Shopsmith Band Saw Kreg Fence System

sapperpete · Post by **sapperpete** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:31 am

I am considering making this purchase while Shopsmith has them on special. I am undecided as of right now and am looking for some experience and advice.

Is this worth the investment? What are the pros and cons? I am relatively new to woodworking and Shopsmith. Any advise is appreciated.

Additionally, I understand this one is special from the other Kreg fences. The price seems to reflect that also. The regular Kreg fence is available currently from Amazon for $107. Will it work with Shopsmith band saws? ...seeking advise...

benush26 · Post by **benush26** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:41 pm

Whether it is worth the investment is something only you can answer. Basically, a fence is a fence. Whether it be made of a piece of wood clamped to the table or something as sophisticated as the Kreg system.

With a bit of searching you can find a few threads covering the pros and cons.

With that said.....

Do you have the aluminum or cast iron table? The Kreg fence from SS is designed for the aluminum.

What you would buy from Amazon does not directly fit the Shopsmith. There are two additional brackets sold with the SS system which bolt to the aluminum table. Somewhere within the threads, are the part numbers or you can call Linda at CS. Next, the fences are different extrusions. Also, the 4 1/2" resaw fence from Amazon does not directly attach to the Shopsmith fence (because the extrusions are different), though the micro adjust can be purchased from Amazon because it attaches to a standard bracket. The SS fence utilizes the sliding T-nuts for attachments.

Other difference and similarities will be discussed by those who add to this thread, since I've just covered a few of them.

As stated above, there are a few threads with the same discussions and a few who have explored Amazon versus Shopsmith. Personally, I found buying from Shopsmith the simplest. No holes to drill nor guess work.

Now to personal opinion. Though it is strong and reliable, I'm not certain it was worth the investment. I am finding that many of the pieces I want to resaw exceed the depth of the SS bandsaw. If I knew that I was going to need/utilize a larger bandsaw, I might have spent the money on that larger saw, rather then the Kreg fence.

For cutting pieces to dimension for scroll saw projects, I could just have easily clamped a piece of wood to the table. There are also alternative fences designed to fit the bandsaw tables you can buy from SS or make your own from scrap wood.

Since this is my own observation / journey, it may have little or nothing to do with what you want to accomplish. I can only advise that you think of what projects you have, both current and future, and then decide if something like the Kreg is beneficial.

Be well,
Ben

sapperpete · Post by **sapperpete** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:01 pm

Ben,

Thanks for the post! I do have the new alluminum table, so I believe this fence would fit just fine. I have only had my Shopsmith for about 4 months and am not sure how much I will end up using the fence. Although, I'm sure that I could find uses for it if I had it. I think I may pass this time around and attemp to keep note on what I could use it for and maybe revisit the issue next time around.

Of course, I am still interested to see other's opinions. I value any input.

hjlssfor1 · Post by **hjlssfor1** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 1:05 am

The generic Kreg fence is not long enough for the SS bandsaw table. See here (post #8).

Hank

SDSSmith · Post by **SDSSmith** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 9:45 am

hjlssfor1 wrote:The generic Kreg fence is not long enough for the SS bandsaw table. See here (post #8).

Hank

Here is the post I think Hank may be referring to.

algale · Post by **algale** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:27 am

Got it and I like it a lot. Not hard to install or use. I can't say it is superior to other fences but it does all it says.

john · Post by **john** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 7:42 pm

I have one and like it for my purposes. If I have one complaint, it is the rails that attach it make the band saw cumbersome to remove from the SS, and put back. Probably any fence with fixed rails would have this problem.

Otherwise I am satisfied.

John

rcplaneguy · Post by **rcplaneguy** » Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:01 pm

john wrote:I have one and like it for my purposes. If I have one complaint, it is the rails that attach it make the band saw cumbersome to remove from the SS, and put back. Probably any fence with fixed rails would have this problem.

Otherwise I am satisfied.

John

Does it make it harder to change blades?

hjlssfor1 · Post by **hjlssfor1** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:12 am

SDSSmith wrote:Here is the post I think Hank may be referring to.

Thanks, Rob. I do not understand how the link in my message failed, and I appreciate your providing a good link. Hank

SDSSmith · Post by **SDSSmith** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:25 am

rcplaneguy wrote:Does it make it harder to change blades?

Not really, it just lengthens the path the blade has to go to clear the saw.