Table saw alignment necessary?
jy...@my-deja.com
is adjusted to the blade and my Incra miter guage is adjusted to the
blade is it worth trying to align everything to the miter slot?
It makes sense if you're using other miter guages or fixtures, but I
can't understand why it would make a difference in the above situation.
TIA,
Rob
Sent via Deja.com
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sowi...@my-deja.com
Yes to within .002"
> If the fence is adjusted to the blade and my Incra miter guage
> is adjusted to the blade is it worth trying to align everything to
> the miter slot?
You can't adjust your miter guage to the blade if the blade and miter
slot are not aligned. Think about it. Let's say your blade and miter
slot aren't parallel and that the left miter slot is off away from the
blade (veres left). Now you hold a piece of wood against the miter
guage and the miter guage head is perpendicular to the blade (i.e. a
square cut). As you start to push the wood into the blade it will be
square but as you keep pushing the wood will be moving to the left of
the blade, this will tend to bind the piece of wood to the right of the
blade (kickback?). The end result will be that your cut won't be 90
degrees (it will be what ever the miter guage is to the blade) and the
quality of the cut will be poor. In essence you'll be making a cut
similar to that when you create a cove moulding. So - make your miter
guage slot parallel to the blade and then adjust your fence.
Steve
John Mc
Long answer: Yes, it is. I don't know why Incra says in their instructions
to align the miter gauge 90 deg to the blade. The correct way is to align
the top so the blade is parallel to the miter slot, align the fence parallel
to the miter slot, align the miter gauge 90 deg to the miter slot... in
other words, everything relative to ONE reference, the miter slot. (Note I
said slot, not slots... use the same miter slot for all of the alignment.)
If your blade is just SLIGHTLY misaligned to the miter slot, and your miter
gauge is just SLIGHTLY misaligned with the blade, then your miter gauge is
TWICE slightly misaligned with the miter slot. Basically, you have a larger
error that way unless everything is perfectly aligned. If you align
everything to the miter slot, then small errors are not cumulative... they
don't add up to make an even larger error.
To expound... if your miter gauge is 90 deg to the blade, but the blade is
not parallel to the miter slot, then the miter gauge and part you are
cutting are both moving either toward (closer to) or away from the blade
during the cut. (Depends on which way the misalignment is) If moving away,
you'll just get a bit of a ragged cut and some saw marks showing on the
part, since only the front edge of the blade contacts the part, and that at
an angle. If moving toward the blade, you'll get burning, binding, and maybe
even kickback if the misalignment is big enough. That's because you are
trying to cut the wood with the side of the blade, again at an angle.
--
John
Jo...@Jmccaskill.com
Home page: http://www.jmccaskill.com
rec.woodworking FAQ: http://www.robson.org/woodfaq/
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<jy...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:9446ga$ppd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Leon
blade only if your fence is parallel to your blade and you never use the
miter gauge to do cross cuts.
You must have the miter slot parallel to the blade to make clean smooth
cross cuts. Even though you may have your miter gauge set up 90 degrees to
the blade, if the slot is not parallel to the blade the bar on the gauge
will cause the miter gauge and your work to track away or toward the blade
as you push the gauge and wood past the blade. This will in most cases burn
the wood and or result in an uneven and rougher cut. This will be more
evident when you cross cut wider boards. If you use a stop with your miter
gauge, and your miter slots comes closer to the blade at the back of the
blade, you will find that you will be setting yourself up for a kickback
situation. The stop and slot will force the wood into the blade at an angle
and most certainly you will not have desirable results. Thinner stock will
be less problematic, but a 6" or wider board or panel will be a bigger
problem.
So, for the best and safest cuts, first align your miter slot to your blade
and then align your fence to the slot.
Leon
<jy...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:9446ga$ppd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Bob Schmall
Steve's right. And let's be careful not to run this thread too deep,
because Bennett can smell the blood in the water.
Bob
Harvey
carefully aligned. The table saw should have the fence, blade miter all
aligned. Here is were the comments will come from, I use a TS Aligner and
no matter what anyone's feelings are about ED he has a great product and I
use it constantly in the shop. If you would like to check it out look at
http://www.primenet.com/~ejb/ and you will be able to keep tolerance at .001
or better. Good luck with your setup.
<jy...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:9446ga$ppd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Mike Reed
Tom Brown
> I will probably get crap for my comments but all of your tools should be
> carefully aligned. The table saw should have the fence, blade miter all
> aligned. Here is were the comments will come from, I use a TS Aligner and
> no matter what anyone's feelings are about ED he has a great product and I
> use it constantly in the shop. If you would like to check it out look at
> http://www.primenet.com/~ejb/ and you will be able to keep tolerance at .001
> or better. Good luck with your setup.
