Thread: Success!
View Single Post
  #1   Report Post  
Dave Jackson
 
Posts: n/a
Default Success!

Today i decided to act on my idea to take the Vega fence off the
tablesaw and straigtening that sucker out. The fence is 20+ years old and
the previous owner had it mounted on my '72 Rockwell TS which was dragged
from jobsite to jobsite for years before i "liberated" it and the fence for
a mere $100. The fence had some nicks where someone had gotten the blade
too close, plus the whole thing had a slight bow to it that was more than i
could handle anymore. I love the fence though, and couldn't bear the
thought (or cost) of replacing it.
Now I've cut plenty of non-ferrous metals with saws easily, which gave
me the idea of how to flatten this thing out. My jointer blades were
finally to the point at which they need replaced. I bought a new set
yesterday, but had one more task in mind for the old ones.
With the jointer set to cut "super light" I proceeded to run the large
aluminum extrusion through. Shavings much like the tinsel on the tree hit
the floor, and i kept at it.
Ultimately, i took 3/32" off the blade side to straighten it out and
remove the nicks and about 1/32" off the other side. The fence then got
sanded to 1000g, given a few doses of TOP COTE, and I ended up with a DEAD
FLAT (I mean i can't see light anywhere between it and my straightedge) and
silky smooth as a baby's behind fence. The jointer survived without
complications, and was given a good cleaning and dons a new set of blades.

I love days when everything goes as planned! --dave