Greetings,
My aggazanni b-24 bandsaw gets the job done just fine but the fence leaves
alot to be desired.
Mainly it rests at 90% to the table but when you
tighten it in possition it wanders of 90% unless you are very very
carefull..
And after a few years I’m over it.
Do any of you know of an aftermarket fence upgrade for a bandsaw of this size??
thanks for any input,
jeremiah
Replies
I have the same bandsaw. I had the same problem. I replaced it with a Biesemeyer Home Shop fence. You can sometimes get "blemished" ones on the Biesemeyer website for less $. If that's beyond your budget you might look at the Accusquare. I have that on my General 15" and am very happy with it. It's smaller than the Bies but it's bigger than the stock Agazzani fence.
The Bies was not just a bolt on item. I had to cut the mounting "L" bracket and the tube. The bracket is cut shorter than the tube and mounts to the left of the blade slot. The tube extends beyond the slot to the end of the table. The tube is rigid enough so there's no flexing. Took a couple hours but it was well worth it. I use the bandsaw for ripping so I stuck a new scale on the tube and calibrated it to the blade. I also made a resaw fence that fits over the Bies.
Interesting discussion. I have the Aggi 20, and when I resaw, I have a UHMW featherfoard at the bottom, but push agaisnt the top of the board, and find that the fence, during a cut, moves away from 90 degrees. A PITA. Lately, I have been wondering about another fence. Until, I figure that out, I made a wedge sort of thing that fits tightly into the end of the alum. extrustion, on the outfeed side, and put a clamp on it, thus holding the 90. Not a lot of work to do this, but it is an annoyance on what I thought was to be the best saw I could buy. I will ck. poput the Bies. Thanks for the tip.
Alan
http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com
Yup, an annoyance on an otherwise great saw. But, I knew when I bought it that I would someday replace the fence.
alan,
I stole an idea from Rob Millard and modified it a bit to prevent the fense moving away from its initial position ie. top of fense moves.
Rob's fense was tall, supported by two triangles in the back, cut out to accomodate bearings, etc. and clamped to the BS table top during operation. I attached the tall board to my BS fense, cut out a portion to accomodate raising and lowering the bearings, etc. Also, I attached triangles to the back of the tall board (cutting out for the BS fense) and put a couple of screws through the triangles that come in contact with the BS table top and allow me to change the tilt of the tall fense. It's surprising effective...
I have the same saw. I also have to laugh (or cry) when I look at the mitre slot and gauge provided. Why doesn't it have a normal depth mitre slot?
interesting.
So you modified a bies tablesaw fence if i understand correctly. Sounds like a good idea.
Would photos be difficult to for you to post?
jeremiah
Yes, I modified the smaller Bies called the "Home Shop" fence. It's typically for contractor saws.
If I did this correctly you'll see some pic files. Let me know if they are too low of a resolution and I'll take higher res pics.
Ok, so I got the hang of this picture posting stuff.
Here are a couple of pics of the other option I told you about. It's the Accusquare fence mounted on my 15" General. I'm positive it can be mounted on the Aggi with as much or less effort than the Bies. Ya just gotta drill the right holes like I did with the Bies. This fence is not as long as the Bies, so it won't reach the far end of the table, but that's ok. It's still longer than the stock fence. The Bies is a lot more rigid. The Accusquare will flex ever so slightly, but not like the FasTrak I used to have on there. That thing flexed too much for my tastes.
Let me know if you need anymore info.
wow .. thanks alot for the snaps so quick!
Both options look good for the big saw it seems.
Since i am familiar with the bies i have one question on the accusquare, how are the allignment adjustments (for blade drift allignment)?
thanks,
jeremiah
Underneath the head are four alignment bolts. You tighten down the lock knob, loosen the four alignment bolts. Then you set the fence to the proper angle. I usually clamp it with a C-clamp to hold it. Then retighten the four alignment bolts.
Don't all bandsaw fences have a front pivot point that allows you to adjust the fence for drift?
I have a Laguna, and there is a single allen head set screw on the top of the fence that allows me to shift it one way or the other to accommodate drift.
we are discussing the 90 degree angle the fence is supossed to keep to the table.
thanks though.
Sorry, that's what happens when you're not reading carefully..............
as an update i contacted jesse at eagle tools and he says the factory was made aware of this issue and the new models dont have this problem.
He also offered (free of charge) to do a small modification to my fence that will solve the problem.
will update on success.
jeremiah
Please keep us updated! I'm curious to know what the modification is. Not that I'm going to change back. ;-)
The original fence is in storage and haven't looked at it in a while. But, my one of my thoughts was if they could increase the contact area of the locking bolt it might help.
BTW, I had the same problem with the General fence. That's why I replaced it as well. However, the fence does not come with the saw. I had to buy it seperately, only to find it I wasted my money!! Fortunately, the store took it back and gave me a refund.
Did jesse mention how long this problem has been occurring? What year was your saw made?
mine is around 2 years old.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled