Re-sawing on a band saw. Which fence?

[Nick Sorenson]

I've seen lots of people like the Kreg fence but I don't like the rocking re-saw attachment. Is this really necessary? I don't like the idea of eye-balling what is straight. Isn't that the point of the fence in the first place to take the guesswork out of "straight".

So what are some experiences with re-sawing? I need good accuracy.

I've not done much serious resawing since owning band saws. My current saw is an 18" grizzly.

thanks for any tips.

I've also considered making a fence but that doesn't seem super practical but then again I don't claim to be the expert on this.

thanks!!

[Chris Padilla]

Nick,

On the topic of the "correct" fence for resawing, it is largely a personal choice, what you learned on or were shown, or what you feel works for YOU.

There is the straight fence and the point fence (what you called "rocking").

The reason some like a point fence is that it is easier to adjust for any drift in what your blade and bandsaw perceive as a straight line. You start cutting and adjust the wood back and forth until you can cut a straight line.

Personally, I like the straight fence because I believe that drift can be dialed out of a bandsaw with careful setup and alignment and tension and guide adjustment, I can resaw perfectly on my 20" bandsaw. Many adjust their straight fences to accommodate for drift...the point fence allows one to adjust the board on the fly.

Get books (Duginske, Marc) or find a local SMCer experience in resawing and just do it. Experience is the best teacher.

[Nick Sorenson]

....
Get books (Duginske, Marc)...

Thanks Chris, good sound advice as usual. I appreciate it. And I do have this book. It's a good book and it's obvious that the author is VERY proficient with a band saw. Very good book.

[glenn bradley]

I'm another straight fence user. I prefer to adjust the saw rather than the fence. I can change blades between re-saw and curves, going back and forth without problems although this was not true on my old C-man saw.

A strong, tall fence suits me best for re-saw and I use the one that came with the saw. This makes me little help on recommending an after-market unit. For special requirements, I just clamp an assembly made of scrap to the table. There are a few very well thought out shop made fences that you can find via Google and such (http://www.google.com/search?q=shop+made+bandsaw+fence&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a). I do have a shop made knife fence but haven't used it for years. It just hangs near the saw as it is not in the way :confused:.

[Neil Brooks]

Gotta agree with ^ them ;)

My Grizzly G0555X came with a re-saw fence, but ... I've never used it.

Once I switched to the TimberWolf blade, and did a _really nice_ job of tuning my saw ... there's just been no need, yet.

I got through about 10bf of Maple and Padauk, today, and the saw just glided right through, as it always does.

I presume if you had a BS with a drift that _just wouldn't go away_, then the pin-pivot method, on a straight fence, might be your friend.

Saw ol' Normie doing it this way, last week, and -- for the first time -- felt a little bad for the fella' :D

[Jeff Willard]

The Driftmaster is the current King of the Hill as far as resaw fences go. Not cheap, but far more versatile than anything else out there. High/low fence orientation, adjustable for drift sans tools, and a lead screw for fine adjustments. I can take accurate and consistent 1/16" slices off of the outside of a board with mine.

http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/bandsaw-fences/bandsaw-driftmaster#

[Chip Lindley]

Before these online forums (and the internet in general) were an instant source of WW'ing information, Fine Woodworking magazine was my only source for many many years. (a little could be gleaned from Popular Mechanics at times) Also before such a plethora of expensive accessories were available for any conceivable WW'ing use. Necessity IS the Mother of Invention.

The first and best bandsaw advice I gleaned was to find the angle of the lead of the installed blade by resawing a pencil line down the center of a 2" or 3" board on edge. Once the lead angle was established, a fence (straight square piece of 2"x3" hardwood) was attached at that angle with a couple of big C-clamps. Painfully simple (and cheap) but it works! Albeit a bit inconvenient, but very usable. Any straight fence can be modified with a moveable face hinged to skew left or right. That makes fine adjustments quick and painless.

I have never invested in expensive resaw blades. I silver solder my own together from a bulk roll of Starrett 1/2" 4 TPI stock. That's all my Delta 14" will handle anyhow. I have resawed 1/16" veneers consistently with my too-simple method.

One can spend hours trying to tune a BS to dial out any blade lead, but I feel that is a pastime all unto itself. You can spend your time thusly, or skew the fence and get on with the sawing! Besides, when you change blades, either process will have to be repeated completely. Mine is argueably faster.

[Cary Falk]

I have this one on my G)513x2 and really like it.
http://cdn7.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg288/h/h7588.jpg
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Re-Saw-Fence-Complete-For-G0513/H7588

[Van Huskey]

The Driftmaster is the current King of the Hill as far as resaw fences go. Not cheap, but far more versatile than anything else out there. High/low fence orientation, adjustable for drift sans tools, and a lead screw for fine adjustments. I can take accurate and consistent 1/16" slices off of the outside of a board with mine.

http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/bandsaw-fences/bandsaw-driftmaster#


I am a straight fence kinda guy and my friends DM is a pleasure to use! It has to be the best resaw fence I have used by a mile, again if you are a straight fence user.

[Rick Fisher]

I use my bandsaw for cutting pretty much all lumber.. Resawing and Ripping.. I have a Laguna Drift Master fence and love it .. Its super easy to adjust and dead straight and true..

Its a huge improvement over my stock fence.. No regrets whatsoever..