Aligning the Band Saw Fence
A band saw is one of the most commonly used cutting saws for both professional and amateur uses. Keeping a band saw means you will always have this amazing power tools for all your projects whether you have a shop or you are simply doing ventures for your home. But when you buy a power tool you will have to spend a lot of money for it so in order to ensure that the money was well spent, taking care of the band saw should be on the top of your to-do lists. Caring for the band saw will also require that you keep a check on all the important parts of the machine like band saw tires (you can buy replacements from quality brands like Carter bandsaw tires), blades and fence of the band saw.
It is not very difficult to make minor adjustments to the band saw to improve its performance. You can always do some small repair or repositioning jobs like bandsaw tire replacement and alignment and tuning of the band saw. Replacement of the band saw tires is easy if you have a band saw that is up to twelve inches in capacity. For more heavy duty band saws it is better to have a proper technician take of it because the stretching of the tire over the wheel will require some expertise. Tuning the band saw is another important thing to do which includes aligning the blade and fence in the proper position. If the band saw is not tuned well it can really give the operator problems and the cutting will not go as required.
Band saw fences are very important parts of the entire band saw. Every band saw blade tends to cut along a different path and this path is what makes or breaks the cut finish and accuracy. The blade will not work properly and there will be a wavering to one side if the fence is kept parallel to the miter slot. This is why you need to set the fence in the proper position which is suitable for the particular band saw. To find out what that proper position is you need to draw a line on any plywood scrap (measuring a foot square) that goes all the way down the exact center. You then have to make a cut along this drawn line and then stop when it is about half way.
In order to stay correctly on the line, you can twist the plywood a little and when you have stopped making the cut in the middle, turn the band saw off. The plywood will still be positioned, ready to cut the line all the way through. It is the edge of this piece of wood which shows the right angle of the fence which is perfect for the blade you are using at the time. Keep this setting for this blade and when you change to another blade, do the same process again with another scrap and you will never have the problem of a wavering fence again!
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