Bandsaw fence problems

[Joe McMahon]

I need help!
I have a Jet 18" bandsaw JWBS 18QT-3 that I bought new and has not seen a lot of use. When I went to use it, I moved the fence to the correct location and lowered the handle to lock the fence but it did not lock. I have never given the fence much thought as it always worked the way a fence should. It did not appear to have any damage, but would not lock. It seemed to have some front to back slop. I tried to adjust it tighter with the rear hook adjustment and then the hex screws but no luck. I then took the rear rail off and shimmed it outward with washers. This reduced the slop but still not enough to lock the fence. I finally put a wood shim under the locking cam and it worked, but this is unsafe.


Any ideas what might be wrong and how to fix it? I am baffled

[Clint Baxter]

I have the same saw and had the same issue. I found that the plastic pad on the arm that the locking cam contacts, had came off. Even if it slips down some the fence will no longer lock rigidly. I replaced that pad onto the arm, but it has slid down a little so it doesn’t lock as tight as desired. However, if I hold that pivoting arm up, as I engage the locking lever, it will then lock securely.

look to make sure the pad is there, and if present, if it has shifted downward on the arm.

Good luck.

Clint

[Joe McMahon]

That pad is a separate piece. How did you replace it back onto the arm? (Thanks for the reply!!)

[Randy Heinemann]

Just a suggestion . . . Admittedly you shouldn't have to either make or buy an add-on fence with any bandsaw, but, for years, I've used the MagFence II from Carter. You can set it anywhere on the cast iron table, lock it down, and it will always be exactly where you want it. I messed around with the Rikon fence that came with the saw, even had Rikon replace it because it would never lock down properly and straight, and just gave up. The Magfence works great.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I tried putting a shim on the cam on my 18" Jet band saw's rip fence when it wouldn't lock, and that kind of worked. What really worked was bending the part that wasn't locking so it did lock again. I use my rip fence a lot and it has been quite dependable since being bent to the right shape again.
Zach

[Mike Kees]

If you decide to replace your fence here is an idea .I built a fence from an old Unifence that worked great. If your saw has a blade slot in the table that goes out the side of the table instead of the front then this will work.I had a scrap of Unifence rail from a cut off rail and a spare head piece, and a fence piece that was bent. I fabbed a piece of flat bar steel to attach the rail and used the Uni head and cut down the bent fence extrusion. The high /low option was as great on a bandsaw as it is on a table saw. Fully adjustable to square up to the blade/miter slot.

[Clint Baxter]

That pad is a separate piece. How did you replace it back onto the arm? (Thanks for the reply!!)

IIRC the pad is of UHMW and was difficult to reattach. I think I ended up scoring the surface of the pad and using epoxy. That was after trying double stick tape, and cyanoacrylate glues. I’ve heard there are adhesives that work on UHMW, but I’ve yet to have one personally that sticks well

Clint

[Chris Payne]

I bought a Powermatic 14” bandsaw and had same problem with fence have not repaired yet but use a small shim when setting fence up for a cut. You would think that they could do better then that when making the fence.