Thread: Laguna Drift Master Fence System

Hi Brian,
I am not familiar with the drift master fence so can't offer help there. You'r description sounds like something not worth the effort. Hope someone has a good answer for you. Failing that get a refund on the fence and build one of these.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpbwH9510MY
I built one a couple of years back and it is way better at resawing than the fence that came with my saw.
Regards
John

Brian,
I read through the online manual, as far as I can see, the only holes required are for the guide shaft/bar. You attach this bar using predrilled fence mounting holes.
The universal brackets permit mounting on any saw and also should allow for a good range of adjustment to get the desired clearance between the fence and table.
The other mounting option is to attach the bar directly edge through the existing fence mounting holes.
The guide shat has a number of mounting holes predrilled. They note that you may have to elongate these in order get the correct clearance. I would hope a Laguna fence should mate to a Laguna table quite nicely.
If they shipped you a table with no fence mounting holes then you better be speaking with someone.

Don

A good question might be why do you need the driftmaster, is the saw not doing good cuts? TBH it is the last thing I would fit to a BS in a men's shed, the majority of users see an adjustment on something and it is like a Lemming, they just have to jump in and see what happens. Set the saw up with a stock fence and let the cutting of wood begin.

Hi Chris,

You maybe correct there. However we purchased the fence with the new BS and as far as I'm concerned, if you buy an accessory for what ever piece of equipment, I would expect it to just bolt/clip / screw on, not needing to drill holes bigger to enable the accessory to be fitted.

There is nothing stopping members cutting on a bandsaw they can use the Jet 14 till this one is set up.

Brian

Hi,

Well the holes in the bar do not match the holes in the BS. To fit the bar we need to drill out the two exciting holes to 13 mm so the bar can be bolted direct to the BS. Once this is drilled out it only leaves about 1/8 inch of table below the new holes, not a great amount.

If we use the universal brackets to fit a fence apparently this interferes with opening of the bottom door and you need to tilt the table to open the bottom door.

This fence is designed for the 14 and 18 BS and I expected it to just bolt on not be using any universal bracket, which is poor form and impedes the opening of the bottom door. Not good enough, on what I believe is a good BS.

What really grates me, is a member rang up to get some information from the supplier on how to fit the fence and was basically told, have never fitted one cannot help, if I find anything out will get back to you.

If I can get some spare time today I feel a call a bit further up the food chain to get some answers is warranted.

Honestly, I bet no one has fitted a driftmaster to that saw in Oz and the only answers you will get will be in the US. Laguna in the US have got a fairly ordinary customer relations reputation which they are trying to rectify at the moment so maybe a phone call will get you some help. Obviously it is not going to bolt on so I would return it as unfit for purpose.

Looking around it appears that the LT BS is an Italian machine which may explain why it does not fit as the rest of the Laguna BS's are of Asian manufacture.

Hi,

Well a call to the supplier resulted in the following.

As they make some 20 bandsaws sourced from three different countries China - Taiwan and Italy the drift master fence system is mostly installed using the universal brackets and not direct to the table casting. I said it should be made to suit ALL BS the customer should not have to drill out new equipment to fit an accessory made by Laguna, which state designed for the 14 and 18 inch BS.

To drill out the exciting holes only leaves 3.2mm of casting below the hole once drilled and I said this is not a lot considering the weight of the fence system. I also asked about warranty, if we drill a larger hole what happens if it breaks out at the bottom who's replaces the table top?

Also, once you drill the holes out the original fence will not be able to be fitted so its basically a total waste. I figure we will investigate further. We have an idea on how to fit the fence system and still use the original fence,which may be suitable.

In the mean time we have just fitted the original fence.

As for fitting the drift master fence system I was advised 180 units had been sold in the last month or so. I feel they should tell the customer about the fitting so they can make an informed decision before laying out the cash.

I just hope with all the other Laguna tools we purchased as a tool lot there are no more bloody surprises instore for us.

Laguna obviously haven't watched these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY7xKKUGBgE&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k-r5utmU2Q