Driftmaster

[Tim Bridge]

Has anyone used the Laguna Driftmaster fence for their bandsaws?

[Susumu Mori]

Yes, I use it for my bandsaw and it works very well. I'm happy with their function and it's worth the money, but few points to mention;

> It may be a bit overkill for delta-clone 14-inch bandsaws.
> They have quality control issues. The first unit I bought had the parts all over the places in the box. There was something wrong with the parts and I couldn't put them together property (the table didn't move smoothly because it interfered with the threaded rod). The second unit I received worked fine but both units seemed like they had been used for several years before shipped. The photo is from the first unit. The second unit was better but still it looks like this one. The fence with the first unit had a dent at a critical location.

Maybe I was just super unlucky or their quality control improved by now, but I would say, "be prepared", unless you hear otherwise from other members.

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[Alan Lightstone]

The quality control on mine is terrible. I have to put pressure on the lever while turning the knob to get the screw to engage and move the fence. And the brackets don't align with my bandsaw (and it's a Laguna bandsaw, so how can they sell a device that doesn't line up with their own bandsaw.) And it overhangs the top of the table, and sometimes interferes with movement of the wood on the table.

Every so often I seriously consider removing it and replacing it with another fence. I typically don't, because of how much I spent on it.

[glenn bradley]

No offense to those who bought. I feel this is a solution in search of a problem, Align your saw, work and change blades with impunity. I do this on a couple of 17", a 14" and even a 10" saw. The only things I adjust when I change blades is the tension and the guides. I know some saws just have issues that haven't been found.

I am not a lucky man so I don't think I just randomly got good saws. If I can cut straight with a fence on this:

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I would think you could get almost anything to do it. JMHO.

[Susumu Mori]

I've never used the "drift" part of the Driftmaster because I haven't had the drift issue with my current bandsaw. Still Driftmaster is convenient due to the fine adjustment it provides through the hand crank. The engagement of the microadjustment is just a flick of a lever. I think the design is good.

Having said that, I'm not surprised if there are cheaper alternatives for the fine adjustment in other retrofit products. My 14-inch bandsaw has a Kreg fence with a fine adjustment option but it was poorly made (the fine adjustment rod was not aligned to the threaded hole of the fence) and I've never used.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Driftmaster was that is is not easy to adjust the vertical (parallel to the blade) of the fence. I believe we need to move the whole fence guide, while simultaneously adjusting the table height. This was a nightmare. I ended up in shimming the metal block that hold the fence.

[Kelby Van Patten]

I use one on my Laguna 18LT bandsaw. It works great. It was a challenge to set it up properly and get everything aligned, but once set up, it works very well. Adjusting for drift is easy, but the microadjust is really the feature I use the most.

[Alan Lightstone]

That's when the lever works. Mine is machined or aligned poorly and must be forcibly held towards the back to allow the fine adjustment.

And yes, had to shim mine too for vertical alignment.

[Tim Bridge]

After I got my used 1999 Laguna 16" Italian bandsaw I order some parts from Laguna and ordered the Driftmaster.
My saw had holes in the table but I had to elongate them to accept the mounting without the universal mounting kit. The Driftmaster table was .080 higher than the bandsaw table.
Since I didn't want to use the universal mount, I took the Driftmaster table to a machine shop and had them grind .080 off the surface.

I am happy with everything except the micro adjuster. When I use it I cannot depend on the marks on the wheel for accurate increments. When I turn the wheel, the fence moves but there is a dead spot on every revolution of the screw. I took it all apart and found that the adjuster screw is bent. I straightened it out as best as I can but I think it could be better.

I doubt that Laguna would replace this part since it has been almost two years since they shipped it to me.

[lowell holmes]

What does the Driftmaster do that I can't do with my Kreg fence on my Jet bandsaw?

[Susumu Mori]

I have both Kreg and Driftmaster. Functionally, they are the same, but Driftmaster is much more substantial and the microadjustment system is much nicer with the big heavy hand wheel. Turning the big wheel for a desired amount with Driftmaster is very different experience from turning the tiny wheel of the Kreg.

For me, both had quality issues. So, I don't recommend both of them in that respect.
Once it works, Driftmaster is more convenient, accurate, and pleasure to use, but considering the price difference, it should be.

[Susumu Mori]

I'm often appalled by the unimaginable poor quality of oversea products, which unfortunately give bad names to reasonable products from the same areas. I recently bought a vise for my drill/mill for woodworking. I thought a vise is just a vise and bought $30 one from the big green. I'm horrified when I found the quality; it can't hold wood flat and parallel. I often learns in a hard way, that precision is important for even a simplest tool and vise was not exception; the bottom has to be perfectly flat and parallel to the base and the jaws have to be parallel each other and perpendicular to the base. Any precision comes with the price. Now I know why other vises with similar size could cost almost 10 times more...

But still, I must wonder what is the point of the lever that doesn't engage....

[lowell holmes]

Thanks for the response.

Since my band saw is not used that much, I think I will stay with what I have.

A $700 band saw certainly is not a monster tool. I occasionally rip a small board. I have re-sawed a few boards, but typically I don't. When I do, I mark the center of the board then more or less saw on the line.

[Bill Adamsen]

I bought just the aluminum extrusion and attached that to my saw's cast iron fence with a simple custom-designed and made bracket. It works as expected, and I like the fast change "hi/lo" option. The extrusion finish leaves something to be desired - perhaps that's why they were selling them cheap.

I sought a tall fence and was going to use one of the 80/20 extrusions sold on ebay when the Laguna extrusion became available. As someone else mentioned, the Driftmaster part seems a bit like a solution in search of a problem.