-Aligner Jr.

http://www.garagewoodworks.com/TS_aligner.htm

"Chuck Hoffman" wrote in message
. ..
Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the
Craftsman?

Several years ago I upgraded my Crafts cast Iron TS to a Bies clone, the Jet
Exacta fence, Holes did not align however drilling the cast iron TS tops
is slightly harder than drilling wood. These cast iron tops are very easy
to drill.

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as
stable as I'd hoped. Since the saw works just fine my thought was to fit
it with a Bies rip fence but I can no longer find any information
concerning Craftsman saws on the Biesemeyer web site.

I was very happy with the Bies style fence. there was no more wondering if
the fence was parallel to the blade and you can use the scale to set the rip
distance. No more using a tape measure to set the width of cut.
Now I have a Jet cabinet saw with the same stile fence and am still very
happy with it. Worrying with the fence has not been a wood working factor
for about 10 years now.


I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed. Yes,
I know I'll eventually have to replace the TS but that won't be for a
while. I have a brand-new-in-the-box flexidrive shaft on the shelf so I'm
good to go for the foreseeable future.

I would recommend possibly the commercial grade Biese fence. It will be big
enough for a cabinet saw should you go that route in the future. Some saw
manufacturers allow you to buy with out a fence.

On Mar 3, 12:56 pm, "Chuck Hoffman" wrote:
Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the Craftsman?

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as stable
as I'd hoped. Since the saw works just fine my thought was to fit it with a
Bies rip fence but I can no longer find any information concerning Craftsman
saws on the Biesemeyer web site.

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed. Yes, I
know I'll eventually have to replace the TS but that won't be for a while.
I have a brand-new-in-the-box flexidrive shaft on the shelf so I'm good to
go for the foreseeable future.

Check into how much it will cost for the fence by itself, compared to
buying the fence with a table saw thrown in. Sometimes it does make
economic sense to nto upgrade but to start fresh. If the Biesmeyer
fence is $350 and the fence with a saw thrown in is $700, it might
make sense to just get the new saw.

"CW" wrote in message
nk.net...
I have used the Biesemeyer fence but never really noticed how it is
mounted.
Just put a Vega on my Hitachi a few weeks ago. Highly recommended. You
might
want to look into this. It is very easy to mount on a wide range of saws
and, such as was the case with my saw, If you do have to make any
modifications, it would be no more than drilling a new hole in one of the
rails. The fence locks up solid and strait and stays that way.



I can second this. Last year I put Vega 50" fence on my Delta Contractor
saw to get a couple more years out of it. It has worked great. Installation
and Set-up is easy and once aligned, the fence is rock solid. The lehgth
allowed me to add an extension table and mount my router there so I can use
the fence for both.

Neil Larson

On Mar 3, 1:56�pm, "Chuck Hoffman" wrote:
Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? *Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the Craftsman?

I have an old flexishaft driven Craftsman (possibly made by Emerson) to
which I fitted a recent Craftsman Align-A-Rip fence but it is not as stable
as I'd hoped. *Since the saw works just fine my thought was to fit it with a
Bies rip fence but I can no longer find any information concerning Craftsman
saws on the Biesemeyer web site.

I'm trying to do fine cabinetry so I need accuracy and setup speed. *Yes, I
know I'll eventually have to replace the TS but that won't be for a while.
I have a brand-new-in-the-box flexidrive shaft on the shelf so I'm good to
go for the foreseeable future.

I have an old Unisaur that I needed to mount a Biesmeyer style fence
to. I only had the fence, without the rails.
I checked the sizes of the steel needed, and went to a steel supplier
and bought the angle iron and rectangular tubing, cut to my specified
lengths. I went oversize on the tube, just because I thought the orig.
was a little thin. Total cost was about $65.
The mounting would be the same on any saw. Line up, measure, measure,
measure, drill holes and bolt on.
Talk about a sturdy fence!
If you have the rails, just line it up, and drill some holes

Their "universal" rail will fit most saws and if not a
drill bit is the only thing required to make it fit.

http://www.biesemeyer.com/commer_fence/index.htm

These are infamous "swiss cheese" fence rails that
have a "lot" of holes predrilled.



Chuck Hoffman wrote:

Does Biesemeyer still make a rip fence drilled for older Craftsman table
saws? Or is the hole pattern for Delta saws the same as for the Craftsman?