I'm having a helluva time getting my table saw fence to make square cuts.  First off, I'm a newbie, so go easy.  My saw came with a fence and the single most frustrating/time-consuming part of working with it is setting up the fence.  I'll clamp it down and then it will shift ever so slightly, or one end will be at the correct measurement while the other is off.

What are your recommendations?  Are there generic table saw fences that would fit my setup, or do I have to buy something manufacturer specific?  Or would it just be easier finding a straight piece of MDF or something and clamping it down?  I'm open to any new ideas here.  Thanks.

Biesmeyer fence is what you seek

Try pulling back on the fence before you push down to lock it in place.   This locks the far end in place before you lock it.

Many times if you are pushing forward on the handle the other end of the fence will move a bit before it locks.

Also, your handle / lock side should have adjustment screws to straighten the lock down in a square position.

What make/model of saw?

An aftermarket fence will run you $200-300.  A few days watching Craigslist would probably turn up a Delta Contracter's saw or something similar that is probably a better investment than putting a spiffy fence on a cheesy saw.

What brand of saw?

If you bought the saw with the intention of keeping it for a long while then a Bismeyer is the way to go, that's the gold standard.

Buy a Biesemeyer (shop around online) or you can try and make your existing fence into a Para-lock style.

I took an old 'JET LOCK' fence on a Unisaw with the 70 inch rails and cabled it up.
It works the same way a parallel roller does on a drafting table does.

An 'endless loop of steel cables is attached to each end of the fence.
It is then forced to move perfectly parallel by the cables at each end.

The real cause of the problem is the fence not staying parallel as it is slid and then straightening up as it is locked in place.
There must be some 'play' to allow the fence to move easily when unlocked.

I use 3/32 inch 'aircraft' cable and some blocks made from left over aluminum to attach the cable.

Drilled and tapped holes in the cast iron on each end of the fence.
The lock end has three blocks held in position by the middle one screwed to the iron and two pieces of 1/8 inch drill rod for alignment.
There are tensioing screws on each outer block.
Set screws in the blocks pinch the cable securely into position.
Adjust till the fence is perfectly straight and the cable tension is adequate.

Four metal wheels from the  slider door repair bin guide the cable around the four corners.

Two wheels are vertical (mine are on the left and of the table and attached to threaded hole in the left table extension) and two are horizontal on the right end of the table.

The table is so large I never have to remove the fence I can just run it way over to the right edge if I want it out of the way.

I have used a dial indicator to check position and once it is aligned it stays in position to better than 1/10,000 of an inch between lock and unlock with whatever movement is desired between.

Para-lock was a commercial version that was discontinued long ago.

Perfect fence system

And don't look back

Don't get too twisted up in knots about it. Worked in several custom cabinet shops back in the day, they all used panel saws for cutting parts that had to be absolutely square.

If you want to try a different approach, you can use a straight edge and a router to put any cut you want on a piece. It's slow but cheap, assuming you own a router and the necessary bit.

I have a Delta contractor's saw with their old Unifence.  It is generally OK, but for precision cuts I will check it after clamping.
I bought this saw because of utter frustration with a piece of junk fence on a much cheaper Tiawan made table saw.

The fence will make or break a table saw.

I've got a Paralock fence on my saw.  Its a General 350 that i bought sometime around 1991-92.  
The place I bought it from ( an ad in FWW, before the days of the interwebs, called on a phone to ask about saw and place order ) said to align the fence so it contacts the blade both front and back edge of the saw blade.  Then stick a sheet of paper at the back edge of the blade, and then tighten down the front fence clamp and then tighten down the blocks that clamp down on the rear side cable.  This only displaces the back side of the fence about 0.007".
The purpose  is to help minimize buring on rip cuts.

I am still happy with my saw fence combo.

I don't know if this is possible with a biessemeyer style fence.

Saw pics? Brand?
Adjust the fence...

Sorry it's taken a while to respond.  Got caught up in weekend duties.  Here are pics of my saw.  





Here's the bottom of the fence



Here's what it rests on



I picked this up at a garage sale about a year ago.  Honestly, if I had the money, I would buy the top-shelf table saws with top-shelf fence like everyone suggests, but I don't and I'm working with what I got.  I just think that surely there must be a better way to do this.    This fence is a bear to adjust.  Most of the time I have to bang it into place.  Once I get the front at the right distance from the saw, the back side has to be banged into place, then once that is in place, the front goes out of wack. If I manage to get it square to the saw blade, i'll remeasure and find that the distance to blade is off again.  Every cut takes me like 5+ min to set up.  Just looking for suggestions for a better way that doesn't cost me an arm/leg/finger.

Holy shit...I had that same saw back in 1991 and had to set the fence the same way...little bang with the side of my fist until the tape measurment was equal front and back...got quite calibrated with it after a while, worked though.

I bought a Jet in 1996 and still have it today. Stock Jet fence. I've had no issues and it zeros every time.

I'd start by making sure the front and back angle iron is secure as with all of the bolts on the fence. Maybe do some measuring along the way to keep them parallel to one another and perpendicular to the blade. You may be able to adjust the front and or  back angle piece to true it up. I did just google "craftsman direct drive table saw fence setup" and found a few videos and sites with info.

Honestly, if your just messing around and not making high end clocks, desks, furniture, etc, I'd try and true that up.

Good luck.

