Outfeed table with T2 fence?

[Damion Bevacqua]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some suggestions on building a fold-down outfeed table for my table saw. The issue I have is with my fence - it's a Delta T2, so it has this little clip thing on the back end of it that wraps around the rear rail. Seems like it will get in the way of an extension table unless I space it off of the rail...

I was curious - can I take this thing off? It doesn't seem to actually clamp to the rail when the fence is locked. In fact, I'm not sure what the point of it is.

- Damion

[John Hedges]

I had a Delta Contractors saw with that fence (nice fence BTW) and wondered the same thing. I took mine off when I built my outfeed table and had no problem. IIRC there is also a white plastic piece that rides on the rail that is also attached by the same screws holding the clip on. Just be sure to put that piece back on and your good to go. If there is no plastic piece just ignore the above it's just my mind getting old. I think the clip is just a guide for when you put the fence back on, but it's pretty useless.

Here are a few pics of what I did on mine. Hope it helps

[Tony Bilello]

My out feed table is spaced just back from the table saw. The outfeed table is 1/4" lower than the table saw. That way when I am running formica or a slightly warped board through the saw it wont catch on the outfeed table. When making critical cuts like dados where the outfeed table needs to be the same height as the table saw, I put a piece of 1/4" MDF there. The leading edge of the MDF is beveled so the workpiece slides easily onto the outfeed table. I build furniture and my cuts must be precise as do my dados and this works very well for me. Some times I have to cut long (14 to 16') pieces of hardwood down to size with a skil saw. I lay my board across the table saw and outfeed table and I use the space between the table saw and the outfeed table for the skil saw blade to pass through. For this I place a 3/8" scrap under the board on the outfeed table so there will be about 1/8" drop-off on to the table saw and some roller stands. I dont use dedicated pieces for this. I always have 1/4" and 3/8" MDF scraps laying around. Space is at a premium in my shop and I try to keep everything simple.

[mreza Salav]

John, I see we have similar saws (a contractor delta) and I see you have blocked the back (just like I did).
The problem I have is when I want to do a beveled cut I have to open up that added back from the saw which is a really annoying thing.
Just wondered what was your solution to this or did you go through the same trouble every time?
BTW, I too have a similar (homemade) over the blade guard

[John Hedges]

My first attempt blocked off the majority of the back and as you noted only supported a 90 degree cut. If I wanted to bevel it I would have to remove the cover. I later cut it out to support a full range of motion but this reduced the dust collection because it had such a large opening. I planned on covering this with some of that broom/moustache material or rubber gasketing but sold the saw before I got around to it.

As a note I installed the Delta plate to cover the bottom. If I was to do it over I would have made my own that sloped from the sides. The delta cover for the bottom is totally flat except for the 4" port opening, so the sawdust just piles up everywhere around the port.

[Damion Bevacqua]

I had a Delta Contractors saw with that fence (nice fence BTW) and wondered the same thing. I took mine off when I built my outfeed table and had no problem. IIRC there is also a white plastic piece that rides on the rail that is also attached by the same screws holding the clip on. Just be sure to put that piece back on and your good to go. If there is no plastic piece just ignore the above it's just my mind getting old. I think the clip is just a guide for when you put the fence back on, but it's pretty useless.

John,

There definitely is a little plastic foot on the end of the fence, so you're not losing your mind (yet).

Thanks for the info - taking off the clip and replacing the plastic foot was exactly what I was contemplating...

Thanks again!
Damion

[Dan Friedrichs]

The problem with just removing the clip and replacing the foot is that you don't really have any place to mount the outfeed table to - you can't mount it to the back rail, because the foot still needs to ride on it.

Idea: Remove both the clip and foot, put a piece of "slippery tape" on the spot the foot used to be on, then mount your outfeed table directly to the back rail. The fence can then slide on your outfeed table.

IIRC, the distance between the cast iron top and the top of the back rail is a standard melamine-covered-particle-board size, so that would work very well...

[Damion Bevacqua]

The problem with just removing the clip and replacing the foot is that you don't really have any place to mount the outfeed table to - you can't mount it to the back rail, because the foot still needs to ride on it.

Idea: Remove both the clip and foot, put a piece of "slippery tape" on the spot the foot used to be on, then mount your outfeed table directly to the back rail. The fence can then slide on your outfeed table.

IIRC, the distance between the cast iron top and the top of the back rail is a standard melamine-covered-particle-board size, so that would work very well...

This is a good idea, but I am planning on building a folding outfeed table (space is limited). My thought was that the table (when extended) would butt up against the rear rail (leaving a low spot along the rail). That way the foot would still ride the rear rail. Of course, if I left the clip on the fence, this wouldn't work.

I don't think that the material would catch on the gap between the saw table and the outfeed table (at least I hope not).

- Damion