Replies

1. 
   JeffHeath | Apr 20, 2009 04:25pm | #1

   Squaring the fence to the blade will not get you the results you are looking for with the bandsaw unless the drift angle of your bandsaw is 0°.  Some bandsaws can be tuned to completely eliminate drift, but I gave up on mine a long time ago.  It's easier to adjust the fence you are using to the drift of the saw.

   Here's what I do:

   I take a piece of scrap stock with a perfectly jointed (straight) edge.  I mark a line parallel to the edge 1" in from the edge, and saw about 18" of the line freehand on the bandsaw.  You will notice that the board is not tracking perfectly parallel to the blade, but instead, has a bit of a drift either left or right.  That is your drift.  Once you have fed enough of the scrap board through the blade to account accurately for the drift angle, turn off the saw, being careful not to allow the scrap board to move.  When the blade is not moving anymore (safety first!!) clamp the board to your top.  Now, set your fence parallel to the clamp board, as this is the proper drift angle. 

   You will now be able to use your bandsaw for ripping or resawing without issue.

   Jeff

    

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Apr 20, 2009 04:26pm | #2

   Bandsaw fences are problematic.  Unless you have your bandsaw precisely tuned, and have the right blade and blade tension, you are likely to have a bit of "drift" with the cut.  The fence is adjusted for the drift not parallel to the blade in it's static position. 

   One can argue that drift should be tuned out, but it's not always easy, and changes with each blade change.  That's why lots of woodworkers accept a little drift and just make adjustments to compensate. 

    

3. 
   Dave45 | Apr 20, 2009 04:31pm | #3

   If I'm understanding your question, the "face" of your fence isn't parallel with the blade. If so, how far "off" is it?

   Bandsaws aren't known for high precision cuts, so being a little "off" may not be a big deal since you'll need to clean things up anyway.

   You may also have misaligned guide blocks which could push the blade slightly offline. Back the guide blocks off and adjust the blade tracking if needed. With the guide blocks out of the way, bring the fence up to the blade and see if it's parallel. If it is, adjust your guide blocks to the blade.

   If you really need to adjust your fence, see if there is some "wiggle room" in the front and back rail attachment points.

4. 
   davidbrum | Apr 20, 2009 04:37pm | #4

   Just to be clear, are you setting the fence parallel to the blade or trying to get the miter slots parallel to the blade?

   In either case, here's the method described in my Shop Fox owners manual:

   1 Install your widest blade
   2 Place a long straight edge on the table, snug against the blade.

   For the miter slots, you will hopefully be able toloosen the trunion bolts under the table and shift the table around. Use a ruler to measure from each end of the miter slot to the straight edge. Shift the table until it's good.

   For the fence, use your now parallel miter slot as a guide. Just loosen the bolts in the fence to shift it over until the fence is in line with the miter slot. If it doesn't work or you can't pivot the fence, shim the fence rails out from the table until you're square.

   David B
1. 
   eoinsgaff | Apr 20, 2009 08:25pm | #6

   My problem is, as mentioned by others here, drift. I spent a lot of time tuning the saw but I didn't have a satisfactory method to make the fence parallel to the blade. When I got drift in my re-sawing I assumed it was due to this problem and i hoped that squaring my fence would eliminate this.I have just re-read Michael Fortunes article (which I probably should have done first) on setting a band saw (FWW 173 - Five Tips For Better Bandsawing) and he recommends allaigning the fence with the miter slots and then set up the blade accordingly with the tracking adjustment. This is probably a photo negative of the suggestion to adjust the fence with the added advantage of having a parallel miter slot. Naturally I'd welcome further comments.Eoin

1. 
   RalphBarker | Apr 20, 2009 09:01pm | #7

   FWIW, years ago I saw an article about a "resawing fence" that dealt nicely with the drift problem. The fence amounted to one beavy board on edge, mounted to a base that would clamp to the table. The vertical member's edge was V-shaped, with a slight rounding of the vertical apex. This allowed a vertical registration surface for the board being resawn, and the positioning in relation to the blade provided a thickness reference. The actual track of the board, however, was left to the operator to control.

1. 
   SgianDubh | Apr 21, 2009 12:19am | #8

   You've just described a 'single point fence'. They work well. Slainte.

   View Imagerichardjonesfurniture.com

2. 
   WoodyAl | Apr 21, 2009 05:23am | #9

   eoinsgaff, I think from what you are describing is that you are expecting the band saw blade to cut perfectly parallel to the fence when the blade and the fence are exactly parallel to the miter slot.  Even with all of this alignment on the best band saws on the market, this simply is not always true. The band saw blade itself is the part that causes the cut to be "off", not the machine.

   The band saw blade, even though it is parallel to the miter slot and the fence will sometimes cause the cut to drift away from parallel. The only way to compensate for this is to use the alignment method that JeffHeath described earlier. Basically, re-adjust the fence to cut parallel to the way the band saw blade is going to cut even though the fence is no longer parallel to the miter slot.

   I have found that even the same blade will drift differently depending on the wood thickness and hardness. Thus, it's not uncommon to re-adjust the fence to match blade drift more than once.

   Al Benton

5. 
   dynamwebz | Apr 20, 2009 06:20pm | #5

   JeffHeath has the right idea here. Find the drift angle and deal with it.

   I used to go crazy trying to get completely straight cuts on my bandsaw. No sooner was it resawing one piece well then the next piece of a different thickness would drift.

   I now simply compensate for the drift and that's about it.

6. 
   roc | Apr 21, 2009 07:07am | #10

   If you have one of these

   http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaw.lt14se.aspx#

   All you have to do is follow the instructions in the manual which is :

   Make miter slots parallel to blade by adjusting the table to trunnion relation ship, set fence parallel to miter slots, make perfect, accurate cuts predictably every time ! ! !

   I don't even make test cuts any more.

   The exception is if the blade hits some grit/rocks in the wood and gets damaged. Then get Laguna to repair and or sharpen the blade. The resaw king blade is a very accurately ground blade like a tablesaw blade and it makes allot of difference. The big guides do the rest. Both can be put on your saw as well.

   Single point fences, drift, trial and error, squinting at following a line from six feet away. That is all unnecessary now. I like hand tools and cutting to a line with a handsaw. I do not like the tedium of sawing to a line on a bandsaw for six feet when I can just run it against a big flat fence and get it done so I can get back to my hand tools. I bet you will agree if you have a machine that can do it.

   PS: Ooops you did ask how. I use one of these

   http://catalog.starrett.com/catalog/catalog/groups.asp?GroupID=442

   if you click on the magnify you will see two pins sticking up at the back. these pins can be pushed down and so run in the miter slot edge. I then add one of these to the above surface gauge :

   http://catalog.starrett.com/catalog/catalog/groups.asp?GroupID=540

   When I can run the tip of the indicator back and forth over the taught blade, which is more than an inch wide and it stays on the zero mark of the gauge the slot is parallel to the blade. The indicator is rotated from the orientation in the pic to an orientation where the moving indicator rod is roughly parallel to the table rather than vertical.

   Not sure I would buy all this just for setting up your bandsaw but it has tons of uses other wise. Such as throwing my Winding sticks on this guy ( see attached photo ) to check for straight and parallel of edges.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   
   

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   Edited 4/21/2009 12:22 am by roc