New (to me) 1970(ish) Delta 34-450 - Questions/Guidance

try the search function, so many threads on fences and options.
rj in az

-- Living the dream

It came with the old style tubular rails and original delta fence. The work I am interested in doing is reasonably high precision, so I am worried that this old system will not be good enough for more than rough sizing.

The Jet-lock fence was a t-square type similar to the Biesemeyer and others. If your rails are in good condition, it is a nice fence and was used by thousands for many, many years without any issues. The main complaint is that you can’t just lift it up off the machine due to the rear lock. I would give it a try before throwing a few hundred more bucks at the machine.

As for the Biesemeyer, you will have to drill holes – which you will have to do regardless of what fence you get. They do not just bolt up right out of the box. Biesemeyer (and now Delta since they purchased them) made two fence types… a commercial version, and a home shop version. The main difference was the size of the rails/guide tube.

Cheers,
Brad

-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable

The original Jet-Lock fence (which sounds like what you have) is a very stout fence – does yours have the micro-adjuster (little knob on the lower right of the fence head)? A lot of folks like that and Biesemeyers and their clones don’t have it.

Accuracy vs Precision is what we need to understand here. If by high precision, you mean that you want to read and set the fence solely with the gauge/pointer on the Jet-Lock, then I understand where you are coming from as you will need an auxiliary way to measure your cuts. Honestly for high precision I use a tape or ruler anyway with my Biesemeyer-style Accu-Fence.

If by high precision you instead mean you need a fence that stays parallel after being set and re-set, the Jet-Lock is quite rigid and will work well.

FYI, the aftermarket Biesemeyer fences (and some clones) will have factory-drilled holes for the Unisaw and potentially others (Delta 12/14, PM66 come to mind). These can be found used. When properly aligned the Bieses usually stay aligned and the main issue with accurate (er, precise?) rips becomes, is the fence face laminate or UHMW (the latter of which can be wavy). I do not know if the clones always have Unisaw specific holes.

Do you have a budget in mind? And are you looking to avoid marking and drilling holes? Biesemeyer-style fences can be fabricated if you want to go that route. You could also purchase materials for just the rails and guide tube, and purchase a Verysupercooltools fence.