Hello All,
I am in dire need of an after-market fence for my very old Craftsman 10″ tilting arbor table saw. I have been contemplating purchasing the MuleCab fence as it is the cheapest but the only thing that bothers me a bit about this one is that it has a knob that you turn for locking the fence. I am so used to a lever that comes down to lock the table as it is visual and you know that it is locked when that lever is down. You might think this is a small thing but to me it is not. Also, I built an outfeed table that is attached to my TS so I would rather not have to put a rail on the back of the TS because I would have to modify the outfeed table. I know that the Biesemeyer and the MuleCab just require the front rail. The thing is should I spring for the Biesemeyer which is about $350 vs the Mulecab which is around $200? Anyone who has the Mulecab or a Biesemeyer or any other recommended fence I would love to hear your opinions. I’m also concerned about how difficult installation is of any of the after-market fences. I would appreciate any advice or opinions.
Regards,
Buzzsaw
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Gil Bailie
Replies
I went to the Biesemeyer on my Craftsman TS about 20 years ago. Three years ago I sold the TS, kept the Biesemeyer and installed it on my new 3hp cabinet saw. The cabinet saw came with a Shop Fox fence system, a biesemeyer clone. The Shop Fox wasn'tr bad but I swapped the systems and sold the Craftsman with the Shop Fox fence.
DougF,
Can you speak a bit about the installation process on the Craftsman and does your Biesemeyer have a back rail? It is my unerstanding that they do not.Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
There is no back rail. The bolt pattern on the Beisemeyer front rail may not line up with the TS but drilling through the cast iron TS top is no problem at all. Install the wing and your ready to go. I think it took less than an hour to mark, drill and mount it to the cabinet saw top and that included installing the formica-topped side wing.
Buzzsaw,
I went to the Vega 52" fence on my Craftsman 10" vintage early 90's. I have been very pleased with the results. The install was a piece of cake and all holes lined up fine. This unit has a front and rear rail that are fairly beefy. The actual fence is not quite as sturdy as the Beisemeyer but locks well with an up and down lever and does not have a large amount of flex. It also has a micro adjust feature. You can add custom built sacrificial fences and stops. I got mine at Rockler for around $260.
Hi All,
I have a Biesemeyer Home Shop T-Square fence system and it has both a fron and rear rail as does the Commercial version. As per the Q&A section on the Biesemeyer WEB site:
Since there is no back lock, a back table supported by the back rail can be installed flush to the back of your table saw. This completely eliminates the gap required by other fence systems.
However, it is relatively simple to attach an outfeed table to the rear rail, depending on the thickness of the outfeed table.
Bob
I put a Mulecab fence on my ancient Craftsman ts and it works very well. I had to drill a few holes front and back but it was pretty easy and now I can cut with great accuracy. See attatched file. The fence has t-slots to attach jigs, featherboards, etc. The scale has inch and metric readings. I also added some aliminum angle so I could add a folding extension table for my homemade cutoff sled. You can see what I built in the second pic.
gnome,
great job with the piece of furniture. first rate! I just bought a Vega fence yesterday and was starting to install it on my 1960 craftsman but i need to drill some holes for the back rail as there were none in this craftsman. so i'll be finishing it up over the weekend. looking forward to using the vega. i like your mulecab setup and the featherboard jig you have attached to it. nice work...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
I have made quite a few jigs and fixtures for my woodworking machines and projects. Without an accurate fence it would have been impossible. I drilled slightly oversized holes in my table to allow a loose fit for some fine tuning. Good luck with your projects.
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