Jon Radder said:Can I have a handicap cause that's a lot of questions for me?
Seems we have are having an influx of new members just wanting to promote an unrelated product and/or website. Perhaps we need a quiz as part of the membership sign up. Must get 2 out of 3 simple train related questions correct in order to get membership.
Biggest issue I have with my Craftsman 10" (circa 1990) is I can’t get the arbor shaft perpendicular to the ‘T’ Square slot. That is the first requirement to accurizing a table saw. I finally gave up and bought another brand table saw. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I purchased the RIDGID brand at Home Depot. The arbor perfectly aligned right out of the box, and the rip fence was not quite as good as the Biesmeyer, but almost.
I have a 10" Craftsman for sale if anyone is interested (tongue in cheek). 
Bob C.
Bob Cope said:
Biggest issue I have with my Craftsman 10" (circa 1990) is I can't get the arbor shaft perpendicular to the 'T' Square slot. That is the first requirement to accurizing a table saw. I finally gave up and bought another brand table saw. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I purchased the RIDGID brand at Home Depot. The arbor perfectly aligned right out of the box, and the rip fence was not quite as good as the Biesmeyer, but almost.I have a 10" Craftsman for sale if anyone is interested (tongue in cheek).
Bob C.
Is just the fence for sale???
… the whole saw, fence included.
The commentary was pointed at the fact that without the arbor of the saw absolutely perpendicular to the machined ‘T’ Square slot in the table, even the best fence will not do a proper job of getting clean rips. I made the tongue in cheek comment because first, I would not sell that saw to people I would like to stay associated with, and second the shipping to most of the members would cost far more than I could sell the saw for.
Bob C.
Bob you can go to
http://www.beaverwwsupplies.com/
across the street from the Brocton Hospital
You could go and ask/see fences.
Sean
I’m confused. What does the T-slot have to do with the rip fence? If the fence is set parallel to the blade (or perhaps VERY slightly angled away from the back teeth), the rips should come out fine.
Steve
Steve,
Let me see if I can walk you through this. The top of the table saw is (on most) a machined component. The top is machined flat and the ‘T’ square slots are machined perpendicular to the leading edge of the table and parallel to each other. The arbor that the blade is mounted to is bolted to the bottom of the table, ergo subject to mis-alignment. Most saws are aligned relatively well at the factory, but the grade of saw most model railroaders can afford (typically a contractors grade) is somewhat subject to higher tolerances than a much higher priced cabinet makers saw.
The fence needs to be parallel to the saw blade, period. Any mis-alignment will cause the blade to rake the workpiece on exit of the blade on one side or the other. Secondly, if the blade is not parallel to the ‘T’ slot, then your ‘T’ square will not make clean cuts when you cross cut material. This may not be particularly important on hobby size material as most of it will be small enough to not rake on the exit side of the blade, but if you use your saw for other purposes as I do, I can not accept that.
You will also get far better life out of saw blades if the saw is adjusted properly as all the cutting surfaces are cutting cleanly and not binding (causing that terrible burned smell and dark arches on your work pieces), where the saw is binding.
Spend some time to read the instructions for your saw and get it in good alignment and I will be surprised if you don’t realize a marked improvement in the quality of the output of the saw and a general easier time making the cutting adjustments for projects.
Bob C.
Bob,
Thanks for the tutorial. I certainly agree with you that a well-adjusted saw is a pleasure to use. All of mine are and I make a point of keeping them that way.
FWIW, my comment was directed to the fact that the rip fence only needs to be parallel to the blade to work well, and has nothing at all to do with the T-slot. The miter gauge is a different matter, of course.
We’re on the same page, though it seems we’re drifting off-topic a bit.
Cheers, Steve
Bob,
I too purchased the Rigid Table Saw from Homeless Despot and while the assembly instructins left a lot to be desired the saw worked flawlessly without any need for adjustment after assembly. Checking the blade to the fence with my calipers I found the difference to be less than .0005 which is the extent my calipers can measure. It was the same for the t-slot too. I had looked at cheaper contractors style saws and simply was unimpressed with the fences no matter what the price was.
Chas
Chas,
I picked mine up in a garage sale. The fellow had the Table Saw and Joiner NIB and the Drill Press, Thickness Planer and Band Saw assembled. It appeared that the only two he used were the band saw and the drill press. Got the whole lot for 2K. Been pleased with all of them.
Bob C.
I know this thread is a bit old, but I thought I’d chime in with my favorite saw fence: the Vega. http://www.vegawoodworking.com/table%20saw%20fences.html It’s made out of aluminum rather than steel like the Biesmeyer, so it is a bit lighter (I think) which is nice when it comes to removing it for crosscuts. Nice big rectangular cross-section is plenty stiff and easy to clamp to. Micro-adjuster is standard - I use that feature all the time. Another nice feature is the slotted track in the top: I machined a board that slides into it and mounted my Board Buddies to it. A handy Vega accessory that rides in the track is a combo thin strip pusher and 1" offset disk that is used for setting up a stop for repetitive crosscut lengths.
My son got experience with the Biesmeyer fence in high school wood shop class, and he said he liked the Vega better. Here are some more opinions on Biesmeyer, Unifence and Vega fences: http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/fence_comparison.shtml
I have mine mounted on a early '80s vintage 10" Craftsman table saw. I bought the fence in the late '80s once I convinced myself it wasn’t going to be a foolish expenditure, and I haven’t regretted it a bit. I love it. It turned a almost-POS saw into a decent tool. Still no Delta Unisaw, but good enough for my hobby work. Mounting to the Sears saw was straightforward. I recently recommended it to a friend, and he was pleased with the difference it made on his saw, too. The fences are sold on Amazon and a couple of models by Rockler, among other retailers.