51 - Band Saw Upgrade, страница 16
I only had one regret after building this auxiliary table and fence for my band saw — I wish I'd done it sooner. If you take a look at the photo above, it's easy to see why. Large Worksurface - First of all, the table creates a large work-surface that's about three times larger than the cast iron table on my band saw. This provides plenty of extra support when making a curved cut. Plus I can rip (or resaw) a long board without having it tip off the back edge of the saw. The table is designed to mount to the cast iron table on the band saw. By looking underneath the band saw as in the inset photo above, you can see how this works. To keep the auxiliary table from shifting around, a simple system of wood cleats surrounds the cast iron table. Tightening a set of small wood blocks against the cleats holds the auxiliary table securely in place. B. Stop/Pivot Block. An adjustable block does double duty as a stop (left) and a pivot block when resawing (right). Tightening a knob clamps the block on the fence. Adjustable Fence - As much as I like the large table, the thing that's made an even more significant improvement to my band saw is an adjustable fence. It provides a quick way to produce a straight, accurate cut. And I don't need to fiddle with clamps to lock the fence in place. The fence rides on a metal rail that attaches to the front of the table. To position the fence, simply slide it along the rail until it's the desired distance from the band saw blade. Then as you can see in photo 'A' below, turning a single knob allows you to lock the fence securely on the rail. This fence also solves another nagging problem that often crops up when working on a band saw. That's the tendency of the blade to "pull" the workpiece at an angle during a cut (This is called drift.) To compensate for this, the metal rail can be adjusted so the fence matches the angle of drift. Stop/Pivot Block - Just one more note about the fence. There's a T-shaped slot on the front of the fence that accepts a simple accessory. As you can see in the photos at left, it serves two different purposes. First, it acts as a stop which comes in handy when cutting tenons. Second, the rounded edge of the block can be used as a pivot point when resawing. (For more information on resawing with a pivot block, refer to page 27.) A. Fence Clamp. The band saw fence has a built-in clamp that's locked in place with a plastic knob. 16 ShopNotes No. 51 |
