Clamping the rip fence on the 21829

[mxw031]

Hello, I recently purchased my first table saw, the Craftsman 21829 and then found this website. I am trying to take good care of the saw and learn everything I can. I have read through the FAQ and some other posts here that I have found by searching but I have a question about the rip fence. My saw is in relatively good condition and does not appear to have been used much, and certainly not abused. Everything is square that I have checked.

I am wondering how much force I should need to apply to secure the rip fence. I am having to press the handle down, not a real struggle or force to press it down but somewhat hard. Once it is clamped it is locked and square. It appears to be securing at the front and back rail appropriately. I have read about the clamp issues and the tendency for some of the parts to be bent or the plastic fittings in the rear rail part of the fence to break. Mine does not appear broken but I guess I am looking for confirmation from others since I don't want to damage my saw. Is it common to need to press down firmly on the clamp to lock the fence in place? Is it possible to adjust this? I know my question may be difficult to answer but any input is welcome. Thank you.

[LCHIEN]

Hi welcome to the sawdustzone forum.
If you read my BT3FAQ, I think it describes how the Rip fence works.
Its the same across the BT3000, BT3100, and the Craftsman 22811 and 21829.
Its a two stage process as you lower the locking handle.
1. It grabs the front rail on 2 points to simultaneously lock the position relative to the rail, and square up the fence to the saw;
2. as you further lower the handle then the rear mechanism uses a small bracket to grip the lip on the rear rail, essentially locking the fence to the rear rail.

You should demonstrate this to yourself if you observe it. Position the rip fence right or left, unlocked. as you initially lower the handle you will see the fence move a tiny bit to line up square. At this point, feel the back end, it will have some play if you push moderately sideways on it. As you lower the handle further the clamper grabs the lip and the fence back end becomes firmly locked to the rear rail as well and has no play if pushed moderately.

Facing backwards on the back end of the rip fence is a screw on the black clamper. This Phillips screw can be adjusted to make the lock handle close at a higher or lower point if desired. You should play with this a little to get a feel for how this clever mechanism works.

Any way, to answer your question, I find I don't need a huge amount of force on the locking handle to lock it securely. You can test this yourself by trying different locking forces and see how firmly the front and rear are locked. I always say, gentle forces and not gorilla grip are needed for adjustment of the BT3s.

And my one criticism of the saw is that the plastic part on the rear end of the rip fence is one of the more fragile elements of the saw. In the 26 years I've had my BT3000 the one part I broke was this plastic piece... called the rip fence roller holder. It has a roller that facilitates easy positioning, and also holds the fulcrum pivot for the black clamper that transfers lock handle motion to grab the lip pulling upwards.

I think that excessive force on the locking handle can break the plastic roller holder. It has also been known to bend the clamper lever in the front of the rip fence. it is under more stress than most plastic parts of the saw.

I replaced my broken roller holder with an machined metal aftermarket one -
https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...ce-on-your-bt3

Not saying yours is going to break but the existence of machined aftermarket replacements is an indication it happened to more people than just me. My saw was well used and at least 15-16 years old when I replaced the holder.

To sum up, just use gentle force on the rip fence locking handle, do some tests to satisfy yourself it is solidly locked. I think you will be surprised at how little force it takes to lock the handle on a properly adjusted rip fence. If you find the locked position is too low, i.e. lower than about 3 or 4 o'clock, then you can adjust its locked position with the adjustment screw. Mine currently locks well sticking straight out, 3 o'clock. There's really no stop to prevent you from putting strong downward pressure on the handle, but don't do that.

I think the way the rip fence works is one of the features that makes this saw so nice, the fact that it squares and then locks the rear of the fence as well as the front is a nice touch and makes it quite accurate. Most other table saw systems don't lock the rear of the fence and to compensate, you have massive fences like the Beisemeyer that alone cost more than this saw simply to be rigid enough to suffice to be locked only from the front rail. Reasons that make the BT3000 series such a good buy.
Enjoy!

[mxw031]

Thank you so much for such a thorough response. I will play with the adjustment when I get home tonight and your description of how the mechanisms actually work is very helpful. I will do as suggested and go through the locking process slowly and watch each part so that I understand better and can isolate my issue. My handle locks probably closer to 5 o'clock (or a little further), so some adjustment is likely in order. Thanks again.

[LCHIEN]

Well let us know how it goes. Feedback is always nice