Be sure to check out the first part of this series where I get the saw & refurbish it…
The old biesemeyer fence I am using was originally off a powermatic table saw. The shop I got it from had it set up on a saw that was used strictly for running dados. For that they cut the rails short & it only had a 18” rip capacity which worked out great for this bandsaw because I would have felt bad having to cut the rails down my self. I always feel bad modifying old vintage stuff, Its an illness, ha…
I striped the rails of the old paint using a cupped wire wheel. I primered & repainted with rustoleum. I used Almond because it is the closest to the color of my other biesemeyer on the table saw. Here is a video on this part if anybody is interested… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtlL3XI74KA
Once the rails were installed I did the same with the fence. Because the fence was going to be used on the left side of the blade I chose to only replace the wood on the right of the fence so when the fence is at its maximum width from the blade it still leaves me with a 16” rip capacity. Now the wood for the fence, I kept it simple. I used a scrap piece of double sided laid up material & edged the ends. The plan is to have a wooden sacrificial fence thats easily replaceable & strait that can be used in conjunction with shop made jigs to resaw logs for example into usable wood for my projects.
Here is a video of the actual fence being restored, notice how I made a new curser, yup, that saved 10 dollars oh I also reused the tape measure that was original to the fence, another $10 saved, I cleaned it up & restuck it upside down, I can read upside down, cant you? I used contact cement to stick it….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lACZNgN9kdo
I am not to the point of making the jigs for resaw yet. I just got the fence finished. Soon i will build a few jigs & test out what works for me. When I get it done I will update here.
Im thrilled so far. I have a total of $625 into this saw & that includes the saw $500, casters $25, new blade $20, fence $75. The rest of the stuff I mostly had.
Okay, I hope this was a good read for you all, this took time to write up & my hope is to help others in their woodworking journey. That is why I do this. I take in so much information from the internet I feel its my duty to give back. Happy woodworking everybody…...
-- -Mike, Southern California, YouTube User ( Give & Take )
2 comments so far
Dwain
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623 posts in 5319 days
#1 posted 06-28-2016 05:50 PM
Congrats on the saw, and your efforts to improve it. I’ve never seen a Bies fence on a band saw! Way to think out of the box. You should be able to create nice resaw fence that can slip over what you have now. Nice work, really nice work. 14 inches of clearance for resawing is a beautiful thing!!!
-- When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there is no end to what you CAN'T do
MikesProjects
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172 posts in 3362 days
#2 posted 06-29-2016 01:37 AM
Thanks Dwain, The biesemeyer fence worked out good for this old bandsaw. Im looking forward to putting it to use.
-- -Mike, Southern California, YouTube User ( Give & Take )
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