Wibbly fence

[PerranOak]

I have been given a small table saw (my first ever) that works pretty well except for the fence.

It's a bit wibbly so when I rip something a bit long, the fence moves outward at its end giving a "non-square" cut.

Can anyone recommend a replacement fence please?

I saw one in Axminster they do exist, to my surprise!

BTW, why are all fences only secured at one end? Do they all splay out?

Cheers.

 

[Eric The Viking]

A loose fence puts you in grave risk of a kickback accident even with quite small saws (mine's 8" bladed and it's scared me in the past!).

I'd strongly suggest you do three things:

0. Check it has a functional riving knife and crown guard

1. fix the fence's mounting, so it's parallel to the blade and can't wobble in use (wobbly is really dangerous).

2. Make it a short fence. It should stop only a cm-or-so beyond the front of the blade, so that there is no fence alongside most of the blade's semicrcle.

3. Get the DVDs of the esteemed Mr. Maskery on the subject, which will explain all in terms even I can understand! He also demonstrates kickback on the latest one - not nice.

If you don't want to spend the money on a DVD, there's a fair bit on YouTube, but bear in mind the Yanks (generally speaking) have no concept of economics, nor power tool safety. I'm not trying to be a killjoy, but table saws are dangerous, in surprising ways, and the surprise bit is itself the worst thing about 'em.

And yes, if all else fails, Axminster aftermarket fences are quite well liked, for value, if a bit basic (but then the one on my saw is basic, so I can't talk!).

E.

 

[PerranOak]

That's brill, cheers mate.

There is a riving knife and a guard that are stable and well made.

It's the mounting of the fence to its base part that is wobbly and can't really be fixed.

I do have one on those clamp-guides (normally used for the router) that I could use but it would go thw whole length of the table. I think you may be saying that is bad?

 

[Eric The Viking]

Yes it's bad, generally speaking. but there's an easy fix for that:

Just fix an extra strip of something (wood?) to your clamp guide, but something that only goes along as far as the front saw teeth (see earlier message). If the clamp guide won't do it, you could use a piece of faced MDF or similar, but, what ever you do, make absolutely sure it is parallel and doesn't veer in towards the back of the blade - parallel and no more than that!

It would be a pain in use though, as adjustment would get really fiddly - the same with even a clamp guide I expect. Also, unless you have a riving knife you're asking for a serious accident.

Best to go for either a good repair or replacement in my opinion.

Cheers,

E.

 

[PerranOak]

Cheers mate.

So, not going further than the blade is the key safety feature?

 

[RogerP]

I fitted the Axminster fence to my cheopo table saw and it was a HUGE improvement. You can either fit a supplementary fence to it (as Eric suggests) or cut the fence shorter.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Cheers mate.

So, not going further than the blade is the key safety feature?

Not really:

Everything I listed matters to a greater or lesser extent:

• Riving knife properly fitted
• Guard over the blade
• Fence parallel to the blade
• Short fence (except for exceptional jobs).

The riving knife, fence parallelism and short fence all inhibit kickback.

And I forgot to mention using push-sticks, not fingers!

The point about Steve's DVDs is twofold: it's all there in one place, and he explains stuff really well, based on the best practice in the commercial sector. I know he worked with the HSE on the last one about table saws. If you have understanding you'll work safely, even if it seems to others you may be cutting corners sometimes.

Take care - they're great tools, but they need to be understood and respected for the dangers they pose.

E.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thanks for the recs Eric.
I'd just like to add that I have plans for a very good home-made fence that can be fitted onto any TS (or BS, for that matter). It is rock solid, doesn't cost much to make and requires no metalwork more difficult than drilling and tapping a few holes.

 

[riclepp]

Hi Parrey,

I can vouch for Steve's DVD's they are fantastic. They have everything you need in one place. I bought mine a couple of weeks ago, and using the information provided on them, my tablesaw works much better than it did. It is like a nes saw to be honest. All the plans you need are there so no sweat about that.

And as eric said get you riving knife back and with the crown guard, unless you have another guard like the one on Steves dvd. And keep your fingers as a TS will be unforgiving if it all goes pearshape. (btw, I am not on comission ofr Steve, honest )

Regards

 

[PerranOak]

Thank you all very much indeed. I'm going to do all of those things as I'm scared to death of table saws!

 

[Eric The Viking]

... I'm scared to death of table saws!

Sounds like you'll live a long and healthy (workshop) life then

Cheers,

E.