Sawstop fence isn't straight.

[Wade Lippman]

My sawstop is about 8 years old.
Lately it hasn't been cutting as well as it should. I thought maybe the fence was out of alignment.

It was, but when I fixed that, I found that it was bowed in by 0.007". The manual doesn't say how to fix that.
Any help would be appreciated.

As I type this, I thought of running it across a jointer. Somebody please​ have a better idea than that.

[Darrell Bade]

I wouldn't worry about 7 thou, the metal part of the fence might not be any straighter than that.

[Jim Dwight]

I agree with Darrel, that is a little less than 1/128 inch and not of much consequence. But if it bugs you, you could shim between the face and the metal of the rip fence.

[Paul F Franklin]

IIRC, if the screws that hold the fence faceplates on are tightened too much or too little, the faceplace can go out of flat or even have waves in it. You might see if adjusting the tightness of the screws can correct the problem. The screws are accessed from the bottom of the fence. This is covered in the manual somewhere.

[johnny means]

This is a well documented issue with Sawstop. The plywood faces were wonky junk. Loosen the screws and shim with tape. Or, better yet, fab up a new face with better material.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Common masking tape = .005 more or less.

[glenn bradley]

Common masking tape = .005 more or less.

Yes this. Unlike original Biesemeyer fences the Saw Stop is easily loosened, shimmed and re-tightened.

[Larry Frank]

I have thought about using some of the 8020 extensions but worry about metal contact with the blade.

What material has reasonable flatness for a fence face?

[Patrick Varley]

I have thought about using some of the 8020 extensions but worry about metal contact with the blade.

What material has reasonable flatness for a fence face?

I use 80/20, and never been an issue. If I'm doing anything where it might get too close, I just have a sacrificial fence which mounts in the 80/20 slots.

[Peter Mich]

I use 80/20, and never been an issue. If I'm doing anything where it might get too close, I just have a sacrificial fence which mounts in the 80/20 slots.

I replaced my fence with 80/20 and made several sacrificial fences to use for different situations. The Wood Whisperer shows the basics of what I’ve done. https://youtu.be/Co2W6TNovDw

[Jim Dwight]

My fence is straight enough but the steel tube of the fence does not have parallel sides. I can adjust either the right or the left side to be vertical but not both. I almost never rip with the right side of the fence so I made the left one vertical. Not a big deal but kind of surprising on what is otherwise a quality saw.

[Alan Schwabacher]

First check that the screws holding on the face are tight, and the face as square to the table as possible. Now check with a good straightedge, and apply tape to the face to bring it straight and square. Now remove the screws and transfer the tape to the back of the fence face in the same spots. Now screw the face on, and it should be shimmed flat and square.

This also works for shimming fences of crosscut sleds after checking for square with the 5-cut method.

[johnny means]

I have thought about using some of the 8020 extensions but worry about metal contact with the blade.

What material has reasonable flatness for a fence face?
Drill a hole in the fence rail and drop a bolt into it to create a positive stop so the fence can't hit the blade.

[Johnny Barr]

That's one of the reasons I replaced the rails and fence with the Incra system. I know this is an expensive alternative but I really love the accuracy and repeatability. I also wasn't happy with the factory fence and 8020 was my first thought of replacement until I saw a video of the LS TS positioner. I wish I'd done this 3 years ago

[Jason White]

My fence is 95% straight, which is good enough for me. I haven’t played with the adjustment screws underneath yet.