# Miter saw fence



## fafa3711 (Feb 2, 2013)

G'day everyone,

I was wondering if someone with experience could chip in on a puzzling piece of machinery setup.
I bought a used DeWalt Miter Saw for smaller projects around the house. Saw works great, however, after trying to get my miter angle adjusted, I discovered that the fence is not straight. Now on this particular model, the fence is one piece of aluminum, it is also bolted pretty tightly to the base, with no obvious mechanism for adjustment. I didn't think one could bend it, so I was wondering if that is a design feature or indeed result of abuse. 










As you may be able to see in the image, I have about a 1/16 in gap to a straight edge near the blade. This shows even worse when adjusting the miter angle with a machinists square: the angle is different depending which side of the fence I adjust to.

Am I missing something obvious here?

Thanks,
- Krazykraut


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Are you sure there aren't any bolts on the back side of the fence?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

tcleve4911 said:


> Are you sure there aren't any bolts on the back side of the fence?


Or on the bottom of the saw table.


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## wood8671 (Jan 13, 2013)

There are 4 bolts on the back side of the fence, they are used for adjustment. On that saw the fence is slightly bent. If you loosen the 2 inner bolts and have a helper you can make it straight. I had the same problem on my Ridgid when I bought it, I was able to get it straight without driving the 1 hour round trip to exchange it. Make sure the power cord is unplugged though.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*yeah, try to bend it*

Take the fence off and rest it on your table saw surface to see if it has any gaps. After trying to bend it straight without twisting it... check it again. Finally to get it spot on you could tape some sandpaper to the table top and lap it in, getting it perfectly flat. 

It appears there is a yoke around the blade opening to connect both sides of the fence...maybe it got dropped and got bent at some point? :blink:

If bending it is impossible or it seems like it may break... sanding is probably the only option. You can use marking dye or a thin coat of spray paint to see where your need to remove material. If you have a large bed vertical belt sander that's what I would be using, very carefully.


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Guess he's not up yet.......?:laughing:


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## BassBlaster (Nov 21, 2010)

Based on the pic, that saw is identical to my 10" Craftsman CMS. My fence is also jacked up in the exact same place. It dosnt affect most cuts because I use that saw for chopping to rough length. I have found that when I am trying to cut small intricate pieces for segmented work, it does affect the cut. I have started using lengths of scrap from my scrap bin against the fence to have a straight edge but then you waste that scrap every time you cut. I'm going to eventually have to take the fence off and try to straighten it. Shouldnt be too difficult to straighten.


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## cfullen (Apr 9, 2012)

I've got this problem with my 10" makita slider. The fences are separate. They are removable. I don't use the saw as often as my dewalt models, which are dead on. I thought about taking them out and attempting to bend them back as we have been getting busier and using the saw more often.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I've always installed auxillary fences on my miter saws, mostly in an effort to close the gap as the fence nears the blade. I use MDF or baltic birch plywood. The nice thing is if there is a slight mis-alignment of the fence, it's easy to shim the auxillary fence to correct.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

Remove the fence, place it on something flat, like a table saw top, take some clamps and clamp it down to straighten it out. Bending by hand is hit or mis and you might break the fence in two or bend it too much. The fence needs to be straight or it will give you nothing but problems.


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## fafa3711 (Feb 2, 2013)

*more discoveries*

Good morning,

OP here: I took off the fence, it is one piece with no adjustment screws, only four bolts holding it to the base. There is a yoke connecting both sides, and the whole thing doesn't look like it would bend at all, being cast and machined aluminum with reinforcing ribs in the hollow inner side.

Setting it on my table saw table, I can see light through the gap, so the thing is definitely bent. Must've been quite a blow to get it out of shape like this. 

I can probably live with it, knowing only to use the left fence or using scrap pieces for a straight edge. There's also a machine shop down the street where I work, I may ask the guys if they can mill it down flat.

Thanks for your input, I was just not sure if this was a feature or a bug.

- Fafa3711


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

Would it be possible to hacksaw through the fence in the yoke area, making it two pieces that could be adjusted individually?

