Carter Resaw Fence
Above: Showing the Carter fence and Magswitch magnets which allow easy positioning.
Reviewed By Damion Fauser
Some OEM and many aftermarket bandsaw fences allow for minor adjustments to be made for drift, but not all do. Correctly setting for the drift angle allows you to make ripping and resawing cuts with far cleaner results and in a more safe manner.
My bandsaw fence does not adjust for drift. Up until now, I’ve used my own shopmade resaw fences made from some sheets of MDF fixed together at 90° and reinforced with triangular ribs at the rear. By freeing up this type of fence from the guide bar, you can place it at whatever angle relative to the front of the saw table to allow for the drift angle.
This system has worked well for me for many years but it can be fiddly to dial in the setup as it needs to be clamped down to the table and it can be difficult to clamp it in exactly the right place. Carter, known for their guides and other bandsaw accessories, have made a resaw fence that is held in place with Magswitch magnet technology and I’ve been using one for several months in my workshop to great effect.
The fence itself is a piece of extruded aluminium that is perpendicular in cross-section. The side that rests down on the table has two magnets. Place the fence in position, turn the knobs to activate the magnets and the fence is locked in position. A nice detail is two fine rubber seals on the base of the tool to prevent scratching the table surface and provide additional grip.
There are two additional slots to allow for extra magnets and given that I do a lot of resawing of heavy stock I chose this option. The fence is 380mm long and the 75mm high vertical face has tracks that will accept common jigmaking fixings and accessories.
To allow for additional support when resawing higher stock, there is also an add-on accessory fence made of low-friction plastic. This is simply screwed to the original fence with the supplied fixings and gives you 125mm of vertical face to work with. The additional benefit of this fence is that it will not damage the blade in the case of incidental contact.
I have a larger bandsaw and would ideally like a little additional height and length but there is nothing preventing me from making my own custom fence face and I will likely do this in the near future.
The two magnets provided hold the fence firmly in place. Sure, a good push will force it out of place but you should not be imparting that kind of lateral force on the fence when resawing anyway, so I don’t see this as a show-stopping issue.
This product is available from Gregory Machinery. The sacrificial fence and additional Magswitch magnets are available as extras. If your bandsaw fence has enough adjustment in it to allow for drift then you should not need this fence. If like mine your bandsaw fence does not adjust at all then this is a good investment.
Available from www.gregmach.com, phone 07 3375 5100.
Below: Set the drift angle and adjust the fence accordingly.
