DIY Rip Fence

My table saw's rip fence was never very good and had been becoming less and less accurate with time. It was narrow and failed to lock well, requiring a lot of coaxing into position. I wanted to order one like the Shop Fox, but it costs $235, plus another $44 for shipping. I used their basic layout, with a few changes of my own. It was a good excuse to invest in and learn to use a MIG welder, which was only slightly more expensive than the Shop Fox itself. I also needed an angle grinder, as using my bench-top one for pieces this size is quite tiring!

Rather than the usual cam locking system I employed a threaded lock, much like a c-clamp. To assure consistent locking force, there's a stop pin so the handle always rests in the same position. I made the handle from a piece of 3/4" square tubing welded to a 1/2" carriage bolt. One arm of the handle is shorter than the other so that it misses the stop pin, allowing for more rotation. The stop pin is necessary because the 1/2" bolt can effortlessly bend the 2" piece of angle iron.

This is the bottom of the removable fence, with the furniture glides I used for low-friction movement clearly visible.

Here's a detail of where most of the action occurs. At the top is the system for adjusting the angle of the fence to the track. There are two set screws with a metal strip to provide tension and prevent marring. At the bottom is the anti-mar device for the clamping bolt. You can see the two screw holes from the simple L-shaped piece of metal I tried that would retract by spring action, but I lacked the equipment to heat treat it, so it just bent permanently, scratching the paint. The final method employs two springs to achieve the same effect. A better way would be to put a nylon glide on the anti-mar plate and not bother with a spring retractor.

I later added a seven foot long track to allow larger pieces to be cut. Whereas last time I drilled and tapped bolts to hold the track assembly together (copying the professional ones), this time I simply welded it. I can now make cuts 50" to the right of the blade, although I'd certainly need a support to keep the whole setup from tipping over sideways were I to actually attempt it. I still need to paint the new rails, but that's not a big deal. Now that the rails are finalized I can attach a self-adhesive measuring tape so setting the cut width will be much easier. Eventually I plan to add a melamine extension for part of the extra distance to serve as a router table, but there's no rush on that.

There are many ways I could streamline the construction of the rip fence, but it slides easily and is solid as a rock when clamped.