Incra Rails on Sawstop and Incra LS fence

[Bill Sutherland]

I have the 1.75 Sawstop PCS and I'm thinking of using the Incra LS25 fence system to replace the SS fence. My question is do I have to have the Incra rails to use the fence? Most of my work is for small to medium size boxes and I have 2 Festool 1080 MFT's I'm mounting a router between so I can use the LS25 for joinery work. I would set up a specific mounting location on the Sawstop to be able to replicate consistently. I'm disappointed in the SS fence because it moves when locked down and since I'm going to use the Incra LS25 on my MFT tables I figured it would make a great fence.

[Earl McLain]

I've got an LS 17 on my router table and a TS-LS 32 on my table saw. Trying to use the LS 25 with its stock fence and no rails on your table saw may disappoint you. Besides being a mount for the carriage, the TS rails also serve as an attachment point for the fence itself. Without locking down the ends of the fence, you'll likely find more flex than what you already have with the stock fence. If you wanted to swap the 25" positioner and have the fence be solid, you'd almost need to buy the 36" fence from the TS-LS, add the rails and a pair of fence glide assemblies (parts 6A, 4 and 10 on the TS-LS parts page at Incremental's web site). The 36" fence could be drilled so t-nuts could be used to mount it to the standard 28" fence on the LS-25, kind of like what they do with the Wonder Fence.

Summary--i think you could make a workable system, but it might be further from user friendly than you want to be. Would certainly be worth a call to Mark Mueller at Incremental to pick his brain on the topic. You might be able to talk him out of a single rail cut in half also--36" front & rear would be enough if you're not mounting the LS carriage to the rails.

Just my initial reaction, others may have found a good solution!!

earl

[Robert Chapman]

I have the same SawStop PCS and my fence works perfectly. Mine does not move at all when locked down. Can you adjust the fence to lock down more firmly? Check your SawStop manual.

[Bill Sutherland]

I've played with it to see if there's something I can do to lock it down but nothing has worked or I'm just not finding the right thing to adjust. It is very slight but it is definitely there.

[Jim Barstow]

I have a saw stop and ordered it without a fence or rails so I could install the incra system. Best decision I ever made on a tool purchase. I got it in 2008 and from the first day it changed the way I worked. Can't recommend it highly enough.

[Harvey Miller]

Bill, Which fence do you have on it? The 30 inch or the T-glide 36/52 inch? Have you contacted Sawstop customer service about it? I hear they're excellent & they should be able to help. I'd be upset if my expensive cabinet saw's rip fence couldn't be locked down tight & I'd let the maker know about it.

I have the Incra LS25 on the router table. Mine develops the occasional wiggle. It's bolted with 6 bolts into the 3/4 MDF top & they just need tightening up once in a while. A wiggle in a tablesaw fence is a more serious concern (as others have said).

[ian maybury]

Another very happy user here with a TS LS on a panel saw, and separately a Wonderfence set up on a router table. It's definitely worth going some distance for the positioning capability. +1 also that Mark at Incra is both very helpful and extremely competent on issues to do with their product.

The Incra fences while very decent are not quite as stiff in themselves as the heaviest dedicated saw fence extrusions. Their stiffness in use is however very greatly increased by the fact that they are mounted from the centre - the overhang is only half the normal distance. That said i have a long TS LS rip fence on wide sliding saw table, and prefer to use the locks at the ends when ripping large and heavy panels - i've never seen a problem, but just in case. I've also adapted a length of heavy aluminium angle to function as a positionable short and/or low sub fence mounted off the slots in the Incra fence.

As Harvey the LS router fence lock ('positioner base') when bolted down on a wooden table does as a result of the table material compressing a little and the bolts easing become prone to movement at times - less of an issue with a router table, but definitely not good for a table saw fence. Bolting it down to a metal frame or bracket of some sort using bolts and dowel pins, or locating it with screwed and glued down blocks would probably eliminate this possibility.

Presuming reliable fixing the router fence itself is actually pretty stiff - it'd probably do very nicely as a saw fence for small work provided its kept shortish/the saw table is not too wide. The fixed positioner base would result in a limited and non adjustable rip side capacity though.

The TS LS saw fence uses the rails, the fence locks and the base support panel to mount the positioner base and get over these issues - and gain a rapid lift on/off and respositioning capability. Mine to my amazement has held a toe-out setting within a couple of thou measured using a dial gauge for over a year. If it proved essential there's probably scope to engineer a modified set up based on the router fence that would work very nicely though for smaller work, but it'd need plenty of thinking through to get right (e.g. what about toe in/out adjustment?)…..

[Bill Sutherland]

I’m thinking about attaching the Incra Positioner directly to the Sawstop fence. That way I can utilize the accuracy and repeatability of the Incra and be able to lock down the fence. I saw where a woodworker replaced the lexan “skin” on the Sawstop with aluminum channel similar to the Incra fence and it turned out fantastic.

[ian maybury]

I'm not familiar enough with the Saw Stop Bill to offer a view, but it's basically a case of knocking down the issues/achieving the functionalities you need one by one.

The hard part with this sort of project is that the issues often don't become clear until you have spent the money and have the hardware in your hands.

You're probably aware of it, but you can download the very detailed manuals (lots of accurate drawings and photos, plus detail on how the various units work) using the links for the detail page on the respective products on the Incremental Tools website. Feel free to shout here if you need anything measured or tried out...

ian

PS Googling 'SawStop Incra' and selecting 'images' brings up quite a few photos of various installations.

[Larry Frank]

I am another surprised that your fence moves when locked down. On my PCS it is rock solid and have had no problems. I think a call to their support would solve the problem. Perhaps you just want to use the Incra.

[Jebediah Eckert]

I have the 3hp PCS and have the fence it came with, rock solid. SS has great customer service, or go to a dealer and have them show you how to adjust. Not saying the newer system isn't better but don't do it because fence moves. Shouldn't be that way.

[Bill Sutherland]

Once my fence is locked down it is "rock solid" but it's just a slight (1/16) jump to the left when locking down on the far end of the fence. Since I'm looking at the Incra for my Router setup and I like the precision/repeatability of their positioner I figured I'd try to use the same on my SS.