Smoothing the vertical guide's lock knob

Reduce Column Damage Caused by Lock Knob

The column for the Laguna's upper blade guide is adjustable in height like most bandsaws. The locking knob supplied had sharp edges around the threaded end, and it bit deeply into the aluminum guide, marring it. You can see the damage in the photo below. I had used the saw a few times before I noticed this happening.

To prevent the further damage, I removed the lock knob and flattened the end of the knob's threads. I did the work on a bench grinder, followed by a little chamfer work with a file to provide a small radius around the contacting surface. While it isn't flattened all the way to the center, even this partial flattening was sufficient to work. By increasing the surface area of contact, it spreads out the clamping force.

This simple fix works like a charm. It doesn't dig in and create unsightly damage like before.