Needing longer rails for Biesemeyer Fence.

[joel cervera]

I've got a Biesemeyer fence on my vintage Unisaw. Ive been running it on the original 34 or 36 or so inch rails my fence came with. I've been working out of a 2 car garage shared with the car so the shorter rails helped. But now I'm moving it to a 950 sq ft. 3 car garage so I want the longer 52" rails. Wondering if there are any DIY options or if the best option is simply to get the longer rails from Biesemeyer from amazon?

Thanks

[Patrick Varley]

There is a pretty detailed guide over on the VSCT Website. The instructions are meant for those that need rails for the VSCT Fence, but should work (or can be adapted) as long as you have the right size square rail. I have not used the plans, though considered it at one point on a previous saw when I was looking at options for a Bies-style fence.

https://vsctools.com/diy-guide-rails/

[Doug Garson]

Yes there are DIY options, when I installed my Biesemeyer fence on my General 350, I made my own rails. I picked up the angle iron and square tube at a metal recycling yard. They cut to my specified lengths, all I did was wire brush and sand to clean up minor rust and mill scale, paint, drill and countersink holes in the angles and drill and tap holes in the tube. I'm not a metal worker but it was not difficult. Here's a link to an Askwoodman video showing how to do it. He did a whole series of videos on this so you can search his videos for more details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSRXU59DCHw&t=153s

I see Patrick suggested same source. VSCT is Allan's tool company associated with his Askwoodman Youtube channel

[Richard Coers]

You might get an offer here. At least every couple months someone asks about cutting rails down.

[Warren Lake]

think they made them up to 96" at least

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A careful welder could extend yours or make you longer ones. Buying from Biesemeyer will likely be in the same price range, maybe less. One of my saws had a tube inside a tube fence rail extender. I eventually ended up welding it together.

[Jim Becker]

The tubing used is pretty standard, AFAIK, so it would likely be pretty easy to fabricate your own long front rail as it's mostly just drilling and screwing/bolting/finishing.

[Lisa Starr]

I had 65" rails on my cabinet saw before it was sold to allow a slider to move into my shop. I had made tham following the VSCT instructions, and it was quite easy. Do yourself a favor and purchase a quality drill and tap, if you go the DIY route. Measure and mark everything very accurately and you should have no difficulties.

One side note...I had to provide a stabilizing leg out on the far end of the rail as moving the fence near the extreme limit would tip the cabinet saw.

[Kendall Scheier]

Jowl, where are you located? I have a rails and tube from a jet table saw that will likely work for you at least on the front of the saw.

kendall from Mesa, AZ

[Mike Henderson]

How long do you want to go? What I did was give up the ability to put my fence on the left side of the blade by moving my rail to the right. I'd have to measure to see what I now have but it's been enough for me for many years.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

How long do you want to go? What I did was give up the ability to put my fence on the left side of the blade by moving my rail to the right. I'd have to measure to see what I now have but it's been enough for me for many years.

Mike

What Mike describes is an easy and good fix for many. I had a 30" rip which was often too short. I shifted the front tube one set of holes and got a 40" rip which was often plenty. You could test this no-cost, near-zero effort before you dive in too deep.

[Andrew More]

While I agree with the above comments about DIY'ing it, double check the measurements on the current rails. I had an original Grizzly from the 80s, and the rails on that appeared to be standard sizes, but proved to be something like 1 7/8" which was enough to make buying standard angle iron rails impossible. I even took the fence to the metal shop to triple check that the sizes above and below wouldn't work. If it doesn't work you're going to need to replace the fence and the rails, at which point you're looking at a profession kit at around $300-400.

[johnny means]

It's standard tubing. Any steel yard will cut you a peice at whatever length you want. Drill and tap your pen holes and it should cost you less than a Quarter pounder meal.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Steel has succumb to inflation more than cheeseburgers. Biesemeyer surface grinds their tubing. Making your own is a good option. It takes care and patience.

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An old similar thread. Prices have gone up.
DIY rail for my Biesemeyer fence-what material?

[joel cervera]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I'll hit up a local metal supplier round town to see what prices are. The Bies kit from amazon for 52" is around $250.. So that's what I'm working with as a target price to beat going DIY. We'll see if DIY is worth it...