Warped jointer fence

[guyos]

Hi folks

I bought a performance jointer from B&Q, but while setting the ali fence square with the bed , I find that one end is square , and when I move the square to the other end there is a 1/16 " gap out of square, suggesting that the face of the fence is somehow warped.

I have clamped a sacrificial board against it and put a thin strip between them at the low corner, it appears to be OK, but is this fix good enough, or can anyone suggest a better solution? or do I have to consider making a whole new fence which could be a bit difficult.

 

[OPJ]

Are you certain that your tables are in perfect alignment (or, as good as)? That could account for the difference.

Otherwise, you fix sounds fine; I'm sure the majority of us would do something very similar. You may find that double-sided tape is enough to hold it in place or, if it's only aluminium, you could drill and bolt or screw something in place more permanently.

You might also want to check how secure the fence is and whether or not it flexes under load. If that is also the case then, you could make something more rigid from ply or MDF, for 90° cuts at least.

 

[guyos]

Thanks for the reassurance Olly.

The table is OK its just the fence, when I put it face down on the saw table, press my finger on diagonal corners, two will be ok, the other two rock as though the middle is high. I never thought of double sided tape, that should be fine, no need to screw on, I will continue to use the sacrificial fence.

 

[studders]

The fence on my Fox P/T is warped in both directions so I made a clamp on fence from MDF and wooden blocks that clamps to the original fence. I planed the blocks as needed to rectify the warp in the length of the fence. Now it's dead straight and at 90 degrees. It also has the advantage that it overcomes the problem of not having a movable fence, which is that you're always using the same part of the knives. By adding shims I can vary what part of the blade is being used = less re sharpening.