# UHMW thickness



## Baleines (Jan 5, 2020)

My ts fence is all aluminum with slots for 1/4x20 nuts on top and on each side. Wanting to add some UHMW to help with running pieces. My question is for straightness, is 1/2” thick enough? I made a jig that sits over the fence for when i use the dado or having the blade close to the fence but want the uhmw for every day sawing. Thanks.


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

What is "UHMW?"


George


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

GeorgeC said:


> What is "UHMW?" George


George - Do you need help with Google or web searches in general? If so, please send me a PM. 

Click this link:
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=uhmw

Here is my response to your question:

UHMW is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. It is a kind of plastic that is easy to machine with woodworking tools. You can buy it from many sources, including woodworking stores. Woodworkers use it for making jigs, runners for miter slots, and much more. In general, glue does not stick to it. 

It comes in many shapes and sizes. I use UHMW bushings when I apply CA finishes to pens, for example. The CA glue peels off easily.

Here are a few overpriced examples of UHMW plastic at a woodworking store:
https://www.rockler.com/uhmw-plastic-jig-stock-3-8-inch-thick
https://www.rockler.com/uhmw-plastic-jig-stock

These are the bushings I use for pen finishing:
https://www.rockler.com/non-stick-pen-bushings-for-ca-finish
(Since then, I bought a dowel of UHMW to make my own bushings in the future. Much cheaper that way.)


----------



## Pretender (Jun 22, 2019)

As long as what ever you are attaching it to is flat the UHMW will be flat also.
1/2" is plenty thick enough. In fact 3/8" should be plenty.


----------



## Nick2727 (Jun 14, 2020)

i got myself a nice stick of UHMW, havent cut it yet, any tips i should know before i try? blade tpi for example?

as for as OPs question i guess im interested in that as well. i might attach some to my fence as well.


----------



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

To the original question, even at a decent thickness UHMW is about as rigid as spaghetti. Whatever you bolt to the fence will be as straight as the fence. Going with the 1/2" will be plenty thick, itll let you counterbore for the bolts needed to hold it to the fence, plus give you some to surface off down the line if the face gets beat up. 



Nick2727 said:


> i got myself a nice stick of UHMW, havent cut it yet, any tips i should know before i try? blade tpi for example?
> 
> as for as OPs question i guess im interested in that as well. i might attach some to my fence as well.


Whatever you do, dont let the blade dwell in one spot. Let it dwell and the plastic melts, and you really dont want that to happen. Keep up the feed pressure


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Tool Agnostic said:


> George - Do you need help with Google or web searches in general? If so, please send me a PM.
> 
> Click this link:
> https://lmgtfy.com/?q=uhmw
> ...



NO!!! I need posters to be smart/courteous enough to provide full information in their posts. It is sad that they are too lazy to spell out acronyms that are not commonly used. If they want me to help them, then they need to help me read what they are posting. Aiding and abetting these people also does not help the forum.


George


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

GeorgeC said:


> NO!!! I need posters to be smart/courteous enough to provide full information in their posts. It is sad that they are too lazy to spell out acronyms that are not commonly used. If they want me to help them, then they need to help me read what they are posting. Aiding and abetting these people also does not help the forum. George


I like your responsive posts, but when you write nothing more than "What is xyz?", it is not helpful. It would be far better to say one of these: 

"Some people may not know what xyz is. It means ..."

"Some people do not know what xyz is, including me. I did a web search and learned that it means (blah blah). Here is a web link where I learned more about it:"
(web links here)

"I performed multiple web searches, but could not figure out what "xyz" means. Can someone explain it please?" 

... or simply say nothing and wait for the thread to develop further.


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

This has nothing to do with me. It has all to do with people knowing how to properly write. And I guess with those who also do not know what proper writing is and that it should be respected. 



I apologize to the original poster for calling you lazy. It is more probably that you have never learned how to properly write to be understood. Years ago this used to be taught in school. I understand now that in many schools writing is considered a lost art. I guess that this is further aggravated by the horrible writing that we see from newspaper journalist. 



