Thread: Advice request: After market fence

Hi,
I made a version of this.
Shop-made Band Saw Table & Rip Fence (or save more than $100) - by Bricofleur @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community
It works better than the fence that came with the saw as it is very easy to adjust for drift. Nice zero clearance at the blade too.
Regards
John

What do you mean by "inaccurate"? As long as it locks down repeatably, and you can align it with the mitre slot, then drift is taken care of by adjusting blade tracking on the top wheel (as recommended by Michael Fortune et al) until you get cuts parallel to the fence. No "drift compensation" required from the fence itself.

Even my (otherwise spectacularly crappy) Scheppach Basato 4 (or should that be Bastardo 4?) can manage this, and the bandsaw+fence was made in China by people who didn't care...

If the fence won't lock down repeatably, then a homemade version is the go - plenty of designs out there.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

What do you mean by "inaccurate"?

A good point Brush. I wrote this in the very early hours of the morning and my comment leaves a lot to the imagination.

Once locked down the fence is fine and drift isn't really a problem. The issue is adjustment. When I release the fence lock and slide the fence a fraction and lock it back down the other end of the fence will pull the fence off the desired mark and I have try and reposition again. Repeat the process until I get the desired placement.

Hope that makes sense.

Regards,

Denim.

I have a Minimax with a fence I loathe, it jams on the rail and moves when the adjuster is locked. I decided to use two linear rails and bearings a while ago but until last week I could not work out how to clamp a brake mechanism to the rails without damaging the surface the bearings run on but I am sure I have figured that out now and they are at the machine shop for modification. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20mm-SBR...97.m4902.l9144

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Originally Posted by orraloon

I made a version of this.
Shop-made Band Saw Table & Rip Fence (or save more than $100) - by Bricofleur @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community
It works better than the fence that came with the saw as it is very easy to adjust for drift. Nice zero clearance at the blade too.

I have decided to follow you with this one John and I'll put it together this afternoon. I also saw the Universal Bandsaw Fence video which gave a good explanation of the fence in action.

Regards,

Denim

Originally Posted by Denim

Once locked down the fence is fine and drift isn't really a problem. The issue is adjustment. When I release the fence lock and slide the fence a fraction and lock it back down the other end of the fence will pull the fence off the desired mark and I have try and reposition again. Repeat the process until I get the desired placement.

That's the main complaint I've had about almost every BS fence I've tried. The only ones I haven't had the problem with are the ones I can't afford.

Eventually I got my hands on a 2nd fence very similar to mine that had seen a nasty accident. (I believe he tipped the BS over when loading it onto a trailer! ) The fence itself was trashed but the rail and lock-down were fine.

I fitted the rail and lock-down on the other end of my existing table/fence (admittedly, easier said than done) so I could lock it from both ends.

Now it's move to position, lightly tighten both lock levers, recheck the setting then snub both locks firmly.

Bullet-proof!

Hi Denim,
That was the video I got the idea from only I could not find it yesterday. I think you will like how well it works.
Regards
John

Every Biesemeyer-styled fence (one which clamps at one side only) I have had moves a little between aligning and clamping down. This includes fences for bandsaws and table saws. Even the fence on my Hammer N4400 would do so (minutely, however).

The reason for this is that there is unequal forces on each side of the clamp. With table saws and fences with a long clamp (with pads each side of the fence), you need to adjust each side to equal pressure. With single-point clamps (such as my Hammer), where there is a "tongue" that grips the rail, examine if it is square or pulling to one side. If the latter, then you may need to file the trigger/clamp until it, too, offers a central force.

Another trick, which is well-known among Biesemeyer-clone users, is to almost close down the clamp, move the fence into position, push the fence against the rail, and then do the final clamping.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I built my own using a Carbatec AlignaRip welded Beisemeyer type fence.
I had to buy the required steel for the slide rail and angle, and got my brother to weld.
Very impressed, cuts straight, slides ok also.
If you want more details send a PM with email address

Originally Posted by orraloon

Hi,
I made a version of this.
Shop-made Band Saw Table & Rip Fence (or save more than $100) - by Bricofleur @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community
It works better than the fence that came with the saw as it is very easy to adjust for drift. Nice zero clearance at the blade too.
Regards
John

Replacement band saw fence done. A little later than expected due to a few priority jobs like Christmas lights etc.

NewFence.jpg


Regards,

Denim