Aldi Table Saw Fence Renewal (please read before you judge!)

[Smeghead]

Hi all
First post so please go easy on me!
I have an aldi table saw.
Please don't judge me on that.
Was bought for me by my late grandparents.
Would love to chuck it in the bin and get something decent, but funds don't allow for that.
Only use it for diy purposes but would love it to be better.
Think a good place to start would be the woeful fence.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Many thanks

 

[marcros]

can you take a picture of the current fence arrangement- in particular how it is fixed to the table?

what is the issue with the current fence- does it move, flex etc?

 

[Orraloon]

Woodwork is a practical thing and there are plenty practical ways to get the best out of the equipment you have. The net is full of ideas but some are better than others. A quick search came up with loads so I have only picked the first 2 for ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXrAdNh5QwE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6_O9AeQQHc

I have been down the cheap tablesaw road(had a Ryobi for a few years) but still managed to get reasonable work done. Provided it spins a blade without wobble, has a riving knife/splitter and a guard then things like fences and sleds can be made to refine the machine.
Regards
John

 

[Smeghead]

many thanks for the replies.
have been doing a google hunt and looking on youtube for a while, but not really sure how to amend what i have.
think it would probably be easiest to remove the fence and guide and start again but not really sure of the best route.
pics attached
main problem with the current fence is it is too short (photo shows it on the thin side for an angle cut. not good either) and it isn't easy to get it straight.
kind regards

 

[whatknot]

Not sure if they have changed the fence or the original manufacturer over time but I have an Aldi table saw and the fence on mine is much longer

Mine is 19 1/4" long (the alli part) and goes past the end of the blade by a distance

Unless you have a different saw to mine I think you are putting it down to much, I find it does all I require at present

Would I like a better/more expensive version sure, but for the money you can't really knock it IMHO

The fence in your photo looks more like a bandsaw fence

 

[Smeghead]

Not sure if they have changed the fence or the original manufacturer over time but I have an Aldi table saw and the fence on mine is much longer

Mine is 19 1/4" long (the alli part) and goes past the end of the blade by a distance

Unless you have a different saw to mine I think you are putting it down to much, I find it does all I require at present

Would I like a better/more expensive version sure, but for the money you can't really knock it IMHO

The fence in your photo looks more like a bandsaw fence

i guess my fence is different to yours.
at max extension (as shown in the photo) it is 20" from the guide channel.
it's the fence that came with the saw.
will admit the saw does what i need it to at the moment, but want to make more use of it, so would prefer something better.

 

[lurker]

The silver aluminium bit is far too far past the blade for ripping.
Will it turn through ninety degrees so you can use that currently horizontal channel to fix through the bolts in the black bit?
I have a saw similar to that and IMHO you have the fence set up wrong

 

[lurker]

By the way
Where is the Riving knife?

 

[whatknot]

There must have been a change of supplier, yours looks more like the Parkside (Lidl) version

Mine has an inset round the blade, and the fence is rock solid and in one piece

I assume you have removed the guard & riving knife assembly ?

 

[Smeghead]

The silver aluminium bit is far too far past the blade for ripping.
Will it turn through ninety degrees so you can use that currently horizontal channel to fix through the bolts in the black bit?
I have a saw similar to that and IMHO you have the fence set up wrong

i agree that the aluminium bit is the wrong way round for normal use, however i needed to make a bevel cut on an L shaped piece and having the fence the other way wouldn't let the wood sit flat on the saw bed.
took the riving knife off for a reason some time back (can't remember what) and just haven't got round to putting it back on yet.
as for the guard (the bit over the top of the blade), i've never used it. always felt it was in the way.

 

[lurker]

Put the Riving knife back.
It's a bit of kit that seriously minimises the likelihood of injury for what is in essence a dangerous tool.

You understood what I said about ripping and the fence being too far back.??

If it's like mine, the cam lock is the weakness ( slight play)
I fixed mine by smoothing out the cam lock profile (there was still casting sprue in evidence).
The other thing is, does the cam lock ride on a springy bit of metal and its this that comes into contact with the main table cast?
If yes, I improved this by sheathing it in some shrink wrap tube.

