Biesemeyer fence set up question

[Chris Livingston]

I just got my new Biesemeyer fence installed and love it. Man it is nice to get the parallel to the miter slot and have it stay there after moving it. One problem though it the faces of the fence are not 90 degrees to the table top. Once side is lower than the other and I don't see any way to adjust this. Also I've noticed the part that slides on top of the rail (has the little window for reading the tape) is not actually touching the rail.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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Am I missing something that I need to adjust? I have the mounting rail the exact distance below the table top the manual and the template that came with the fence said it has to be.<o:p></o:p>

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I would have called them but they were already closed when I got to this point. Any help is appreciated.<o:p></o:p>

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Chris

[Norman Hitt]

One problem though it the faces of the fence are not 90 degrees to the table top. Once side is lower than the other and I don't see any way to adjust this. Also I've noticed the part that slides on top of the rail (has the little window for reading the tape) is not actually touching the rail.

Am I missing something that I need to adjust? I have the mounting rail the exact distance below the table top the manual and the template that came with the fence said it has to be.

Chris, if you turn the fence upside down, you will see two rectangular UHMW spacer pads adhered to the "T" angle out close to each end. These are what rides on the rail, and if one is thicker than the other, the fence will not be 90 degrees to the table top. The measurements given should allow the fence to slide on the rail on these UHMW pads with the bottom edges of the fence just barely clearing the table top, as there is another one of these pads on the bottom of the fence out toward the back side of the saw.

If you have your rail depth set the correct distance below the saw's table top, (as described above), then you would need to lightly sand the UHMW pad that is on the high side until the face of the fence becomes 90* to the top.

If you have the rail mounted too low, then the bottom of the fence will be riding on the table top, and the above fix would not correct the problem, so you would first have to raise the rail to the proper height and then check it for 90*, BEFORE making any further adjustments.

Hope this helps.

[Chris Livingston]

Well I'm guessing that even though I have the rail attached to the table top at exactly the measurement the manual and template both say it should be I may need to move it up a bit...that should be fun.

[Norman Hitt]

Well I'm guessing that even though I have the rail attached to the table top at exactly the measurement the manual and template both say it should be I may need to move it up a bit...that should be fun.

Chris, to make a quick check if the rail height is the problem, you could loosen the bolts under the angle that hold the rail in place, and slip some 1" x 2" strips of paper as shims between the angle and the rail itself, (maybe 5 or 6 strips in a stackby each bolt, or however many it seems to need to just clear the bottom of the fence from the table), and tighten the bolts back down and check the complete set up again, ie; bottom of fence just clear of the table and the fence face at 90* to the table top. If this corrects it, you could leave the strips in place, or slightly elongate the holes in the saw if necessary to adjust the angle to the right height.

Note: do not elongate the countersunk holes in the angle, just the saw top. If this corrects the problem, recheck the rail perpendicular to the mitre slot as you retighten the bolts under the rail, and then move on to adjust the fence parallel to the mitre slot.

Let us know if this solves the problem.

[Jim McCarty]

I installed one on my Unisaw about a month ago and had the same problem. I called Biesemeyer and they said if was ok to add washers between the angle iron and the square tube that the fence rides on. I did this and the problem was solved. I hope this helps. Jim

[Chris Livingston]

The fence slides smoothly the entire way. I spent several hours today on this. I enlarged the holes a bit and re-leveled the attached rail a couple of times and even tried sloping it up hill as it went to the right and that only helped a bit. In order to get the fence face square the rail attached to the saw would have to stick up above the saw top.
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I don't know what I was doing last night but the fence rode fully on the rail with no adjustments this morning so that wasn't it.<O:p></O:p>

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The fence is so out of square with the table top that I took the 1/8" thick hard-board template supplied with the kit and put it under the right side of the fence where the UHMW pad rides on the rail and that brought it to square and stayed square the full length of the table when slid along that way.

[Mike Holbrook]

Hi Chris,

I have a post on a General Biesemeyer fence going.

I checked the templet that came with mine and found that it was not very accurate. I am using an adjustable square and setting it to the exact size they say the fences should be from the top of the table.

[Norman Hitt]

The fence is so out of square with the table top that I took the 1/8" thick hard-board template supplied with the kit and put it under the right side of the fence where the UHMW pad rides on the rail and that brought it to square and stayed square the full length of the table when slid along that way.[/size][/font]

From this, it sounds like either one of the UHMW pads is not the right thickness, or something slipped in the jig when it was welded up. I would call Biese at this point and ask them what they want you to do, (fix it, or return it for another one).

I know that things sometimes do slip by, even with the best mfrs, and this is the first one I've heard of like this, but I'm sure Biese will take care of you.

[Chris Livingston]

Thanks guys, hopefully I'll get back from work early enought to get a person on the phone there.

[Garry Smith]

I purchased a Left tilt Unisaw in Nov or Dec 2004 and had problems with the Biesemeyer fence. My problems were that the right side of the fence was bowed out which made it very dangerous and unusable. The tubular rail that the fence rides on was very rusted and pitted. I received a second assembly from Delta and it works OK but the laminate/plywood pieces that are attached to the fence are not true to the table the full length of the fence. This has been very anoying. I wish now that I had ordered the saw with the Unifence system since I did have a choice, but the sales rep on the phone seemed to think that I would be better served with Biesemeyer fence system. I hope you can get satisfaction from Biesemeyer.
Garry