520 Fence Cam Locks

[michaeltoc]

Some time ago, I upgraded to a 520. I was never happy with the fence, and found it hard to lock. I would watch Nick on the videos, and he would easily lock the fence with no effort. I found that the cam locks would tighten and then actually release slightly when the cam hit the lock position. To work around this, I adjusted the locks so that the fence would lock when the levers moved halfway, but it still took a lot of force to get them to lock.

While preparing for the PowerPro (coming tomorrow!!!!) I took a close look at the cams, and there seemed to be a high spot just before the flat "lock" position. I removed the cams and ground the high spot on the disc sander. Now they work great!! The levers move all the way with almost no effort, and the fence is securely locked. I'm now kicking myself for waiting this long for such a simple fix.

Anyway, I just thought I'd post in case anyone else has the same issue.

Michael

[dusty]

Some time ago, I upgraded to a 520. I was never happy with the fence, and found it hard to lock. I would watch Nick on the videos, and he would easily lock the fence with no effort. I found that the cam locks would tighten and then actually release slightly when the cam hit the lock position. To work around this, I adjusted the locks so that the fence would lock when the levers moved halfway, but it still took a lot of force to get them to lock.

While preparing for the PowerPro (coming tomorrow!!!!) I took a close look at the cams, and there seemed to be a high spot just before the flat "lock" position. I removed the cams and ground the high spot on the disc sander. Now they work great!! The levers move all the way with almost no effort, and the fence is securely locked. I'm now kicking myself for waiting this long for such a simple fix.

Anyway, I just thought I'd post in case anyone else has the same issue.

Michael

This might be a common problem. Could you post a photo of the ProFence showing the locking levers in the "locked position" and maybe a photo of the cams after the repair.

I'm trying to confirm that you find the fence locked at the same cam lever location as mine to see if mine is correct..

[michaeltoc]

I attached 3 photos. The first is the lock position before the modification, the second is after. The third photo may be a bit hard to see, but the shiny area is the spot that was ground down. It's not a flat grind - I rotated the cam while touching the disc so it follows the curve and just shaved off the high spot (it didn't take much).

If your levers easily move to the fully locked position, then they are fine. If you need to press hard to get them to lock, then perhaps you need to make the modification.

Michael

[dusty]

I attached 3 photos. The first is the lock position before the modification, the second is after. The third photo may be a bit hard to see, but the shiny area is the spot that was ground down. It's not a flat grind - I rotated the cam while touching the disc so it follows the curve and just shaved off the high spot (it didn't take much).

If your levers easily move to the fully locked position, then they are fine. If you need to press hard to get them to lock, then perhaps you need to make the modification.

Michael

Those are exactly what I needed. No, my problem is adjustment only. The cam is smooth and levers lock in the same position as do yours.

Thanks for your feedback.

[keakap]

... I took a close look at the cams, and there seemed to be a high spot just before the flat "lock" position. I removed the cams and ground the high spot on the disc sander. Now they work great!! The levers move all the way with almost no effort, and the fence is securely locked. I'm now kicking myself for waiting this long for such a simple fix.

Anyway, I just thought I'd post in case anyone else has the same issue.

Michael

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Yes, I did have the same issue, and dang near destroyed my hands trying to get it to work before I realized what was wrong.
I never thought about fixing the thing, just put up with leaving the handles at the half-way point to lock. They get ground tomorrow!

[michaeltoc]

Glad I could help.

Yesterday, I worked on a small project that involved several different size rip cuts - what a joy to use the rip fence now!!!