I decided it was high time I quit clamping a piece of wood to my bandsaw table whenever I needed a fence, and upgraded to something more easily adjustable. Based on a design for a drill press fence in a recent Woodsmith Small Shops book, I came up with this cleat style fence.
I used 2×4’s for the front and back rails, putting the 45 degree angle on them with my table saw. I bolted them to the existing threads on my bandsaw’s fence.
The fence is a piece of cherry, and the cleat parts are walnut (just happened to have some scraps).
The clamp part of the fence is pretty simple: just a hinge on top, and a tee nut sunk into the end of the fence. There’s a hole in the piece of walnut where the knob can pass through and thread into the tee nut.
Thanks for checking it out, suggestions/questions are always welcome!
15 comments so far
Tedstor
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1691 posts in 3603 days
#1 posted 11-01-2012 09:27 AM
Very clever. I like it.
Dan Campebell
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36 posts in 4137 days
#2 posted 11-01-2012 10:17 AM
Your design seems good but the soft 2 by cleats will ding very easily and possibly warp with time; hard maple would serve you better.
Dan Campbell
-- Dan Campbell
GrandpaLen
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1652 posts in 3242 days
#3 posted 11-01-2012 02:22 PM
Great Idea.
...proving once again, Less is More.
Work Safely and have Fun. – Grandpa Len.
-- Mother Nature should be proud of what you've done with her tree. - Len ...just north of a stone's throw from the oHIo, river that is, in So. Indiana.
oscaro928
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9 posts in 3002 days
#4 posted 11-01-2012 10:28 PM
Very nice, my bandsaw needs one of these. Would make my life much simpler.
Thanks for the pictures.
oscar
Joe Lyddon
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10955 posts in 5022 days
#5 posted 11-01-2012 10:43 PM
COOL!
Very ingenious…
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?media/albums/users/joe-lyddon.1389/
pauldavies
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2 posts in 2934 days
#6 posted 01-09-2013 05:25 AM
I used band saw and fence to cut the surface and thin boards for book matching door panel. I’ve get success by going slow and making sure the band saw does all the work. And one more thing it’s all in the drift, find the drift in your band saw and then you can smoothly cuts the fence every time.
Timber fencing
Ty Moser
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85 posts in 2508 days
#7 posted 03-15-2014 09:49 PM
I think this just made it to the top of my to-do list before getting started on my master bathroom vanity.
I agree with Dan about the softwood cleats though. I think mine will all be hard maple. Too bad the hardwood store is already closed today…
-- Check out my projects at https://www.monolocoworkshop.com or at https://www.youtube.com/user/trmoser/videos
Ty Moser
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85 posts in 2508 days
#8 posted 04-24-2014 09:38 PM
FYI, I made this fence with left over birch plywood and it has worked great.
http://blog.monolocoworkshop.com/2014/04/diy-bandsaw-fence.html
-- Check out my projects at https://www.monolocoworkshop.com or at https://www.youtube.com/user/trmoser/videos
JerrodMcCrary
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86 posts in 2576 days
#9 posted 11-14-2014 09:20 PM
Thanks for sharing
Duffmeister
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4 posts in 2255 days
#10 posted 05-17-2015 03:03 PM
ever find a problem with the T-nuts pulling out? I wouldn’t imagine the force pushing them in. nice design, anyway. looking for something to tune up an old Shopsmith bandsaw I inherited from my father. they still make parts, but they’re quite proud of them…
-- Get off my lawn!
Ty Moser
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85 posts in 2508 days
#11 posted 05-18-2015 07:36 AM
The T-nut in mine came out shortly after I made it. Some epoxy has kept it in place for years after that without issue. I would also recommend going with a good quality hinge so it doesn’t have play from side to side.
-- Check out my projects at https://www.monolocoworkshop.com or at https://www.youtube.com/user/trmoser/videos
Edwardnorton
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203 posts in 2897 days
#12 posted 09-07-2016 10:12 PM
I was wondering about the T nut pulling out when I saw the previous 2 comments. I would have used screw in inserts (as seen in the photo). Nice job on this project none the less. I think I’ll do this to my old Hitachi 14” bandsaw. Thanks for posting!
-- EdwardNorton
indyj
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12 posts in 1148 days
#13 posted 04-06-2018 05:14 AM
Awesome, simplicity at its barest necessity for functionality! I like the concept and definately will incorporate a couple of enhancing features to include in my rendition of your design! One question though, why not continue the channel for your jigs to slide clear of both ends of the table? Nice job mate!
-- .... I'd rather do this than work for a living!
Ty Moser
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85 posts in 2508 days
#14 posted 04-19-2018 07:10 AM
Hey Indjy,
I’ve kicked myself many many times for not cutting out those slots. I haven’t wanted to unbolt them and put the slots in and have almost taken a hand saw and chisel to them a couple times in the recent past but still haven’t.. If you make one of these I would definitely recommend cutting out the slots.
-- Check out my projects at https://www.monolocoworkshop.com or at https://www.youtube.com/user/trmoser/videos
54jack24
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1 post in 1000 days
#15 posted 01-23-2019 05:28 AM
Do you have to remove the front rail to change blades?
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