Bandsaw Fence for Craftsman 14"

[EIEIO]

I should have asked here first, but I got carried away and placed the order. I got a Craftsman 14" bandsaw earlier this year which I am happy with but has no fence. I have done some resawing by clamping a 2x4 to the table, but I wanted to try a real fence. The Jet fence had terrible reviews from a lot of reviewers, but the Kreg KMS7200 with KMS7214 resaw guide looked pretty good.


Can anyone out there comment on this fence? Is there any issue mounting it on the Craftsman table saw?

If no response, I'll post something when it arrives (2 days).

[mickey357]

 I have the Craftsman 14" Bandsaw.  The RIKON 13-900 14-Inch Band Saw Fence  fits great with no holes to drill. Check out Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FB74V0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
 Very happy with fence, easy to set up and use , claps down tight. If you would like photos of fence on table just let me know.

[Dan26]

I have no experience with that resaw fence, but I know Kreg makes some great tools at reasonably prices. One thing to remember is that those edges are real knuckle-busters. I put tape on some edges and filed others.

[EIEIO]

I have the Craftsman 14" Bandsaw.  The RIKON 13-900 14-Inch Band Saw Fence  fits great with no holes to drill. Check out Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FB74V0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
 Very happy with fence, easy to set up and use , claps down tight. If you would like photos of fence on table just let me know.

Mickey - I looked at the link you provided but i don't see any guide bars for that fance. Does it just grab the table top rather than riding on rails? I guess there are lots of different tables on the Craftsman band saws, and the Kreg site does not list my particular model. It looks like blade change will require removing the Kreg fence (it blocks the blade slot) and my saw has its tapped hols in the bottom rather than the side of the table so I need to either tap the table or make a bracket. Might be more trouble than it's worth.

[BilltheDiver]

I have had several different bandsaw fences over the years and my favorite yet is the Carter Magfence.  It works on any saw with a cast iron table and setup & removal couldn't be quicker.

[mickey357]

 Yes there is a guide bar, it attaches to the side . Look on the side of your table and you should see two holes. On the other side look under the table and you should see 4 holes where the fence screws to with large wing nuts. It slides really easy and locks  down with just a touch . I'll try and post a couple of pic's.

[mickey357]

I've add 3 photos. Hope this gives a better view of the set up.
http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/mickey357/media/J%20%20B%20%20Cutups/Saw%20Fence/saw002_zpse1c413d8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

[Russ C]

I like the Carter Magfence? II. Works on any bandsaw with a cast iron table and it is so quick and simple. 

[EIEIO]

I like the Carter Magfence? II. Works on any bandsaw with a cast iron table and it is so quick and simple. 

Russ - I looked at the photos - how do you square the Magfence? Use a T-Square or Framing square?

[ChuckD]

I have found that a "square" fence on a bandsaw does not work so well due to the "drift" (hope I am using the right word) that will wander off to the side.  This drift will be different on every blade.  The one I made takes care of the drift.  You just have to make a line where you want to cut.  To use an example, if you want to resaw a quarter inch off a board on edge, you set the "fence" quarter inch away from the blade, draw a line and start cutting.  I have tried others and I do like this method.

[EIEIO]

The Kreg arrived and looked like an excellent piece of hardware, but is not compatible with the Craftsman 14" Bandsaw model 124.32607. I would have to drill and tap the cast iron table, then to change the blade I would have to remove the fence rail. Bummer

I got the RMA from Amazon, dropped it off at UPS, and ordered the Carter MagFence II. I will add a post when it arrives and I get to try it out.

Thanks to all for the information and suggestions.

[Rapid Roger]

I have to agree with ChuckD.

I don't own a bandsaw but from what little I've used one and what I read on other forums, a band saw does not always cut in a perfect straight line at a given distance. The blade tends to wander off true much like a scroll saw does. They call it "drift" and you must set the fence according to what the blade drift is doing.
Most people just mark a line on the board (like a pattern for a scroll saw) and just follow by eye to get an idea of what drift you have and adjust the fence to that angle.
So, what I'm saying is that you do not want to lock a fence in a 90 degree angle to the table or blade in this case.
And to make matters worse, every time you change blades (which is not all that easy to do) you must re-adjust the fence to suit the drift in the new blade. That is why the magnetic fence is much easier to use.
Unlike a table saw, you can not just set the fence 3/8" from the blade and expect the board to be a constant 3/8" thick all the way down unless you have adjusted for the drift.
I would like to have a band saw if I had the room for it but, honestly don't know that I would use it for anything but re-sawing wider boards. And then you still have to run them through the planner to get the blade marks out and get a constant thickness down the full length and width.

Rog 

[EIEIO]

Rog - Giving that the blade will have some drift, especially when resawing and the top blade guide is 8-10" above the lower guide, you adjust the fence to compensate for the drift. Now you remove the magnetic fence, and then a week later replace it. So would you have to re-adjust the fence to compensate? If you had a way to get the fence back into a known orientation (e.g. some part of it square to the table) you could re-use the original compensation.

[BilltheDiver]

The subject of bandsaw drift goes on and on, however if the saw is properly set up, there is no drift.  Search you tube for Alex Snodgrasses video on setting up a bandsaw and pay particular attention to the section on where to locate the blade on the wheels and drift can be essentially eliminated.

[Russ C]

@ EIEIO, Yes I use a small square to get it straight and do not compensate for drift. I also made some special blocks that fit in the table miter groove for the standard thickness I normally cut. Remember if you want the piece  ?", it will have to be a little wider for planning/sanding. 

DRIFT ?  As Bill stated, if you set your saw up correctly there is no drift. I set my fence at 90? parallel to the blade and it cuts straight every time. Set it up like Alex Snodgrass shows in this video and you will see how much better your saw will cut and perform and no drift.