I've been using thie Accusuare fence for a couple of weeks and I thought I'd share my thoughts about it so others that are looking to upgrade their table saw fence have some information.
I purchased the Accusquare M-1050 at my local Rockler Woodworking store. It was on clearance and I could not find any other Accusquare products in the store. It may be that Rockler has ceased selling them. The Mule Cabinetry website can be accessed Here.
I guess a mention of price is relative since it probably influences most woodworker's decisions. The M-1050 is listed at $189.00, currently. That is lower than some other choices like Vega, Biesemeyer, Incra, etc.. Since I bought the M-1050 at clearance, the price was much less.
What I got: Two boxes, one box with the fence assembled and misc. bolts, washers and nuts for attachment and some T-nut bolts, Included was a four page instruction booklet. The second box held the front and back aluminum rails. All was packaged decently.
The fence is comprised of a 35" extruded aluminum channel block, 3" H x 2 1/2"W. The aluminum channel has T-tracks, two on top, two on the bottom, and one on each face side. The aluminum channel is bolted with four bolts to a piece of 10" 3" x 2" steel angle. The angle steel comprises the mechanism for locking the fence to the rail with a star knob and two spring loaded rollers that track on the front fence rail. It is really a quite simple device. Mine is all black.
The rails are 72" long. The front rail is a 3-sided box channel with two rolled edges on the outboard side. The back rail is an aluminum angle. Both rails are undrilled, anodized in gold finish.
Installation was not hard but took more than a few hours on my Rockwell/Delta Contractors Special 10" saw. I used the holes that are in the saw table so I needed to be meticulous about measurements. Not all the holes were in the same plane from the top. One thing that did help were the fairly good installation instructions and the manufacture of the front rail. The rail has a series of parallel, equally spaced ridges on the back that help to adjust the height of the front rail. Alll this is spelled out in the instructions and once you have the height set on the front rail, drilling of holes, both front and back went well. Since the rails are 72" long, even pulling them all the way to front-facing left and mounting, left 34" of rail unsupported to the right. Provisions have to be made to suppoert the ends of the rails. I made a simple extension table to accomodate the rails. After the rails and fence are assembled, adjustment of a slotted HPDE block on the back rail finishes the rail and fence installation. The measuring tape is a peel and stick and the cursor is adjustable should you place it out of accurate. Squaring the fence to the blade is straight-forward. Loosen the four bolts on the front, align the aluminum fence, and tighten.
How does it work: The fence is a huge improvement over the stock tube rails and steel rip fence that were original. Actually, my stock fence was so worn that clamping a level to the table would have been an improvement. The fence and rails offer good, accurate repeatability. Initially, I ripped some 2" oak and slid the fence back and forth between cuts. All the pieces appeared to be exactly the same size. I did not use a micrometer, trusting my fingers that I have found to be very accurate. Being able to rip larger sheets and the repeatability are definitely worth the upgrade but I have one major impression and that is:This fence system does exactly what I want it to do, does it simply, and is accurate. There is nothing in the materials or construction that would lead me to believe that the M-1050 is not going to be a very durable product. The T-tracks on the face of the fence make installing a sacrificial covering fence very easy. I counter bored four holes and bolted a 3" piece of hardwood to the working side of the fence. Attached below are some pics of the fence.
Rating:9 (or better) of 10. Simple, accurate, durable.
I purchased the Accusquare M-1050 at my local Rockler Woodworking store. It was on clearance and I could not find any other Accusquare products in the store. It may be that Rockler has ceased selling them. The Mule Cabinetry website can be accessed Here.
I guess a mention of price is relative since it probably influences most woodworker's decisions. The M-1050 is listed at $189.00, currently. That is lower than some other choices like Vega, Biesemeyer, Incra, etc.. Since I bought the M-1050 at clearance, the price was much less.
What I got: Two boxes, one box with the fence assembled and misc. bolts, washers and nuts for attachment and some T-nut bolts, Included was a four page instruction booklet. The second box held the front and back aluminum rails. All was packaged decently.
The fence is comprised of a 35" extruded aluminum channel block, 3" H x 2 1/2"W. The aluminum channel has T-tracks, two on top, two on the bottom, and one on each face side. The aluminum channel is bolted with four bolts to a piece of 10" 3" x 2" steel angle. The angle steel comprises the mechanism for locking the fence to the rail with a star knob and two spring loaded rollers that track on the front fence rail. It is really a quite simple device. Mine is all black.
The rails are 72" long. The front rail is a 3-sided box channel with two rolled edges on the outboard side. The back rail is an aluminum angle. Both rails are undrilled, anodized in gold finish.
Installation was not hard but took more than a few hours on my Rockwell/Delta Contractors Special 10" saw. I used the holes that are in the saw table so I needed to be meticulous about measurements. Not all the holes were in the same plane from the top. One thing that did help were the fairly good installation instructions and the manufacture of the front rail. The rail has a series of parallel, equally spaced ridges on the back that help to adjust the height of the front rail. Alll this is spelled out in the instructions and once you have the height set on the front rail, drilling of holes, both front and back went well. Since the rails are 72" long, even pulling them all the way to front-facing left and mounting, left 34" of rail unsupported to the right. Provisions have to be made to suppoert the ends of the rails. I made a simple extension table to accomodate the rails. After the rails and fence are assembled, adjustment of a slotted HPDE block on the back rail finishes the rail and fence installation. The measuring tape is a peel and stick and the cursor is adjustable should you place it out of accurate. Squaring the fence to the blade is straight-forward. Loosen the four bolts on the front, align the aluminum fence, and tighten.
How does it work: The fence is a huge improvement over the stock tube rails and steel rip fence that were original. Actually, my stock fence was so worn that clamping a level to the table would have been an improvement. The fence and rails offer good, accurate repeatability. Initially, I ripped some 2" oak and slid the fence back and forth between cuts. All the pieces appeared to be exactly the same size. I did not use a micrometer, trusting my fingers that I have found to be very accurate. Being able to rip larger sheets and the repeatability are definitely worth the upgrade but I have one major impression and that is:This fence system does exactly what I want it to do, does it simply, and is accurate. There is nothing in the materials or construction that would lead me to believe that the M-1050 is not going to be a very durable product. The T-tracks on the face of the fence make installing a sacrificial covering fence very easy. I counter bored four holes and bolted a 3" piece of hardwood to the working side of the fence. Attached below are some pics of the fence.
Rating:9 (or better) of 10. Simple, accurate, durable.
