Popular Woodworking 2008-04 № 168, страница 84
-- Jig Journal -- BY ROBERT W. LANG Best Band Saw Fence Compact, simple to use, infinitely adjustable - and free. Nothing fancy. Most band saw fences are more show and style than substance. A simple piece of wood and a couple clamps work just as well, and even have some advantages. E L—very time we bring a new band saw into our shop for testing, I make the same observation, which is actually a complaint. My coworkers know it by heart, and they know it is coming as the parts come out of the crate. "Why don't they take the money that they put into this fancy fence and either increase the quality somewhere else on the machine, or lower the price?" I learned about band saws before the era of tension-release levers and aluminum extrusions. Let me make it clear that I'm not just a cranky old curmudgeon. I've welcomed and adopted many innovations during the last 20 years, but I just don't get band saw fences. Take back the bells and whistles please and give me a heavy old cast iron saw. I already have the fence; and ifyou have a straight piece of wood and a couple clamps, then so do you. For most straight cuts at the band saw, any fence is a lot more trouble than it is worth. Unless you're making a number of repeated, precise cuts, the time spent setting up a fence is time wasted, and the fence will likely be in the way when making other cuts. If you're making a number of rips, cutting joints or resawing, a fence makes sense, but a straight piece of wood clamped to the saw table will work as well or better than any commercial fence. The bonus is that it won't cost you anything, and it won't be in the way when you don't need it. Give Yourself a Hand For the maj ority of straight cuts, simply marking a line on the work and cutting to the line is more efficient and equal in quality to a fence-guided cut. I plant my left hand on the table next to the work (as seen at the top of the next page) and use that as a guide. If the saw tends to drift, a slight increase in pressure from either your extended index 74 ■ Popular Woodworking April 2008 finger or your thumb changes the angle of the work, and that does the trick. When the board approaches the end of the cut, I extend my thumb and fingers to help push the last few inches of the work past the blade. Rip cuts made on the band saw aren't quite as straight and even as rip cuts made on the table saw. If that kind of precision is needed, I head to the table saw, or make the cut a hair wide at the band saw then trim back to the line with a handplane or on the jointer. I know that some woodworkers have been convinced to do all their ripping on the band saw, but that is slow and awkward on all but lead photo by al rarrish |
