NO.....
I ordered my saw direct from Jet (a Cabinet Saw) 15 years ago with the Biesmeyer Fence... At that time Biesmeyer was not owned by Delta and Biesmeyers were common options on many saws...
My original table saw was a Rockwell Contractors saw...locked front and back, My Dads Tablesaw was a Craftsmans,..locked front and back..my Brothers original Tablesaw was a Delta Contractors saw...locked front and back...
Bob Griffiths
There wasn't much need to read into the OP's message... he pretty well stated that he was risk averse to mail order and was looking only at what was in the local stores.
The only Delta saws I've seen in the local Borgs were direct drive saws and contractor saws with the base fence and stamped steel wings. If the OP encountered the same in his local stores I don't blame him for rejecting them in favor of the two saws he listed. The local Sears was stocking Jet stationary tools but I haven't been in their tool department in a couple years so I don't know if they still do. The OP may not have known that the order option was available to him through those channels.
I'm well equipped with big iron, most of which I got exceptional deals on through the now defunct local Woodworker's Warehouse. Between price matching, sales and liquidation deals I filled my shop with tools similar to those I see in the commercial shops in the area--3 HP cabinet saw, DJ-20, etc. Only my drill press and floor model thickness planner didn't come from that store.
John
Fair enough. It seems to me that most of the fences on contractor's saws that I've seen over the past few years have been front-locking, so I presumed that's the type that most of the folks here are talking about when asking for fence replacement recommendations. Reviewing a few saws on OWWM, that doesn't seem to be the case "back then", although looking at the designs it's easy to see why front-n-back lockers have a bad rap.
HERE's our miscommunication problem! I've seen the iron winged Delta contractor's saws at my local various Borgs. Varying floor stocking.
Well, there you have it.
-Mike
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