Travel distance for Rip Fence locking bar?

[Bill Stock]

I was having trouble with my Rip Fence pulling to the left when the rear clamp tightened. I could hold the fence in place and tighten the clamp and it was "close".

So I decided to align it properly before I start my next project. I measured it with my square and the back of the fence was an 1/8" different from the front. So I loosened the alignment screws (one was loose already) and aligned it with the square. This got me with a 1/16", perhaps a little less. But my test cut seemed to wobble going through the blade. I did not actually check, but it feels like the fence is twisted so that it is no longer square to the table top.

So I took the whole thing apart today and put it back together. I didn't notice anything funky, although I was surprised by how little the locking bar moves? It is travelling less than 1/16" from unlocked to fully locked. I was expecting more. Is it possible the bar is bent? Could the cam be damaged that moves the bar?

After putting it all back together, it seems a little smoother. But I now have to move the locking handle much further to lock the rear clamp. The handle is almost 180° to the table.

Suggestions?

[Brian G]

Hi Bill, welcome to the forum.

One thing to be aware of is that it's normal for the fence to pull to one side or the other a little bit on lockdown, because of the way the fence aligns. It aligns in two steps, the second of which is the back end squaring before it locks to the rail.

You may notice that if you move the ripfence to the left, the rear will shift toward the left on lock-down. If you move the ripfence to the right, the rear will shift to the right on lock-down. This movement is normal, and by forcing/holding the back in place while locking the ripfence, you may actually be forcing it to be unparallel to the blade.

When you described a wobbly cut, were you using a featherboard to keep the stock snug against the fence? That would reduce one variable (technique) from troubleshooting. I read a technique tip here (can't remember who wrote it) that making sure that the pushstick pushes at about the centerpoint of the width of the stock between the blade and the fence helps keep the stock straight. By doing that, the stock has a reduced tendency to drift and you're left trying to compensate. That tip really improved my ripping results.

On the fence being square to the table: Mine was slightly out of square, and I ended up disassembling the two adjustment screws, filing off some of the powdercoating of the ripfence "T" handle as well as the underside of the adjustment screw holes. The gorilla that assembled my saw put too much torque into the adjustment screws such that there were dimples that kept resetting any adjustment I made back to the original. Filing the dimples helped me get the fence square to the table.

I remember having the same issue as you have now regarding the position of the handle on reassembly. I'm working from memory of three years ago, but as I recall, it helps to grow another hand. The position of the "fat part" of the eccentric roller that the handle screws into determines where the handle "ends up" on lockdown. As I recall, it was rather finicky to get it just right. If the "fat part" is too high, then the handle only goes down short distance and is in the way. If the "fat part" is too low, then the handle ends up being pointed almost to the floor, or worse, won't lock the fence at all. Once I found that sweet-spot, it all worked fine. I have not had to adjust my ripfence in three years.

I'm sure there are some threads with better advice than what I have given. If you put "rip fence alignment" into a forum search, you should hit a goldmine of information.

[cwsmith]

Out of the box, my rip fence was parallel to the blade and would lock down solid with the handle in the horizontal position. Certainly I could push the lock handle down further, but I recall reading somewhere on this forum that forcing the handle beyond it's initial lock position, would cause the rear of the fence to move slightly to either the left or right.

I know on many of the bigger saws that I looked at, one could really throw some force on the fence lock. But I figured the BT didn't require much force to get the job done.

CWS

[Bill Stock]

One thing to be aware of is that it's normal for the fence to pull to one side or the other a little bit on lockdown, because of the way the fence aligns. It aligns in two steps, the second of which is the back end squaring before it locks to the rail.

Yeah, but the rear always locks too far to the right. I adjusted the plastic spacers at the front of the fence, which seems to help a bit. But it's still not right.

When you described a wobbly cut, were you using a featherboard to keep the stock snug against the fence? That would reduce one variable (technique) from troubleshooting. I read a technique tip here (can't remember who wrote it) that making sure that the pushstick pushes at about the centerpoint of the width of the stock between the blade and the fence helps keep the stock straight. By doing that, the stock has a reduced tendency to drift and you're left trying to compensate. That tip really improved my ripping results.

I just added the left miter slot, so a featherboard is in the mail. Seriously considering a right miter slot too.

I remember having the same issue as you have now regarding the position of the handle on reassembly. I'm working from memory of three years ago, but as I recall, it helps to grow another hand. The position of the "fat part" of the eccentric roller that the handle screws into determines where the handle "ends up" on lockdown. As I recall, it was rather finicky to get it just right. If the "fat part" is too high, then the handle only goes down short distance and is in the way. If the "fat part" is too low, then the handle ends up being pointed almost to the floor, or worse, won't lock the fence at all. Once I found that sweet-spot, it all worked fine. I have not had to adjust my ripfence in three years.

The clamp at the rear of my fence is not square to the rail, which might explain a few issues. It's actually gotten much worse lately, but the fence is working better. Go figure. Got a new clamp in the mail too.

[LCHIEN]

Bill a couple of things worry me and perhaps its how you call things as well.

First when you say you aligh the fence, it sounds to me like you are aligning it to the table or to the rails which for the BT3 saw family is not correct. It must be aligned to the blade, which is by no means gauranteed to be aligned square to the ribs on the table or the table or the rails. Its a BT3 thing, different from other saw which align the blade to the table and the miter slot. Since the BT3 doesn't have a miter slot, the SMT is actually aligned to the blade, too.

What you call the locking bar, do you mean the rip fence handle or the little hook in the back that catches the lip of the rear rail?

You migth read the BT3 FAQ linked below my sig line, it explains why how the 2-stage locking system works and why the fence might move when you lock it.

[Bill Stock]

Bill a couple of things worry me and perhaps its how you call things as well.

First when you say you aligh the fence, it sounds to me like you are aligning it to the table or to the rails which for the BT3 saw family is not correct. It must be aligned to the blade, which is by no means gauranteed to be aligned square to the ribs on the table or the table or the rails. Its a BT3 thing, different from other saw which align the blade to the table and the miter slot. Since the BT3 doesn't have a miter slot, the SMT is actually aligned to the blade, too.

What you call the locking bar, do you mean the rip fence handle or the little hook in the back that catches the lip of the rear rail?

You migth read the BT3 FAQ linked below my sig line, it explains why how the 2-stage locking system works and why the fence might move when you lock it.

Yes, I use my grid as a general reference. But I'm actually seeing this problem using my square to align the fence to the blade.

The little hook at the back rail is bent and does not seem to sit properly. Although it's not working too badly at the moment. I ordered a new end plate though.

I found Black Walnut's posts helpful. That's where I saw the idea to align the front spacers. One was off quite a bit.

[eddy merckx]

Hi Bill

"But my test cut seemed to wobble going through the blade. I did not actually check, but it feels like the fence is twisted so that it is no longer square to the table top."

Here's another thing to consider. If your saw isn't sitting exactly level, your fence will appear to be twisted relative to the table top.

The fence on my BT3100 showed significat twist. I put a 4' level on the center table with SMT and accessory table removed. It was actually out about 1/8" over maybe 12" in the back. It was level in the front. I shimmed between the saw body and stand with 1/4" washers until level.

Now the fence is square and seems to lock down without shifting or lifting on one side.

Not sure if this will help, but if you haven't checked your saw for level, it might be worth a look.

Eddy