Thread: Upgrading my table saw fence

For me, a small gap is desirable to prevent sawdust etc. from collecting between the fence and work piece, thus degrading accuracy.

I think 5mm is too much though and would prefer in the range of 1-2mm.

A sacrificial fence is a very good idea, provided you can adjust the fence gauge to suit - or don't mind doing a bit of mental math to allow for the extra fence thickness every time you change settings.

It is an issue as ripping pieces <5mm in thickness will be a problem.

If you cannot drop the height, I would add a face to the fence. The ideal would have a coating of melamine for slipperiness. You could simply bolt them on, by tapping holes in the fence - which is no big deal (I imagine ghat you are reluctant as it is new). I would drill a series of holes in the fence, then attach a subfence with a sliding dovetail on the inside of the subsfence. That way the subfence is seamless. The non-used side of the fence can have bolt head projecting. Not an issue.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I’m not familiar with this fence, but is it possible to add a strip of 3 or 4mm aluminium under the fence to reduce the clearance?

If your did add a strip under the fence you could start with double sided tape to test out before fixing more securely/permanently.

Good luck.

The issue with a piece under the fence is that if it does not end up perfectly flush with the face, it will create a problem. A little either way will seriously affect the accuracy of ripping.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Yep - sacrificial fence. Much nicer if you cut too close... on the fence and the blade - Just don't make it a 4x2 lol

Some white HDPE cutting board material will work very nicely and be quite slippery.

Originally Posted by samo

Some white HDPE cutting board material will work very nicely and be quite slippery.

I did likewise. A 3mm HDPE strip cut from a large sheet and attached it with counter sunk screws with threads cut into the under underside of the Al fence. It completely fills the gap. It does not need to be a single strip and could be a series of shorter strips. HDPE cuts beautifully and smooth edged with a high tooth blade - I used a 96 tooth composite blade. I've had mine for 14 years still good.

I fitted a 75 x 10mm timber strip to mine by drilling and tapping threads in the metal guide. The timber strip is fixed with counter sunk tank bolts. It can be removed and replaced as necessary. The face is filled with sanding sealer and sanded smooth to improve "slip". Zero clearance underneath allows me to trim veneer bandings that are faced with 0.4mm veneer.

Jim

Thanks for the tips everyone! Sone good ideas, that I've taken to YouTube searching. I've ended up finding a playlist by Ask Woodman on how to make awesome auxiliary fences that use t-nuts to attach the fence style I have. You can see it here if you're interested: Tenoning Jig/Auxiliary Fences - YouTube