Bill


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

fafa3711 said:


> Good morning,
> Setting it on my table saw table, I can see light through the gap, so the thing is definitely bent. Must've been quite a blow to get it out of shape like this. - Fafa3711


After reading this I looked at my Bosch slider .... same exact type of fence, all one piece, heavy casting. It's probably a result of the metal curing as I don't see how it could have got bent. It would take a 20 Ton press. 
So what's the fix? mill it? $$... sand it? ... file it?... leave it?
If I had access to an edge sander with a vertical belt, I'd sand it.
If I knew the machine shop folks fairly well, they could fix it.
If it's not out a "bunch" you could hand file it with a coarse file down just enough to get it to sit flat. It would be about a 3 coffee cup project, but doable.
I have a 6 x 48 belt sander which I use mostly for metal projects and that would work if caution was used. I'd start at 60 grit and get close, them maybe 100 or finer for a "polished" surface.
Let us know how you end up fixing it. Pictures are always good!

BTW a take off for bill's idea would be to saw part way through enough to get it straight again and have it mig welded in the saw kerf. Of course, sawing in 2 piece is not all bad either if it can be aligned easily.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Mines the same.....now I'm wondering if there's a


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## SeniorSitizen (May 2, 2012)

A person just might be able to straighten it and I would try if it was mine. One problem that might rear its ugly head with this method would be the holes not lining up when finished. That would depend on the original bolt to hole clearance I suspect.

A stationary belt sander would be another option but with a portable sander I would clamp it stationary and put the fence to the sander for a lighter more controllable touch. Lay out bluing would be a definite asset for sanding.

A third method to consider is a Vixen file followed with a mill file using a draw file technique. Once again lay out blue would be used for easy reference.


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## fafa3711 (Feb 2, 2013)

I tried to tighten down the bolts on the left hand side real good, and then "bend" it before tightening it down on the right. It helped somewhat, so maybe half the gap is gone, but it's still there. I will just use the angle grinder and cut the yoke. The two bolts on each side are strong enough to hold each piece securely. Will attach pictures when done.


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

It will be be interesting to see how an angle grinder will work on a non-ferrous metal like aluminum. Wont it just clog up the grinding wheel?

I'd just use a hacksaw with a coarse blade as aluminum cuts easy. Or a Sawzall with the right blade would work, too.

Bill


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## tonylumps (Dec 20, 2012)

Like Dodgeboy said Hacksaw. You do not have to cut it completely through


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

There's been quite a few suggestions. Some may work, or not. I'm thinking removing the fence and trying to bend it would be hit or miss. It could break and the holes may not line up...as those have been suggested. 

If it was removed and the face sanded on a large flat surface, that may true it up, but there's the possibility of taking more off one side than the other. It may be tried to be trued in place with a wide straight edged board with sandpaper on the edge. Or, the two sides may not be the problem, but it could be just one side with a high spot or area. Just as a heads up, being aluminum. it may not need that much abrasion.



















.


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## jigs-n-fixtures (Apr 28, 2012)

The fence on my Dewalt was off about 1/16th of an inch. I loosened the bolts on the left side, then clamped both sides to a piece of rectangular tubing to force it true then heated the center bridge with a propane torch to take out any cooling stress that might be in it. If you try this you aren't trying to get it really hot just up to about 300-F. 

While it was still hot I retightened the bolts, and let it cool overnight before I loosened the clamps. I checked and it was true across. I had to loosen up the protractor and retrue the saw.

That was ten years ago and it hasn't moved since.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> *
> BTW a take off for bill's idea would be to saw part way through *enough to get it straight again and have it mig welded in the saw kerf. Of course, sawing in 2 pieces is not all bad either if it can be aligned easily.


A bandsaw will easily saw aluminum. It will give a far better cut than a grinder or hacksaw. In fact it you want to saw all the way through, make 2 cuts 1/2" apart leaving a gap for dust collection from a shop vac. It's possible the yoke adds to the vertical stability however, and keeps the fence at 90 degrees to the main table. *Cutting part way through* will allow you to test this out..... just sayin'.


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## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

I like the band saw idea and cutting part way through. I guess you'd need the right blade for the band saw and clean up your tires. etc., afterward (unless you have 14 band saws like woodnthings, then you just have a couple dedicated to metal! :laughing 

Bill


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