need recommendation for "setup" tools

[Dave Cullen]

Speaking from stupidity here, but I purchased an inexpensive Harbor Freight dial indicator with mag base years ago for use on (mostly) jointer knives and encountered lots of frustration when trying to use it. I then found out that I needed to order some type of a "fatter" (tech language) tip to replace the regular tip on the indicator arm so that I could maintain contact with the edge of the blade. The dial indicator has stayed in it's box on top of a cabinet since then. Maybe you may need the "fat" tip to go along with your indicator.

They're called contact points, and you need a flat one that's wide enough to sit atop the knife edge while you rotate it. McMaster sells them individually.

[Stan Calow]

My set of brass setup bars - 1/2" to 1/16" - are indispensable to me.

[Bob Cooper]

Besides what has already been mentioned, I find a set of either 123 blocks or 246 blocks come in very handy in assisting in machine setup, they are typically more accurate then a cheap square.

Matt...even before you posted i was wondering today what in the heck those 1-2-3 blocks were used for. I envisioned the holes were offset and that's where the name came from. So YouTube to the rescue and now i understand. They are pretty useful and even just as a 90 degree reference it seems like they'd be great since there's so much surface vs. a typical square. But i'd already spent $50 and wasn't feeling the urge to spend anymore...but it won't be long

[David Eisenhauer]

Thanks Dave. I look up at that dial indicator about once a year and think " I ought to do something about that". Maybe I will order on of the replacement tips and see if I can get the tip to stay on the blade edge.

[bob cohen]

all you really need is a couple of engineer squares, a dial caliper, and some mdf or other stock that you know is square and can run some test cuts with. There are a lot of creative, inexpensive and simple ways to set up tools. Youtube is full of them! Good luck

[Bill Dufour]

Mushroom tip for the DI. Make a simple block of wood, three feet, and with a hole for the indicator. This will allow you to set up your planer or jointer. Note that a "planer/shaper gage" for metal working is not really much use for wood.

[william walton]

If you can bend up some 1/4" rod into a shape like an offset screwdriver, chuck it up, then use indicator swivel clamps to attach your indicator you can sweep the table to get accurate results.

If you have a good combination set ( Starrett ) that and feeler gauges will get you within a couple thousandths when lining up miter slots to table saw blade. I've done that and then checked the blade with indicator and gotten very close. I kept my precision tools after retiring.

Another tip is if you need to center the drill press chuck over a spot accurately, chuck up a large needle using stiff putty. Run at low speed and true up with your fingers to locate the center if you don't have a wiggler.

[Peter Christensen]

To piggyback on this thread, what do you chuck up in your drill press to check runout with a dial indicator? I have a centering pin that came with a Bosch router centering cone that I use, but I have a hard time trusting this or any of the drill bits I have. Is there something I can buy from a local hardware store? Or harbor freight?

Ideally you would use a gauge pin or precision ground rod held in the chuck with the dial indicator tip placed perpendicular against the rod. You can use a ground bolt like a shoulder bolt or a dowel pin. Any precision ground rod will work. Hold the dial indicator with a magnetic base. Check at the end of the jaw and at the end of the rod by rotating the chuck by hand.

To ensure the table is perpendicular to the chuck, take the rod off the magnetic base and put it in the chuck with the dial indicator on the arm, tip down perpendicular to the table. Now rotate the chuck by hand and note the amount the indicator moves as it goes around the table. It will show the high point and low point and you can adjust the table make it perpendicular.

[Jim Morgan]

If you can bend up some 1/4" rod into a shape like an offset screwdriver, chuck it up, then use indicator swivel clamps to attach your indicator you can sweep the table to get accurate results.

Accurate results for what?

To test whether a drill press table is square to the chuck: Take a length of 1/8" brass rod, available in hobby shops. Lower the table, chuck the rod, and use a file to sharpen one end to a point. Unchuck the rod, bend it into a Z shape, rechuck the blunt end, and raise the table until the sharpened end of the rod just contacts it (you can use a feeler gauge here). Swing the chuck around (better if you do this with the quill pulley than the chuck itself); if the table is square, the pointed end of the rod will remain the same distance away (or if the point lightly contacts the table, the scraping sound will remain the same). Adjust the table and repeat as needed.

[Brian W Evans]

I bought the A-Line-It system (link) perhaps 15 years ago and I like it very much. It can handle many of the alignments and calibrations mentioned above and comes with a DVD showing how to do so. The deluxe set comes with a lot of different tips for the dial indicator and a reference rod for measuring runout on a drill press. It is available on Amazon for ~$130. Although you could use this tool for a great many things, it excels at measuring runout and alignment (e.g. blade to miter slot) but I tend to use different tools for other tasks because they require less setup.

I also use MDF (5-cut method, straight-edge, etc.), 1-2-3 blocks, calipers, and a digital height gauge. Plastic or aluminum drafting triangles are also very handy (tip: color the edges with a permanent marker - makes them easier to see).

[Jacob Mac]

Rockler has a 20% off a single item. So you can get the unaguage right now for a lot cheaper than normal