Rip fence question

[oreke]

Hello All,

I recently bought a used BT3000, which is my first table saw. I had problems getting the fence to lock or move easily on the rails. After reading through the wealth of information here I finally fixed the problems and the fence now locks and is parallel to the blade. The problems were:

1) The back rail clamp was bent, so I ordered a new one.
2) The tip of the front clamper was bent in, which I straightened.

Now for my question:

Even after straightening the front block clamper, the rod moves only very slightly forward as I bring the locking handle down. I have to move the locking handle all the way down, as far as it can go, to lock the fence. I read in many posts that people only bring it down to horizontal in order to lock the fence. Are there any ideas as to why I need to push mine that far? Even though the fence locks well right now, I feel that I barely get there at the end of the locking handle range.

Thanks,
Eddie

[shoottx]

Just went through this with my fence after many years of use.

I found two problems;

1. the front clamp (clamper a pt# 23) is bentif you remove it and straighten it to a flat face on the arm, it should work smoothly.

2. the roll pin on the rod running through the fence was jaming between the side walls of the fence adding significant drag . I ground those off about 1/8 of an inch.

[oreke]

Mike,

Thanks for the reply. The rod seems to work smoothly for me, i.e. I can easily push it in with my finger when the front block of the fence is removed.

But, even after I straightened the clamper (part #23), there is still very small forward movement to push the rod into the fence and hence move the back clamp. When I pull the locking handle down, the eccentric roller moves the clamper (#23) downwards. But there isn't much forward movement to push the rod in. The rod barely moves when I pull the locking handle down.

Eddie.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Eddie,
Have you looked at adjusting part no. 5 screw on the back of the fence?

[poolhound]

Eddie,
Have you looked at adjusting part no. 5 screw on the back of the fence?

I was going to suggest the same thing, this screw removes the play and adjusts how the fence clamps.

[shoottx]

I was going to suggest the same thing, this screw removes the play and adjusts how the fence clamps.

And you might have to use a longer screw (10x24 i believe)

[Black wallnut]

Eddie,
Have you looked at adjusting part no. 5 screw on the back of the fence?

The check for the front clamper is to back out the rear screw, then lower the handle to see how far down you have to go to lock the front. If it is about parallel to the floor then everything is fine. If not then it might still be fine. IIRC to adjust the rear screw you first lock the front as above then turn in rear screw unitl it just touches the rod. Then raise the handle and give it another quarter turn, test and repeat until the rear of the fence locks with about 5° more movement of the locking handle. If the screw is not long enough you might either replace it with a longer one or check to make sure that the fence is compressed front to rear as far as the attachment holes will allow.

[oreke]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check the fence again when I get back home this evening.

I don't suspect the screw (#5) on the back clamp as much because if I tighten it any more, the back clamp starts catching on the back rail and the fence won't move smoothly or lock any better either.

I think the front of the fence locks quite a bit past horizontal when I lower the locking handle. As a matter of fact, if I pull the locking handle all the way up (unlock), and let it go, it won't stay up there, but will fall below horizontal by itself. Is it normal for the locking handle to be way below horizontal, close to the end of its range, when the front locks?

And how much should that rod inside the fence move forward? With the fence partly disassembled, I see very little forward movement of the rod when I lower the locking handle all the way down. Maybe not even 1/16".

Thanks,
Eddie

[Black wallnut]

Eddie, referencing the above diagram part# 21 is what prevents the handle from falling by the force of gravity. By creating friction between the eccentric roller and the front block the handle should stay up. It is not uncommon for this part to either be lost or wear to the point of not working. The rod actually moves slightly as you've noticed.

[oreke]

I took another look at the fence. As Mark suggested, I backed out the screw on the back clamp all the way out and checked the locking of the front block. It locked when the locking handle was pretty much all the way down.

Am I mistaken in thinking that the front block would lock earlier if I was to move the two plastic slides (part #16) towards the front a little bit?

Thanks,
Eddie

[shortafinger]

Probably, but they are nearly impossible to re-align so both have the same spacing. Don't ask me how I know.

[barryvabeach]

I would leave it alone so long as both the rear and front lock down tight - who cares where the handle is as long as it locks it will work fine . BTW, I have had my BT300 forever ( mid 90's I think ) and the rear clamp was wrong from the day I got it about up until a few weeks ago when someone posted an illustration showing the clamp was supposed to go under the flange in the rear, not butt up against it, and I bent the clamp and fixed it. Apparently it was a common problem. Good luck with your saw.