SawStop PCS Bevel Issue

[John Lankers]

To eliminate the cast iron table and the insert plate from the equation lower the blade below the table, move the fence in position to make your cut, then clamp a piece of dead flat melamine or mdf securely to the table, kissing the fence and raise the spinning blade up to the desired height and make your rip cut.
If it still comes out crooked with the blade at 90* and the fence parallel to the blade it might be something not necessarily saw related.
I have 2 machinist squares that are not dead on 90*, one that I dropped and one that I found out the hard way, just saying.

[mreza Salav]

First time read/hear customer service not excellent with SS. I've dealt with them many times and always was overly impressed (IMO they are top notch, right above Lee Valley).
As for your cut issues: the lowest quality part in a SS in my opinion is the laminated plywood that is the face of the fence. It's thickness is not consistent. The fence tube itself is very good and accurate based on my measurements but to get the face of the fence 90 degree to the table top as well as straight took me some shimming and working on it. If you have 0.2-0.5 degree off 90 degree when cutting a 3" thick (basically resawing) I say that's not bad AND the small error could be due to your fence face. Have you measured it at different locations? have you used a straight edge on the face of the fence? I think that's the source of your problem (and next will be your feeding/control). Honestly, with any table saw, if you set it up properly (blade/miter slot/fence parallel; blade and fence 90 to the table top) then it's operator who should check their method if the cut doesn't come out perfectly.

[Larry Frank]

I also have had excellent response from Sawstop and am really surprised at the comment.

I agree that one should check or fix any issues with the fence. Second, how accurate can one expect to cut a bevel. It seems to me that 0.2 degrees is beyond what I would expect from almost any table saw.

[Timothy Williams]

Bao Loi is the problem with beveled cuts or are you having issues with getting it set up right with a 90 degree cut? That's what I was basing my thinking on.

I also have had excellent response from Sawstop and am really surprised at the comment.

I agree that one should check or fix any issues with the fence. Second, how accurate can one expect to cut a bevel. It seems to me that 0.2 degrees is beyond what I would expect from almost any table saw.

[Matthew Hills]

What is working right?

Can you do a cross-cut with the miter gauge and get an edge that is square to the *face*? (this is to make sure you can get the blade square to the table, without involving the fence)

Then repeat with a rip, checking if the ripped edge is square to the face.
Try different length (say 8" and 3') boards to see if that affects the results.

[Bao Loi]

Engineer squares are used by machinist so it's very accurate....i hope...haha

Silly question but is your square accurate?

[Bao Loi]

Its at 90 as well. Slight bevel when i put a square to it. Also, when I rip a board in half the seams don't line up when flipped end to end.

Bao Loi is the problem with beveled cuts or are you having issues with getting it set up right with a 90 degree cut? That's what I was basing my thinking on.

[Bao Loi]

Great advice guys! I appreciate the feedback. I will take a look at the face of the fence. From what I seen before, there is a slight wave to the face and I read about this problem from many other sources. Might have to find tune that and see what happens. My assumption is that since the bevel and inaccuracy is constant, it might not be the fence.

I'll have to try to see what results i get with a miter gauge.

[Bao Loi]

So here's an update:

SawStop called me back but I missed the call. Called them back but no response yet.

I invested in a jointer to ensure that the face and one edge of the piece of wood is square and after checking they are. I made a few rips on the table saw with the jointed edge on the fence after ensuring that the blade is 90 to the saw top with my engineer square which is also 90. I made this rip with a 24t thin kerf and a 40t regular kerf. The thin kerf had a greater amount of bevel on the cut edge compared to the regular kerf. What I did notice on the regular kerf is are certain areas along the rip edge it would be 90 and certain areas there would be a bevel on a 3/4" stock. On 8/4 stock, there is a constant burning that happens on the upper half of the ripped edge.
My conclusion is its possible that the blade is deflecting.

Any tips on this?

Thanks everyone!

[les winter]

I suggest you pull the plug and grab the saw blade and try to move it, forcefully in the horizontal plane and in the vertical plane. This would help eliminate concerns about the arbor nut/flanges, arbor and trunions having play.

[mreza Salav]

How sharp are the blades?
I repeat, a 0.2 degree out of square on a ripped edge is within error/tolerance range of a saw and your measuring device most likely!

[Bao Loi]

I checked the measurement of the square and it's perfectly 90. The blade is brand new, maybe 10-20 cuts on it so far. it just irks me to put two boards together and the seam isn't perfect....maybe it's just me being too much of a perfectionist...but i mean if you're paying $2,000+ on a saw it should be perfect

How sharp are the blades?
I repeat, a 0.2 degree out of square on a ripped edge is within error/tolerance range of a saw and your measuring device most likely!

[Mike Henderson]

This is a bit off what you're asking, but can you change the blade adjustment so that you get a square cut? That is, put the blade off 90 some amount so that you can get a consistent 90 degree surface on the stock.

If so, I'd adjust the stop and use that as my new 90.

Mike

[Bao Loi]

Yea that would be an option. I just don't now how well I can get the saw to compensate .02 degree off 90.... I'm hoping that adjusting the feed rate will minimize the deflection if it actually is the deflection.

This is a bit off what you're asking, but can you change the blade adjustment so that you get a square cut? That is, put the blade off 90 some amount so that you can get a consistent 90 degree surface on the stock.

If so, I'd adjust the stop and use that as my new 90.

Mike

[Frank Pratt]

Well... If the saw blade is 90* to the table & the fence is parallel to the blade, and the faces that are against the table & fence are jointed & flat, then the cut is going to be square. Maybe it's something to do with your technique? Might be helpful to get someone with some experience over to your shop to have a look. Sometimes a second set of eyes can be a big help.