Best router fence?

[Neil Brooks]

For anyone who hasn't yet discovered this to be true, set up your fence so that it's way out of parallel with the front edge of the table or the router plate. Cut a shallow dado on a piece of scrap. You'll see that the dado is parallel to the edge of the work piece, regardless of how the fence is set.

Aaaaaa-men.

When I first set up my Kreg PRS2000, I wondered to myself why there was no easy way to get the fence parallel to the miter slot.

And then I stood there for a minute ... scratching my noggin' ... until I finally realized just exactly that: it didn't matter.

I think it IS worth repeating

[robert micley]

i love repeatibilty or ability to creep up or just take alittle more off so i have the jointech. but the incra does the same. to make a dado just a little wider or change a molding profile just a touch- the incremental sysytem of jointech or incra is the way to go. it is basically the ability to microadjust. i also like to microadjust the router bit height which most router lifts offer now even in digital. i even have a digital on my free hand router to save time in adjusting bit heights when using my dovetail jig.

[Rich Bygness]

I have read that a lot of you don't think that keeping the fence square with the table, or t-track, or anything else is at all important. My concern is when I am using a relatively large Freud bit to make baseboard trim, I need to take of just a little bit at a time. I have the Kreg PRS 1040 Precision router table system including the micro adjuster. The problem I have is that even with the left side knob loosened, if I move the right side of the fence 1/16" back, the left side does not move an equal distance unless I put a square to it to make it square with the table, so I am not actually taking an extra 1/16" off the workpiece. Will the Incra, Jessem or other fence move the entire fence equally the same distance? I am also wondering which fence would be most adaptable to the Kreg router table. Thanks for any helpful recommendations.

[Brad Sperr]

I have the Jessem fence w/ slide attachment and really like it. I have the Incra fence on my table saw, though, so I could see how that system would also be ideal for a router fence.

[Prashun Patel]

It'll be hard to figure what's best because very few people have tried ALL of them. As an owner of the Incra LS positioner here's my 2cents:

1) The quality of construction is top notch.
2) The micropositionability is top notch. The locking latch has 3 positions: locked, unlocked (slides freely), half-lock (micro-adjuster thumbwheel engages)
3) If you add the Wonderfence:
- The DC is pretty good; the 2" port connects to either side of the split fence
- There's an integral wedge in the fence that allows either face to be shimmed perfectly in or out. I just used this ability to joint the edges off inset doors. It was perfect.
4) The Positioner comes with fence extenders and flip stops
5) The positioner has about 5 different tracks for sliding measuring tapes (which are included). This makes it easy to zero out the carriage and to set it accurately for box sides - which is really what the positioner is designed for.

Cons:
1) The positioner requires 17" or 25" travel. It requires an eccentric table that is deeper than it is wide; so it poses issues for the spaced-challenged. This is easily solved with swivel locking casters.
2) Like all Incra products, they use a screw driver to adjust the locks and stops and nuts. I like it; some don't. Some also find Incra products over-jigged with too many locks, stops, and nuts. Again, I like it.

If you do a lot of drawers and don't have a preferred method yet, this system probably has an edge on other fences.

[Bill Huber]

I have read that a lot of you don't think that keeping the fence square with the table, or t-track, or anything else is at all important. My concern is when I am using a relatively large Freud bit to make baseboard trim, I need to take of just a little bit at a time. I have the Kreg PRS 1040 Precision router table system including the micro adjuster. The problem I have is that even with the left side knob loosened, if I move the right side of the fence 1/16" back, the left side does not move an equal distance unless I put a square to it to make it square with the table, so I am not actually taking an extra 1/16" off the workpiece. Will the Incra, Jessem or other fence move the entire fence equally the same distance? I am also wondering which fence would be most adaptable to the Kreg router table. Thanks for any helpful recommendations.

Are you using a miter gauge of some type for these cuts, if not then you don't have to worry about it.

To answer your question I have the Jessem and it is a great fence, built like a tank and works very well but if I move one side the other side will not move, the fence will pivot on the opposite side that I move. So if I would to take off a 1/16" I will move one side about an 1/8".

If I need it to be spot on 1/16" I will measure the distance from the fence to the bit and then adjust the fence to get the 1/16".