New Laguna DriftMaster LXIII

[Izzy Charo]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this new fence. Years ago I bought the original DriftMaster fence, and have struggled with keeping it calibrated...difficult to keep fence square to blade and also level with table etc... Is this new version an improvement? And will their tall resew fence fit the LXIII? Thanks!

[richard poitras]

Looks like they made it better than the old one.

[Richard Coers]

Can we start a lottery to see how many posts before the name Snodgrass comes up?

[Mark Visconti]

There's another thread on it with comments from myself and one other person. Search on DXIII *unless there is a new LXIII in which case, oops*

[John TenEyck]

Why would you waste money on something unnecessary. Get your saw to cut straight and parallel with the miter slot and use the stock fence, or one you like better. Drift adjustable fences is something aftermarket companies dreamt up to separate people who won't take the time to learn how to set up their saw properly from their money. I'll get all kinds of grief for saying that; from folks who couldn't solve or don't care to solve why their saws drift. To each their own.

You will never get your bandsaw to perform to its full potential unless it cuts straight and parallel with the miter slot.

John

[Edward Weber]

Can we start a lottery to see how many posts before the name Snodgrass comes up?
You just did it :rolleyes:

I agree with John TenEyck 100%

[eugene thomas]

i bought it and after 6 months use. no regrets.

[Brian Gouldman]

Why would you waste money on something unnecessary. Get your saw to cut straight and parallel with the miter slot and use the stock fence, or one you like better. Drift adjustable fences is something aftermarket companies dreamt up to separate people who won't take the time to learn how to set up their saw properly from their money. I'll get all kinds of grief for saying that; from folks who couldn't solve or don't care to solve why their saws drift. To each their own.

You will never get your bandsaw to perform to its full potential unless it cuts straight and parallel with the miter slot.

John

Since your comment is indirectly pointed at me and others, I’ll respond.

You’re focusing only on one aspect of the fence. Beyond the “driftmaster” functionality, there are other quality features of the fence that make it far superior to the fence that came with my Laguna 14/12. The rack and pinion depth adjustment is amazingly controllable and smooth, as one example. I don’t really plan to use the drift adjustment in practice but I was able to square the fence to the miter a lot in literally 2s with no tools. So I’m pretty happy about that.

I have the disposable income, wanted those features, thus I made the decision to make the purchase. Perhaps you have other recommendations on what people should spend their money on?

[Izzy Charo]

I don't disagree at all about getting things square, and I know it's possible to do this with the stock fence. However, the fence I have now is clunky, and even moving it forwards or back is awkward. I have a high-quality saw, and this fence (I hope) will make using it easier. I agree it's not totally necessary, but it's a luxury that I can afford. Others may reasonably disagree.

[John TenEyck]

Since your comment is indirectly pointed at me and others, I’ll respond.

You’re focusing only on one aspect of the fence. Beyond the “driftmaster” functionality, there are other quality features of the fence that make it far superior to the fence that came with my Laguna 14/12. The rack and pinion depth adjustment is amazingly controllable and smooth, as one example. I don’t really plan to use the drift adjustment in practice but I was able to square the fence to the miter a lot in literally 2s with no tools. So I’m pretty happy about that.

I have the disposable income, wanted those features, thus I made the decision to make the purchase. Perhaps you have other recommendations on what people should spend their money on?


I did mention to use your stock fence "or one you like better" in my post. If the Driftmaster was the one you liked better, that's fine with me. It appears you bought it because it had other features that you found to be or value.

I won't tell you what to spend your money on. On the contrary, I told you what not to spend your money on.

John

[Richard Coers]

You just did it :rolleyes:

I agree with John TenEyck 100%
It was a preemptive strike, not helping him sell his gospel. 10 posts and no mention yet.

[lou Brava]

I use the old style Driftmaster fence on a Laguna and after set up never really use the drift function. But the fence is great quality & has other features that make it worth it's money. Do you need a DriftMaster get a BS to cut right, of course not but do you need a Festool ROS to sand or an Incra miter gauge to cut miters on a table saw of course not, there good products and people like using them. Why people think a well made band saw fence is a waste of money is beyond me.