 

[Racers]

+1 on the riving knife and put the crown guard, just thing about a loose knot or tooth coming off the blade and heading for your eye/eyes.
They do get in the way but can save you from serous injury.
Read these http://www.amgron.clara.net/page91.html

Pete

 

[Seiken]

You could make your own fence.
After using my (cheap) table saw for years with no riving knife therefore no crown guard and the neversquare fence I decided to spend the time and rectify things. Cut down the riving knife so I can make partial thickness cuts and re-attached it, drilled a 25mm hole in the guard and fitted a bit of pipe for dust extraction hung the whole thing off a steel cantilever assembly bolted to the end of the table. By removing one fixing bolt the whole assembly swings below the back of the table so I can use my homemade tenoning jig. I clamp on a short piece of ply as a rip fence as required
Made the fence using pocket screws, the tee guide has some adjustment so to square the fence to the blade is an easy task.

 

[Steve Maskery]

There are many things wrong with your setup and I'm afraid that you have some learning to do if you want to get the best out of your machine.
I'd try to sell you my plans for an excellent home-made fence, but TBH, I don't think you need that yet. It looks to me as if you fence is perfectly adequate for the saw, but you are not using it correctly.
The fence is like it is for a reason. It should be short for ripping, so that the workpiece does not get trapped as it leaves the cut. A long fence is OK for sheet materials, where stresses are not so much of an issue and you need as much support as you can get, but a little saw like that is not suitable for handling 8x4 sheets.
A riving knife and guard are not optional extras. They can save you from serious injury and, in at least one case, death. I'm not exaggerating. Every single person who was injured by a TS thought it was never going to happen to them. It is clear that you are not yet an expert, so why take all these unnecessary risks?
If I sound harsh it is deliberate. I hope to scare you into becoming a better TS user! Get a TS education, my friend, and YT is not the place to get it.

 

[Seiken]

If you read the text for ripping I fit a short fence, I am aware that a table saw this size cannot handle large sheets. There is a riving knife fitted, its cut to the height of the top of the blade. As I said I used to use it with no guard or riving knife, the riving knife now never comes off and the guard is always in place unless cutting tenons, if that is not an improvement in safety by learning about the purpose of a riving knife we have a different definition of education. I know there are differing opinions on using a table saw for cutting tenons. The fence is now solid and square and better than the supplied item by a margin and adequate for the quality of the rest of the saw.

Steve, sorry if I got it wrong but I'm not sure which setup you were referring to.;;

 

[whatknot]

You appear to be replying to a post aimed at the original poster, not you ;-)

If you read the text for ripping I fit a short fence, I am aware that a table saw this size cannot handle large sheets. There is a riving knife fitted, its cut to the height of the top of the blade. As I said I used to use it with no guard or riving knife, the riving knife now never comes off and the guard is always in place unless cutting tenons, if that is not an improvement in safety by learning about the purpose of a riving knife we have a different definition of education. I know there are differing opinions on using a table saw for cutting tenons. The fence is now solid and square and better than the supplied item by a margin and adequate for the quality of the rest of the saw.

 

[Seiken]

Yes, I should adapt an old adage and read twice, reply once!! Sorry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Smeghead (and I'm a Red Dwarf fan too... )
The setup I'm referring to is this:

The one good thing about this is that the blade tilts away from the fence. That is good. Everything else is bad. No rip fence, no guard, the fence is in the wrong place for ripping.
Glad to see a pair of safety glasses in the pic though.
S

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ah, I think there are some crossed wires here!

 

[Smeghead]

Hi Smeghead (and I'm a Red Dwarf fan too... )
The setup I'm referring to is this:

The one good thing about this is that the blade tilts away from the fence. That is good. Everything else is bad. No rip fence, no guard, the fence is in the wrong place for ripping.
Glad to see a pair of safety glasses in the pic though.
S

yep. got that
always use safety squints and ear defenders
push sticks too
as previously said, i had to have the fence that way round as i needed to cut an "L" shapes piece and the fence was too tall to allow the bevel to be cut otherwise (see pic).
have since turned the fence around so the big edge is towards the blade and have moved it back towards the closest edge of the table.
one of my main problems is the fence seems to curve in towards the blade (only very slightly, maybe 0.5 - 1mm ) but does result in a pinch at the far end.
think i need to do some more research.
thanks for all your help