The Single-Point Bandsaw Fence

One of the bandsaw’s superpowers is its ability to split thick wooden boards into thinner ones. This is useful for any woodworker, but for a boatbuilder looking to build a symmetrical boat, resawing is especially handy: Cut one piece (say, a plank) to the shape you want, and then split it in half on the bandsaw to get two identical pieces that can be fitted to each side of the boat.

One constant worry, however, is blade drift—that terrible feeling of seeing the blade wander off to one side of the board in mid-cut, leaving one of the two planks too thin to be usable. Using my bandsaw’s stock parallel fence, I’ve had that happen more than once, even while using a brand-new, high-quality ripping blade and a well-tuned saw.

A few years back, I discussed the issue with my friend Mark Reuten at Nomad Boatbuilding in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He asked if I had tried a “single-point fence.” I had never heard of such a thing. Mark explained that this shop-made fence helps keep the board parallel to the blade while allowing slight adjustments during the cut to compensate for drift.

The plywood fence that I built to try out the concept proved to be a revelation. It allowed me to make consistently accurate, deep rip cuts. Even a slightly dull blade worked fine, although the board sometimes had to be “steered” a bit more than with a sharp one to hit the cut line.

Since then, I’ve built the more refined version of the fence, which is shown here. This version is attached onto the stock fence with a threaded insert to receive a wing bolt, which makes installing and adjusting the fence quick and easy.

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