Aluminum Angle for Radial Arm Saw fence

[Mike Olson]

I'm looking to maximize the amount of surface I can use on my Radial Arm saw and I'm wondering if anyone has tried to use an Aluminum Angle iron as the fence?

I figure a carbide tipped blade should be able to easily cut through it to make the kerf cut and it will allow me to put the fence far back without leaving the teeth in the fence.

Any thoughts on this? Good, Bad?

Thanks,
Mike

[Matt Day]

I don't see a problem with it but i don't think its any better than wood. I assume you want to maximize the cutting capacity.

Think about it this way - push your carriage all the way back. The blade is touching the tables at this point, so the largest crosscut capacity for say 3/4" material would be putting the fence at the point where the blade is clear at 3/4" high. The fence would have to be further forward if you cut 8/4 stock and you'd loose crosscut capacity. A wood fence or metal femce doesn't really matter.

[Mike Olson]

hmm.. I suppose you are correct Matt.
I'll have to think about this a bit more. I would be a lot easier to replace if I just used wood.

[HANK METZ]

The DeWalt machine has a split rear table design that permits maximum crosscut in 3/4" thick stock, typically the two sections are 2" & 5" nominal. Dunno whose saw you got, but this is the safe way to do it.

This shot shows the fence set back for maximum crosscut- 14 1/2":


This shot shows the fence set for all crosscuts within the blades' capacity- 12- 1/2":

[Garth Almgren]

Craftsman RASes are the same with the two-position fence. The farthest back position is supposed to be used for wider ripping operations but could also give you more crosscut capacity, though the blade won't fit behind the fence (might be useful for push crosscuts instead of pull cuts):
Craftsman RAS Ripping.jpg

Here's the normal forward fence position:
Craftsman RAS.jpg

(Images borrowed from Craftsman.com)

[John McClanahan]

As Matt says, the stroke of the saw carriage will determine the maximum cut. A poorly positioned fence will reduce the maximum cut.

John

[Bruce Wrenn]

What the heck is aluminum angle iron? Is it aluminum with a steel core or something? Or is it just plain aluminum angle?

[Justin Ludwig]

I have an 8' table connected to my RAS with an Incra fence to the left, and an 8' table to the right. Both tables are the remains of 1/2" prefinished BB my distributor shipped me on accident and told me to keep for FREE! I built a sacrificial replaceable plate out of 1/2" BB that acts as a zero clearance insert on a table saw, it's 6" wide. It helps reduce bottom tear out.

The incra fence runs the length of the left table and sits back 3" from the blade. I screw a 3/4 x 1-1/2 x 6 wood fence to the insert plate. It's all set so the blade just clears 1.5" of material (I double stack 3/4" faceframe material to speed cutting times).

If you need pics, I'll take some today.

FWIW - The Incra aluminum fence is awesome in my application.

[Todd Burch]

What the heck is aluminum angle iron? Is it aluminum with a steel core or something? Or is it just plain aluminum angle?

I think this is just like a "hot water heater". If the water is already hot, why are we heating it?

[Mike Olson]

Thanks for all the info.

The majority of what I will be cutting is 3/4" or 1/2" material so I'm going to setup my fence so I can get the maximum capacity for 3/4". If I cut 2x or 4x material I'll just need to slide an additional piece of material against the fence so the piece will clear the blade.

Still have not figured out if I will go wood or Aluminum Angle "iron ". I'll need to make 2 either way. one for general cross cut and one for Dado's.

Mike

[Rick Potter]

My De Walt 7790 is set up for max crosscut of 1" or so stock. Cross cuts 16 1/4". It is almost always used for 3/4" and sheet goods. You can slice and dice the spacer boards behind the fence to get it any way you want.