Imagine a very shallow "V". I noticed while cutting some 2 x 2's. Put a straight edge on it and the inner portion of both sides is about
1/8 inch back from the straight edge. So far I haven't found the manual, but the whole fence is one piece of cast aluminum and I can't imagine straightening it. Any ideas? I tried wedging the center portion forward but it lives up to it's name. It is extremely ridgid.
Is it effecting your cut accuracy?
If you can't address the bow in the fence by milling, you might try shimming the valleys with polypropylene shims; or mount an auxiliary wooden fence for those critical cuts, similar to when you use a miter saw for cutting crown molding:
What you lose in cutting depth and width, you may gain in accuracy.
Sub-fence? It'll cost some cut length but it's better than diagonal cuts.
I once had a cast iron jointer fence with a similar problem. The maker (Jet) said take it off, put it on a concrete floor/sidewalk, and stand on the hump. It wouldn't move at first, but the I'd feel it relax. I tried it and it worked.
I have no idea if it would work for an aluminum fence.
I think the risk is making it worse than it already is. A concave fence is better than convex.
"G. Ross" wrote in news:I- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
My Kobalt SCMS fence has done the same thing. It's maybe not as extreme, but still quite noticeable. At one time, I had replaced the fence with wood, but since the fence was held together with only a 3/4x3/4 piece of material it was just a matter of time before things shifted.
I've heard of angle aluminum or steel being used as a fence, but on my saw at least the original fence was held in place by only 3 bolts. Trying to mount a metal fence would mean drilling and tapping a new mounting hole or two in just the right spot to not impede the movement of the saw.
Puckdropper
I'm mulling over a two-part strip of wood which is thicker at the center and glued over the old fence. I think I can do this with my planer. The original fence is hollow and two thin for milling. I found the paperwork and found that this was a reconditioned saw and is no longer in warranty, so it is up to me to fix it or take a chance on a new one.
"G. Ross" wrote
Is the fence aluminum? If it is, this sounds like a perfect job for a jointer, set for a very light cut. I would cut from the middle outwards, from both ends, until it does not remove anything, then perhaps one complete pass set for very light removal.
It IS aluminum, but the fence is off by a hair over 1/8 inch in the center and the facing on the fence is a hair UNDER 1/8" thick. But I can glue 1/4 inch wood on it and joint that til it is flat. Thanks for the suggestion.
I had the problem with my Bosch saw. They replaced the fence with no quest ions asked. I just recycled the old one.
Len
If you can live with it, I would take Karl's solution. I say live with it as you will need to square up the fence every session that you use it. May be not a big deal. Back in the bad old days, my first "powered" miter box had a cast iron fence with milled face. When it worked itself out of squar e, I took the fence off and filed out the inside of the mounting hole (with a rat tail file) on the fence enough to bring the fence back into square.
If I recall, the machine bolt holding the fence in place about 1/4". I dri lled out the holes to a larger size and put large washers with split lock w ashers on both sides and tightened it up. It worked well.
Now, I would probably go online and look for a fence.
In no way, ever, would cut down a piece of METAL on my jointer. You can cu t aluminum on your miter saw as you have a large fence and a relatively sma ll cut surface that is mechanically pushed against a backstop. Hand holdin g a piece of metal by hand, making a 4" wide cut on a metal of >>unknown ha rdness
I found an old drawer side in my junk box, ripped and cut it and glued two pieces on the face of the fence with epoxy. Clamped overnight. This morning I ran it over the jointer taking small cuts until it was flat. After putting the fence back on the saw I checked that it was square with the blade. Also had to adjust the verticality of the blade. Re cut a bit off the blocks I had previously made and checked with a machinist's square. Both ways they were as square as a South Georgia farm boy.
Thanks for all the suggestions, and especially to Jim in NC for reminding me what a jointer is for.
"G. Ross" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Good to hear, but now I've got to try it. You wouldn't happen to have the other drawer side, would you? *g* (There should be a usable piece of lumber around here somewhere... ;-))
Puckdropper
replying to G. Ross, Tinkerer wrote: Old old post. But it came up on my initial search for this issue. The fix is to take off the fence, make a "bridge" using 2 blocks on the ends of the fence and judiciously nail the hump part with a 3 lb sledge. Trial and error. But it will bring the edges back into alignment almost perfectly when you check with a straightedge after each blow. I over bent it, but reversed the fence, clamped it, hit it on the far end and got it back to spec.
If you are going to answer an old post, consider also posting what you are answering. Right now we only see something that makes you appear to be talking to yourself. ;~)
Or do it the right way. Have it milled flat.
For not much more than the cost of a couple of cups of coffee for the supervisor and the machinist that did the work, I got the fence for my Delta miter saw milled perfectly flat at a local machine shop.
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