DF500 Height Fence Moves

[kevkrieg]

All,

On my DF500 when I set my height fence higher than the stops, for example to get to the middle of a 1 1/2" board, it moves over time.  It keeps getting deeper and deeper as I'm plunging the holes along an edge to where the 2 pieces will not line up.  I have tighten the screw that holds the tightening lever on to the back of the fence and that doesn't seem to help.  I make sure the lever is as far as it can go too.  It doesn't seem to do it when I have it against the height stop, say at 3/4 for the middle of a 3/4" board.  Any ideas?  Thanks.

Kevin

 

[Michael Kellough]

Abrade the post the fence slides on to make it less smooth. You can also remove the tightening lever and re-install counterclockwise so you can tighten a lit more.

 

[kevkrieg]

Thanks, Michael, I will try to rough the fence up some to give it more grip.  I feel like I have tightened the screw and locking mechanism as much as I can without fear of damage.  It moved again on me yesterday doing a table top glue up, makes it a pain in the rear.

 

[Birdhunter]

This fence movement sounds highly unusual. You should not have to rough up the posts! The lock down lever should be strong enough even with moderate pressure to prevent any movement of the fence.

Suggest you call Festool support before abrading anything.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Several years ago I bought a 500 and had the same issue - I recall there were a few tricks to try to fix it but mine was under warranty so I just sent it in for repair and it worked as expected when I got it back.

 

[kevkrieg]

I think I got it fixed. I had to remove the locking arm, rotate it to allow me to put more tension on the locking arm to lock it.  Seems to be holding now, but tougher to slide the fence up and down, but I can deal with that over it drifting during cutting.