Official Luthiers Forum!

Michael - Good for you! As a former photagrapher, I see your point! Also, if or when you upgrade to a different saw the Kreg fence can come along.

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

No big fuss. This isn't life altering for me. I am just giving my opinion which is based on over 20 years working with bandsaws and shop tools and over 30 years working with wood. I teach this, I do this for a living. I am drawing from a large pool of experience of my peers as well as my own.
I didn't intend to offend or make you feel bad about your saw or purchase of the fence. A lot of beginners think they have to have a lot of tooling that they don't and to some it is discouraging and the $$ seems huge. To some people maybe $150 is a lot. I am glad for you that $150 is not a lot..... You are obviously not a woodworker..... That was a joke. You heard about the woodworker who won the huge lottey. They asked him what he was going to do now and he said "I don't know, I guess I will just keep working until the money is gone ".
There is a lot of marketing out there to convince folks that they need this jig and that jig and most of the time they don't. I hate to see people send time and money on things that maybe they don't need. And maybe they want this or that and that is cool. It's not like that fence is going to mess anything up. Lord knows I have my share of tools that I have bought because they were cool and some I bought because I thought I needed them and they are gathering dust. I also realilize that sometimes it is better to just buy something because by the time you get the materials build it yourself you could have bought 10 of them.
You asked how are you going to make a fence out of wood and why on earth would you. Come on, aren't you aspiring to make a guitar ! I would hope you could make a simple fence. Your photography analogy is not very apt.
More apt would be to take a $10 camera and a $2 flash and put a $60 diffuser on it. You said "I guess it's the same concept" Well you are right about the guess part, but it's not the same concept and woodworking is not photography.
My point is that fence won't make your resawing or bandsaw tasks any easier, faster, or more accurate. You will have to put a wood fence on that fence anyway when resawing tall stock.
I also didn't want to offend you. Seemed like I hit a nerve. I am just putting out information. Again my opinion although it is a informed opinion, take it or leave it.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Actually, I think the photography analogy works because that was a similar dilemma I faced getting into it. I started out with a relatively cheap camera (a $200 Canon EOS) with a kit lens. Then I had to start buying accessories. What do I do? Do I just shell out for top-of-the-line stuff? Do I try to get inventive or creative? Somewhere along the line in my decision making process, it started to make sense to me to buy the $1500 lens and the $500 flash for my $200 camera. Why? Because I could use the same lenses and flash (which I do) with my $1500 camera when I bought it. So why not get that diffuser if it will carry over when you upgrade? Given the fact that a fence isn't necessarily an upgrade that is limited to use on my current saw, I personally see it as a justifiable expense. If it WAS limited only to being used on a Ridgid 14", then I'd probably be at least a bit more apprehensive about buying one.

Another point that was on my mind was simply ease of use and efficiency. To me, the Kreg looks pretty easy and convenient to use and adjust as necessary and all reviews indicate that installation and removal are not difficult at all. I suppose I see it a bit as a jig in that sense. It's just something with a cost premium to make life a little easier. As for making a fence, you're right, if I thought about it for a minute, I probably could make a fence with relative ease. But on the same note, I could probably make a bending pipe instead of buying a bending iron. I could theoretically sit there and build a belt sander instead of buying one or bringing it down to a smaller scale, I could easily make my own clamps instead of buying them. My response, I suppose, is that I simply choose not to do these things nor do I have an interest in spending my time and efforts on these particular endeavors. Some people, whether for necessity or pleasure, will choose to spend their time conceptualizing their own jigs or creating their own solutions to a given problem. I don't deny that problem solving is a necessary skill, but so long as there is already a given solution out there that isn't cost prohibitive, then I don't see it as an effective allocation of my time and effort (both of which to me are valuable resources) solving a problem that someone else already has, particularly if the solution of that problem isn't my primary objective in the first place. Of course, if what you're looking for is pretty unique to a problem you have at hand, then I suppose you'd have no choice but to devise your own response to it, but when I start making my own tools for doing this or that, where do I draw the line between spending some money so that I can get back to doing what I SHOULD be doing quicker and hand-building the solution to my next problem? Simply put, if a picture frame in my house breaks, I'm not going to go out, buy 4 pieces of wood and nail them together even though I could make just as nice a frame. I'm just going to go buy a new picture frame... People say that time is money. I simply say that time spent doesn't come back so I try to prioritize how that time is best spent.

