Customer Reviews

Bench Dog 40-006 ProFence 36-Inch Router Table Fence

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I bought this fence as part of a package that included the table and top as well. The basic structure of the fence is heavy machined aluminum (with front and back t-tracks) using MDF for the running boards. Clear plastic parts form the bit guard and dust port. One of the nicer features of this board are a pair of metal bars (or shims) that fit into one of two pairs of slots these allow for offsetting oun side by either 1/32 or 1/64 of an inch for light horizontal jointing.

The fence uses a cantilevered gripping system to hold the fence in position, and thereby lies the only rub in this design. Because this gripping system has to be loose enough to avoid binding it's a bit sloppy and setting up takes concentration. I found it more precise to make the fit tighter than recommended. It still to concentration to set the fence, but stayed a bit truer. This was a surprising design decision (to me anyway) and I'm likely to replace with one of Jessem's one fine day. In the meantime, it will work better than almost very fence I've seen.

There are countless accessories for this fence - hold downs, risers, you name it. Changing the MDF boards is easy enough to justify having a set of zero-clearance boards. For it's price, this is a very fine fence.

[Part III of 'How to Build a Really Expensive Router Table']

When I purchased the Bench Dog cast iron router table wing for my tablesaw, this is the fence that was included. I am thrilled with the quality and design of this fence. I have noted many things that I wanted to share, including:

1. The fence is very ridgid and straight

2. It locks down tight without warping or twisting out of square

3. The sub-fences are dead flat and easy to adjust and actually remain square to the table in every position

4. The dust port is relatively efficient when used with my Fein Turbo II

5. There are several tracks that accept the excellent Bench Dog feather boards

6. Though I don't joint boards on my router table, there is a very clever and accurate way to do so with this fence

Honestly, there is nothing here that I don't like. The only complaint I had initially was that the lockdown knobs were a bit hard to turn because the plastic hadles were molded incorrectly (the plastic was rubbing the threads of the bolt). One call to Bench Dog had a couple new ones at my doorstep in 3 days.

If you have need for a router table fence, I don't think you can do any better than this one!

I have been very happy with this fence. I am using it with the Bench Dog Pro Top Standard, which makes for a solid combination. The fence locks down very securely in a quick fashion. The dust collection has been very efficient with the built-in dust port, and my Crafstman shop vac.

I am pleased with all of the Bench Dog products, including their perfect feather boards, which mount directly in the slots of this fence.

I built my router table and decided on the RT400 top and this fence. What a good choice. This fence works very easily and has all the bells and whistles. I am very happy with the quality of this product.

Pick this fence up and you can appreciate how heavy and solid it is. Build quality is excellent, and the aluminum channel which forms the base of the fence is straight and true. All knobs lock positively, and are ergonomic to use. It features a split fence to narrow the gap around various sized bits. Includes a great dust port that my Rigid shop vac plugs right into. And guess what? The dust collection actually works!
Includes aluminum bars which you place behind the outfeed fence to joint 1/32" or 1/16" off your work material. Works great with any router top, but I recommend the Bench Dog tops as well (just don't buy their orange triangular featherboards, they do not work as well as others on the market).

Love this fence because it's easy to adjust and holds tight after locking it down. The clear cutter guard is adjustable. The chip extractor outlet works great with my dust collector. The hold downs mount easily on the slots in the rail.

I bought this router fence several weeks ago, and have been very happy with it. It is much better than the cheaper fences and just about as good as the fences that cost more. I was surprised how heavy this fence was. The shipping weight was 12 pounds, but it felt much heavier than that.

I've done much homework before finally putting down the money to buy a router fence. I've made 4 proto type fences out of various materials (mdf, oak, birch, and particle board). The homemade ones just always lost its accuracy over time due to humidity change, or worn out as particle board and mdf tend to do. After several years of trying to save money by making my own but being disappointed with the results (hey, being 1/64 inch off does matter okay?), I finally made the plunge and here are the results:

There are several reasons why I like this fence:
* It is made out of solid aluminum which stays perfectly straight over time, and it was long enough to fit my full size table top (it's a Hartville table by the way which is another thing I recommend).

* It also had a jointing fence capability which Kreg copied in its own design but charges a hundred dollars more for.

* The cantilever system actually worked better than I thought. When I bought it, I was going to just drill holes in the bottom and then secure to my T track but decided to give the cantilever system a try first. To my surprise, it locked solid but was easier to adjust forwards and back.

* It has independent adjustable sub fence faces which are separate from the t track above it. The advantage of that is that you don't have to loosen your bit guard when you adjust the fence faces for zero clearance. It's a small luxury to save time, but hey, less time in setup means more routing time right?

* One more note about the sub fences. They adjust from the back via knobs. It's convenient to not have to look for a wrench or screwdriver.

* T track on the front allow you to connect feather boards, blade guards and stops. Have the t track independent of the sub fence is ideal because it doesn't compromise the strength or straightness of the sub fences. I still haven't figured out why you need a t track on the back side besides storage??

The only con I seen is:

* The loose vacuum hose attachment port in the back. It works, but it is a bit loose. Also, since there isn't a flange to attach to, you have to stick your 2.5" hose in to the hole close to the spinning bit. This is a design they fixed in the newer model of the fence apparently.

Also, eventually when the MDF subfences wear out, I'm likely going to make my own out of UHMW. Enjoy and good luck making your decision and hope this helps.

This Bench Dog Router Fence is extremely well made, easy to install, and gives rock solid performance. I only wish I had bought it when I built my router table several years ago.