Pop's Shop

My latest project has been restoring an old Delta contractors style table saw. I found the table saw on eBay for a reasonable price and other than some surface rust was in great condition. However the fence was not of very good quality or accuracy. So I set out to build my own.

I elected to go with a b-type (Biesemeyer) clone. These fence types are very simple in design and have great accuracy. The total cost in building was approximately $80, compared to the $200-$250 that a retailer would want.

I searched and searched and was unable to find any drawings that were close to the b-type design. I was able to aquire a pdf of the Biesemeyer installation guide, This had some pretty detailed pictures of the fence and it’s installation, which was extremely helpful.

The raw material needed was 10′ of 2″ x 3″ x 3/16″ angle iron, around 8′ of 2″ x 3″ x 1/8″ rectangular tubing, a 12″ piece of 2″ x 2″ x 3/16″ angle iron, a 2″ x 3″ x 1/8″ steel plate, two 1 1/4″ x 3″ x 3/16″ steel plates, and a 1″ x 1 1/4″D piece of steel rod.

The tubing on the front rail is attached with 1/4-20 bolts every 12″. The over-all length of mine is 5′, but can make this whatever length you desire. One thing that I didn’t do but will do on the next is make the tubing length for the rail about 6″ longer than the angle ( so you’ll have use of the full length of the table ).

When mounting the front assembly, make sure the rail is below the miter ways and the miter can slide over it. The rear angle iron is the same length as the front angle iron, however you don’t have to use the same size, it’s really there for supporting the extensions or for a rear outfeed. I mounted mine at the same height as the front angle.

The fence length is from the edge of the front rail to whatever length you want. Mine overhangs the rear of the table about 3″. I capped the front with some 1/8 plate and welded all edges. The perpendicular alignment angle that the adjusters are mounted to is 12″ long and welded to the fence. I aligned the fence with one of the miter ways, letting the end overhang the front rail 1/8″ and clamped it to the table saw. The angle was then clamped the front rail making sure it was parallel to the rail on the left and right sides. I would suggest adding a 1/8″ plate for aspacer between the fence and the alignment angle, as this will allow for space for the delrin spacers that the fence glides on. This keeps the alignment angle from rising above the table. Once all is clamped, weld the alignment angle to the fence making them one (could drill and tap them together as well).

The locking cam is made up of 1 1/2″ X 3″ x 3/16″ strips. The cam itself is 1 1/4″ round stock with a 5/16″ hole drilled offset to the center (I didn’t use an exact science on this, but don’t make it too far off center, just enough to draw the fence back 1/8″ or so. This was trial and error, but found that the less offset hole didn’t pop loose when bumped.

I used 1/4-20 brass screws with the tips rounded slightly for the adjusters. These were drilled and tapped at the same height as where the cam touches the fence. If drilled too high, they have a tendency to pop the cam loose, guess they could be drilled below the cam as well. An old screw driver was cut off and used for the handle.

The glides were made from delrin (bought online at www.mcmaster.com ) which were cut from 2″ x 12″ x 1/2″ delrin stock. The rear glide is only about 1/16″ thick and the fronts were cut to the same thickness to level out the alignment angle, yet raise the fence about 1/32″ above the table (this is where the 1/8″ spacer mentioned above would have been handy on mine as the alignment angle is slightly above the table now. the edges were rounded to allow the fence to slide without catching. The delrin was attached using expoxy. They probably have some teflon strips there too, but already had the delrin for another project.

The past couple of days I was able to finish up most of the assembly of the fence. Currently I’m waiting for a self-adhesive ruler to come in. I’ll add a cursor to the fence and hopefully never need a tape measure again.

The other night I found myself recutting a piece of plywood due to chipout on the bottom side of the table saw cut that I had made. I realized that I have the perfect tool for making table saw inserts, my cnc router.

I did some quick measurements and threw them into TurboCAD, mounted up a 1/2″ piece of MDF, and soon had my first insert. Now I’d rather of been using UHMW, but I’ve found that MDF has some very machinable properties. It’s easy to cut, can be drilled and tapped for set screws, and it’s also cheap.