Replies

1. 
   Eef | Sep 24, 2009 11:23pm | #1

   roger,

   fellow californian!

   is it possible to loosen the material which serves as your fence and insinuate some shim stock behind it?

   also, are you saying that your miter slots were milled such that they are not parallel with each other? that sounds serious. what kind of a saw is it?
   eef

   i have an old grizzly g1023 and am able to square the fence by way of two set screws. i believe that most fences are made so that one may change the surfaces on which the wood rides.
   eef

   
   

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   Edited 9/24/2009 4:27 pm ET by Eef

1. 
   ButchersWood | Sep 24, 2009 11:33pm | #2

   Its good to work in a warm shop nearly year round here, isn't it?No, the miter slots are parallel, I just was not able to verify that they are in fact true and straight so I will assume so. Actually, I did check with the best straightedge I had and it confirms what the measurements with the dial indicator told me - compared to the miter slot, the fence is bowed in at the middle by about .005 (slipping a leaf gauge between the straightedge and the fence vs not being able to slip the smallest leaf I had between the straightedge and the miter slot edge).The face is pretty thick so I doubt that shimming it will work, but I have nothing to lose at this point. I am also wondering if the material is soft enough to put through the jointer, just take a hair off.... I doubt I could get it smooth enough though.I just checked and a replacement left face is nearly $100. If I thought it would be true I'd spring for it. Maybe I will call WMH Tool before ordering.RogerRogerI'd rather be making cabinets and friends....

1. 
   Eef | Sep 25, 2009 01:07am | #4

   roger,mike hates the plastic crap-from experience. i find that i need to replace the "after-market" fence from time to time. i like mike's advice to you.eef

2. 
   [email protected] | Sep 25, 2009 05:44am | #6

   First, before you try anything else: Remove the plastic face, and confirm that the body of the fence is true. The plastic is pretty strong in compression, and smooth, with a low coefficient of friction. (Which is why they used it for the fence face.) But, it is not rigid. So, if the body of the fence is warped, it will follow the warp. And, if you put on a MDF face, it too will conform to the warp in the fence, solving nothing.

   Edited 9/24/2009 10:46 pm ET by Jigs-n-fixtures

1. 
   mike4244 | Sep 26, 2009 10:41pm | #9

   You are correct  in what say about verifying the steel tube fence is straight to begin with. The steel would have to be machined and the plastic crap straight as well. With my fence the steel appears to be machined. I borrowed my cousins straight edge, and found that the fence was perfect to the naked eye. With the plastic crap on the was a bulge at the front and a hollow at the blade. I used feeler gauges as I did not have an  indicator at the time. The bulge was about .035 the hollow was worse.

   I removed the fence, with the plastic crap intact. Took it to my cousins machine shop. After some inspection and checking ,Tom told me to return the plastic crap because he wasn't going to try and surface grind the plastic crap.

   Tom said to me, why don't you use plywood like his dad had on a unisaw. I forgot that the beismier used plywood. I had mdo scraps left from  porch columns that I wrapped. Put the mdo on and that took care of it.By the way, mdo is not mdf.Mdo is medium density overlay. The difference is the core is plywood and the face is a water resistant  face.Mdf is medium density fiberboard, also goes in the crap catagory.

   mike

2. 
   mike4244 | Sep 25, 2009 12:27am | #3

   Remove the plastic crap and replace it with a piece of 1/2" mdo ( medium density overlay.After installing the mdo, check it with a good straightedge.If the steel tube rail was machined straight the mdo will be straight. If not,tape thin shims or just layers of masking tape in the concave areas.

   I have a piece of the plastic crap that I removed from the fence.It is not straight and I am not going to try and joint or sand this stuff. Come to think of it I have two pieces of this crap.

   mike

1. 
   ButchersWood | Sep 25, 2009 03:01am | #5

   LOL - Mike, c'mon - tell us how you REALLY feel!This sounds like good advice and certainly easy to try, and a LOT cheaper than the $100 it would cost to get the mfg replacement part. Thanks!
   RogerI'd rather be making cabinets and friends....

1. 
   ohcomeon | Sep 26, 2009 05:12pm | #8

   BW, my Powermatic fence has the same problem.  For the longest time I kept blaming anything from bad technique to the blade coming out of alignment.  I spent hours realigning my trunnion and finally discovered, like you, that it was a bow in the fence.  As others said, take the faces off and confirm the metal body of the fence is straight. (I bet it is).  My UHMW plastic faces bow and shimming the low spots is a pain.  I've been thinking about making replacement faces and that might be your best bet.

3. 
   boilerbay | Sep 25, 2009 04:29pm | #7

   Have you put a straight edge across the whole length of the fence?
   HDPE polyethylene bends under compression -- a lot.
   It may be that your bolts are too tight rather than loose as you first checked for.
   If it is that problem, think about replacing it with a different flat material like MDF faced with a thin film of HDPE polyethylene and reset your cursor.

4. 
   James_Buxton | Sep 27, 2009 12:50am | #10

   I have that fence, and found the same problem.   The plastic is too floppy, and the attachment things distort it.   I replaced it with wood.   Wood is more rigid, and you can do things like plane it.   You can also put shims between it and the steel if your steel isn't quite as straight as you like.  Amen to the prior poster's opinion of plastic faces!