Just finished a bandsaw fence -- rails are oak with heavy duty T-track to which a T-square cross bracket is clamped. The bracket can be angled to compensate for blade drift or set perpendicular to the rails. The bracket holds different fence configurations -- three at the moment -- rip fence, resaw fence, and a curved edge fence for making parallel curved cuts. Most of the hardware and the UHMW plastic piece was purchased at a recent woodworker's show.
[snip]
Thanks for posting this. I've been pondering whether to buy a fence or build one, and these photos have convinced me to build one, pronto.
CharlesJ
-- ======================================================================== Charles Jones | Works at HP, | email: snipped-for-privacy@hp.com Hewlett-Packard | doesn't speak | ICQ: 29610755 Loveland, Colorado | for HP | AIM: LovelandCharles USA | |Jabber: snipped-for-privacy@jabber.hp.com
Very nice. I've bookmarked the pages reference for when I finally get my bandsaw.
Thanks for posting.
You are really putting the rest of us to shame...
More great ideas from a great shop.
Ken Vaughn wrote:
Nice fence, but the shop is a fake. No one has a shop that is THAT clean.
Looks like a system that can be easily expanded for specialty jigs if need be. Well thought out. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
I have received some personal emails requesting information and measurements for the bandsaw fence I posted on "rec.woodworking". The following is a composite reply which I will send to those individuals and also post to the "rec" for those who may be interested -- that way the information will be in the archives.
Plans? -- sorry but I didn't draw any -- its a pretty simple jig -- adjust the size and shape for your bandsaw -- mine is a Jet, which is similar to the Delta 14"
Rails? -- I used some well dried oak that I had around -- any stable hardwood should be fine -- maple would work well. Mine are 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" by 23" long. I cut the dado slot for the T-track pretty tight, and put a few dabs of J.B.Weld metal epoxy on the sides of the T-track before pressing it into the slot. Screws through the bottom of the T-track of course. I also drilled pilot holes from one side of each rail and put four #6 screws into that side such that only the points of the screws cross-pinned the T-track (just to be safe). I mounted my rails flush with the surface of the table -- I considered dropping them down about 1/4" but decided to flush mount which effectively increases the size of the table. On my bandsaw I required 6mm bolts to fit the table's pre-drilled mounting holes.
T-square cross bracket? -- 3/4" Baltic Birch, 3 1/2" by 20 1/4". I drilled the hole for the front knob oversize, and made the hole for the rear knob a slot to allow for setting the cross bracket at an angle when a blade exhibits drift. The front member which bears against the rail is 12" long, but this isn't critical. My fixture knobs use a 3/8" diameter bolt, again not critical. I considered fine sandpaper between the two T-square members, but don't think I will need it. A 3/8" lock bolt and washers joins the two members.
Fence members ? -- 3/4" Baltic Birch 15" to 16" long depending on need for clearance for the cross bracket knobs. The rip fence is 2 1/4" high and was made from some hard maple I had on hand, the resaw fence from 3/4" by 6" by
16" UHMW plastic supported by 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" aluminum angle. The curved fence member was made from walnut -- any hardwood would do. Fixture knobs use a 5/16" bolt, but that is not criticalKen Vaughn Visit My Workshop:
By the way, nice fence. :-)
UA100
Hi Ken,
great looking fence, look like it goes on the short list :-) One thing in your description confuses me, you have gone to extreme lengths to insure that the t-track does not separate from the rails but there is very little "up" force put on the fence if the rails are flush with the table. Am I missing something? I have a t-track in my router table and it sits 1/32 low in the table and I have never had any problem with the track lifting.
BRuce
Ken Vaughn wrote:
You are correct in that there should not be much lifting force with the rails mounted flush with the table. When I started to make the rails, I was thinking of dropping them down below the edge of the table, and was concerned about the lifting force. I've been told that I tend to over-engineer.
One of the reasons that I chose to flush mount the rails is that I plan to make a simple sled for slicing small log sections and tree branches in preparation for making turning blanks for my lathe. The rails add an extra
3 inches to the front to back table footprint (several inches left to right) and should help with stability. I have an aggressive cut thicker blade on order from Suffolk Machinery for this purpose.Ken
ok, I reread your post and then figured you had them made before deciding where to mount. Another case of "just in time" engineering. I have the Jet also so it should not take any time to put one of these together. Delivered my current project today so I should have time in the next 3 weeks to get some of the shop upgrades done.
Let me (us) know how the blade works out and which one it is. I have a lot of small logs that I would like to turn into turnings also.
BRuce
Ken Vaughn wrote:
Al
Hi Pat,
At least you didn't say " ... legend in your own mind"
Jigs seem to be of universal interest to woodworkers. My ISP provides statistics on personal websites (Urchin product) and every month the most visited page by a factor of 2 is my page on shop made jigs. Actually, I added some other new jigs recently, but we will leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Regards, Ken
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.