instructables

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence

by mwawoodworks

If you want to get the most out of your table saw's rip
fence and increase your capabilities at the table saw,
you should consider making an auxiliary fence. These Supplies:
instructions walk you through how I made my
Aluminum Miter Track Set
auxiliary table saw fence as well as shows you some
of the jigs I attach to my fence to get the most out of
T-Track
it. There are downloadable plans for this fence if you
would like help making one of your own.
T-Tract w/ Accessories
Downloadable project plan: https://gum.co/mAsRS
½” Rare Earth Magnets
Where to Follow along with my work:
Tee-Nuts ¼ 20
My Website (full tutorials, plans, videos):
Feather Boards
https://gumroad.com/mwawoodworks

Star Knobs
My YouTube (all my build videos):
https://gumroad.com/mwawoodworks
3/4" Baltic Birch Ply
My Instagram (behind the scenes stuff):
Screws
https://gumroad.com/mwawoodworks

Wood Glue
My Pinterest (things I find inspirational) :
https://gumroad.com/mwawoodworks
1/4 20 Hex Bolts (1" & 1 1/2")

https://youtu.be/3pBbKNrkixY

Step 1: Introduction

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 1

Ever since I built my ultimate table saw fence a few
years ago, people who have seen it on social media
through the features and design of this fence. I also
have plans you can download below if you want to
make your own.
Why Do You Need An Auxiliary Fence?
The rip fence that comes standard on every table saw
is good for doing what it was designed for, making rip
cuts. A good rip fence is rock solid, doesn't move out
of calibration after a few uses and is easy to adjust
when needed. The better biesemeyer style fences will
have a 3-4" face on them and that's enough to clamp
some very low profile things like stop blocks to but at
the end of the day there just aren't a lot of things a
standard rip fence can help with outside of it's core
function. What you really need if you want to
transform your fence into the best version of itself are
two things: HEIGHT and VERSATILITY.
Height allows for better support of vertical cuts on the
saw. Think about making raised panels at the table
Step 2: The Sub Fence
My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 2
have asked questions about the design and how I
built it. This article is written to do that. I'll walk you
saw. You really need a solid vertical support to move
a door panel across your saw blade. Or think about
cutting the cheeks of a tenon.
And if you're going to add all that height, you might as
well build some way to attach other things to it. That
way your fence can hold things for you while you
work.
My ultimate table saw fence was built to
accommodate just about every type of operation I
might want to do at my table saw. It has an almost 1 ft
high face, it bolts solidly into the sub fence for rock
solid stability and has a t-track and miter track built
into it to allow for all sorts of attachments anywhere
along the length of the fence.
I also thought about storage. If you have all that
space on top of the fence, you might as well keep
your most used tools close at hand right? More on
this later.
The core of this whole thing is the sub fence. It
provides the stability and basic attachment points for
other things like the tall fence. You want to make sure
to take care in making the sub fence snug to your rip
fence. The key here is you don't want it moving or
rocking on you, especially with that tall fence
attached to it.
The sub fence is made entirely of 3/4" (19mm) baltic
birch ply and consists of two vertical parts that are 6"
tall.
Those are screwed to a horizontal piece that is made
of two strips of the baltic birch laminated together. I
used two strips in order to give a solid surface to
screw into and a nice flat 90 degree reference for the
vertical sides. the horizontal strip should be the exact
width of your rip fence minus a tiiiiiiiiny bit. Maybe
1/128". This makes it so when you screw the sides to
it, it will pull snugly to the rip fence making a piston fit.
The front and back also have small pieces screwed in
so that the entire fence doesn't slide but fits on the rip
fence like a glove. You will have to cut a notch out of

the front side to allow for the lever on the rip fence to operation of the fence.
come through. This is going to be different for every
saw, so just make the notch fit your fence specifically. Here you can see how the sub fence slips over the rip
fence. I recommend chamfering the inside edge of the
You can see here that I countersunk some 2" screws subfence by 1/8" to make the process of slipping the
into the sides to assemble the sub fence. Make sure sub fence on and off easier.
to countersink them so they don't interfere with the

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 3

Step 3: Attaching the Large Fence

Another key feature of the sub fence are the tee-nuts I put into it. There are four tee-nuts on each side of the sub
fence to allow me to bolt on my tall fence. These tee-nuts are countersunk in from the opposite side prior to
assembling the subfence.

You can see here how this tee-nut is countersunk into the side from the back.

Step 4: The Tall Auxiliary Fence

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The tall fence is made of 2 pieces of the 3/4" Baltic
birch laminated together and skinned with formica.
The formica is optional but it provides durability and
toughness as well as a smooth easy to clean surface
that you can make very visible reference marks on.
One side of the fence has a t-track in it. This allows
for adding all kinds of attachments to the fence.
The other side has a notch cut out at the bottom to
allow you to make flush cuts at your table saw.
And the top has a miter track built on it. This is to aid
with jigs that require sliding across the blade (I'll show
you a couple of my jigs below).

