Help to Choose a New TS Fence

[MarkSLSmith]

Hello,

I bought a set of 36" Sawstop table saw rails recently. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a Sawstop fence or a Very Super Cool Fence (vsctools.com). The VSC looks versatile, but is a bit pricey for just the fence; it would cost me about twice as much for it versus the SS. Opinions? Are there any other options?

Thanks,
Mark

[JDuke]

I have a sawstop with the factory fence, and made my own version/copy of the vsc fence with 80/20 and a piece of UHMW as the surface.

If your going to use the tracks in the 80/20 to attach other stuff it may be worth it.

The way I work I don't really do much with my home made fence that I couldn't do with the saw stop fence.

It is easy to move the UHMW surface but moving the 80/20 requires flipping the fence upside down.

Duke

[knotscott]

The Saw Stop T-Glide is a nice fence....very Biesemeyeresque. I prefer the solid welded steel construction of the T-Glide vs the bolted aluminum to steel construction of the SCF. I'm sure the SCF is sturdy enough, but the chances of those bolts loosening over time seem far greater than the odds a weld coming undone on the SS fence. That's my logic, and I'm sticking with it!

[Steve N]

Vega Pro

[Wild Turkey]

^^^What he said!!^^
From the Vega website:

Quote:

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SAW FENCES
PROFESSIONAL FENCES
Stock No. Model Description List Price
72578 PRO 40 Pro 40” Rip Capacity 42” Fence Bar $359.00
72579 PRO 40L Pro 40L” Rip Capacity 50” Fence Bar $399.00
72580 PRO 50 Pro 50” Rip Capacity 42” Fence Bar $369.00
72581 PRO 50L Pro 50L” Rip Capacity 50” Fence Bar $409.00

---

Vega Woodworking web site fence link

I had one and really liked the microadjust feature.

(sold it when I got a Unisaw with 52" Bessy)

[JDuke]

Even better option buy a few parts like the cam lock, the sight glass and a few plastic set screws and get somebody to weld up a fence for the rails you already have.

[MikeinKCMO]

JDuke is correct, building is far less expensive, and easily the equal in performance. I looked at a biesmeyer fence years ago, and built my own. Took a day including finding and running after the materials. The cost was about fifty bucks, including the stick-on tape on the front rail. Only been fifteen years but so far so good.

[Buckhunter]

I have an incra LS on an old craftsman contractor saw and it is great . It turned that inexpensive saw into a precision tool . And yes I spent more on the fence than I did the saw ...

[Guest]

I bought an earlier, simpler version of the aftermarket fence you're looking at. It is called the Uni-T Fence and is sold by Peachtree Woodworking. It's a great idea. I used mine two or three times in the ten years or so I owned it for specialty fixtures. Except for those few applications, the standard Unifence on my Unisaw met and surpassed my needs. I liked the UniFence much better for everyday use. I've since traded my Unisaw for a SawStop with the Beismeyer-style fence. Like the Unifence, the SawStop fence does pretty much everything I need. I don't feel the urge to spend the $$$ to upgrade to a different system.
My $.02.

Hank

[MarkSLSmith]

I'm powerfully attracted to the idea of building my own and had considered this. However, I think the welding would be a problem. I haven't welded since high school (a long time ago) and don't own a welder. If it weren't for the welding, I'd have no problem with the rest of it, like drilling holes, working with UHMW PE, etc.

My assumption is that the time and aggravation of trying to locate and work with a welder is likely to be a big headache. Bad assumption?

Mark