Is There a Drift-Adjustable Fence for Rikon 305?

[Ty Williams]

I just took advantage of Woodcraft's sale to buy a Rikon 10-305 bandsaw. To my disappointment, the fence is not adjustable for drift. Is there's a high-quality, drift-adjustable fence that I could make work with this small of a table?

[Jerome Hanby]

I haven't seen your fence, but I wonder if you could add a wooden face to it and add shims to correct for the drift...

[David Hawxhurst]

if your saw is setup correclty you shouldn't have drift unless your blade is dull, but laguna makes one that is adjustable for drift.

[Van Huskey]

I have to disagree with David, but many people do subscribe to the theory. In my experience ever blade from new to burnt has some level of drift, carbide blades with their gorund faces and lack of set do tend to have virtually none. I see it as two overlapping issues in that poor setup can certainly impart drift as well as the blade. Once the bandsaw is setup properly what is left is the drift of the individual blade.

The Grizzly bandsaw fences allow for drift adjustments and they sell them as kits but my choice for this saw would be the Kreg fence. The money makes sense and it does a good job. The Laguna Driftmaster is by far the easiest to adjust for drift and is one of if not the best fence on the market but in my opinion too heavy for your saw and at $400 is probably not the best choice for the saw, unless you plan to upgrade soon to a bigger saw that the Laguna would be more at home on.

Edit: I read your saw as the 325 not the 10" 305. In that case the Laguna would weigh more than the saw! You may have to take a hard look at the Kreg to see if it can be adapted, it is generally designed for 14" saws. Your best bet may be a simple wooded fence that you clamp onto the table, price will be under $25 with a couple of clamps and will do the job fine.

[John Coloccia]

I had a good look at one of those at work a couple of weeks back. It doesn't say this anywhere, but I see no reason why you can't loosen the fence and pull it in and out to adjust for drift. In fact, I don't see a reason you can't replace the mounting bolts with knobs to make it more convenient.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I made a right angle L of plywood and put a couple of magswitches in the base. It is a snap to adjust and holds as rigidly as any commercial fence I've seen.

Steve

[John Coloccia]

The Grizzly bandsaw fences allow for drift adjustments ...

They do? The one that came with my G0514X2 didn't seem to have a drift adjustment on it. Did I just miss it? It's the same fence that they sell as an aftermarket fence complete with rails. It doesn't really matter now because I replaced it anyway (with a Kreg fence, I might add) but I'm just curious.

To mount the Kreg, though, he would have to drill holes and he will have to remove it at every blade change. Shouldn't be a problem if there's a dedicated blade in there, which is what most people would do with a small, 10" bandsaw anyhow. It really is a very nice fence, though.

edit: I should mention that the reason I replaced the fence really had nothing to do with performance, and everything to do with the maddening location of the handle. Other than that stupid design decision, that everyone complains about I might add, it's actually a very nice fence. It's a shame that little details like this really hurt an otherwise nice product.

[Van Huskey]

They do? The one that came with my G0514X2 didn't seem to have a drift adjustment on it. Did I just miss it? It's the same fence that they sell as an aftermarket fence complete with rails. .

I may have spoke out of school. I based it on one I helped a friend install a few years back. Looking at the current pictures it looks like a different fence than I remember but it may not be. I would have sworn it had drift adjustments but I indeed could be incorrect even about the older one. So I guess the Grizzly is out also. Thanks for correcting my mistake John!

[John Coloccia]

I may have spoke out of school. I based it on one I helped a friend install a few years back. Looking at the current pictures it looks like a different fence than I remember but it may not be. I would have sworn it had drift adjustments but I indeed could be incorrect even about the older one. So I guess the Grizzly is out also. Thanks for correcting my mistake John!

On the one I had, I think I could loosen the 4 bolts on top and move it a bit, but not very much. Fortunately, I just never really seem to have any drift problems for the most part. I think I'm just good at eyeballing the blade location on the tire in the same place every time.

[Ruel Smith]

The G0555X has basically the same fence, only shorter, and according to Grizzly, it's "adjustable for blade lead". No mention of the same thing on the bigger saws using this fence. Isn't Shiraz a member here? I wonder if he's reading?

[Van Huskey]

On the one I had, I think I could loosen the 4 bolts on top and move it a bit, but not very much. Fortunately, I just never really seem to have any drift problems for the most part. I think I'm just good at eyeballing the blade location on the tire in the same place every time.

That is what I remember, similar to some of the JEt bandsaws, they usually don't give a whole lot of adjustment, but usually enough even if it is somewhat of a pain. I think the Kreg is a better choice anyway.

[Van Huskey]

The G0555X has basically the same fence, only shorter, and according to Grizzly, it's "adjustable for blade lead". No mention of the same thing on the bigger saws using this fence. Isn't Shiraz a member here? I wonder if he's reading?

He is but accoring to his profile page hasn't visited in about 6 weeks.