Biesemeyer and Unifence

Doesn’t the biesemeyer fence have a rail in front and back? That’s the main reason I haven’t changed the fence on my saw. I have a wrap around extension table that prevents me from using the back rail.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

No rail on the back for the biesemeyer. The only rail back there is for attaching the wooden table
extenstion.

It’s the front rail I’m concerned about. And that’s if it’s the same size on both fences to make them
interchangelable.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary have you tried this link
http://benchmark.20m.com/articles/UnifenceVersusBessy/unifenceversusbessy.html

They look like totally different mounting systems to me

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Tony – I’ve seen that site.

They look like old pictures to me. The picture of the biesemeyer doesn’t look like mine as far as the rail goes.
The one for the unifence actually looks closer to what I have. That’s the reason for this post.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary I think they use different styles of rails as well. I have the Unifence.

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

I’ve looked at some of the pictures of the new biesemeyer fences and it does look real close to the unifence rail. The unifence rail on my saw is bolted flush with the table top and it looks like the biesemeyer needs to have space between the rail and the saw table. Plus it looks like it’s lower than the top. Mine is almost flush.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Hi Gary. I have the Unifence at home but have been using a Powermatic (beismeyer type fence) in my furniture class… They are different mounts altogether. I’ve not heard of an adaptation but that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist somewhere (maybe in your head ;-) ).

I’m like you I wish I could have both worlds but if I were to do it again, I would go with the beismeyer. It is a much more smoothly performing mechanism. My two cents.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Mine has a 3/4 gap between the rail and table.

The rail size is 2” x 3”.

What about the unifence?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Could this be a market for a retrofit or are we violating patents?

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

They’re completely different mechanisms. I recently replaced my unifence with a bies when I upgraded saws. The unifence mechanism rides inside a channel in the front rail

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

Yep. An extruded aluminum fence is mounted to the table just as Patrick says.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Oh, well!

Would someone post a picture of how the unifence mounts?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

My Unifence is like Patrick’s. The Unifence has a channel on the front and there is a metal piece that rides inside of this channel. When locked down, this metal piece pulls the Unifence into the front of this channel. I know a Unifence like mine will not work on a Bies rail. Now whether a Bies would work on a Unifence rail I do not know. I’m afraid the Unifence rail is to rectangular plus the back (near the saw) of the rail is not flat, it angles upward for the tape to attach to.

See photos in my Unisaw blog: http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/KevinHuber/blog/3282

Tenontim ,my Unifence is mounted below the table top. If it is flush to the top, how does the miter guage work?

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

I also just noticed something else. The Bies has space between the rail and the saw. My unifence rail mounts flush to the saw. That is probably what Tim was talking about. My bad Tim.

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

Thanks for the pictures. Now I fully understand the differences.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

You’re right,Kevin. I would have to say it’s just below the miter slot. Hadn’t had my four cups of coffee before I looked at it. Gary, here’s a photo of the end. More accurate ruler shows 1 3/4” x 2 3/8”

At the best the Unifence might work on a Beisemeyer rail, if it can lock into the front, but not the other way around.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Gary, this may not help you, but for someone who has a unifence, there is this :
http://www.ptreeusa.com/uni_t_fence.htm .
It makes a unifence more like the Biesemeyer

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com

Tenontim – if you put a ! before and after your link it will display the picture itself and not just the link.

example:
! http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii174/iretsu/unifence.jpg !

Just get rid of the spaces.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Learn somethin’ new everyday. thanks.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

That is the fence that I plan to get for my saw. Just add it onto the Unifence system and you have a nice fence that it is easy to attach jigs to.

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

Gary, you asked a very good question! I know of a lot of fellow woodworkers that have wondered that very thing. The unifence has a custom piece of extruded aluminum made for that specific ripfence. The Biesemeyer uses a straight forward rectangular tubing, which is used in many aftermarket fences. This is not the case however for the unifence. Both have their pros and cons. The unifence has the advantage of being easliy converted to accommodate laminates, and it slides back to assist in cutting with the mitergauge, however, it does tend to flex a little, and the Biesemeyer is in this one’s opinion, a very solid design that is less likely to flex, and much easier to adapt your own jigs and fixtures. That alone puts this sturdy and reliable fence as my favorate. I hope that this was of some help.

-- Daniel, Tumwater, Wa U.S.A.