Step 5: Completely Reversible Design

Those tee-nuts allow me to bolt on the tall fence
easily and securely.
The way that I positioned the tee-nuts allows me to
bolt the tall fence on from any position. I can turn it
around to use the notched side. I can do the same on
the opposite side of the blade. Its fully reversible for
maximum versatility.
The two top hex bolts are spaced 12" apart and the
bottom two are 24" apart, all on center. I use 1/5"
bolts to secure it to the sub fence. If you use longer
bolts you will run into the underlying rip fence and
cause the auxiliary fence to warp or distort.

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 5

Step 6: Feather Boards

So the first thing I recommend as an attachment to the ultimate table saw fence are feather boards. Feather boards
are like a pair of extra hands that can provide downward pressure on the work piece as it passes through the saw
blade.

One feather board is good, but two is better. That way you can have control of the cut before and after the blade.

Step 7: The L-Fence

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 6

Another very versatile attachment is the L-fence. The
L-fence makes quick work of rabbets and straight or
tapered cuts, miters, bevels and making precise cuts
on awkwardly sized parts. My L-fence is just two
boards fastened along their edges at a right angle.
One side is attached to the fence; the other side
extends horizontally for a work piece or template to
ride against. And because this fence floats over the
blade, it doesn’t get damaged like a sacrificial fence
would.
To make a tapered cut on your work piece, just mark
the beginning and end points of the taper.
Then get something with a straight edge (I'm using a
piece of hard maple that I verified was straight). A
straight edge works too.
My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 7
Attach it to your work piece using two-sided tape.
This tape makes a solid, non destructive bond. Make
sure the saw blade height is just high enough to cut
through the work piece. Also, position the rip fence so
that it sits just above the blade without touching it and
make sure the edge of the L-fence is flush with the
outside edge of the saw blade.
Now with the edge of the L-fence flush with the edge
of the saw blade, keep the runner in contact with the
L-fence as you pass the work piece across the blade.
Anything beyond the runner will be cut by the blade.
And there you have it. a clean cut taper using the L-
fence!
Step 8: Flush Trim Cuts

You can do a similar type operation using the notches side of the fence. Again position the outside of the blade
just flush with the fence and under the notch.

Now if you have something to cut flush like edge banding can be done so easily. Press your work piece against
the fence as you pass over the blade and anything that sticks under the notch will be cut off.

It's a simple way to make flush trim cuts!

Step 9: The Tenon Jig

The top miter track is perfect for jigs that have to slide
across the saw, like a tenoning jig.
I made the slider that has the mating rail which slides
in the miter track. The slider has tee-nuts embedded
in it that can be used to bolt anything you want to the
fence.
As you can see here, my tenon jig allows me to make
safe and accurate vertical cuts, like tenon cheeks
easily.
Its super easy to attach different jigs using 1/4 20 hex
bolts.

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 8

Step 10: Miter Spline Jig

Another commonly used "sliding" jig is a spline miter contrasting wood.

jig. This jig allows you to make slot cuts into miter
joints safely. You can glue splines into the slots to
reinforce the miter joint!
This is a very common joint in picture frames and can
also add a nice decorative touch if you use a
This jig is the same size as the tenon jig but instead
of having a tall fence 90 degrees to the table it has a
90 degree "V" fence that cradles your work piece as it
crosses over the blade.

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 9

Step 11: Tool Caddy

I keep every tool that I commonly use at my table saw right at my fingertips. I use magnets to make sure my steel
tools don't shift around during operation. This is key for safety as well as organization. If I'm in the middle of using
my table saw I want to be able to grab something without sorting through a pile of unorganized tools. Distractions
not only waste time but can become unsafe.

Step 12: Magnetic Tool Blocks

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 10

To make a magnet bar just drill some 1/2" holes into a keep safely in place.
strip of hard wood. Add a couple magnets to each
hole you drilled. I also made this other block which isn't magnetic but
does hold my square, pencils, markers and my router
Then add some fast drying glue and add a thing table height adjuster (I have a router table in the wing
1/16th thick veneer over the magnets like so. This will of my table saw). I also added a custom holder for my
conceal the magnets and hold them in place. push stick. With all the small stuff secured I can throw
other things like my safety gear in there and they
Now you can glue as many of these as you want into wont get tangled up with the other tools. This makes
the tool caddy! I have one long magnet bar that holds the ultimate table saw fence truly ultimate!
my rules, tape measure, riving knife and anything
else made of steel that is small and that I want to

Step 13: THANK YOU!!!

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 11

I hope you found these instructions helpful! If you'd https://www.mwawoodworks.com
like to see more detail, check out this video where I
walk step by step through the build! My YouTube (all my build videos):
https://www.mwawoodworks.com
Remember you can get downloadable plans for this
build here--> https://gum.co/mAsRS My Instagram (behind the scenes stuff):
https://www.mwawoodworks.com
If you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful, you
can see more of my work in the following places: My Pinterest (things I find inspirational):
https://www.mwawoodworks.com
My Website (full tutorials, plans, videos):

https://youtu.be/3pBbKNrkixY

My Ultimate Table Saw Fence: Page 12