Resaw fence — Sandal Woods

March 1, 2011 By Al Navas

The Laguna DriftMaster fence is no longer available at October 2010 prices

Reviewing old posts on the blog, I realize I must reconcile current pricing on the Laguna Tools’ DriftMaster with an old, October 2010 Special price available last year.

In October 2010 I announced that Laguna Tools was conducting a promotional special on the DriftMaster fence system. That was a limited-time, special, and strictly promotional pricing. For a short time you can buy the DriftMaster for $325 – a new promotion, and $70 off retail prices! In addition, Rockler and Woodcraft now carry the DriftMaster fence system.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

— Al Navas

The Laguna DriftMaster Fence.

February 14, 2011 By Al Navas

First look at a new tall resaw fence for the band saw

I received the 8-inch tall Laguna Tools DriftMaster fence upgrade just before I flew to California. Yesterday I spent a little time in the shop for the first time since my return; it was time well spent, as I had a chance to set up and use the new 8-inch tall resaw fence on the DriftMaster. I went through four basic steps to set it up; it took 5 minutes to change it, making sure to check for proper 90° to the table.

Results of resawing veneers: The thickness was within 0.005″; this is five thousands of an inch along the length of the 3/32″ thick veneers (0.090″ thick). In addition, the surfaces were beautiful; they appear to not require any sanding prior to gluing.

Step 1.

This first photo shows how much larger the new fence is — and the wonderful part is that it fits right on the same DriftMaster base. The first order of business is to make sure that the original 4-inch fence is still square to the band saw table:

Confirming 90° setting on the DriftMaster fence.

Step 2.

Make sure that the tall fence is also square to the table:

Confirming 90° setting on front of the the tall DriftMaster fence.

Step 3.

Also ensure that the back of the fence is square to the table:

Confirming 90° setting on back of the the tall DriftMaster fence.

Step 4.

Ensure that the blade is also perfectly square to the table:

Confirming 90° setting on the blade.

In summary, it is always a good idea, and a requisite, to have all reference surfaces square to the table.

At last, it was time to make a couple of test runs with the tall fence. I did not change the angle to adjust for drift, as the shorter fence was already adjusted for drift. Furthermore, everything was square to the table. How would the new, taller fence perform?

As the video below show, I had one word for the new, taller fence: WONDERFUL! Please look for further updates in the next few weeks, as I will be using this new fence often.

The Laguna Tools 8-inch tall DriftMaster fence
Duration: 4:18 minutes

I would like to hear whether you have tried this new fence from Laguna Tools on your band saw:

Do you like better than the original, shorter fence?
Did you have to make any adjustments during, or following installation?
Do you have a power feeder, or do you feed the stock by hand, like I do?
Do you plan to get a power feeder?
If you plan to get a power feeder, which model?

I look forward to your replies, either in the Comments section below, or via e-mail.

— Al Navas

June 7, 2010 By Al Navas

First time using the Driftmaster fence

Recently I installed the Driftmaster fence from Laguna Tools on the band saw. I finally had a chance to try it out: yesterday I grabbed some walnut and some cherry laying around the shop, and started resawing thin pieces 90 to 100 mils thick (0.090″ to 0.100″). In the video below, I don’t talk much — I simply grabbed some wood, made some adjustments to the band saw and fence, and started slicing.

I knew from past experience that resawing on the band saw is demanding; for example, if the band saw is not set up properly to correct for drift, or if the blade tension is not set correctly, or the blade is not the right type, or… (you get the idea), the results of resawing will be less than acceptable. I have published in the past several articles on resawing on the band saw.

This has changed: A few months ago I bought a ¾-inch wide Resaw King blade from Laguna Tools; I reported results here. The second major change involves using the Driftmaster — Laguna Tools sent me a unit for evaluation; I installed it, and I am happy. Why? Because I can get terrific results in resawing, results like never before.

I always did the resawing by cutting the thin slices nearest the fence. With the Driftmaster, the thin slices now fall off on the right hand side, while the bulk of the wood rests against the fence. This is possible due to the micro-adjusting capability of the fence.

What does this mean? For one, the resawn pieces are quite even in thickness, typically within 0.005″ (five thousands of an inch!) across the width and the length of the cut pieces. The new fence allows adjustment for drift very easily; in fact, the built-in cam is designed to do this without the use of any tools. Once installed and adjusted, the Driftmaster is a great accessory on my 17-inch Grizzly band saw.

Disclosure: Laguna Tools is a sponsor of my blog. On occasion, I receive tools and other components for evaluation; I maintain total editorial freedom of the comments and reviews I present on the blog. Plain and simple, I never receive or accept cash for anything I review. You also must know that I don’t receive any income if you click on the links I provide for any of my sponsors or Affiliates; the only source of income I receive is from Google-sponsored ads, and from actual purchases through my Affiliates (a small percentage of the purchase price).

Download this episode in *.avi format
In Windows, Right-click | Save Link As…
Duration: 8:36 minutes (Size: 166 MB)

In a future episode I will cover in detail how I use the Driftmaster in the shop. Meanwhile, you can watch the four videos on this fence at the Laguna Tools video web page for the fence system; simply click on the video tab for the page.

All the music in the video is courtesy of my friend, Jason Riley.

— Al Navas