table saw alignment check?

[keith ouellette]

I have checked the alignment of my ts blade and fence the best I could with squares and measuring tapes. I am on a budget so I often have to make due.

Now that i am going to make my router table and fence I want to re check everything so my cuts are as good as they can be.


Could someone give me some tips on alignment checks for a person without a dial indicator? Is it possible to make it close to perfect without one?

[David Christopher]

Keith, I have a dial indicator setup made for a TS if you would like, PM me with your address and I will send it to you to use and when you are through just send it back

[keith ouellette]

Keith, I have a dial indicator setup made for a TS if you would like, PM me with your address and I will send it to you to use and when you are through just send it back

Wow David. thats great. I was hoping for some info that would allow me to get started right away though.

Is it absolutely necessary to use a dial indicator to get the best results? If thats the consensus then I will take you up on your offer and wait for it to arrive. Thanks again.

[David Christopher]

Wow David. thats great. I was hoping for some info that would allow me to get started right away though.

Is it absolutely necessary to use a dial indicator to get the best results? If thats the consensus then I will take you up on your offer and wait for it to arrive. Thanks again.

nothing is absolute but it is the easyist way to get it perfect. it only takes a few minuites and your saw will transform from a saw to a cutting machine

[Terry Beadle]

Several years ago I bought a VHS tape by Kelly Mehyer of Brea KY where he demonstrated how to set up a contractor TS. In the video he showed how to use a piece of dowel to set the table slot relative to the table blade.

Simply described:

Place a piece of dowel or a V shaped tipped scrap about 10 inches long on your miter gauge. Clamp it. Cut it near the tip and leave it afixed.

Turn off the saw.

Then with the power cord pulled ( safety first! ), raise the blade to it's highest. Move the freshly cut dowel to the leading edge of the blade and manually rotate the blade until the tooth that makes the most noise brushes against the dowel end. There maybe more than one or two teeth that do make sound but using you best judgement, mark with felt tip or chaulk the tooth that makes the most noise as you rotate it by the end of the dowel.

Then back rotate the blade until the marked tooth is at the fartherest back side of the blade and move the miter gauge attached dowel to that tooth area. If it touches, your are done. If there is a gap, you then loosen three of the four bolts holding the TS top and lightly loosen the remaining bolt just enough that it will hold it's position but not let the whole TS top flop around. You want to use it as a friction point so that when you lightly tap the TS top it will rotate towards the back tooth. In some cases you may have to rotate it away from the tooth (rarely this occurs ). Do this tap/check procedure until you are sure you have the front and back positions of the marked blade tooth dead even. The TS top bolt to use for this friction pivot point will depend on your TS top mounting design and the direction you need to make the adjustment to narrow the gap.

Lightly and carefully retighten the TS top mounting bolts. Check again the marked tooth gap. Usually the bolt tightening process will move the top and you need to loosen a little, tap it back and retighten and check. Maybe several times. Each TS is different. Check the gap: If it's less than 2 thou you are in the gold and if it's less than 5 thou you are in the workable area. If it's greater than 5 thou, try again.

I recommend a plastic dead blow adjustment hammer or a shop made scrap soft wood mallet.

I also recommend you do a dynamic saw cut to check the square and vertical pitch before you adjust the table and after.

I used this method on my Grizzley 1023 the first time I set it up and it worked great until I got my $25 special sale indicator set from Grizzley on their President's Sale promo.

Let us know how it works out!

[george wilson]

The earliest dial indicators were not dials,but were like see saws,with the fulcrum very near the end that touched the work. A hole,accurately fitted to the pivoting pin,just loose enough to let the lever move easily,was important. The end away from the end that touched the work,was filed down into a long needle shape. There was a graduated scale at the end if this pointed lever. The device was firmly attached to the lathe's toolpost. The short end of the lever was brought in contact with the work held in the chuck. The long end of the lever greatly magnified any out of roundness by swinging to and fro as the work was revolved. With this simple device,which machinists sometimes made for themselves,work could be gotten trued up in a 4 jaw chuck.

