Router table fence on closeout

[Salty]

Hey all.
Does anyone have any experience with this Craftsman fence?

It is a #26472, Craftsman Professional Precision Fence for Router Table. Regular price is $120.00 and it is on the closeout table for $29.97.
I was wondering if I would be able to utilize it on a home-made router table.

[Holbren]

It's still $129 on the web. Is that at a local store?

For the money I would buy one for a new table I just picked up but not for $129.

Brian

[Salty]

It is a local Sears hardware and they run things on closeout all the time. I have to think there would be a way to mount it but I cannot find any technical data on it.
I'm thinking for the price the fence rails are worth it alone.

[just4funsies]

search this forum for a sizeable thread regarding this item a few weeks ago. Much info there.

[MBG]

I think they are on clearance all over - even my local Sears. You can also see tons of them at e-Bay. It looked decent but was too short for my table.

[Salty]

Thanks for the heads up on the search. I did find that thread. I am going to go get it tomorrow...hope it is still there!
It will give me something to start with and I'll build a table around it.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

quote:Originally posted by Salty

Hey all.
Does anyone have any experience with this Craftsman fence?

It is a #26472, Craftsman Professional Precision Fence for Router Table. Regular price is $120.00 and it is on the closeout table for $29.97.
I was wondering if I would be able to utilize it on a home-made router table.

It will probably ring up at $22. That has been the price of the ones that I have bought at various Sears, regardless of sticker price.

[Holbren]

Any idea how it attaches? Will it clamp to the table at the edge or does it need track?

[DonHo]

It attaches with T bolts. The bottom of the brackets are V shaped although not a sharp V. I bought one to use on a table I'm making for an extension for my BT3. I think I'll be able to mount it to T track. I'm very happy with the fence, it seems to be good quality, the mounting brackets are very sturdy. The sub fence is adjustable for different size bits and there are lots of T slots for mounting finger boards, stop blocks, etc. I'd say buy one at that price. I bought mine just as the closeout was starting and paid $49 for it. I think it's a steal at under $30.
DonHo

[Salty]

That thing is huge! I was really surprised at how heavy it is and like DonHo says, there are lots of grooves for T-slot nuts. I think with a little effort I can get a groove cut into a top to mount the brackets. It would be nice to have a slot for them to slide in to keep them from pivoting, although I doubt that will be much of a problem since the top rail ties everything together. If someone is interested I may be able to take a few camera shots of all the pieces and post them.

Salty

[pefferie]

quote:Originally posted by Salty
I think with a little effort I can get a groove cut into a top to mount the brackets. It would be nice to have a slot for them to slide in to keep them from pivoting, although I doubt that will be much of a problem since the top rail ties everything together.
Salty

What is wrong with the table pivoting ever so slightly while you adjust it? It will stay put when the t-nut is tightened anyway. I removed the v-shaped piece of plastic and mounted each bracket with one t-bolt (had to widen the hole in the bracket) to a T-track. It lools great, but I haven't asctually used the table yet.

[mowildone]

I bought four when I found out how nice they are for the price.
Surprised that the stores are clearing them at $22 when the sears web site has them at full price. One of mine is the old style with the plastic "V". Three are newer with the cast "V".
Gleem in my eye use for one of them is to use it as a drill press fence.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

quote:Originally posted by Holbren

Any idea how it attaches? Will it clamp to the table at the edge or does it need track?

You could go either way. C clamps or the like on the ends assuming table width is close to fence length. Like wise you can use the mounting bars in the back. As noted by others there are two different brackets. One is L shape with optional V pads on the bottom. You would leave these off unless using on certain Bosch, Craftsman or Vermont American tables per their original intent. The other flavor you will find has V pads cast into the L bracket. Some have ground them off, others have suggested wooden brakets. I personally would get a few inchs of L shaped aluminum from any hardware store and use those!

[quesne]

I picked one up a few weeks ago for $22 on closeout. It's an excellent fence, IMHO. I would have bought three if they'd had more in stock.

As for using it on a homemade router table, I think the t-slots it slips into are probably pretty standard. I'm sure Rockler or MLCS will have the track or rails you'll need.

[wardprobst]

I got one today but had to pay $45 is there any appeal in SearsWorld?
DP