Laguna Bandsaw Fence

[Steven Humphrey]

Good day.

I am an amateur work worker and own a Laguna 14BX bandsaw. Up until now I have not done a lot of fine work with it, but and now experimenting with laminates. Consequently, blade alignment and drift are suddenly huge factors. I have adjusted the table top to be perpendicular with the resaw blade, and have corrected the fence for drift. However, I'm still having issues. I come to find that the fence itself (the one that came with the saw) is a) not flat and b) not perpendicular to the table top.

What advice would you give in this situation.
1) Is the fence correctable?
2) Get a better fence (Laguna has more expensive ones)?
3) Make a fence?

Thanks.

[Jimmy Harris]

If you're sure the table is perpendicular to the blade, then you might need to adjust the fence to that it's parallel to the blade. How you do this is by adjusting the rails that the fence attaches to, not the fence itself.

Also, if you haven't already, look up Alex Snodgrass' video on band saw tune ups. He's got a video out there that shows you some good ways to set up your bandsaw so that it tracks straighter. If you set it up right, you shouldn't have any drift nor need to compensate for drift with the fence.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have the same saw. You can adjust the tilt of the fence extrusion with a small set screw on the backside of the casting that the extrusion attaches to. It's between the two knobs you use to release the extrusion from the main fence casting.

The aluminum fence extrusion on mine was pretty flat, but not perfect. It was fine for most tasks, but I noticed it had a slight crown across its width (maybe 0.005" or even less) when trying to saw wide tenon cheeks and was getting small discrepancies in the tenon thickness from one side to the other. My experience with aluminum extrusions is that they are usually decently straight/flat but never perfect compared to a machined iron part. Unless yours is much worse than mine, I'd expect that a new aluminum fence extrusion would likely be the same.

What I did with mine was drill a couple of holes in it and attach a piece of flat plywood, using blue tape to shim as needed. That has worked well but of course I can no longer flip the fence to use the short mode. It's always in tall mode. A more elegant solution would be to lap it, if you have a decent sized granite plate or something like that. The face is ridged so there's not that much material to remove.

[Earl McLain]

I have found that a single point fence works best for me for resawing. Most of the time i use a Kreg version (7" Resaw Guide | KregTool.com Official Store (https://www.kregtool.com/shop/cutting/band-saw-cutting/7-resaw-guide/KMS7214.html)), but i also have made a taller version from ipe. The Snodgrass video is good, but geared toward cast iron Delta clones. Steel spined saws like the 14BX may respond a bit differently (especially if you're using the ceramic guides, which i like a lot).

[Cameron Wood]

A version of this has worked fantastic for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpbwH9510MY

I just upgraded to a larger saw, so have to make a new one. Made from a piece of pre-finished 3/4" ply last time.
So much better than the factory fence on my other band saw.
IME, much band saw is making relatively precision cuts for joinery- tenon cheeks etc., & this is easily moved small amounts with no racking.

- Zero clearance
- Larger table
- Easily adjustable, mostly held in place with a spring clamp. Similar action to adjusting a marking gauge.
- Removable/reversible with no tools ('tho I never took it off except for occasional cleaning)
- $0 cost if you have a spare miter gauge.
- Making it involves one precision cut- the groove for the miter gauge.


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[Jamie Buxton]

I lapped my Laguna fence. I used sandpaper taped to my tablesaw table. For the sandpaper I used pieces of a belt intended for a stroke sander. The fence is anodized, so removing the anodized layer consumes quite a bit of sandpaper.

[Michael Burnside]

I lapped my Laguna fence. I used sandpaper taped to my tablesaw table. For the sandpaper I used pieces of a belt intended for a stroke sander. The fence is anodized, so removing the anodized layer consumes quite a bit of sandpaper.

I did the same. Less than 30 minutes and it took out a slight 0.005” hump in the middle. It was barely noticeable but enough that a few minutes with elbow grease and it was flat enough for woodworking.

[Tom Trees]

Have you checked the rail is parallel with the table?
As in laying something flat onto the table, whilst finding the right shim in-between rail and it, to make sure.
520865
https://i.postimg.cc/05p09ywn/feeler-plate.jpg

There could be plenty of adjustment there...or not if you decide so.
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https://i.postimg.cc/hGd7M28s/filled-holes.jpg

How about the table apron in regards to squareness, i.e...is the connecting fixings to the rail parallel and properly solid?...
as if not, then it may be that the rail could move about.
If there's a nut or shim, then you might need to customise it to suit.
Showing gaps with a back light is very easy to achieve on camera, and I can mention this might not be apparent in person.
I don't think I've seen any bandsaw before with a milled apron, so worth checking.
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https://i.postimg.cc/Pxnv712j/Apron.jpg

Perhaps that might help, as it doesn't appear like a terrible fence design to me.

All the best
Tom

[Steven Humphrey]

Thank you, Jimmy. I'll take a look at the video.

[Steven Humphrey]

Bravo! Yes, I found the set screws. I looked again and saw no reference to them in the manual. At the moment, the fence is at a reasonable 90-degrees to the the saw top. It is still bowed so I may take your advide with the plywood and get a second fence for short mode (or make an attachment).

Thank you so much.

[Steven Humphrey]

Thank you, Cameron. I may take an approach similar to what you (and Robert) suggest. I've at least got the fence at 90-degrees now (except for the bow in the aluminum).

[Steven Humphrey]

Thank you, Tom. Robert (above) solved the main issue, but I will take a look at these links too. Can't know too much about our tools.

[Steven Humphrey]

Thank you, Jamie. I'm going to try out Robert's idea first, but I'll consider this if it doesn't work.

[Steven Humphrey]

Thanks, Michael. I'm going to try out Robert's idea first, but I'll consider this if it doesn't work.

[Steven Humphrey]

Thank you, everyone. I think I have everything I need. I have the fence at a reliable 90-degrees to the deck.