Record 350X Bandsaw - Mitre Gauge

[white_sw]

I have had a Record 350X bandsaw since march, and so far pretty pleased with is. A few teething problems, but Record resolved these quickly. The new fence on this model is great. A little setting up and the result... Lovely square cuts. However, no matter how much I setup the mitre guage, I cannot get square cuts from this. There was some play in the track, but this was soon sorted with a few center punches along the runner.

I think it is the mitre pivot point. This has a lot of play in it (maybe 1mm either way) and the pin the gauge pivots on isn't a sound fit. Any ideas ?

Can anyone recommend an after market mitre gauge for this saw ?

Many thanks,
Sam

 

[Slim]

Hi Sam. Incra mitre gauges are extremely accurate. The V27 is their cheapest and would be perfectly adequate for a bandsaw, assuming you have a 3/4"x3/8" slot.

HTH

 

[Russell]

Kreg do a good mitre fence but like the incra one I thing the bar that fits the table will be too big for the record band saw. I am not sure whether you could modify either system

 

[gasman]

I also have the record 350 and had thought the mitre gauge was not up to standard - and I had looked at the Incra fence but it wouldn't fit due to the narrow mitre slot. However when I took the gauge apart I was able to screw in the 'peg' on which the mitre gauge rotates which made it better - then put some sellotape around the peg to make it a better fit. It may only be a short term fix but it has worked very well so far until I find a better gauge and hear back from the company

 

[white_sw]

Thanks for the replies guys. It looks like the slot on my table is only 3/8" square. I too am awaiting a reply from Record regarding the sloppy gauge.
I'm going to look at modifing an Incra gauge as I have a friend that is very good with metalwork and has his own mill & lathe. In the mean time, he is going to make me a new pin for my current gauge that will be a sweet fit with no slop.

 

[devonwoody]

When you set up your bandsaw to do ripping type cuts you most probably found that your ripping fence laid on the table at an angle to get straight cutting along the line.

So when you use your mitre gauge why do you think that has to be set at 0%.
The blade will still not be travelling at 90% to your mitre gauge.

So I think you should do a trial cut and find what setting your mitre gauge should read to get a square cut across timber. Then I suppose this angle correction must be applied to all angle cuts.

Then each blade can also need a recalibration. But I still like the bandsaw when cutting small pieces.

 

[gidon]

Sam
I have the same saw - well without the X on the end. I too had a few teething problems which are now sorted. But I've played around endlessly with the mitre gauge and never managed to improve things much. As you say, the slots a non-standard size and the gauge itself is a piece of junk - possible the worse one I've had on any machine.
How come I haven't got a friend who does metalwork . Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Luckily I rarely need to cross cut accurately on the bandsaw but still would be handy sometimes.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[white_sw]

Whilst I was in Maplin today I saw some 10mm 3:1 heat shrink tubing. I got home, took my mitre gauge appart, shrunk some of this stuff around the pivot and reassembled. A squirt for PTFE spray and it fits like it grew there. A cheap solution. My bog standard mitre gauge is now much more accurate with no slop.

This will do in the short term until my friend has the time to fabricate a new part for me.

 

[devonwoody]

White SW

What is heat sink tubing?

 

[white_sw]

It is some kind of "plastic type material" tube that shrinks when heated with a hot air gun.

This is a link to the heat shrink tubing I used.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?cri ... T&DOY=30m7

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks for link.
So what did you do, Put some on the bar or have you got a running wheel at the end of the mitre gauge bar?

How permament do you expect the sleeve to be (last)

 

[white_sw]

I'm also now investigating having the table slots re-milled to 3/4" x 3/8". Any reasons why I shouldn't do this ?

 

[white_sw]

The problem I had was on the pivot pin of the mitre gauge, not the running bar with the guide wheel at the end.

I put this around the pivot pin to take up the movment and it now pivots without any play. As for how long it will last... Well, time will tell. I did buy a 1m length for the grand sum of £2.29 though, so when it wares out, I can replace it at no extra cost.

 

[devonwoody]

I'm also now investigating having the table slots re-milled to 3/4" x 3/8". Any reasons why I shouldn't do this ?

I've had my BS record rbs 12 four years and I have hardly ever used it for cross cutting.

The only time I would make straight to the BS is if I have a very small piece and dont want to hold it under the chop saw. :roll: