Sliding tablesaw adjustments question

[Doug Mason]

Like the OP, I just picked up a slider ( saw/shaper) and am going through the same process (I'll post some pics this weekend). I will have to experiment with the ripping aspect.

So with a saw/shaper, in which one is doing joinery operations on the shaper, the slider should be set just a tad above the cast iron table?

[David Kumm]

Yes Doug. I set a oneway dial indicator at the spindle and measure the table at that point. You will have some variation along the entire surface but the reference at the spindle is the critical one. My table raises up .004 right at the end but behind the crosscut fence so it doesn't matter.

[Mark Engel]

Thanks for all the good information. When all was said and done the sliding table is now about .002 above the fixed table at the front and about .003 above at the rear.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I spent roughly 6 hours with a technician setting up my saw and got mine setup the "best" I could.

The Hammer K3W I have has 4 adjustment bolts, some bigger Felder models I think have 6 adjustment bolts.

Ideally I would like to see the aluminum table taller than the cast iron by 0.004 to 0.008

The 2011 K3W has a design that attaches a heavy trunion to the middle of the saw which has minimal reinforcement ribbing on the cast iron. This minimal cast iron webbing allows lots of travel for the trunion allowing up to a 4" thick rip. However, this design compromise caused a sag in the center of my saw measurable at 0.017" using a starrett straight edge and feeler gauge OR oneway multigauge. What you can do to somewhat help this sag is there's a support bracket in the middle of the saw that can somewhat push up on the cast iron center if you adjust the bolt. This can help reduce the sag though it might not get it to be perfect. On the better Felder series saws, they have the trunion mount to large axles mounted near the side of the machine body which eliminates cast iron sag because the cast iron only needs to support itself.

When you adjust height of the aluminum table, slide the aluminum table so that the bearing cage is somewhat centered over that area of the cast iron which you are measuring. Also make your adjustments with no outrigger attached. Then when you move the multigauge or dial indicator/base to the other end of the table you should slide the aluminum table so that the bearing cage is centered over the new area on the cast iron that you are measuring.

Some tables might need bearing adjustment and for the ball bearing types, there is a special spring loaded tool that felder uses. The closest tool I could build to adjust the bottom rail width was using a vernier with 1/2" ball bearings epoxied to the ends. I then used an engineer square to make sure the vernier caliper was perpendicular to the rail and then I clamp them shut. I could then set the bottom rail to be parallel within +/- 0.0005". Your bottom rail is set right when you can slide the table with your pinky and the noise it makes and resistance is consistant along its travel path. You want the table to be able to slide effortlessly with no binding, yet not loose enough so that there is play. There are over 20 bearings or so in a Hammer saw so there will be some that arn't making contact with the rails causing some faint rattling noises which is considered normal. I consider the X-roll system or cylinder shaped bearings is a superior system to the ball type.

If your cast iron table top has a sag in the middle then you need to adjust the aluminum table height to be barely above the cast iron on the ends of the cast iron to minimize the gap near the center. I would probably shoot for "0.002". If my cast iron was flat then I would set the gap to be "0.004".

Remember to recheck your height after it's been set because metals have movement too. If you can't get it setup right, loosen the sliding table and let the bottom rail release any tension that might be in there for an hour and try again.

What I don't like about an uneven table is the change in height between the cast iron and aluminum table near the blade can cause the work piece to rock into the blade and cause burns. I havn't had any kickback incidents and my thin rips are usually spot on, but I'd have more confidence using the rip fence is the table top was perfectly flat.

After your table is setup and your outrigger is level with the extrusion, I had to adjust the cross cut fence to be perpendicular to the blade. For this I did the 5 cut method. Take a 4x4 piece (approximately) and rip about an 1/8" off one side using your cross cut fence that you think is perpendicular to the blade. Then rotate that piece counter clock wise so that the freshly cut side is now against the rip fence and make another cut. Repeat 3 more times. Then rotate the piece counter clockwise one more time and rip a thin 1/2" piece off that sheet. Take a vernier and measure the thickness of that strip on both ends and if they are within 5 thousands of an inch, then I would say that it's acceptable.

I think my blade toes toward my rip fence by about 2 or 3 thousands of an inch. I guess it's safer for kickback to have the fence rear spaced away from the blade a small amount though I was just trying to get the blade parallel to the fence as close as possible.

To setup a slider I think the Oneway Multigage is a MUST and a 3 foot or 4 foot straight edge by Starrett will be great. If the Starrett is too pricey then igage straight edge from amazon would be my next choice.

[Mark Engel]

Thanks Chris.

A very detailed and informative post.

[David Kumm]

Chris, how is the slider working? Have you gotten the issues resolved and how do you feel about its performance? Dave