I am planning to add an Accufence to my old Powermatic 66. I want to build an extension table that butts flush up to the table. So here is my question - Do I really need the back rail or can I use the Accufence as reliably without it?

On 1/1/19 1:29 PM, Onorbit wrote:
I am planning to add an Accufence to my old Powermatic 66. I want to
build an extension table that butts flush up to the table. So here is
my question - Do I really need the back rail or can I use the
Accufence as reliably without it?


If it's like the Biesemeyer fence, all the clamping is done on the front
rail with no involvement from a back rail.

So you could probably take off the back rail with no issues. I would
just make sure the back rail isn't acting as a structural rail for the
saw table/assembly in any way before removing it.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
www.mikedrums.com

On 1/1/2019 1:50 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
....

So you could probably take off the back rail with no issues.Â* I would
just make sure the back rail isn't acting as a structural rail for the
saw table/assembly in any way before removing it.

Not that familiar with the Model 66, eh? VBG

Them there's 100-lb solid cast iron extensions, there, good buddy! The
rear rail serves only as locking feature for the original fence.

--

On Tue, 1 Jan 2019 14:39:19 -0600, dpb wrote:

On 1/1/2019 1:50 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
...

So you could probably take off the back rail with no issues.* I would
just make sure the back rail isn't acting as a structural rail for the
saw table/assembly in any way before removing it.

Not that familiar with the Model 66, eh? VBG

Them there's 100-lb solid cast iron extensions, there, good buddy! The
rear rail serves only as locking feature for the original fence.

Thee Unisaw isn't much different, except that the back rail *is* there
for structure so the bolts into the top (and the iron) are in sheer,
rather than tension.

On 1/1/2019 1:29 PM, Onorbit wrote:
I am planning to add an Accufence to my old Powermatic 66. I want to build an extension table that butts flush up to the table. So here is my question - Do I really need the back rail or can I use the Accufence as reliably without it?


I had one of those fences, made by Jet. Anyway Yes you need that rail,
not so much directly for the fence but to hold up and support the table
extension that the fence will rest on. If the extension table does not
have enough support to stay on the same plane as the TS table or if the
extension bows your fence will reflect those deviations.

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence will
rest on.

On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
....

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence will
rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a PM
66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were still
being surface-ground at the factory in place before being removed again
for shipping...they quit that later to control some of the costs, but
they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to mate the main table
casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the "classic"
66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon washer to fit
the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on the table to let
it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help support the table
wings at all...

--

On 1/2/19 1:10 PM, dpb wrote:
On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
...

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence
will rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a PM
66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were still
being surface-ground at the factory in place before being removed again
for shipping...they quit that later to control some of the costs, but
they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to mate the main table
casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the "classic"
66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon washer to fit
the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on the table to let
it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help support the table
wings at all...

--

We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
www.mikedrums.com

On 1/2/2019 1:10 PM, dpb wrote:
On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
...

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence
will rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a PM
66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were still
being surface-ground at the factory in place before being removed again
for shipping...they quit that later to control some of the costs, but
they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to mate the main table
casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the "classic"
66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon washer to fit
the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on the table to let
it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help support the table
wings at all...

--

Understood but if you have or add the 50+" rip capacity the fence needs
a side extension that will be approximately 8~10" wider than 50". IIRC
most saws will have side extensions but not that far out from the blade.

On 1/2/2019 2:15 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 1/2/19 1:10 PM, dpb wrote:
On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
...

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence
will rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a PM
66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were still
being surface-ground at the factory in place before being removed
again for shipping...they quit that later to control some of the
costs, but they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to mate the
main table casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the
"classic" 66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon
washer to fit the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on
the table to let it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help
support the table wings at all...

--

We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.



Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table. I read
extension table to mean "extension table". And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

On 1/2/19 3:03 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/2/2019 2:15 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 1/2/19 1:10 PM, dpb wrote:
On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
...

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence
will rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a PM
66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were
still being surface-ground at the factory in place before being
removed again for shipping...they quit that later to control some of
the costs, but they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to
mate the main table casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the
"classic" 66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon
washer to fit the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on
the table to let it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help
support the table wings at all...

--

We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.



Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table.Â* I read
extension table to mean "extension table".Â* And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

Oops... yeah, I guess he didn't. Next time I need to read gooder.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
www.mikedrums.com

On 1/2/2019 3:56 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 1/2/19 3:03 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/2/2019 2:15 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 1/2/19 1:10 PM, dpb wrote:
On 1/2/2019 12:24 PM, Leon wrote:
...

The back rail is only to support the extension table that the fence
will rest on.

The back rail has absolutely no function to support the wings on a
PM 66; they're precision-milled castings bolted to the main table...

When mine was manufactured (still in McMinnville, TN), they were
still being surface-ground at the factory in place before being
removed again for shipping...they quit that later to control some of
the costs, but they're still milled flat w/ square, true edges to
mate the main table casting.

I don't know what they're now shipping for fence options; the
"classic" 66 had just a couple of 5/16" bolts with a formed nylon
washer to fit the round shape that bolted through oversized holes on
the table to let it be (the rail) adjusted to the table, not to help
support the table wings at all...

--

We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.



Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table.Â* I read
extension table to mean "extension table".Â* And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

Oops... yeah, I guess he didn't.Â*Â* Next time I need to read gooder.



;~0 eats all goot!

On 1/2/2019 4:56 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.


Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table. I read
extension table to mean "extension table". And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

Oops... yeah, I guess he didn't. Next time I need to read gooder.

I took him to mean out feed table as well. Extension wings could also
be what he meant. At any rate, IF he meant out feed table then there is
no need to butt the table to the saw. In fact a bit of space is
desirable to allow fingers under the wood to easily lift wood from the
table.

If he meant extension wings, then the back rail should have not
interfere with butting a table to the saw. It might be needed as Leon
explained but should in no way interfere with the task.
--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com

On 1/3/2019 7:29 AM, Jack wrote:
On 1/2/2019 4:56 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.


Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table.Â* I read
extension table to mean "extension table".Â* And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

Oops... yeah, I guess he didn't.Â*Â* Next time I need to read gooder.

I took him to mean out feed table as well.Â* Extension wings could also
be what he meant.Â* At any rate, IF he meant out feed table then there is
no need to butt the table to the saw. In fact a bit of space is
desirable to allow fingers under the wood to easily lift wood from the
table.

If he meant extension wings, then the back rail should have not
interfere with butting a table to the saw.Â* It might be needed as Leon
explained but should in no way interfere with the task.

Actually the support bar on the back side might ease attachment to the
back of the saw for the out feed, if that was what he meant.

Thanks for the input. I have a right wing side extension now and a table. My wing extension table is supported with a steel frame tied to the saw, so a back fence rail isnt needed to support the wing extension.

I currently have an old (1st generation) Excalibur Fence with 50€� rip. I am asking about the back rail because I want to build an outfeed table with a dust collection system underneath. I would like to build the outfeed table so it can be butted flush to the saw table with no gap. To do this I will need to change my current fence which isnt great (because it has the old c channel rails). It seems to me from looking online that an accufence doesnt really need a back rail to function. I was hoping to hear from anyone using an Accufence, Jet Exacta, or Beys w/o a back rail. Sorry for the confusion.

On 1/3/2019 1:19 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/3/2019 7:29 AM, Jack wrote:
On 1/2/2019 4:56 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
We're not talking about the side extensions.
We're talking out an out-feed table.


Well actually the OP he never mentioned out feed table. I read
extension table to mean "extension table". And yes if you add an
extension table, and especially if you add to a 50" rip capacity the
back rail is needed to support and prevent sag of the extension table.

Oops... yeah, I guess he didn't. Next time I need to read gooder.

I took him to mean out feed table as well. Extension wings could also
be what he meant. At any rate, IF he meant out feed table then there
is no need to butt the table to the saw. In fact a bit of space is
desirable to allow fingers under the wood to easily lift wood from the
table.

If he meant extension wings, then the back rail should have not
interfere with butting a table to the saw. It might be needed as Leon
explained but should in no way interfere with the task.

Actually the support bar on the back side might ease attachment to the
back of the saw for the out feed, if that was what he meant.

Yes, that's how I use mine. Bonus is t leaves just enough space for my
fingers to get under a piece of wood I just cut. I also have a cabinet
on wheels that butts up that table.

--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com