trouble squaring up incra ts-ls 32

[Scot Moore]

Hi, I purchased an incra ts-ls 32 a few weeks ago. I have it mounted to the table saw, but am having some issues tweaking it and getting it square with the table. My biggest issue is it binds really bad the closer to the back it gets. I took a few pictures to hopefully show what I am talking about. I checked to make sure the rails were level. And they are both the same distance from the surface of the saw both front as back. As you slide it back away from the blade. It starts binding. The front of the fence also does not want to tighten square with the table. I can hold pressure on it and make it square,but I figured the binding was tied to this.
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[Andy Giddings]

Scot, is the gap between the saw blade and the fence consistent over the length of the blade when the fence is fully locked down (ie when you tighten the front clamp over the rail to lock the fence in place)? Have you got the possibility to check this accurately (with a dial gage or feeler strips)? Does the fence out of square issue get worse or better when the fence is locked down? From the photos, it does look as if the rails are not parallel to the table saw surface. Nothing silly like the glide pads missing under the base clamp front and back (manual page 6 step 1) as this would cause the arm to be too low and give you the issues I'm seeing.

Did you use the cardboard spacers under the fence when you set it up (manual page 8 step 3) as that would also cause the fence to tilt even if the rails are parallel?

[Scot Moore]

Hi Andy, thanks for replying. The fence is square to the blade over the link. It is also square to the miter slot which is square to the blade. Left and right it is square. Just not front to back. I did install the pads page 6 step one. Good idea though. I also am using the spacers as indicated page 8 step 3. I am going to check the level with my iPhone. While it should not be as accurate as my normal level, I can zero the level with the table surface and then check the rails against that. I did check the height though and front and back are the same. I even us d my incra height gauge. I'll post back and let you know what I find out

[Scot Moore]

Ok I made some progress. I checked it with my phone and it was not accurate enough. I did lightly mark my bubble on my level on the rails and checked it to the table. It was right on. I then checked the level of the positioner arm and it was not level with the rails. I raised it on the fence until it was level then tightened it down. It glides smooth now full motion. However the fence is still not square with the table surface. And setting the level on the fence shows it is out of level front to back. The square agrees. I am not sure how to square this up. Any more ideas?


Here are 3 more pictures. One shows the level on the adjuster. One shows it out of level on the fence. And one shows the square again.

[Andy Giddings]

Scot, when you say the positioner arm was not level with the rails and you raised it on the fence which way was it originally tilted - was the right end higher than the left when viewed from the front? If it was, it sounds as if the rail mounting brackets are too low relative to the table at the left hand end - which would tilt the fence. Also, the level of the fence front to back is fixed by the anti-lift rail hooks and those can be adjusted up and down I believe to get it flat - but you will need to use the cardboard spacers again so the fence floats above the table slightly

[Michelle Rich]

I'm having a tad of trouble understanding exactly what you are asking...but if you are saying the fence is not square to the saw top, then you shim the bolts at the back where they attach the sliding arm to the fence. it is early and sliding arm is not the right term, but i is all I can come up with.

[Andy Giddings]

Scot, couple of things to check after seeing your latest photos
- if you take the fence off the arm's mounting bracket, is the mounting bracket square to the table saw surface?
- with the fence off and the base of the fence resting on the saw surface, are both sides of the fence square to the surface?

[Earl McLain]

I'm having a tad of trouble understanding exactly what you are asking...but if you are saying the fence is not square to the saw top, then you shim the bolts at the back where they attach the sliding arm to the fence. it is early and sliding arm is not the right term, but i is all I can come up with.

I'm with Michelle--a light shim between the fence and bracket, below the mounting screws will square it right up. I keep a few thicknesses of clear plastic around just for that purpose. Getting toward the thickness of a business card--i'll chase the problem to get it closer, but up to that point i'm good.
earl

[Scot Moore]

I worked on it for a while this evening. Still is not square but I think it is probably good enough for me anyway. It just bugs me. I took the positioner arm off from the fence. I checked it to see if it was square. This turned out to be a futile effort. At any time I could either make it square or take it out of square all with small enough movement you could not see it in the level. I also can make the fence square with the table surface by twisting it when the positioner is detached. I tried holding it in that position and tightening the positioner to the fence. This did not work. The screws pulled it out of square. I then tried putting a small shim on the bottom when ther control arm connects to the fence. This also did not appear to do anything to help. I also checked the rail height again and used my digital Bosch level so I could get a digital read out of the table surface and the rails. They are dead on according to that. I am not sure what else I can do to adjust it. But like I said I think it is close enough for me. The only time I might have a problem is if I am cutting something thick, or a board on end. Then it might start to be a problem. On boards under 1 inch thick I don't think it will matter.

[Andy Giddings]

Scot, about the only thing I can suggest is giving Incra a call as they may have some ideas on how to get it right - the TS I had was as near to dead on as I could measure and I didn't need to use force or any shims

[Chris Merriam]

Scott, I also had an issue with the fence binding up as it gets retracted further back. Incra emailed me a short video showing how to correct it. PM me your email and I'll forward you the email.

[Scot Moore]

Awesome thanks!

[John Vollrath]

Hey all, I'm installing my ts-ls this week as well and experiencing the same issues as you! I've double checked every step as closely as I could. I've contacted incra and hoping to hear back from them.

[Larry Anderson]

I've been reading everything I could find about the TS-LS and was hyped and about to order. Now after reading this thread I'm nervous. Hoping there will be an easy resolution.

[John Vollrath]

Hey Scot,
I got a reply from Incra regarding the fence-to-table squareness. Apparently there are directions for it, but in the LS Positioner manual. Here is Mark's email in its entirety:

What you're experiencing isn't related to your assembly work, so there's no need to disassemble anything. The angle between the fence and table is adjustable with shims, and this is covered on page 8 of the LS positioner manual instead of the TS manual - http://incra.com/manuals/LS_Manual_web.pdf .

The fence shouldn't tilt forward, but it's fine if it leans back a bit, and I intentionally set my fences to lean back the top a paper's thickness (0.002" - 0.004"). I don't spend a lot of time looking for perfection, as having the fence lean back doesn't affect the accuracy of any commonly made cuts.

- It's normally not necessary to unbolt the fence glides from the fence...just disengage their hooks and lift the fence while sliding toward you.

- I personally run a layer or two of masking tape lengthwise on the fence, either above or below the mounting T-slot depending on which direction the fence's angle needs to be adjusted, and snug the fence back onto to the end of the sliding carriage to check the angle.

- When I have the angle I want, I finish the setup and finally trim around the fence mounting bracket with an X-acto knife or razor blade for an invisible, one-time setup.

- Before you retighten the fence to the end of the sliding carriage, look at step 4 on page 8 of the TS-LS manual - http://www.incra.com/manuals/ts_ls_manual.pdf. This will ensure the fence slides smoothly be letting those parts settle in to the best relationship before they're tightened.

As I mentioned, you don't need to unbolt the fence glides from the fence, but if you did, be sure to go through all the steps on page 8 in the TS-LS owner's manual in the order they are shown to ensure that the fence slides smoothly. A stack of 5 business cards or playing cards under each end of the fence is equal to the thickness of the original cardboard spacers, but there's a range of fence heights that work fine.