[John TenEyck]

I use the old style Driftmaster fence on a Laguna and after set up never really use the drift function. But the fence is great quality & has other features that make it worth it's money. Do you need a DriftMaster get a BS to cut right, of course not but do you need a Festool ROS to sand or an Incra miter gauge to cut miters on a table saw of course not, there good products and people like using them. Why people think a well made band saw fence is a waste of money is beyond me.

Seems like everyone who bought a Driftmaster is getting defensive. So let me clarify my comment, again. I said buying a fence specifically so you can adjust for drift is a waste of money. I also said use the fence your saw came with, or one you like better. If the fence your saw came with did its job poorly, so you replaced it and choose a Driftmaster because it better meets your need, I'd say that was a good choice. You don't have to justify it to me or anyone else. I would have replaced the fence that came on my friend's older MM16 long ago.

John

[Patrick Kane]

I had the old driftmaster that i bought used and then sold. Really liked the microadjust feature in the fence. I think all fences should have micro adjust. I use it all the time on my two table saws and shaper. I agree that the drift feature is somewhat gimmicky. If your saw blade is drifting them it is dull or it isnt properly setup. Either way, adjusting the fence to a crappy blade/setup is sorta silly. I appreciated the nice aluminum extrusion fence on the original driftmaster. My LT20 oem fence is the stubby cast iron variety found on other similar italian bandsaws. The driftmaster is much longer and has the advantage of sliding back and forwards like a sliding table saw's fence as well as going into a low profile configuration. Things i didnt love about the original driftmaster and why i got rid of it. It always felt like a prototype that wasnt finalized yet. The installation was a little goofy, and i had a Laguna saw. Switching from micro adjust to quick adjust was never smooth. Finally, something happened with the nut on the end of the hand wheel that it would occasionally spin off the shaft and the hand wheel for the microadjust would fall off. If they fixed these design issues, then i think it could be a fantastic--albeit expensive--after market fence. There arent many options for aftermarket fences that are worth much. The driftmaster is expensive, but it is sort of in its own league.

[John C Cox]

The fence on my Rikon was such a piece of junk that I clamp 2x6's to the table. I've been seriously looking at one of these, if for no other reason than mine is such a useless joke.

[Edward Weber]

It was a preemptive strike, not helping him sell his gospel. 10 posts and no mention yet.

Ssssshhhh keep quiet, everything is going smooth, so far


As to fences, I don't really care for any of the extruded aluminum (usually proprietary) fence rails and ONE sided fences found on most bandsaws these days.
I don't worry about drift, so for me, I prefer a simple but heavy duty, three point fence, you know like those found on a million tablesaws. But since it's a bandsaw, we'll have to redesign something that works, instead of just scaling it down.

I use Jet fences on my bandsaw/s, A simple three point fence that I can use on both sides of the blade.
(disclaimer) I have one installed and one ready to install when time permits.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I had the old driftmaster that i bought used and then sold. Really liked the microadjust feature in the fence. I think all fences should have micro adjust. I use it all the time on my two table saws and shaper. I agree that the drift feature is somewhat gimmicky. If your saw blade is drifting them it is dull or it isnt properly setup. Either way, adjusting the fence to a crappy blade/setup is sorta silly. I appreciated the nice aluminum extrusion fence on the original driftmaster. My LT20 oem fence is the stubby cast iron variety found on other similar italian bandsaws. The driftmaster is much longer and has the advantage of sliding back and forwards like a sliding table saw's fence as well as going into a low profile configuration. Things i didnt love about the original driftmaster and why i got rid of it. It always felt like a prototype that wasnt finalized yet. The installation was a little goofy, and i had a Laguna saw. Switching from micro adjust to quick adjust was never smooth. Finally, something happened with the nut on the end of the hand wheel that it would occasionally spin off the shaft and the hand wheel for the microadjust would fall off. If they fixed these design issues, then i think it could be a fantastic--albeit expensive--after market fence. There arent many options for aftermarket fences that are worth much. The driftmaster is expensive, but it is sort of in its own league.

Agreed. I found a used / New in box driftmaster a few years back for my old 20” Italian saw that had a much worse OEM fence. I really like the driftmaster in use for all the reasons mentioned above and do not use the drift setting feature of it. I have not had the issues you mentioned on mine except occasionally not knowing if it’s in micro adjust mode or not and it not catching the micro adjust threads when turning the hand wheel. It’s a great fence, imo, completely independent of the drift setting gimmick.