[j10c3y25]

A while back I scored this craftsman contractor saw on Craigslist and restored it, and with a new rip blade and a tune up it's working great! Lately I noticed a small gap between my fence and workpiece when ripping longer boards or sheet goods. Upon closer inspection, the fence rail is straight all the way up to the end, where the edge of the rail is pulling away from the tube slightly. It's a beismeyer style fence with what looks like melamine rails, and the fasteners are covered by the top layer so I can't get at them without destroying it. Is there a replacement available or some other fix? I hope I don't need to buy a new fence :/

 

[ryan50hrl]

If you flip the fence over, are there caps that come off to allow you access to the fasteners?

 

[woodnthings]

the metal tubing is probably fine

The slabs that are on either side can be replaced. They are glued/epoxied on. Turn it over and see if there is any sign of it pulling away at the end... If so, you can either pull it off and replace it, sand off the epoxy, and repair it, OR squirt some adhesive in the gap and clamp it back together....

http://www.ehow.com/how_6708996_repair-biesemeyer-fence-face.html

OR if it's like this:
http://www.mikestools.com/download/DeltaTableSawManuals/1351049.pdf

 

[knotscott]

You can put an aux fence over the top.

 

[j10c3y25]

OR if it's like this:
http://www.mikestools.com/download/DeltaTableSawManuals/1351049.pdf

This. Looks like a real pain, plus I don't have a router and I'm not really sure how I'd do the t-molding. Its definitely got to get fixed though or I'll never get a square cut on something the length of the fence. The actual plywood part is bending away from the tube, gluing it might work but it extends past the tube so it might not. Looks like my best options are to build that auxiliary fence or bite the bullet and fix it. I bet the woodcraft store around the corner sells replacement sides or something like it

Thanks guys!