RAS Fence Height?

[greenacres2]

Received my Craftsman Recall blade guard last week, and did the teardown-handle replacement last night and got the table supports leveled in time to head to bed.

Installed the new table this morning--the old fence is a re-use item, so i checked my scrap to see what i had to replace it with. Found a 1x oak board about 44" long (need 40") and it had been ripped to 2 3/8" wide (old fence is 1 3/4" wide). Was about to rip it to 1 3/4" when i decided to set it in the table to have a look. Any reason why it can't be left taller?? Needs to be planed anyway, so it would finish at about 2 1/4", leaving about 1 1/8" above the table.

I use the RAS mostly for crosscut and dado, rarely cut a miter or bevel (though i'm planning to build a miter jig that would still keep the blade at 90 degrees).

Thanks.
earl

[tommyt654]

Mines sits at 2 in,So no theres no reason for the height stated to not work fine at all. Sometimes wish it was a little taller in fact

[toolguy1000]

Received my Craftsman Recall blade guard last week, and did the teardown-handle replacement last night and got the table supports leveled in time to head to bed.

Installed the new table this morning--the old fence is a re-use item, so i checked my scrap to see what i had to replace it with. Found a 1x oak board about 44" long (need 40") and it had been ripped to 2 3/8" wide (old fence is 1 3/4" wide). Was about to rip it to 1 3/4" when i decided to set it in the table to have a look. Any reason why it can't be left taller?? Needs to be planed anyway, so it would finish at about 2 1/4", leaving about 1 1/8" above the table.

I use the RAS mostly for crosscut and dado, rarely cut a miter or bevel (though i'm planning to build a miter jig that would still keep the blade at 90 degrees).

Thanks.
earl

i'm planning to trying one 3/4" tall to see what effect that has on improving dust collection. that or use several layers of pegboard in a 1-2" tall configuration with the holes lined up and see if it helps with dust collection.

[cabinetman]

The RAS I use for cross cut only, the fence is 1⅝" to use the Biesemeyer stop.

.

[Daryl]

I don't have one anymore, but one of my tricks was to cut a dado on the fence where it intersected with the table in order for dust to have someplace to go instead of packing up in the corner interfering with cuts. If you are cutting thin stock that the groove would cause a problem, just flip the fence over, or have another one handy.

[greenacres2]

That's a good thought Toolguy--or maybe even just drill some ports in the solid wood. I just picked up a 4 x 4 x 2 1/2 wye from Rockler along with a dust right hose and connector kit--i'm hooked when compared to the HF stuff!!--and i'm thinking i will mount a 12" square port behind the blade and then bring a flex hose up over arm to catch the dust port on the blade guard. I can't see a way to do it with one 36" flex, and as i type this i realized that i want to see what the new blade guard does for flinging fragments before doing anything.

Yeah Cab--the more i stared at it last night, the more i realized that nearly 100% of my use on that saw is right angle--so why not add some t-track to the top of the fence and make some stops. Or by leaving the fence taller it would be easier to clamp stop blocks. I could put a short section to the left of the blade, then on the right side two more short sections leaving a gap at 45 degrees "just in case". I also may cut a second fence about 55-60" long, and add support from the left end of the table out so i can set stops longer than the 22-23" i've had to the right of the blade. Seems like i'm often clamping a stop on the last inch of the fence so there's not a lot of square to work with.

Daryl--that's a cool idea. It doesn't take much sawdust to throw cuts off by an 1/8!!

Thanks for the input.

[tommyt654]

Get one of these big bad boys to add to you RAS and hook up your 4 inch DC and be done with your dust problems, Sorry bout the pic but right now my RAS is covered up with other tools and I'm too lazy to move them right now

[cabinetman]

Yeah Cab--the more i stared at it last night, the more i realized that nearly 100% of my use on that saw is right angle--so why not add some t-track to the top of the fence and make some stops. Or by leaving the fence taller it would be easier to clamp stop blocks. I could put a short section to the left of the blade, then on the right side two more short sections leaving a gap at 45 degrees "just in case". I also may cut a second fence about 55-60" long, and add support from the left end of the table out so i can set stops longer than the 22-23" i've had to the right of the blade. Seems like i'm often clamping a stop on the last inch of the fence so there's not a lot of square to work with.

