I'd posted before and asked people for their opinions of the Mastergage
system vs. the TS Aligner. After working with a new panel cutting jig I
use for my table saw I realised that the blade to slot alignment was
very off, so I started looking for something better than the system I
used to find out how bad it was.

What I started with:
I attached a stop block to the rail of the panel cutting jig, so I
could use my 1 mil micrometers ($20, taiwanese from Woodworker's
Warehouse) and butt the head up against it, while extending it so the
tail would extend and touch the tooth of the blade.

Doing this I realised that I was about 0.040 mills off from front to
back, at least.  It was probably worse than this because I was about an
inch and a half up from the table.  Still, this was good enough to tell
me I had to fix up my Jet saw.

What I looked at:
I looked at the Rockler catalog, and the Garret Wade catalog I had from
1997.  In the Rockler catalog I found the Mastergage ($139) and in GW I
found the TS Aligner and TS Aligner Jr.  I also checked out the web
sites of both companies.

The TS Aligner Jr. was $100 in the catalog.  I originally thought I
would spend the extra $39 and get the Mastergage.  Good thing Rockler
has a local store where I could actually use it.  Despite it's
advertisement, and the instruction booklet, the Mastergage is useless
for table saw alignment.  There's no bar that rides in the miter slot,
and the calipers end up about 2" up above the blade, so it's more
difficult to get an accurate reading. There was no way I was going to
spend ANY money on this product for my table saw alignment.

Mastergage makes another product, for $69, called the Superbar. It
looked like the answer to my prayers.  With an internet Rockler coupon,
I got it for $59 plus tax.

The product consists of a plastic bar about 3" long that rides in the
miter slot, a dial gage accurate to 1 mil (0.001 inches), some
extension bars for the tip, and a couple of outrigger bars (more later)

Construction:
The dial gage seems just fine, I've had no complaints using my
Taiwanese calipers, so I doubted this gage would be any better or worse
and in this respect I was not disapointed.

The heart of the systems functionality is the bar it rides in, and this
is another story.  The bar itself is milled from a rigid plastic block.
Along the bottom edge are three hex screws, alternating direction.  The
three together are the bar fit adjustment system.  The two closest to
the ends push up against a sliver of plastic directly.  Turning the hex
screws with the enclosed hex key pushes up against a sliver of plastic,
which deforms, expanding outward to reduce slop.  Between these two
screws is a similar screw, but it presses against a spring which in
turn presses against a sliver, doing the same as the other two screws,
but more gently, allowing a finer control.

The other parts of this system are two short, about an inch and a
quarter, plastic rods that fit at right angles to the miter bar,
sopposedly to make the bar more stable.

After actually using the system, I have to say, I can't rate it more
than fair.  The biggest problem was the fact that being plastic, there
was enough deflection in the bar or the outrigger rods (can't tell
which) to drive you nutty. Depending on how much finger pressure you
exerted on the bar, you could get a reading that was 1-3 mills
different, so you were constantly wondering which reading was the right
one, and had to be careful to apply the same amount of pressure when
taking each reading.  Aaaargh!!!  Stand up, press hard, tap with
mallet, repeat.....

Part of the frustrations encountered by this reviewer also had to do
with inexperience.  I made the mistake of removing the motor from my
Jet contractors saw, so I could get to the adjustment/trunion screws
directly. Unfortunately the weight of the motor is enough to deflect
the entire assembly so everything was out of whack as soon as I put the
motor back on.  Got to do the alignment work all over again.

I think that several things could have made this easier.  First, a
longer miter bar (6" or more) would have made me feel more comfortable
about it's stability, as could longer metal rods for outrigger support,
instead of the short plastic one's used.

The Superbar was easier to use than my original method, but I can't say
I'm terribly impressed by the quality of the materials used.  If I'd
been buying a system for professional work, I'd never consider the
Superbar as an option.  However, for home use, with a purchase cost of
$60, I think it was just about worth it.  I have to say though, if a
local store carried the TS Aligner Jr.  I think I would have happily
bought it for the extra $40 instead.

Hope this helps,

Nigel

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