I agree that there are plenty of unnecessary things out there and Lord knows we've all bought our share of useless/worthless things in our lives. What strikes a nerve for me is not so much when someone suggests something, but when I feel that a post takes on a tone that simply isn't constructive to the nature of the thread. For instance, the intent of this thread was to get some suggestions on good fences so it annoys me when it becomes a discussion about bandsaws themselves or why it's a bad idea to buy a fence in the first place. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I personally just don't see how a discussion comparing bandsaws or the cost of this or that accessory that isn't related to the topic at hand applies. I asked about a Ridgid 14". I didn't ask if it was a good saw. I didn't ask if I should spend a ton of money on other accessories not related to the fence. I didn't ask whether I should sell it and get myself a higher end saw. I asked a simple question and I expected answers to be pretty simple as it's not exactly the most complex of questions. Don't worry too much about striking nerves for me, though. It happens quite often as I'm a person of strong opinions and beliefs and I tend to view people through my own little paradigm... It naturally frustrated and sometimes downright irritates me when people don't respond as I had anticipated.

Anyway, this is going to be my last post in this particular thread as my question has been answered already. I just felt that I owed some sort of explanation for the discombobulated nonsense that I tend to spew out from time to time. This post itself is probably more of the same, but whatever. I hope it helps people sort've understand my mindset a little bit more.

Thanks once again for the help, guys.

Michael,
I would hope you have not stopped viewing this topic, or I guess I am wasting my time. When you asked this;



I responded wanting to make sure you understood you will not get better accuracy than simply clamping a piece of wood to the table. I also wanted to point out a few things to look for in your fence of choice, that would allow it to be closer to a clamped piece of wood for accuracy(as a fence could be much less accurate). That is what the intent was in posting this;



What Todd has mentioned comes from experience with upgrading and working with 14" band saws(I took a similar path and can totally relate). Having run my 18" bandsaw, and pushed thousands of wide cuts through the machine, I hear a LOT of solid advise and truth in what Link is telling you. Trust me, most people follow a path with bandsaws as they learn how to get the most out of them and improve accuracy. He is giving you a bit of perspective that goes beyond your question about a fence, in the hopes it will help you down the road(good intention, and valuable insights).

The 14" bandsaw is a great size for most of the tasks we do. I still use mine even though I have a larger saw. Buying a good fence, or making a good fence is smart. Your 14" has more than enough functionality to always have a place in your shop and get a ton of use. Make or buy, look for the features I mentioned. Put little faith in reviews, when you can go and look at something that has such basic requirements. First and formost make sure the fence you choose can handle the tasks a solidly clamped block of wood can achieve, then make sure the added features and micro adjuster stuff does not compramise the reliability of the fence, and that the locking mechanisms repeatedly hold a consistent position and angle.

Rich

Never mind!

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

I agree 100% on this statement. I have the Grizzly 555 14" with riser. It performs flawlessly with a 1/4" timber wolf for resawing. I use from 10tpi to 3tpi 1/4" blades and a wooden fence. 1/2" blades are not able to be tensioned well on my saw.

Proper saw setup with the right blade is the key to resawing success. I have no drift in a blade unless it becomes dull. whenI get the first hint of drift I change the blade. I actually prefer to use a 10tpi 1/4" TW and feed slower for a smoother cut when resawing highly figured wood. Saves me on the drum sander and gets my bookmatches closer.
Just my .02 cents

Mike

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Unless you are giong to resaw backs then you can get away with a bandsaw that many will deride
I use a .....9" Ryobi that I bought for $50.
It will cut solid body blanks,resaw spruce bracing, cut 1 piece necks and of course trim backs and tops to shape.

Would I like a bigger bandsaw....of course
Do I need one... not unless I want to start milling my own backsets

And for a fence I use the piece of timber clamped on, measure the clearance to the blade method. Never going to get more accurate than this, I never trust a piece of machinery with an inbuilt scale to be more than a general guide.

He's right. I have a little Craftsman 10", similar to the Rikon 10", except for blade length and cast steel table, and like it very much. It will even resaw up to 4" just fine, so cutting out neck blanks is not a problem.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy--

At the risk of high-jacking this thread, I too have the 10" Craftsman and I love the little thing. Spent some time setting it up and I use good blades -- another point that I will get to. The point fence that I use really isn't a point or sharp edge. It has about a 3/8" to 1/2" flat milled on the end, with a taper back. This can be set to extremely close tolerances with a metal rule -- probably 0.005" or so. With a little practice and concentration, you just keep the back end of the blade in the middle of the kerf. If the drift changes, say you've pinged one side of the blade on a mineral deposit, adjust your feed -- with a full table fence you're hosed at this point and need to stop and reset the drift back into the fence. It really become second nature to adjust fairly quickly. It looks intimidating as all get-out at first, but it really isn't so bad. Back to blades -- I use a 6 point 1/4" blade for most stuff that I can get in bulk (100 ft rolls) from Starrett. I can nip 70 1/2" off the roll, braze it and anneal it faster than I can say it -- honestly less than ten minutes. Lee Valley sells a little re-fill kit of silver braze and flux for less than $20 and its good for maybe 75 connections. The only way to go! I've to have come to the conclusion that the only thing that I need a bigger band saw for is resawing backs. Not to take anything away from the big saws, but the Sears and Sawbuck does everything I want it to do quite well.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

You can't go wrong with anything made by Kreg or Incra!