Just for your and Tool Agnostic's edification. When an acronym if first used it is supposed to be spelled out unless it is common knowledge such as FBI, NASA USAF, etc. And, if that does not provide enough information, then that should also be included. Further use of that acronym in the same writing can be used without being spelled out. Proper writing is especially important on a forum like this if you expect to get good answers.


One important thing that you have to remember is that you know what you want but have to get someone else to know by only writing. If it takes you a minute longer to write, remember that there will be dozens (maybe hundreds) of people reading what you write. You do not want to have them do anything other than read your post. As you write, be respectful of the English language and those who must read it.


George


----------



## NoThankyou (Mar 21, 2018)

Knock it off, both of you.

For the record:
George sometimes you do come off as a bit arrogant.


----------



## Nick2727 (Jun 14, 2020)

I'm not trying to get into the middle of this. But we use UHMW all the time all over the place at the plywood mill, and as far as I've known it's just UHMW, like PVC is PVC, that's the name it goes by, that's what it's called. 

To be fair, the original poster was probably safe to assume if any potential reader of his question didn't know what UHMW stood for, than they wouldn't be able to help answer anyway? 

That's just my 2 cents on the issue, not trying to step on any toes. Take care, stay safe.


----------



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

GeorgeC said:


> NO!!! I need posters to be smart/courteous enough to provide full information in their posts. It is sad that they are too lazy to spell out acronyms that are not commonly used. If they want me to help them, then they need to help me read what they are posting. Aiding and abetting these people also does not help the forum.
> 
> 
> George


Dude, UHMW is a stupidly common acronym, if you dont know what it is then thats on you. You can take 3 seconds to google it yourself if you need to. If you dont know what it is, then for the love of god, just shut up and dont say anything instead of picking a fight on every post


----------



## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

My Shop Fox fence came with UHMW. It was not the same thickness along the length. I did not know if it could be jointed straight so I replaced it with " Fin board". This is 13 ply birch plywood 3/4" thick. Been on the saw about 15 years and I am very satisfied. 
mike


----------



## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

There is a product called Star Board. It is a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Not cheap but not terribly expensive either It is used a lot on boats as table tops, hand rails other outside applications . It is also pretty impervious to most chemicals and is very flat and rigid. 
There is a company on the web, cant remember the name, but they sell it cut to any size you want. Purchased this way, it is fairly inexpensive. I bought some for some areas where the dimensions were critical so I ordered slightly over sized. Turns out his cuts were exactly the measurenebts i sent him so if you order any, just give the the right size. It comes in several colors. 
I used it for an inside electrical panel I was replacing and for an outside dashboard I redesigned. 
Both pieces including shipping was $25. well worth it. if I find the name , I will post it, but there are others that are comparable to his prices.


----------



## Baleines (Jan 5, 2020)

Thanks for all the reply’s


----------



## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

NoThankyou said:


> Knock it off, both of you.
> 
> For the record:
> George sometimes you do come off as a bit arrogant.


sometimes?


----------



## faith michel (Sep 10, 2017)

Dont write answer to george.. Because he is very old member ..
He is never touched and criticized..

I love this forum.. Because this forum is my first English forum for me ...
But some members are VIP (Very important person) in this forum..
The forum members are not equal..
There are double standard in this forum..



SM-J700F cihazımdan Tapatalk kullanılarak gönderildi


----------



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

faith michel said:


> Dont write answer to george.. Because he is very old member ..
> He is never touched and criticized..
> 
> I love this forum.. Because this forum is my first English forum for me ...
> ...


Nah, nobodys untouchable, no matter how long theyve been a member. If someone wants to act a fool, call them out on it. Keep to the forum rules of course, be as respectful as you can given the circumstance, watch the language, etc, but call them out on it. If the mods want to start deleting posts for "personal attacks" whenever someone gets called out on their crap, well, call them out too. We are all supposed to be equals here, right?

Hopefully, people learned a few months ago that when the 'old guard' decides to band together and try to make each other untouchable, people see right through that abuse of power. We lost more than a few members, good members, people with an irreplaceable amount of knowledge whos absence is still noted. I really hope that some lessons were learned from that and we dont have a repeat

Then again, the banhammer has been hanging over me for a while for touching the untouchable, so you might be on to something


----------

