72" table saw fence recommendation

[Michael Marcinelli]

hey all,
i'm a new table saw owner looking for a good quality 72" fence. i have a 36" shop fox classic that came with my griz 1023 and its very sturdy but not very precise. i'm looking for something that perhaps slides on bearings and connects to the back rail as well as the front? just something more fluid and precise. any recommendations?

TIA,
michael

[Tyler Howell]

Something that big (do they make them 72"?) I'd go for a GCS.

[Per Swenson]

I may be assuming, incorrectly, that you want 72 inch rails?

In my opinion, a 72 inch long fence is dangerous.

It is also my opinion that the North American table saw's only design flaw

is the fence must be attached to the front and back rails.

If I had my druthers the fence would extend only about 6 inch's past the

blade, but such is life and finances.

Any way, want accurate? Incra LSTS is what we use these days and

couldn't be happier.

Per

[David Weaver]

What do you want to cut that's that big? Stability trying to push something 72 inches wide that isn't about as long would be a real problem, and could lead to workpieces getting messed up or pieces flying.

I hate cutting really big panels by myself, to the point that I'm going to go after one of the festool systems to cut the large ones.

[Rob Russell]

hey all,
i'm a new table saw owner looking for a good quality 72" fence.

Not to be snide or cute, but they're called "sliding table saws".

I wouldn't want to push a panel that wide through a traditional fence. There's too much board for me to feel comfortable keeping it tight against the fence and that's a lot of board to have flipped back in a kickback.

A GCSS is another good option.

Just my .02.

Rob

[Greg Robbins]

I may be assuming, incorrectly, that you want 72 inch rails?

In my opinion, a 72 inch long fence is dangerous.

It is also my opinion that the North American table saw's only design flaw

is the fence must be attached to the front and back rails.

If I had my druthers the fence would extend only about 6 inch's past the

blade, but such is life and finances.

Any way, want accurate? Incra LSTS is what we use these days and

couldn't be happier.

Per

Per,

My Unifence doesn't attach to the back rails and it's adjustable to however far you want it to extend past the blade.

[Joe Jensen]

hey all,
i'm a new table saw owner looking for a good quality 72" fence. i have a 36" shop fox classic that came with my griz 1023 and its very sturdy but not very precise. i'm looking for something that perhaps slides on bearings and connects to the back rail as well as the front? just something more fluid and precise. any recommendations?

TIA,
michael

I used to have a PM66 with a Biesemeyer fence that could rip 72" wide. I found that unless I was cutting off a full sheet of plywood the operation felt very unsafe. For example, say you need to cut the end of a piece of plywood that is 30" by 12". I am not comfortable cutting with the 12" side on the rip fence. Now expand that to a 72" wide piece. I'd be concerned cutting anything shorter than maybe 36" inches against the fence.

I now use a Festool guide rail setup to accurately break down sheets. Someday when I have a proper large shop I'll have a slider...joe

What I mean is that with 72" betwen the blade and fence, I want a side that is as close to 72" as possible. I

[glenn bradley]

Rob and Joe,

Good info. I have on occasion wanted a little more fence capacity and have gotten by with a shop built GCS. I wondered just how far you could go without things becoming unwieldy. Nice to hear actual experience. Gotta love this forum!

[Dan Lee]

Dunno but maybe Michael was refering to the overall length of the rail n tube?

My fence is 50/52"? to the right of the blade but the overall lengths are bout 72"

[Greg Cole]

INCRA for me. Easy to install, easy to adjust, smooth as can be.... and ACCURATE. The accuracy & repeatability with reasons 1 & 1A for my purchase. 1/32" or .03125 is just one little click away, every time.
Like many of us hobbyists, I am a one man show in the shop... I can handle the sheet good fine as I am tall enough so I've got the "wingspan" (or it's I am either young enough or foolish enough, or are those two in the same?). Weather permitting I like to break down sheets in the driveway and then trim them up on the TS.

Narrow but long cross cuts are dangerous no matter the TS fence.

I will say for those with shorter arms, might find themelves reaching further than done easily with the long rails. Depending on the cuts being made, the base of the positioner can be a ways away from the normal operator position. I also have the RT on the left side of the TS, which could be harder on those a little more vertically challenged than I... But some of that was my choice to go with the left side RT along with the long rails.

[Michael Marcinelli]

Sorry guys, I meant 72" rails to cut 4x8 sheets. Just looking for some good recommendations so I can build a list of the best rails/fences and then choose from there. My Shop Fox Classic fence slides on the rail itself and it's ok but I'd like to find one that maybe slides on bearings and if it slides on the back rail too I imagine it'll increase accuracy.

[Rich Person]

The Incra would work, but I would not want to cut that wide. A guided circular saw system (Festool?) would probably be better, safer and easier.

If you want a 72" long fence, you could get the guys at Woodpeckers/Incra to cut you one that long. I think my current one is a 40".

[David Weaver]

wow..we got all up in a tizzy for nothing!

[Michael Marcinelli]

great info. thx. does anyone have the shop fox classic 72" rails that grizzly offers? its a bies clone. if so, are there better ones?

[Rob Will]

I would go to a local industrial supply house and get a price on a 50" Beisemeyer fence.

Rob