Fixing Cross-cut Fence Install and Alignment for Sliding Table Attachment
I have a cabinet saw with sliding table attachment. Similar sliding table attachments are sold under brands Grizzly, Shop Fox, King, and many others. While otherwise a nice addition to any table saw, it comes with really horrible cross-cut fence.
The fence is hard to install and align. Since you cannot rip while the fence is on, you’ll end up taking the fence off all time and then putting it back on. Not only that, but the fence design makes it so annoying to align the fence, that you usually end up using something else to do the cross-cut.
In this post, I’ll show you how to tweak the crosscut fence to make it super quick to install and align.
The Problem
The cross-cut fence comes with a miter-gauge and two handles. The gauge is supposed to let you align the fence to your desired angle, and the screw-on handles are used to fasten the fence securely.
The first usability problem with this design occurs when you try to install the fence. In order to put on the fence, you need to get the miter-gauge as well as the bar on the second handle into the slots on the sliding table. Unless you’re siting on the floor, this usually takes frustrating amount of wiggling to get done. Compared to the effort it takes to set up your cross-cut sled, it feels like a struggle.
The second problem is aligning the fence. You’ll need to realign the fence every time you put it back on. The reason is that the miter-gauge bar has a lot of play in it and there’s no way to adjust it to snuggly slide on the slot. That renders the whole miter-gauge and it’s convenient 90 and 45 degree stops useless.
The second handle also makes squaring the fence harder. It often get’s stuck against the slot making the finer adjustments to square the fence with try square or combination square a pain.
The Solution
Better design for the cross-cut fence alignment would have been to have two fixed points on the sliding table, and allow the use to push the fence against those points and the fasten the fence in place. That kind of design is more robust, easier to adjust, and actually simpler in design too.
Cross-cut fence on Felder/Hammer K3 is very similar in design as the one on my sliding table. They solved the installing and aligning issue by firstly having just one bar in the miter-gauge, making it easy to put on. Secondly, they have a stop screw in the sliding table slot, which gives solid first reference point for the fence.
The second fixed point to align against is simple flip-stop at the side of the sliding table. When you pull the far end of the cross-cut fence like a lever when clamping down the fence, it will firmly align the fence into correct position. The smaller lever on the flip-stop is for micro-adjusting the position.
Parts
Let’s see how we can replicate the Felder/Hammer K3 design using the components from the sliding table.
First I took everything off from the cross-cut fence, just leaving the miter-gauge and its’ handle. I did also remove the locking pin from the miter-gauge as it is useless and makes the fence harder to rotate. The extension part and flip-stop are very flimsy, so nothing is lost by not using them.
In addition to the skeleton fence, we’re going to use following components from the sliding table set:
Securing the Fence
The first thing to figure out was to how to secure the fence. I wanted to get rid of the second handle and the bar since they were annoying when installing the fence.
First I tested just the one handle on the miter-gauge, but it is not strong enough to keep the fence in place. Something needs to be added.
In the original design the miter-gauge bar is secured into the slot with a set screw on one end, and a finger-screw going through the arc slot in the miter-gauge.
Luckily, the clamping lever from the flip-stop has the same threading as the finger-screw so we can use that to make the securing of the fence more robust. The thread on the lever is quite long, so it actually secures the bar down into the sliding table, and does not fasten the miter-gauge. By adding a washer, the thread does go through the bar and hit the table, but instead tightens down the miter-gauge against the table. That probably makes more sense when you try it yourself.
Stopping the Miter-gauge
Initially I wanted to add a hex cap screw into the slot to stop the miter-gauge. As a proof of concept, I decided to use something I already had at hand instead.
The locking pin on the miter-gauge was attached to the bar using a T-shapes piece. It had a two tapped holes and screws in it too. So I just installed that under the bar.
I would prefer the fence to be a bit further into the slot, though. So I’ll definitely add the screw into the slot later.
Flip-stop for Fence Alignment
Once I got this far, I was a bit puzzled how I could replicate the Hammer K3 flip-stop for aligning the fence at 90°. Then I realised that I can actually use the big ugly flip-stop that came with the fence.
It took a bit more tinkering and testing to find the best way to attach the flip-stop to the side of the sliding table.
I ended up using the T-slow screw and clamping handle from the side extension. I already borrowed one washer from there, so I did not feel too bad about that.
The flip-stop was meant for a smaller screw (M6), so I widened the hole to accept the T-slot screw (M8). The flip-stop is attached in that specific orientation, so that it folds under the sliding table when not in use.
That’s it, we’re ready to use the fence! Let’s see how it works.
Squaring the Fence
To square the cross-cut fence, just push it against the sliding table, align with miter slot, and fasten it down. The new setup is really quick to slide in, and since the second handle is not hindering the rotation of the fence, it is smooth to align too. To make small adjustments to the orientation, just open the clamping lever, keeping the handle tightened, and give the fence a slight nudge, secure the lever again. Few test cuts and you’re done.
In order to recall the angle you just set, you push the flip-stop tightly against the fence and tighten the clamping lever. The flip-stop can be folded down when not needed. You can actually recall any angle you set, not just 90 degrees, if you like!
Once you have taken off the fence, for example to rip some wood, it is really quick to get back to your previously set up angle again: push the fence into the slot, fling up the flip-stop, and pull from the far end of the fence while fastening it.
While this setup works super well, it is a good idea to check for squareness every time you install the fence. It’s quite easy to get some sawdust behind the stop, or maybe you hit the flip-stop with something heavy, etc.
Conclusion
I used to use the cross-cut fence only in the case I really, really needed it, but now it is part of my usual workflow. I want to improve the setup by making it more hidden to avoid accidentally changing the setup. That means, a hex cap screw in the slot, and a flip-stop that is closer to the Hammer K3 design. And while I’m at it maybe I’ll add few more flip-stops, or at least one for 45 degrees.
