The fence face on my JS Pro is not flat. What can I use over it to create a truly flat surface? I thought about some kind of flat 1/4" aluminum sheet maybe? Plexiglass?
The fence face on my JS Pro is not flat. What can I use over it to create a truly flat surface? I thought about some kind of flat 1/4" aluminum sheet maybe? Plexiglass?
I see a Jet, Saw Stop and TaiChi JS-Pro. All seem to have aluminum fences. Nearly anything you screw to the fence will conform to the surface. I attached a heavy gauge 80/20-ish piece of anodized aluminum extrusion to a wavy fence and ended up with a thicker wavy fence. I would use whatever face material is handy. Just assure that you can shim between the new material and the stock fence. That'll get you there.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
I use wood and lap the surface after it is attached to the fence with screws and glue. When I have done my best to get the surface flat and square I cover the wood with high density Pionite.
Last edited by Maurice Mcmurry; 09-23-2022 at 5:18 PM. Reason: spell pionite
Best Regards, Maurice
I might try sanding the stock laminate surface with sticky-back sandpaper on a granite reference slab, first. The slab is almost as long as the fence.
You can use your saw top for a surface plate if you do not have access to granite (I do not). The abrasive can be regular sandpaper glued to an opened up brown paper bag.
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Best Regards, Maurice
I have some magnetic feather boards that can be mounted on a vertical surface that help guide pieces while ripping. To adapt these to my Beismeyer fence, I built a shell to go over the fence. The result was a fence face that was taller and straighter than the stock faces on my Beismeyer. You could do something similar for your fence.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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Here is what i did to get rid of a very annoying crooked factory fence face on a PM2000. That is a fence from vscttools.com that was milled flat by them. It is attached with only two bolts, one at each end and held off the PM fence by the thickness of a washer for a 1/4" bolt. This was to eliminate any irregularities in the factory fence causing the new face to distort. I also moved the fence rail tape so the fence measurements are still accurate for making rip cuts.
I have a Beisemeyer fence on a Powermatic 72. I took the laminate and particle board off, and bolted on vertical grain Douglass fir. It took some drilling. It has worked fine for 9 years.
Yes, they were kiln dried maple and professionally planed by my supplier. The edges were straight as best I could tell. My straight edge is only 36"
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute
Check out: 80/20 1030-72 Extrusion T-Slot, 10 Series 1"x3" 72" long. AMAZON or Ebay. This makes a great fence and the T-slots are perfect for jigs and other attachments
I finally got around to watching some Saw Stop videos. Do you have the Hi-Low fence?
I think I would try carefully sanding the stock fence and checking progress with a straightedge and square.
Another flattening station is a glass table top, and sanding blocks that I call abrasive shooting boards. I can get wood, aluminum, iron and steel fairly flat, straight and square with sandpaper. It is tedious.
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Last edited by Maurice Mcmurry; 09-24-2022 at 10:07 AM. Reason: image
Best Regards, Maurice