There needs to be a weak spring pulling at the lever,so it doesn't just flop around.

You could make a simple indicator out of thin hardwood that would work the same way. You don't need the 'graduations" to really have definite .001" readings,you just need to know that when your indicator is mounted to the miter gauge,and slowly pushed past the blade,the lever doesn't swing,which means you are parallel.

I hope this makes sense. If you can find a picture of an early lever type indicator,you will see how it works. Starrett and other major makers made them. I have a beautiful one some good 19th.C. machinist made for himself,probably for pride of ownership.

[Howard Acheson]

Here is the low tech, low cost way to align a tablesaw that I learned maybe forty years ago and used to teach to my students.

Make 3/4 x 3/4 x 12" hardwood stick. Drill a hole somewhat centered in one end and insert a brass #8 x 1" round head fine thread machine screw about half way. UNPLUG THE SAW. Raise the blade completely up. Clamp this board in your miter gauge (if you determine that there is some slop in your slot to miter gauge, use a playing card to take up the slop) so the screw head just about touches the blade at the front. Now rotate the blade by hand and determine which tooth is the closest. Adjust the screw in or out until it just touches this tooth. Mark this tooth. Rotate the blade so the tooth is now at the back of the table and move the miter gauge/stick assembly to the back and see if it touches the marked tooth to the same extent. If it doesn't, adjust the trunnion (if a contractor saw) or the tabletop (if a cabinet saw) until it does.

For a contractor saw, first use a small c-clamp on the rear trunnion and cradle to keep the assembly from moving. Then loosen the two rear trunnion bolts and one front trunnion bolt. Slightly loosen the other front trunnion bolt and use a stick to tap the trunnion until the blade and screw lightly touch. The blade does not move directly around the center so you will need to repeatedly go back to the front of the blade, readjust the screw, and then again measure the back. Be sure to check after tightening the trunnion as the trunnion frequently moves when being tightened.

For cabinet saws, loosen the bolts that hold the tabletop and tap one corner until things come into alignment.

The same adjustment gauge can be used to set the fence parallel to the miter slot. Slide the miter gauge to the front of the table and move the fence over to the screw head and insert a playing card between the screw head and the fence just so you can move the card as it touches both the fence and the screw head. Now move the miter gauge to the back of the table and see if you have the same feel when you insert the card. I like my fence absolutely parallel--if you want to have a slight opening to the fence, you can easily estimate the opening by adding a thickness of paper to the card.

I always show my students with a dial gauge that their adjustments are within .001 - .002.

You can also use the same gauge to measure blade runout by using a $5.00 feeler gauge.

Finally, after you are satisfied with the above adjustments, check the position of the splitter to make sure it is exactly in line with the blade.

Bottom line, there is no need to spend more than the $0.05 for the brass screw.

[Michael Tartamella]

Dial indicators are very inexpensive and can be found at places like Harbor Freight for $10. They certainly take all the guess work out tuning up a saw!

Mike

[Lee Schierer]

Dial indicators are very inexpensive and can be found at places like Harbor Freight for $10. They certainly take all the guess work out tuning up a saw!

Mike

This one is available at HF stores for $9.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/00600-00699/00623.gif

Attach it to a block of wood with a wood screw and clamp that block to your miter gauge and you have a precision adjustment tool.

[James Carmichael]

I use the HF gauge (it often goes on sale for $7) mounted to a piece of plywood, which is then clamped to my miter gauge.

Howard's method works well, too.


I don't know what making a router table has to do with TS alignment, unless you will be cutting the router table stock on the TS.

If you have a contractor saw, I highly recommend the PALS system for adjusting alignment. It costs about $20. PALS doesn't measure alignment, it handles the adjustment.

[Myk Rian]

I've checked and certified hundreds of those HF indicators. They are surprisingly accurate.

[keith ouellette]

I thought the dial indicators used for table saw alignment were specially designed to fit in miter slots and were also able to attach to the blade to measure its angle to the table. Now that I know I can use one that only costs $10 the problem is solved. for some reason I thought what i needed was over $40.