I upgraded the fence on my Craftsman saw with a Delta fence, and it made a huge difference.
Now, the fence remains square and locks with more authority than the the old fence.
It is stronger than the old fence, and can be adjusted with greater precision.
Search the web and see if your saw is a candidate for the upgrade.  If you have the cash, go for the Biesemyer fence.

I've put some paste wax on the angle irons and have tightened/loosened some nuts, and it's going a bit smoother.  Not sure how long that will last, but it's worth something for now.  

The angle irons are about 1/16 off from the side closest to the blade to the furthest.  No way I could fix that unless I put a washer somewhere.

Clamp a straight edge, the same length as the fence,  to the blade. Measure each end to the fence to check for parallel. There should be a way to change the motor angle to get them parallel. Your fence does not have a real good reputation for precision though. 

OP I have that exact saw. I put a Vega fence system on it and it cuts very straight and accurate.

Fence

J-

I used to have a Delta table saw that had a similar problem.  After fighting it for years, I figured out that the two bolts on the top of the fence were for this adjustment.

I loosened them and was able to make the fence parallel to the blade, then tightened them back down.  There is enough play in these mounting holes to make a difference.

You might want to give this a try and see if it helps you out.

after reading this and what wingsnthings posted, I would add this to my post above:
start with making sure the blade (motor) is running parallel to the deck. Then adjust the fence if able. Sounds like you have the "L" brackets pretty close, but they may need shim.

I'll be doing this at my earliest convenience.  There are two bolts on the fence I'm going to look at and see what they do.

Also, the actual angle brackets that holds the fence is about 1/8" off from one side to the other, so I can slide the fence about half way until it get stuck, then have to loosen it to get it the rest of the way.  No amount of tightening/loosening nuts on this will fix the adjustment.  I'm going to try putting an extra washer as a shim in next to get them perfectly parallel.

When all is said and done, if the fence can not be made perfectly square to the blade be sure that the gap between blade and fence is larger on the rear of the blade.

You need to get the fence rails pallet to the front of the saw and perpendicular to the blade.  That is the basis for everything else.  Use shims or washers to straighten it out.  Do that before you start to tweak the fence mounting bolts to the clamping head.  

Keep asking questions, we can get it dialed in.

I would suggest the following sequence to dial in your saw.

1 - check that the blade/arbor is in alignment.  you can check that by raising the blade and measuring the distance at the front and rear from the miter gauge track.  If not, there may be bolts that mount the motor/arbor to the bottom side of the table.

2 - As mentioned above, make sure that the front and rear fences are parallel to the table.  Use washers or thin metal to shim.  You mentioned that they are not parallel now.  My guess is that it has been taken apart and some of the spacers, etc were lost upon reassembly.

3 - Now you can tweak the fence mounting bolts if needed.

Sorry to keep coming back to this, but what would you'all say is the tolerance for the blade being parallel with the table?  Right now I believe I'm at 1/32 off from the front of the blade to the back.  I have no idea how to straighten it.

Did you ever find a fence? If you want one I have an Excalibur T-slot, the rails need some hardware as the bolts have been lost through the years, but it is solid and...best part...free.  Just taking up space in my garage.  It's not a long rail fence,  Can send pics.  PM me is interested.

EDIT - I had this fence on a Powermatic PM66 that was from 1967. I was not the original fence, but was solid as any fence I've ever used.  Rails are 48"

Hmm, I might take you up on that, although I got my fence working fairly well. Much better than before, that is.  I'll let you know, and thanks for the offer.

No prob.  Like I said, it is just taking up space right now.

As long as the wider is at the back.

Wider at the front (and tighter at the back) is asking for kick backs.

Either arbor to table or table AND arbor to case are the typical mounting systems.

If you want to borrow this let me know.  Mine's a Pinnacle brand, not a Woodpecker brand.  Works for the blade (first step) and then turn it around and do the fence.

I just bought a Jet 10TS table saw from a professional cabinet maker/woodworker.  I went through the saw and almost every bolt and screw on the thing was loose.  There are two button head allen screw missing from the saw legs I'll have to replace.

The angle that the 2'x3' tube rides on for the fence was loose as well; had to disassemble the fence tubing to get to the socket head screws holding the tube and tighten.  Much Mo Betta now!

If this is a new to you saw, the first thing I would do is go over it with a fine tooth comb and tighten every screw, bolt and nut you can find.  And I would not buy a $300 fence for a $100 Sears Craftsman table saw.  If you needed that kind of precision, you would have bought a better saw to begin with - no offense.  When I was looking at buying a used table saw on CL, there were tons of Craftsman and Skil Saw type saws for $100 or so, but very few good ones, like Jet, Powermatic, etc.

Good luck!

I was in the same spot as you, a few weeks ago.. Cheap saw, shitty fence... So I decided to fix it up a bit.. I made a new table top for it, and a fence.. The fence was rather simple actually, I used a 1/2 pipe clamp, and made a T square out of 3/4 ply skinned with hardie board. Not super high tech no, but she is true with the blade no matter where I slide it... She works 100% better the the cheap flimsy fence my cheap saw came with, and is probably the best that saw will ever get... If require more accuracy, time to upgrade the whole saw... If you want pics and a rough sketch, let know... takes about an hour to make depending on your skills/tooling..

I keep everything to better than 1/1,000 of parallel.

It is a Rockwell Unisaw so adjustment is actually not that complicated.