A rip fence is used to keep the wooden piece in its place while cutting it on the table saw. Without a rip fence, the table saw will give inaccurate results. We don’t want this to happen to you. If you have made yourself a table saw, you need to make a rip fence to get precise rip cuts. In this article, we are going to discuss the making of a rip fence.
How to Make a Rip Fence for a Table Saw
Time Needed: 1-2 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Things Needed
- Wooden board (2-inch width, length according to the size of the table)
- 1-inch plywood (with the same length as the wooden board above)
- Aluminum profile
- Drilling machine
- 15-millimeter wood screws for aluminum profile
- 2 T-Nuts
- Wood chisel
- Ballpoint
- Measuring scales (straight and L-shaped)
- Two clamps
- Wood glue
- Carriage bolts (two 1.5 inches and one 3-inch)
Procedure
Step 1: Preparing the Aluminum Profile for Table Side (Rail)
First of all, you need to prepare an aluminum profile as a slider. The length of the profile will be equal to the table’s side, where you will attach the fence. Make two passes in the profile to get a 9-millimeter groove in the middle. This groove will act as a slot for sliding bolts. You can use your table saw to make the groove. A fully sharpened blade will be able to cut the aluminum profile without any hassles. Now drill holes for screws. You can drill a hole 2inches apart to get maximum support and stability. For a standard-sized table saw, 5 to 6 holes will be good. Set the aluminum profile on the side of the table and use a wooden board to check that the aluminum profile and the tabletop are exactly at the same level on the top. Drill the openings further to make holes in the table as well. Take off the aluminum profile and drill the side of the table further. Now place the profile back and secure it with 15-millimeter wood screws.
Step 2: Preparing the Slider
The second step is to prepare the slider. You need 2 wood pieces with measurements of 1x1x6 inches. Now keep one piece on the rail and mark its center for a groove. Draw a straight line across the length of the wood piece and drill three holes all the way through it. Grab the second wood piece and keep it below the drilled one. Mark the holes for drilling underneath the already drilled ones. On the second piece, only drill the middle hole all the way and the side holes only halfway. Grab the piece on which the three holes were drilled all the way. Place two T-nut holders on the side holes and hammer them gently to fix them at the right place. With the help of a chisel, remove 3 millimeters of wood to adjust the head of the T-nuts. Grab the nuts and tighten them with your hand. Join both pieces together to check that there are closing nicely. Take off the head of the nuts back. Now glue and clamp both the pieces together for a better fix. Drill two holes on the wood piece with one all-the-way hole and put in 15-millimeter wood screws. Now get two 1.5 inch and one 3-inch carriage bolts. The carriage bolts have a circular head. You need to grind it to make it a bit square so it can fix in the aluminum rail. The small bolts will go in the side holes, and the large ones will go in the center. the tail of the 3-inch carriage bolt will act as an attachment point for the fence lock. The heads of the carriage bolts will go into the opening in the aluminum profile.
Step 3: Preparing the Fence
Grab the wooden board to be used as the fence. Glue and screw the piece of plywood on its top to add stability and durability to the fence. Glue it first, hold it in its place with clamps and then screw it. Make holes at least 2 inches apart for better holding. Use 15-millimeter screws for excellent results. Confirm that the blade is square to the rail edge with the help of an L-shaped measurement scale. It must be perpendicular. Attach the fence lock to the protruding edge of the carriage bolt on the slider. Attach the fence to the slider top with the help of four 25 millimeter wood screws. Don’t use glue at this point, as it is just for testing purposes. Once the fence has been attached, turn on the blade and test the system with an old wood piece. You can also use a steel scale to confirm that it is straight with the blade. If everything is fine and the wood you just cut is straight, remove the screws. Remove the screws and add glue, hold it with clamp and then screw it back. Give it some time for a more solid fix.
Step 4: Testing
Once the glue has dried, test your system. If everything is working as you wanted it to. Congrats, you have just saved yourself a lot of money. The best thing about making a rip fence in this way is that it can be removed to attach a crosscut sled. The rail movement may be a bit rough initially, but it will get smooth over time.