Shopsmith Forums

I read a post the other day (on another forum) where the author was advocating a shorter rip fence claiming that it was safer to use. His opinion seems to be based on a belief that most kickbacks are caused during ripping when the work piece clears the back edge of the blade. At this point in time the work piece is pinched between the blade and a full length rip fence with nothing securing it. Thus a candidate for kickback. Relieve the pinch and "no kick back".

His solution is to use a short rip fence; one that ends at the same point where the work piece clears the back of the blade.

I would be interested in hearing everyone's' opinion on this.

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Long Rip Fence


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Short Rip Fence (produces no pinch thus no kick back)

I'm interested in feedback on this as well. I've seen short fences that end at the back of the blade before, typically on older vintage machinery. There's a certain logic to the explanation that Dusty presented. But, it just doesn't "feel" right to me.

It seems to me that with the fence ending so soon, as more of the board passes the blade, it would be harder to keep the board moving on a straight path parallel to the blade. The end of the fence would become a pivot point. The further that pivot point is from the blade, the easier it is to control the board and the less likely of any pivot action happening. For me, the longer the board, the longer I want the fence to be.

But I could have it all wrong.

heathicus wrote:I'm interested in feedback on this as well. I've seen short fences that end at the back of the blade before, typically on older vintage machinery. There's a certain logic to the explanation that Dusty presented. But, it just doesn't "feel" right to me.

It seems to me that with the fence ending so soon, as more of the board passes the blade, it would be harder to keep the board moving on a straight path parallel to the blade. The end of the fence would become a pivot point. The further that pivot point is from the blade, the easier it is to control the board and the less likely of any pivot action happening. For me, the longer the board, the longer I want the fence to be.

But I could have it all wrong.

I share your concern here and I have my own doubts but do remember that when the work piece reaches the back end of the "short fence" the cutting action has been completed.

Didn't Delta make an alternate short fence for the Unisaw based on this theory?

I see your point, Heathicus. However, if a feather board is used and placed even with the front of the blade, it would keep the work aligned, wouldn't it?
I may be wrong (not at all unusual) but, I keep the fence aligned so that it's a tiny bit farther away on the out feed end, and I don't often pay a lot of attention to the cut after it passes the blade.
If you want to try out the concept, a piece of 3/4 ply attached to the fence would suffice.

heathicus wrote:I'm interested in feedback on this as well. I've seen short fences that end at the back of the blade before, typically on older vintage machinery. There's a certain logic to the explanation that Dusty presented. But, it just doesn't "feel" right to me.

It seems to me that with the fence ending so soon, as more of the board passes the blade, it would be harder to keep the board moving on a straight path parallel to the blade. The end of the fence would become a pivot point. The further that pivot point is from the blade, the easier it is to control the board and the less likely of any pivot action happening. For me, the longer the board, the longer I want the fence to be.

But I could have it all wrong.

My simple solution to kickbacks when ripping boards is to use a 6" long thin plastic wedge (door shim) in the cut immediately after the blade cut to keep the kerf apart and use a slim plywood push stick on the piece of wood between the blade and fence. Never had any kickbacks using this method. I use a roller stand for longer pieces of wood.

Don't table saws in Europe have short fences? I read somewhere that they do and that long fences such as used in the USA are not allowed.
Bill V

Thinking through the process, it seems to me that a splitter or riving knife would make a LOT more difference in preventing kickback than the length of the fence. A splitter would keep the board on either side of the cut from getting into the back of the blade. So if the board pivots toward OR away from the fence, you're more likely to either have a crooked cut or bind the board/blade than have kickback. So even then, a longer fence would help keep your cut straight. Or is my thought process flawed?

Feelings aside, some empirical evidence is called for before making radical adjustments to equipment.

There is empirical evidence to support the fact that proper training and education followed by an accurate setup/fence alignment and the use of riving knives are the best methods for reducing/preventing kickback and injuries on all machines.

If an operator is twisting the board against the fence it's an operator error, not the fault of the equipment. If a user is trying to cut with an irregular surface against the fence it's an operator error not an equipment malfunction. If the fence is not aligned properly it's an operator error not an equipment malfunction.

In all of the above cases if NO kickback is experienced, the user got lucky but I'm pretty sure that the cut quality will suffer and the end result will be an inaccurate cut, burning, excessive tear out, etc. I was experiencing burning on many of my table saw cuts.

I finally realized that the table was not aligned to the blade and this was causing the fence to be out of alignment just enough to cause burning. Fortunately it was a slight enough misalignment that my only issue was burning (which overheats the blade and dulls it faster). I was also very fortunate that I did not get any kickback. I followed the alignment instruction in the PTWFE and the problem vanished.

Understand your machine and how to use it safely and properly, align it properly, and maintain it properly and safety issues like kick back are reduced dramatically. Additionally the quality of work coming off of the machine is increased.

I truly believe that the quality of work and safety are very closely related.

This is just my opinion take it for what it's worth.