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I’m looking to replace the fence on my Ridgid 4512.

Wondering if anyone has ever sprung for an aftermarket fence, and if anyone has any recommendations or cons about the various fences out there?

Ideally, I would like a fence that didn’t require a back rail in order to embed the saw top in a bench without having to leave a gap for the back rail…

TIA

I have the same hybrid table saw. I love the Vega aftermarket fence I installed on it a number of years ago:

https://vegawoodworking.com/product/table-saw-fence/

However, it does use both front and back rails.

I bought a Biesemeyer Fence BC30 for my Delta Unisaw Hybrid clone by Craftsman, about 20 years ago.
I love it, its solid, precise and ABOVE ALL: IT'S SMOOTH. It just glides on UHMW patches, but feels almost like air bearings.

If I wouldn't have experienced this fence, I would have bought a SawStop saw by now. But I do not like the coarseness of the fences that I've encountered at retailers.

Biesemeyer was bought by Deltaportercable. I found the fence available at zoro.com for $760 + 110 freight. It looks the same, but I couldn't say if it works the same...
It has a rear rail, but it's only use is to attach a "mandatory" side table to make the span 50".
I don't know that the rear rail has any other purpose, and nothing about the fence touches the rear rail.
A link to the instruction manual is attached as well.



https://www.zoro.com/biesemeyer-delta-3 ... 308664376/

https://www.mikestools.com/download/Del ... 20BC50.pdf

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Don, does it actually clamp to the back rail, or does it just glide on the back rail in the empty space between the rails?

That’s a spicy meatball price for a fence, wasn’t expecting that!

Ebay has some listings too....

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

I have a sawstop ts with their fence and I love it. Very accurate, easy to adjust and only uses a front rail. I think they sell just the fence.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I also have the Sawstop and am very happy with the fence. It’s very easy to use. Adapting it to another brand of saw would probably take some custom work.

I bought a smaller Kreg fence for one of my bandsaws. It works. It has adjustments for everything. But it’s a bit clunky and takes a while to position. Maybe installed by someone smarter than me it would be easier to use. My point is that the name isn’t all you need to evaluate. You’ll need to observe the candidates in action.

Vegas website states that are closing. They have model pro 50 in close out sale price.

Don’t forget there are two versions of the SawStop fence. One is the “Premium” fence (this one is not great, IMO) and one is the T-Glide fence and is really nice.

I have the T-Glide on a contractor saw with a custom enclosed base to improve dust collection. It’s a great saw.

Back to the normal discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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I have a Craftsman table saw that is 45 years old and didn't want to spend a ton on a new fence when my old one broke, so I bought the Shop Fox W1410 Fence. I was surprised at how solid it is and how easy it was to mount on my saw. It has rails both front and back and clips on both. I'm really happy with it. For what I do I doubt I will replace the saw.
Kent

It doesn’t clamp to the back rail; it just rides on top of it. It’s nonetheless a very solid fence. Sorry Vega is shutting down.

Thanks Don,

Perhaps I can persuade them to ship to Canada as a last hurrah…

Ed—

Here is a video that shows how the fence rides on the back rail:

https://youtu.be/f_FE-KHeh2o?si=STySnmFij6q6yDlm

I personally use the bracket that keeps the fence from lifting up, but you don’t have to install it if it would keep you from building the type of outfeed table you want. I would keep the back rail and bumper, though. The fence slides real nice with the back rail and bumper.