Tablesaws - long fence or short?

[Steve Maskery]

Hi all

I've always used a full-length fence on my tablesaw, but I know that some people prefer a short fence, finishing just behind the front edge of the blade. I gather that the theory is that wood is less likely to get trapped twixt blade and fence.

I'm planning to make an auxilliary short fence for mine, for ripping, but use the standard long fence for non-severing cuts.....

So my Q is, which do you use, short or long?

Cheers
Steve

 

[mambo]

i use a short fence(up to arbor of blade or there abouts

 

[Jake]

I use a short auxiliary fence, it's built into the fence design on my saw.

Sometimes I forget to slide it back with sheet materials.

 

[mailee]

Mine is a long fence and I have had no problems with it so far. Now I have said that watch me get a kickback. :roll:

 

[StevieB]

Long because that is all that came with my saw. I am fairly wary of it though and making a short fence is on my list of things to do 8-[

Steve.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I've always used a full-length fence on my tablesaw, but I know that some people prefer a short fence,

This linked short article by Barb Siddiqui and a wee contribution from me might be worth a browse through. Slainte.

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/read ... _108.shtml

 

[Jake]

P.S. Steve, isn't that signature sailing a bit close to the wind?

 

[Scrit]

I've always used a full-length fence on my tablesaw, but I know that some people prefer a short fence, finishing just behind the front edge of the blade. I gather that the theory is that wood is less likely to get trapped twist blade and fence.

Not a matter of theory at all, Steve. A matter of fact which is relatively easy to demonstrate with badly stressed timber on an underpowered saw bench if you want to be brave. To my knowledge the short rip fence technique has been taught in colleges in the UK (and for that matter most of Europe) as general practice since at least the 1960s and appeared as the "norm" on purpose-built saws from the earliest days (i.e the 1840s). The "abberation" is in fact the long through fence introduced on lower cost general purpose saws in the 1930s possibly as a means of handling sheet materials and NOT solid timber. The fact that it was a cheaper alternative to a properly triangulated rip fence mounted on a substantial fence bar probably encouraged it's propagation, but look at any medium to heavy weight industrial saw (and BTW a Wadkin AGS or Startrite are by definition both low cost and lightweight designs). I find it interesting that in the 1970s Wadkin finally gave the AGS a decently triangulated rip fence and that the last of the Startrites (the TA/SP300 and TA1250) were similarly equipped with a modern sliding face rip fence.

Incidentally I use neither and both - my saw has a sliding fence plate which allows it to be used as a short rip fence (also useful as a lengthing stop when crosscutting) as well as a long fence (useful, for example, when ripping thin solid timber lippings which can require extra support). This has been the norm on professional quality European saws for many years as opposed to DIY or amateur equipment. Most of the time the fence is used in short mode as it is possible to experience kickback even when one is ripping MFC against a long fence, especially if the board is warped or "case hardened". Nore also that for professional workshops the use of the short rip fence has mbeen madndated on safety grounds since at least the 1974 WW Machinery Regs

Scrit

 

[Anonymous]

I have a long fence on the kity but Adam talked me into seeing the benefits of the shorter fence ages ago and so i have adjusted the fence to stop just after the blade

 

[ProShop]

Having experimented with both long & short fences a long time ago short is definitely more imho

The fence on my machine is fully adjustable, you can have it as long or short as you like, I nearly always use it short except as Scrit says for cutting thin lippings etc. For cutting sheets I use the sliding table

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Jake

P.S. Steve, isn't that signature sailing a bit close to the wind?

It was discussed by the Mods and the view was that Steve was being honest and totally up-front with his tag line. He is making his associations public, so that members can make of it what they will when reading any of his posts.

We didn't view this as advertising.

I hope that clarifies our thinking.

Cheers
Neil

 

[A_n_g_e_l_a]

It was discussed by the Mods and the view was that Steve was being honest and totally up-front with his tag line.

May we all play then? :lol:

 

[Jake]

Hi Jake

Hello

He is making his associations public, so that members can make of it what they will when reading any of his posts.

We didn't view this as advertising.

They don't need to be hyperlinks colour coded to the manufacturer and in bold to do that.

I hope that clarifies our thinking.

Cheers
Neil

None of my business really. It works, though - I had no idea who JSP were before that Steve's signature appeared!

 

[Steve Maskery]

What an excellent set of helpful contributions, thank you all very much. I've been thinking of making a short fence for some time, and getting a new saw is a good opportunity to get around to it. I'd not thought of the L-shaped vs. flat design, I can see the advantages of both. I think I'll work on a design that allows both operations

Taking the King's Shilling raises issues, doesn't it? It seems I have four options:

1 Not to enter into any kind of commercial agreement with manufacturers.

2 Not to post about them.

3 Post, but keep quiet about the fact that I may benefit from some of them.

4 Post, and make my associations clear.

1 & 2 aren't going to happen (not without a fight, anyway ), so it seems to me to be only fair to let people know that I have a vested interest when discussing topics involving these people. There are other precedents for this on here, and it seems to me that it is the most honest approach. No-one has to visit their websites, but anyone who wants to investigate just who I am involved with can do so. It's transparent.

I don't think I've posted anything controversial about any of my 3 supporters. Where I've been glowing I've made it clear that I'm not totally impartial anymore, even though none of these arrangements is a financial one; they are all product-based, I haven't, and will not under any current agreement, receive any monetary remuneration from any of them.

I hope that's clear (and uncontroversial!).

Thank you all again for the helpful fence contributions.

 

[A_n_g_e_l_a]

I best declare that I get financial support from my sponsors. They are a pretty broad group with diverse interests. Is it OK to go on posting?

 

[dedee]

I have a long fence on the kity but Adam talked me into seeing the benefits of the shorter fence ages ago and so i have adjusted the fence to stop just after the blade

How have you done that Tony? Did you just cut the back half off and rely solely on the front clamp to hold the fence still?

Could one leave the full length fence in place but stick a thin piece of wood to the inside face of the front half of the fence, thereby creating the advantages of a half fence but with the rigidity of the full fence?

Andy

 

[Adam]

I have a long fence on the kity but Adam talked me into seeing the benefits of the shorter fence ages ago and so i have adjusted the fence to stop just after the blade

How have you done that Tony? Did you just cut the back half off and rely solely on the front clamp to hold the fence still?

Could one leave the full length fence in place but stick a thin piece of wood to the inside face of the front half of the fence, thereby creating the advantages of a half fence but with the rigidity of the full fence?

Andy

Thats the normal way. I can't even remember having a discussion with Tony, or indeed ever paying attention to this. On a Scheppach, you can pull the fence back as Scrit mentioned so its short, or push it forward so its long. I use it short 99.9% of the time.

Adam

 

[Jake]

Thats the normal way... On a Scheppach, you can pull the fence back as Scrit mentioned so its short, or push it forward so its long.

Same here, I think that's the de facto European standard (above very budget level), at least for a fence that attaches both sides of the table.

This is another area where many machines designed for the US market are stuck in the stone age.

 

[BrianD]

Thanks for the discourse!

So do I take it from Scrit's description the Unifence design is definitely preferred over the Beisemeyer style fence?

Is my understanding correct?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Angela

I best declare that I get financial support from my sponsors. They are a pretty broad group with diverse interests. Is it OK to go on posting?

In a word, NO.

After your wonderful employers went through my returns for the last three years they sent me a tax bill for 1.60 GBP, for each year.

They were kind enough to send them all in separate envelopes and I still don't know why I owe any money.

Cheers
Neil