This is the stop I was referring to. It's totally adjustable, and can be used on either side of the blade. A flat tape measure is PSA and sticks down to the top of the fence. They are either made to read from right to left (for the left side of the blade)...or left to right (for the right side of the blade).

.

[greenacres2]

This is the stop I was referring to. It's totally adjustable, and can be used on either side of the blade. A flat tape measure is PSA and sticks down to the top of the fence. They are either made to read from right to left (for the left side of the blade)...or left to right (for the right side of the blade).

.

Nice stuff, and loks to be well-made. But...at $100 +/- i can buy more clamps (much needed) and square off some stock. Since you do production work--you have a cost recovery that is really pretty fast for that kind of tool. As a hobbyist, a few extra minutes of tweaking keeps me off the street corners!!

earl

[cwsmith]

I have owned a Craftsman RAS since 1974 (purchased new back then). The original fence was 1 x 3 stock and that is what I have always used.

My current usage is for cross-cut and though I would use it for miter cuts, I prefer to leave that to my CMS.

I have always used a "sacrificial" top and currently that is a 1/4" thick piece of MDF. So, the fence stands 1-1/8" above the table.

Because I only use the RAS for cross-cuts, the fence is now more of a permanent device and I have modified it to facilitate the tool's use. To that end, I have mounted a T-Track and measuring tape to the the top of the right end and designed a "stop" that tremendously aids in measuring and getting consistant cuts.

The fence actually extends to the right of the blade to allow up to a measured 50" (by changing the "stop extension") With the normal extension, it cuts from a fraction to 40".

(I'll have to come back later today and post a picture.. but at the moment I can't seem to link to photobucket... Sorry!)

CWS

[cwsmith]

Here are a couple of pictures of the adjustable fence stop on my RAS:

[greenacres2]

Thanks CW. That's pretty much what i was thinking, except for adding the stiffening rail to the front at the same height as the table so it could also serve as a stock support.

The pencil box is a great idea as well.

earl

[cwsmith]

The stop is pretty simple, and except for the T-track and bolt is all scrap stuff. That little "window" is nothing more than a piece of plastic from a CD case, that I scribed iwth an X-acto and colored with a marking pencil.

You'll notice the fence extension goes off the right side of the table, that's simply because of the way the RAS is located and the infeed comes from the adjoining room which is left of the RAS location (I use a roller stand). I also only had a left-to-right measuring tape.

The extension is also braced in a "T" like manner which you can see in the last picture, and I cut some holes in that brace to keep the RAS wrenches handy.

The adjustable block could just as easily be made to go on the left of the RAS fence. Note that the "stop" is designed to actually fit under the motor, as the locking block and knob that slides on the T-track would be in the way of the carriage travel.

This whole thing is just "temp" as I hope to eventually build the shop out in the garage. But one does what they have to given the room. The table is M & T and can be knocked down. It's all very stable though, as it exists.

You can imagine how much time this "measured" stop helps though. It's accuracy is about perfect. On set up, I just used a longer piece of 3/4 stock, positioned the measure at "0" and pulled the cut. Shrinkage over the first year required a new "stick" but with this one, I varnished it.

In any case, this is my favorite tool and I designed the stop for it's simplicity and it save a lot of time. The only thing I would change, is to move the T-track back a bit to the right six inches (with a new measuring tape of course) so that I could do 45-degree miters without striking the track.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[Bill in Buena Park]

RAS Fence Height

I would recommend your fence be as high as any stock you plan to crosscut on it. It doesn't hurt to have more than one. They act as a zero clearance fence to prevent tearout on the back of your workpiece.