Harvey, what does "I use it constantly" mean? The reason I ask is that I have
to align my TS roughly every day. Not only that, it is usually out quite a
bit. My TS is a DeWalt 744, so it strikes me that it will be more stable when I
get it onto a permanent, strong stand. Right now, it is resting on the end of a
3/4" piece of plywood that is resting on a couple of saw horses (Garage is
undergoing major renovation). Still, it's not like I'm moving it around or
anything.
Regards,
Tom Brown
Harvey
"Tom Brown" <tom....@swp.com> wrote in message
news:3A661E20...@swp.com...
jy...@my-deja.com
ordered the TS-Aligner Jr Deluxe. I'm about to undertake my first large
project (for SWMBO) and I don't want to mess up $800 worth of cherry.
In article <9446ga$ppd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
jy...@my-deja.com wrote:
John Mc
$69.00... but I already have a dial indicator. Wonder if I can just buy the
parts for it? Hmmmmmm...
--
In just two days from now,
tomorrow will be yesterday.
--
John
<jy...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:946tgd$48s$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> Thank everyone. Everyone made a great (and clear) point and I just
> ordered the . I'm about to undertake my first large
Leon
indicator and a magnetic base for about $27.00 total. I set the magnet base
in the miter slot at an angle, turned on the magnet, it worked out great.
Found that my run out on my arbor was .0005.
"John Mc" <jmc...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:lsG96.9170$J%.868302@news.flash.net...
John Mc
What I can't figure out is how to check parallelism that way. If you move
the base along the groove, it's difficult to keep the angle constant, right?
John
"Leon" <removespa...@swbell.net.> wrote in message
news:OJH96.275$ZN6....@nnrp3.sbc.net...
Leon
blade. The magnetic base has two arms that will move in any direction. I
just set the indicator against the saw tooth, unlock the magnet and turn the
tooth to the back of the saw and reposition the magnet 90 degrees out from
the newly located saw tooth.
Basically the magnet works in the slot just as those expensive aluminum bars
that come with the kits.
The base will lock down in the slot the same every time.
"John Mc" <jmc...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:qCJ96.9465$J%.881416@news.flash.net...
Ed Bennett
Yes, it is available without the dial indicator. Check the price list on the
web site.
--
Ed Bennett
e...@primenet.com
Home of the TS-Aligner
Visit my web site: http://www.primenet.com/~ejb
John Mc wrote in message ...
Ed Bennett
stellar stability but I suppose it could work if you were determined. One
thing it won't do: measure angles. It also won't get you very close to the
table surface so you could have a real challenge trying to set your miter
gauge. The magnetic base is a real handy device that makes a dial indicator
quite versatile. But, it doesn't cover all the bases that a Jr. Lite does.
Check the manual online: http://www.primenet.com/~ejb/tsjrlite.pdf
--
Ed Bennett
e...@primenet.com
Home of the TS-Aligner
Visit my web site: http://www.primenet.com/~ejb
John Mc wrote in message ...
Leon
determined. After about 10 minutes of scratching my head and wondering how
to make it work with the miter slot, the solution became clear and very
simple. I got great results.
"Ed Bennett" <e...@primenet.com> wrote in message
news:948ui0$fcn$1...@nnrp2.phx.gblx.net...
Michael Young
this evening. (It won't measure angles, though. :-)
Ed, I read through the users manual for the jr, but didn't find anything on
setting up the jointer tables and knives. The product lit seems to say we
can set the table heights and such with the jr. In general, how would you
use it to measure something without miter slots or collets?
Mike.
"Leon" <mailto:removespa...@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:yBY96.763$ZN6.2...@nnrp3.sbc.net...
Ed Bennett
Jointer knife and table setup are a job for the Jr. Deluxe. The Jr. Lite
doesn't include the height gage functionality (pointing the indicator
downward). This would be one of the things that a magnetic base can do that a
Jr. Lite cannot. But, squaring the fence (or setting a particular angle) is
quite easily done with the Jr. Lite.
The Jr. Deluxe manual can be found at:
http://www.primenet.com/~ejb/tsjrman2.pdf
Adjusting/aligning machines without slots or collets is easily done with the
Jr. Deluxe by removing the bearings used for slot guidance. The Jr. Lite has
no base or guidance bearings and can be used on any flat surface.
--
Ed Bennett
e...@primenet.com
Home of the TS-Aligner
Visit my web site: http://www.primenet.com/~ejb
Michael Young wrote in message ...
Nick White
<removespa...@swbell.net.> wrote:
PMFJI
Wouldn't you be better using the miter unit, with the dial gauge
clamped to it?
The expensive alumin bars are like the mitre slider surely? I can see
many chances of error when you remove something and then re-place it,
without constant sliding between the two.
I believe that the site that sells the Aligner actually shows the
technique.
Nick White --- HEAD:Hertz Music
(please remove ns from my header email address to reply)
....damn spam
!!
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