Driftmaster fence on Aggazani?

[Mike Gottlieb]

I am thinking of putting a Laguna Driftmaster fence on an Aggazani B20 bandsaw. Has anyone done this? Procedures and/or problems?

[Eiji Fuller]

Mike,

I think the DM would be a great upgrade for that saw. I know a guy who put one on his Agi 24 so it should work great.

[Richard McComas]

I put a DM on my B 24. Work out great and I really like the fence. I did put the hand wheel on the right side (facing the machine) other wise the door would hit the the wheel.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/AGIB24DM.jpg

[ian maybury]

To raise a related question about the Driftmaster - bearing in mind that I have no serious resawing experience, but am headed that way.

Some users suggest cutting veneers etc from the side of the piece of timber that's against the rip fence. i.e. with the blade stepped away from the fence by the thickness of the required slice. The disadvantage is presumably that face that has just been sawn rests against the fence for the next cut.

The DM makes possible taking the cut from the outside face of the piece, while keeping the other accurately flattened face against the fence - and moving it over exactly the same amount to do the same the next time ad infinitum.

The DM is nice, and looks like it could add some consistency - but given the above does it fill a real need? (it's not cheap)

Are there clear pros and cons to the two methods?

ian

[Thomas S Stockton]

I always set the fence and cut the veneers. I think that cutting and then moving the fence would introduce some problems no matter how accurate a fence is. Putting a freshly sawn face against the fence isn't a problem and if it gets out of whack I will joint it.
Personally I would recommend you try both and see what works best for you there is really nothing wrong with either way, what you want to do is find what works for you.
Tom

[ian maybury]

Thanks Tom..

ian

[Al Navas]

...Some users suggest cutting veneers etc from the side of the piece of timber that's against the rip fence. i.e. with the blade stepped away from the fence by the thickness of the required slice. The disadvantage is presumably that face that has just been sawn rests against the fence for the next cut...
Ian,

Until the time I got the DrfitMaster installed, that is exactly how I cut all my veneers.





...The DM makes possible taking the cut from the outside face of the piece, while keeping the other accurately flattened face against the fence - and moving it over exactly the same amount to do the same the next time ad infinitum...
With the DM installed, I tried cutting the veneers on the outside of the fence, and to the right of the blade. There is no going back for me now - the DM makes this possible, with its accurate registration on each incremental cut. The mass of the original chunk of wood, and accurate jointing, will result in a smooth cut that is hard to imagine. To illustrate: Before, I had to pass each veneer several times through the drum sander. Now, it is more typical that only 1-2 passes is all that is required to have the veneers ready for layup.






...The DM is nice, and looks like it could add some consistency - but given the above does it fill a real need? (it's not cheap) ...
Ian,

Cheap vs. cost-effective might be a better way to look at it. If you don't do much resawing for your own veneers, then it might not be "cheap". But, if you work with veneers every day, it might be something you may feel you cannot do without and will invest in it, and use it to the max.







...I think that cutting and then moving the fence would introduce some problems no matter how accurate a fence is...
Tom,

I have been trying to think of what types of problems might be introduced, and can't come up with any. Until I got the DM, it was hard for me to imagine doing it this way; I am now satisfied that it is the best way to do it. But you are right, of course; we must all try it different ways, and do what is most comfortable to each.


Al