Today i decided to act on my idea to take the Vega fence off the tablesaw and straigtening that sucker out. The fence is 20+ years old and the previous owner had it mounted on my '72 Rockwell TS which was dragged from jobsite to jobsite for years before i "liberated" it and the fence for a mere $100. The fence had some nicks where someone had gotten the blade too close, plus the whole thing had a slight bow to it that was more than i could handle anymore. I love the fence though, and couldn't bear the thought (or cost) of replacing it. Now I've cut plenty of non-ferrous metals with saws easily, which gave me the idea of how to flatten this thing out. My jointer blades were finally to the point at which they need replaced. I bought a new set yesterday, but had one more task in mind for the old ones. With the jointer set to cut "super light" I proceeded to run the large aluminum extrusion through. Shavings much like the tinsel on the tree hit the floor, and i kept at it. Ultimately, i took 3/32" off the blade side to straighten it out and remove the nicks and about 1/32" off the other side. The fence then got sanded to 1000g, given a few doses of TOP COTE, and I ended up with a DEAD FLAT (I mean i can't see light anywhere between it and my straightedge) and silky smooth as a baby's behind fence. The jointer survived without complications, and was given a good cleaning and dons a new set of blades.
I love days when everything goes as planned! --dave