Powermatic 14" Bandsaw Fence won't square to table.

[Michael Costa]

Hey all.

This is new to me. My fence is out of square and for some reason I can't get it sqaure again. I used to be able to loosen those nuts, square it up and tighten the nuts back down. But now it's not working.

Any suggestions? (Besides making crooked stuff)405830

[Matt Day]

Is there adjustment in the mustard colored tube/angle that the fence rises on?

[Bruce Page]

Page 17 explains how to adjust.

http://content.powermatic.com/assets/manuals/1791216K_man_EN.pdf

[Mike Gresham]

One thing you might check is the fence clamp. If you take the fence off and turn it over you should see a plastic pad that is glued in place. The clamping action is such that the pad can be slowly pushed out of place. When it gets far enough out of place, square no longer has meaning. Mine was out to the table and across the table. If that has happened to yours, you'll probably have to square it up as per the manual after you re-glue the pad.

[Jacob Reverb]

Shim the rectangular tubing?

[glenn bradley]

Bruce has it. The older Beisemeyer Commercial fences were made perpendicular to the table the same way. Adjust the tube (rail) not the fence.

[Michael Costa]

One thing you might check is the fence clamp. If you take the fence off and turn it over you should see a plastic pad that is glued in place. The clamping action is such that the pad can be slowly pushed out of place. When it gets far enough out of place, square no longer has meaning. Mine was out to the table and across the table. If that has happened to yours, you'll probably have to square it up as per the manual after you re-glue the pad.

I bought the floor model in 2010 I think. It never had a pad at the clamp. There are other pads. I've always used a plastic shim to lock it in place. Crude, but it always worked until now.

[Michael Costa]

Shim the rectangular tubing?

I did use a shim and that worked. But I dont want this to be a permanent solution.

[Michael Costa]

Page 17 explains how to adjust.

http://content.powermatic.com/assets/manuals/1791216K_man_EN.pdf

Thanks! I'll look at that for sure.

[Michael Costa]

405929
405930

So, I figure out why it was out of square. The pad on the right touches the guide rail and the pad on the left does not. Its like the entire attachment part of the frame is out of whack.

It holds square when locked in place but I was ripping a few sections of a 6x6 to get a 4x4. The pressure I was using to keep the stock against the fence tilted the entire fence. If I do the with a 3/4" piece of wood, the pressure I put is at the bottom so it won't tilt the fence.

[Michael Costa]

405933

And there we have it. Frame is not straight.