Improvements to Kreg KMS7200 Bandsaw Fence

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The Kreg KMS7200 bandsaw fence is well made with sturdy extrusions. I did find it necessary to implement some improvements, which I will explain here with photos. Also made a YouTube video for those who are interested: https://youtu.be/paP43zCZfno

Photo 1: Did not install the 4 nylon screws (red arrows). Added a strip of UHMW tape along the rail (green arrow). To set aluminum fence perpendicular to table, I adjusted with the mounting bolts that secure the Kreg rail to the cast table - this seems more durable that relying on the loose fitting nylon screws to take care of levelling.

Photo 2: Made fence plates from 3/4” MDF. Secured them to aluminum fence extrusion with 1/4-20 x 1/2” hex head bolts and furniture connectors. The furniture connectors are set into shallow forstner drilled holes, so that they do not project out. Placed washers between the MDF and the aluminum fence to prevent warping. Waxed the MDF to make it slippery. Made a high fence for resaw and regular fence for other work. Calibrated and applied the ruler scale with the MDF fence attached. All fences are made from the same 3/4” MDF so ruler scale does not need to be recalibrated when changing fences.

Photo 3: Secured a square block of wood behind the fence use 1/4-20 hex head bolts and wing nuts. The block of wood serves 3 purposes:

Block rides along the wooden strip that is bolted to the edge of table, so that the aluminum fence does not scrape on table and is held a consistent spacing above table. Applied UHMW tape to the bottom of the block where it rides on the wooden strip. The Kreg fence slides smoothly.
With block clamped to the wooden strip, I can push hard on the fence without deflecting it. Without clamp the fence can easily deflect 0.015”
With block clamped to the wooden strip, the fence is kept perpendicular to the table because the block is square.

Photo 4: Made a little fence that can be hooked on, and just rests on the table. This allows the guide bar to be lowered for small pieces, without changing the MDF fence. The little hook fence is exactly 1” wide, so the measuring tape is still useful, just off by 1”

I set up the bandsaw following first half of Alex Snodgrass video, so the fence is simply aligned with the miter slot. No drift adjustment required when using Snodgrass method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU&t=0s

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You addressed and fixed every issue I have with the same fence on my bandsaw. Thanx for posting.

I second that observation! Thanks for the video

Robert

Thank you Steve. Those tweaks will make a good product work even better for me!
Fred

No I need to check those little plastic screws for wear. Good tip.

I used a 1 1/8" thick wooden fence, because have a lit of pine and no mdf. I can screw stuff to the fence with 1" screws. The way Kreg made the fence, there is a groove in the fence, so I can't tell if wood is tight to the fence. I guess this will matter if I ever put the tape on the fence.

Overall, this Kregg fence has worked out great. It's a big improvement over the Delta fence, which was exactly the same as the Delta homeowner fences from the 1950's. Being able to bump the fence over a few hundredths with screw adjustment is great. It speeds up squaring the table to the blade. I run a piece by the blade, just skimming the surface, until the blade hits top and bottom evenly. I wish Kregg made a fence like this for little table saws.