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Thread: Table Saw Alignment, How Close is Close Enough

  1. #1

    Table Saw Alignment, How Close is Close Enough

    I finally bought a dial indicator and I am adjusting every tool I have. Wonderful device!
    My new planer sniped like crazy, but now it performs wonderfully. I tackled the Jointer and then moved onto the TS.

    The blade is .012 off of parallel, about 1/64 for the fractional folks. Is this close enough? It has been this way forever. It is a contractors saw but built into a larger work / out feed table so adjusting wont be as easy as it could be. I was wondering why my work sucked, at least I now have an excuse.

    Would you adjust it or leave it? What is close enough?

    Thanks is advance.

  2. #2
    I would and if you don't it will always bug you that you didn't. A 64th is a lot to be out and I know it can be a pain to get it right but anything worth doing is worth doing right.
    I have a contractor saw and it took me most of an afternoon to get it, now that was after I spent 2 hours on it the day before.

  3. #3
    I would set up the saw so that the blade is parallel to the miter slot and the fence is parallel to the blade. This eliminates the possible compounding of error when both set up referencing the miter slot. As far as I am concerned + or - zero is acceptable. Actually I will allow .001 to .002. Also set the blade at 90.000 degrees to the table top. Spend the time and you won't be sorry.

  4. #4
    +- .002 sounds OK to me also. Make sure you mark the blade so you measure from the same tooth. I have done it blade to slot, then fence to slot, just because its easier and I consider the slot to be the fixed parameter. There's no guarantee that the slots are parallel though.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Burt Pierce View Post
    I would set up the saw so that the blade is parallel to the miter slot and the fence is parallel to the blade. This eliminates the possible compounding of error when both set up referencing the miter slot. As far as I am concerned + or - zero is acceptable. Actually I will allow .001 to .002. Also set the blade at 90.000 degrees to the table top. Spend the time and you won't be sorry.
    While this approach sounds logical, it is not correct. In doing this, you are aligning a movable plane with another movable plane.

    You should always align the movable surfaces to a stationary one .. in this case, the miter gauge slot.

  6. #6
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    I got a ton of flack last year (or so) from a number of people who thought trying to set up to a .003 tolerance was just ridiculous. My saw blade was out by something like .005 from the miter and the fence was out about the same. I got burn marks pretty regularly and even though a few people told me that .005 out would not create burn marks I made adjustments anyway and now none of the wood burns. My cuts are almost glass smooth now. Ok. maybe not that smooth but you know what I mean. My TS is the only completely reliable tool in my shop.

    One thing I noticed about dial indicators is that you need to use them cautiously. If you move it from the front of the fence to the back, make certain it is set up exactly the same way both time. when I check my fence I make certain to push down on the miter bar the dial is attached to in the same manner every time to get a better reading. Look out for saw dust also.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Wingard View Post
    While this approach sounds logical, it is not correct. In doing this, you are aligning a movable plane with another movable plane.

    You should always align the movable surfaces to a stationary one .. in this case, the miter gauge slot.
    +1
    Think about this...The surface of the exposed blade is less than 8", so when you align the blade to the slot, you are aligning to slightly less than 8" of a 27" long slot. But 8" is all you have, so that is all you can align. So now you align the blade to the middle of a 27" long fence??? Wouldn't it be better to align each end of the 27" fence to the 27" slot? Makes sense to me.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Is this close enough? It has been this way forever. It is a contractors saw but built into a larger work / out feed table so adjusting wont be as easy as it could be. I was wondering why my work sucked, at least I now have an excuse.

    I think you answered your own question....
    Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

  9. #9
    I gotta chime in - aligning everything to the slot is like aligning car tires to the frame-

    Step one : align the blade to the miter slot - verify the miter slot is true and straight - verify both miter slots are parrellel
    Step two : align the fence to the miter slot that you aligned the blade to
    Then while you're at it- zero out your miter gauge to the blade (and) set the zero and 45 degree stops for the trunnion
    Also dont forget to verify that your fence is perpendicular to the table
    done
    Elvis isn't dead, he just went home Yes, I am a joker - Take it with a grain of salt

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Having just aligned my radial arm saw, I was VERY glad that I bought a "Master Plate:"



    Got mine from Grizzly, for fifty bucks.

    For ME, it was well worth it. Takes just one more variable (blade/teeth) out of the equation. On the RAS, my results -- with a dial indicator -- were really stellar !

    And ... yeah ... when it comes to aligning machines ... a thing worth doing really IS worth doing well.

  11. #11
    Not sure how close you can get it with a contractors saw since you may have runout issues in the arbor. I like to get as close to perfect as possible. Sometimes I get lucky while adjusting and its within .001 but I dont fuss if its .002 or even .003 but no more than that. .012 is huge. you could drive a truck through that.

    Ive got my slider to within .001 at each end of the slide. Got very lucky on that one. I put on the slide and measured and it was spot on rechecked after tightening the bolts and still dead nuts. I couldve been there all day.
    Last edited by Eiji Fuller; 03-13-2011 at 11:27 PM.
    Fullerbuilt

  12. #12
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by hank dekeyser View Post
    - verify both miter slots are parrellel
    One problem here ... WHAT IF .. they are NOT parallel ???? I don't (hardly) ever use the right slot, but if I did need it, and it was out of line, there's really nothing PRACTICAL that the average owner can do about it. I am very fortunate in that I have access to a mill that could fix that, but than, the slots would not be the same width .. another difficult situation.

  13. #13
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    has anyone found a really great price on the master plate anywhere?

    anyone cheaper than Grizzly at $50??




  14. #14
    Re: aligning to the miter slots

    I'd also recommend aligning to one side of the slot every time. Pick the right edge or left edge of the slot. You'd be surprised how far out these slots can be. I always use the inside edge because that's the edge push against when I'm running material through. This allows me to push against the outside edge when I'm pulling the material back, thus avoiding the blade so I don't shave more wood off. Yes, I leave my miter bars a little loose.

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Coloccia View Post
    Re: aligning to the miter slots

    I always use the inside edge because that's the edge push against when I'm running material through. This allows me to push against the outside edge when I'm pulling the material back, thus avoiding the blade so I don't shave more wood off. Yes, I leave my miter bars a little loose.
    That's OK, John...as long as you remember to do it everytime.

    I have a Delta tenoning jig that (I thought) had a good fit to the miter slot. I was doing a set-up part for a project and ran the first cut through. I pulled the jig back to flip the work piece - without turning off the power - and had a vertical projectile. Since my workroom is the basement, my wife and daughter can running down the stairs to see what the loud bang was about.

    Since then it has been....make the cut...turn the power off and wait for the blade to stop...pull the jig back...flip the part, etc. Other than that incident, I've been getting excellent M & T fits with that jig.
    "Don't worry. They couldn't possibly hit us from that dist...."

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