john5mt

i have been shopping for some old iron ts and have noticed some of them have fences that were built out of what appears to be round pipe instead of angle iron. Do these old fences work any good or should i be looking for a bisemeyer to replace them if i buy a saw with one.

GeorgeC

What is it you are shopping for?

G

john5mt

cabinet saw

mmtools

The older Delta Cabinet saws used a tubular style fence as their base offering. They are marginal in accuracy and best replaced with a newer T2 or Biesemeyer fence. Look for a good saw and add a new fence later...

__________________
Mike O
Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit. - Anthony Bourdain
Toolsandmachinery.com

firehawkmph

MM,
I don't know if I agree with the old style tubes being marginal as far as accuracy. I still have my 30 year old delta contractors saw (which was made here, yaaaa!) and is still in very good condition. It has the original jetlock fence. I never had a problem with that fence not cutting straight. My buddy has a unisaw from the same era. It has the heavier duty version of a jetlock fence. The part where the tightening lever is located is a very substantial casting. For many years, this was considered the standard for the industry. Now every manufacturer is equipping their saws with the beisemeyer style fences, which is good. But I don't think that necessarily means the old ones were not accurate, just an improvement and a good sales feature. If someone were to buy an old unisaw, they may like the old style fence. Depends on what they want to do with it and how much spare money they have to spend. Just my opinion, not trying to argue or anything.
Mike Hawkins

BobbyfromHouston

I have used the tubular style fences and found them to work fine. If you are looking for an old style cabinet saw, why not restore the tubular fence to keep the look? just an idea. I do like the new style of Biesemeyer fences.

Bobby

Kudzu

I have to call BS on this one. I have a 1946 Unisaw with the factory pre-Jet Lock fence. I believe they referred to it a MiterSet? You had to lock the front to the rail, then tighten a thumb wheel to tighten the rear lock. While I will be the first to say a Bessy is much nicer to use, there is nothing wrong with the accuracy of this fence. Locks square every time. The scale is accurate enough too. If the cut is critical I check the distance with a ruler but +90% of the time I don't need to.

When I restored my saw I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I like the idea of the original fence but was concerned about it due to the rumors. Rails were in bad shape and I found a set of NOS long rails and decided to try it. I could replace it with a Bessy style. 3+ years latter I am still using it with no complaints and no plans to change unless someone gave me a Bessy, then I probably would.

john5mt

That saw looks plenty usable.

I am just looking for some quality iron that isnt going to cost me more than a thousand dollars and i have seen a lot of them for sale with those style fences and always wondered.

If i had the $$$ i would just go out and pick up a brand new powermatic or Saw Stop. But us peasants cant have everything we want.

firehawkmph

John,
That saw of Kud's will probably still be cutting wood a hundred years from now. Keep your eyes open, they pop up from time to time.
Mike Hawkins