Question about rip fence

[bonnerj]

First, thanks again to everyone who helped me sort out the issues with the issues aligning the blade to 0 and 45 degrees.

I'm now tackling the rip fence. I dug into the FAQ, and with the help of that and some old threads, I have determined that the front clamp (designated "clamper-A" in the FAQ) is bent. I don't have immediate access to a vise, so straightening it out will have to wait. However, I have noticed that the rear clamp does not move when the handle on the front clamp is opened or closed.

My question is, will straightening clamper-A fix this, or is there something else going on that I need to address?

Thanks!

Joe

[dbhost]

If everything else is right, yes, HOWEVER, there is an adjusting screw on the clamping lever on the rear clamp, and if it isn't adjusted in far enough you can straighten the clamper A out all you want and it will never clamp the rear of the fence... Get clamper A sorted and then verify the rear clamper works, if not adjust that screw in a bit...

[bonnerj]

If everything else is right, yes, HOWEVER, there is an adjusting screw on the clamping lever on the rear clamp, and if it isn't adjusted in far enough you can straighten the clamper A out all you want and it will never clamp the rear of the fence... Get clamper A sorted and then verify the rear clamper works, if not adjust that screw in a bit...

Good to know. Thanks!

[dbhost]

So think of it this way. Clamper A is basically a lever, which pushes a LONG rod that goes through the fence, to the clamper B I guess it is properly called, The contact point on clamper B is that adjustment screw, so it if it too far out, clamper A cannot swing far enough to actually push it...

Boy I hope I explained that right...

[Black walnut]

How is it bent?

[LCHIEN]

Fortunately I have not had a problem with the Rip fence other than replacing the roller holder.

My recollection from all these years on BT3Central /Sawdustzone and the Ryobi forums is that the tip of Clamper A gets bent when the user gets too heavy handed with pushing down the locking handle. Easy does it with everything on this saw!! Somethings got to give, I guess its the relatively long moment arm of clamper A. Should be able to bend it back with a small vise. If you don't have one you really need one in a shop.

Here's what it should be bent to and its not all that critical as there is a screw adjustment in the back.

[bonnerj]

Fortunately I have not had a problem with the Rip fence other than replacing the roller holder.

My recollection from all these years on BT3Central /Sawdustzone and the Ryobi forums is that the tip of Clamper A gets bent when the user gets too heavy handed with pushing down the locking handle. Easy does it with everything on this saw!! Somethings got to give, I guess its the relatively long moment arm of clamper A. Should be able to bend it back with a small vise. If you don't have one you really need one in a shop.

Here's what it should be bent to and its not all that critical as there is a screw adjustment in the back.

Now I'm confused. In the FAQ, it says to straighten clamper-A if it's bent, but from the pic from ereplacement parts, it looks like the clamper is supposed to be bent. Here's what mine looks like:



So, maybe it doesn't need to be straightened, but bent a little more to get it back to the proper angle? Or do I need to fuss with the screw adjustment?

Thanks!

Joe

[twistsol]

My opinion is that this is one of the gray areas on the fence. I hade both a BT3000 and a BT3100 at the same time. One was bent just a touch toward the back of the saw, and the other I had to bent slightly the other direction or I couldn't unhook the fence at the rear. It would roll at the rear but not leave enough of a gap to get the fence off the saw.

Where it needs to be is that when the handle of the rip fence is in the upright and unlocked position, the bar that goes through the fence to the rear clamper should barely make contact with the front clamper A. Once you start to push the handle down, two things should happen. Clamper A tightens against the front rail and pushes the rod into the top of clamper B causing the hook at the bottom of clamper B to lock the rear of the fence to the rail. Ideally, the front of the fence should lock down first and square the fence to the rail and then the rear fence clamp B should lock the back of the fence in place.

I haven't had a BT3x saw for a number of years, so this is from memory.

• First, make sure clamper B moves when the fence is unlocked. If it is sticking and doesn't pivot easily on the pin that holds it in place, deal with that first.
• Back out the adjusting screw at the rear of the fence almost all the way.
• With the fence on the saw, lower the locking handle until it just starts to engage the rail, but isn't yet locked down tight.
• Hold in the top of clamper B and tighten the adjusting screw until the screw starts to move the top of the clamper away from the saw. (If you bottom out the screw and the clamper hasn't moved you need to increase the bend of clamper A, or the rod that goes through the fence is not in the proper position to be pushed by clamper A )
• Lock the handle the rest of the way and then adjust the screw to get a solid lock at the rear of the fence.

The tab at the bottom of clamper B can also get bent and should be at a 90 degree angle to its inside flat.

I struggled with the fence on My BT3000 for a long time, before I found this site, but once I got it dialed in, it worked really well until I dropped it and had to do it all agin.

[LCHIEN]

I decided to make a graphic of how the Rip Fence locking mechanism works.



The top diagram shows the rip fence unlocked with the handle up. The push rod inside the fence is forwards just a tiny bit, that allows the spring to relax and allow the Clamper B at the rear to be more or less vertical and the tip of the fence locking finger is back.

When the handle is lowered, the eccentric cam is rotated and pushed Clamper A about a 1/4 inch backwards, still vertical (no tilting) This presses the lower end against a plastic piece that captures the front rail. And the top of the Clamper A pushes the end of the rod which moves a fraction of an inch and presses on the top of clamper B, which is pivoted as shown so that the bottom finger engages the slot at the top of the rear rail.
When adjusted properly (the screw on the top of clamper B adjusts the effective length of the pushrod to make it longer or shorter.) you can feel the sequence of events as you lower the handle... first the rip fence assembly stops sliding sideways, and locks at the front squaring up the rip fence to the rail. As you press the handle lower (to me, its sticking straight out at about 3:00 o'clock) and while you could wiggle the back of the rip fence a tiny bit when the front locked down as the handle is depressed, all the wiggle goes out of the rear and its locked solidly down against strong forces.