MM24 Drift master

[Todd Bin]

Does anyone have a Laguna driftmaster fence on a Minimax MM24? I have seen the tutorial on installing it on an MM20. My question is will the bottom door open with the driftmaster installed? Any issues? I am stongly considering getting and installing this fence vased on its reported ease of use.

[Jonathan Spool]

Todd,
I installed a Drftmaster on my MM24 a while back. I'll post some pictures in the next few days in order to show you my installation.

[Todd Bin]

Jonathan, That would be awesome. Are you happy with it. Easy to install blades and the lower door will open? If everything is good then I will proceed with the order.

Thanks,
Todd

[Jonathan Spool]

Todd my installation might be different than yours as I wanted to mount the fence as far to the left as possible, while still being close enough to the blade, so I could mount an Aigner bracket to the right of the fence mount. I need to back off the fence adjustment wheel when changing blades. not a big deal. I'll show that in the pics. The fence is awsome. Add the 8" fence and it is awsome+!

[Mike OMelia]

Whether or not it gets in the way of opening the door should not be a deciding factor. The adjustment wheel comes off with a screw. (the wheel is normally the culprit)

Mike

[Steve Rowe]

Whether or not it gets in the way of opening the door should not be a deciding factor. The adjustment wheel comes off with a screw. (the wheel is normally the culprit)

Mike

I am not so sure that is true universally. I have a Laguna LT-18 and the door will not open without tilting the table to at least 30 degrees with the Driftmaster. It has nothing to do with the adjustment wheel as the door hits the threaded rod. When Laguna told me I had to tilt the table to get the door open, I just couldn't believe it. That is something they should have told me upfront and not after I had the thing installed. Whether it is a deciding factor is really user dependent. If I knew that up front, I would not have purchased the Driftmaster although it is a very nice fence.

[Damon Stathatos]

I have one on a big Tannewitz. I can only partially open the door and for the first few blade changes, took the fence off. I then realized that I could get the blade off the bottom and top wheel and out far enough, and then to move the blade laterally (almost like a 'Z', see third photo), close the door, and then I was home free.

I did originally try taking only the wheel off but mine is attached with a cap-nut and the access to the retaining bolt on the other side of the wheel is impossible.

I'm not sure if this would work with your saw but it worked for me. By the way, one of the best purchases I ever made, it made my bandsaw as accurate, fence-wise, as any table saw I have.

[Nelson Howe]

Damon, if you put the hand crank on the other end of the shaft, i.e. the right side, could you open the door? That's my set up on an agazzani 20", and it works. I had to hack saw off the last couple of threads on the bolt, but it all clears now. I was amazed at how much better the fence is. The ease and precision of setting up for blade drift and precision of lateral adjustment make it well worth the money for me.

Nelson

[Jonathan Spool]

Here's How I set mine up Todd. I thought about Nelson's solution, to put the crank on the right, but the I couldn't use my Aigner bracket for the extension.
With this setup the fence must be as far to the right as it is in the photo for the door to clear the lowest bolt on the fence assembly. The second photo shows that I need to remove the wheel (one nut) if I want to open the door any wider than in the photo. When you get your fence, clamp it to the table in the position you want (it stays in place real well as long as the fence is attached) and check that it is what you will be happy with prior to drilling your saw. The fence is so good, that if it took me 15 minutes instead of 60 seconds to be open the door for a blade change, I would still go for it.

187070187071

[Todd Bin]

I would like to say thank you to everyone who responded. I am looking forward to using this fence. I am just not happy with the one that came with the minimanx.

~Todd

[Mike Heidrick]

I made a tutorial on installing it on my MM20. I reversed the handle to the right. I think that is the best solution.

http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resoh894/lagunadriftmasterfenceinstallonminimaxmm20bandsawr eplacingtheoriginalfence/

[Josh Bowman]

Heck, I've got it on a Laguna 16 SUV and the door has problems opening. I have to kind of move it one way to get the door started then the other to get it the rest of the way open. I still think the fence is worth it though.

[Al Navas]

I installed mine on a 17-inch Grizzly. The door is removable - simply lift it off the hinges, and voilá, it comes off. I wonder if other band saws feature this, too? Placing the crank handle on the right is a great solution, too, like Mike did.

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fence-door-removed.jpg

Al

[Mike OMelia]

OK, there are special cases. It is an unfortunate design situation, but one I am not sure has a universal answer. The funny part is it causes ANY problems on a Laguna saw. Yet, I have not yet found it to be a show stopper for anyone. There always seems to be a work-around. And the fence's benefits do seem to outweigh is flaws. On mine, the door just contacts the wheel. If I "flex" the door a bit, no problem opening (Jet 18"). If it is hitting the threaded rod, tilting appears to be the only answer. That said, unless you change blades frquently, most will only find this an occasional annoyance.

Mike

[Todd Bin]

Thanks Mike for the post. I had found your tutorial on installing on the MM20 on Google. Great job. I was just wondering if the MM24 would suffer from the same issue.

I also agree that Laguna should engineer it so that there is zero problems with this on their bandsaws. I am also amazed that Laguna sells it aftermarket. You would think the Driftmaster fence & Laguna Guides would be a competitive advantage and would be a strong factor in swaying peoples decision to buy a Laguna bandsaw. I mean, wouldn't it be awesome if you could buy a Italian made bandsaw with Zambus casters already installed, a driftmaster fence that had no frustration in the door opening and the Laguna guides and a resaw king blade in the package too. Maybe that should make an episode of "pimp my bandsaw".

[Mike Heidrick]

Thank you Todd. Since you said ceramic guides too here is the tutorial I did for them as well: http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resoh894/lagunaceramicguideinstallonminimaxmm20replacingthe originalbearingguides/

One thought is that the cost of the fence is high and just tacking that on the already (IMO) expensive euro saw pricing would not keep in line with Laguna's version of looking competitive to other high end bandsaw prices. I like the fence but my bearing guides really did not need replaced but I kind was swayed by the ceramic guide setup. It was a weak moment LOL. Tim is always a great guy to deal with at Laguna and he makes great deals on the accessories. I think that is their ace with the driftmaster and their "closer" - hook them with a sweet saw and then close them with great pimped out version pricing.

[Mike OMelia]

You know what I find surprising? That it fits SO many saw brands! But yes, you would think they would provide some adpator kit that absolutely assures a no issue mounting to Laguna saws... AND, at no additional charge to Laguna owners. As for me, I am so glad that they took the approach that they did. I love my driftmaster and maybe someday, I will buy a Laguna saw.

Mike