I don't have the budget to get a new table saw (as much as I would like to) but I am totally frustrated with my Craftsman rip fence and have put up with it for too long. So I am looking to upgrade and the thought of spending the $$ on a fence that is probably more than my saw cost when new is just insane. SO I am looking for alternative upgrades. I am hoping I can find a Delta T2 fence at a decent price but I am also curious if it is worth the effort to home build one. It does not look like it would be terribly difficult with the only challenge in the handle and clamping to the rail. So I am curious if anyone has made one themselves.
Yes, thanks Jim. Thanks for the interesting links. Those were very informative.
Hmmm, looks a little more involved than I thought. I was going to bolt mine together instead of welding. The clamping part looked a lot more complicated than what I was planning to design. So, I ended up ordering a Delta T3 fence from Lowes for $129 and it should be here in a week or so. This way My table saw should last a long time before I spend the $$ for a hybrid one in the future. It also leaves $$ for other tools I want/need.
I have the same problem with mine. I screwed a piece of partical board to the side of it with shims in the necessary places to keep it square to the table. Let us know how the delta fits on yours. I've wanted to look into that myself.
as Jim and anybody else who engages in woodworking knows, woodworking is an activity that frequently requires on-the-spot creation of some quick-and-dirty device needed for completing part of a woodworking project.
woodworking technology itself shows a "bottom-up" nature, meaning that it is from woodworkers working on the shop floor where most innovations in tools-hand and power-are visualized. one of my friends loves to repeat this, "necessity is the mother of invention"
Rick, I have seen a couple of sites out there that document the adaptation of the Delta fence onto a Craftsman table saw. I found this one on Instructables and the saw looks just like mine. Delta fence to Craftsman table saw
The instructions look pretty through and I know there is some drilling to be done but of the people that have done it, they seem happy with the results. I cannot think of this being anything but an improvement on the original fence.
I will post my results when I get it completed in a week or 2.
I've had many customers over the years look at the price of a Biesmeyer T-Square and exclaim that they could make one for pennies on the dollar.
None of them did…they always bought the Biesmeyer. I remember in the 80's when you would call Biesmeyer with a question and Bill Biesmeyer would answer the phone. A success story indeed for a hard working and innovative man.
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