Table Saw Alignment Question

[Dru Dron]

I have an almost brand new Steel City 3hp granite top saw (Model 35905G, I if recall correctly) that just doesn't seem to want to perform "up to snuff". My rip cuts are coming out either badly burned or rough or both. All my dial indicator measurements appear to indicate that I've got the saw aligned as well as I could ever hope for. The blade is virtually perfectly parallel to the left miter slot. I've tried having the fence "perfectly" parallel to the miter slot (hence, parallel to the blade, in theory at least) and also tried toeing out the fence (away from the blade) by varying amounts in small increments from just a few thousandths of an inch to as much as 0.026" (which I normally consider too much, at least according to everything I've read/heard in the 4-5 years since I took up woodworking, but this is how far out the Steel City tech support person adjusted it when he visited my workshop in person).

What I find really strange is that when the tech support person laid a thick (roughly 0.25", allowing it to contact two teeth angled the same direction on my Forrest Woodworker II blade)) precision straightedge flat on the table between the blade and brought the fence over to gently touch the side of the straightedge opposite the blade, this showed that my meticulously aligned fence (using a commercial dial indicator gauge/jig) was clearly toed in relative to the back of the blade! But my dial indicator had just shown that both the blade and fence were virtually perfectly parallel to the left miter slot. In any case, the tech support fellow toed the fence out to make it parallel to the blade using his straightedge resulting in the 0.026" toe out alignment mentioned above. This improved the cut quality considerably, but seems strange given the extreme amount it was toed out, and given that my dial indicator measurements tell me it shouldn’t be necessary.

Subsequently, after he left, I noticed that his alignment adjustments had reduced the clamping pressure of the fence locking handle. So I snugged that up slightly and then checked that the fence was still toed out about 0.026” or a few thousandths more, and did another test cut. To my dismay and surprise, the burning and rough cutting problem is back despite the fact that I've got the fence right back to being toed out 0.026" the way the tech support person had it after snugging up the clamping handle pressure. I can see downward arcing tooth marks on the work piece which to me would seem indicative that the fence is toed out too much resulting in the blade “digging into” the side of the work piece at the front of the blade instead of cutting smoothly in parallel to the feed direction. Does that observation make sense? Is there any good reason for the rip fence to be toed out so much relative to the miter slot/blade? This amount of toe out alignment is completely contrary to everything I’ve learned in the last few years about table saw alignment. I realize for rip cuts the key is for the fence to be parallel to the blade, not necessarily the miter slot, but since my dial indicator measurements clearly indicate the blade is parallel to the miter slot. I’m beginning to wonder if my dial indicator is somehow inaccurate, and the blade isn’t actually parallel to the miter slot like it appears to be from the measurements.

My apologies for such a lengthy description of the problem, but I’m hoping someone more experienced than myself might recognize these symptoms and have some idea what might be going on. When I first aligned this saw I was thrilled because I had never been able to complete the alignment process as accurately as it appeared to be on this new saw. But the end result has always been very poor cut quality which I can’t explain, and Steel City has been unable to figure the problem out either.

I haven’t checked the 45 degree bevel alignment yet. The top had to be completely removed to get the saw down to my basement shop, but the delivery fellow and I thought we got the shims put back at the correct corners of the top. If we didn’t and the 45 degree bevel alignment is off, could that possibly be affecting my table/blade alignment when the blade is at 90 degrees? I’ve always been under the impression the shims were only there for adjusting the 45 degree alignment, but I’m so perplexed that I’m probably starting to grasp at straws.

If anyone can offer any suggestions as to what I might be overlooking or doing wrong, I be very grateful!! The obvious answer would seem to be that I'm just not doing my alignment measurements accurately or correctly, but I've done them probably more than 10 times now with the same results, and the same technique and dial indicator/jig always seemed to work fine on my old saw. So I'm now officially "stumped"! And Steel City doesn't seem to be able to help further either.


Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

Dru Dron
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

[Dan Friedrichs]

It sounds like you haven't checked the blade parallelism to the right miter slot - I would do this. It's possible the slot were ground incorrectly.

I'd take the following steps:
1) Check that the blade is parallel (within ~0.002") to the left miter slot
2) Check that the blade is parallel to the right miter slot
3) Double-check your above results by lowering the blade, placing a dial indicator jig in the left slot, a straigtedge in the right slot, and confirming that the slot are parallel.

If the slots aren't parallel, that would be a big problem. But once they are confirmed to be parallel, and the blade is parallel to both of them, you can move on to the fence. Just set the fence parallel (or maybe 0.002" out at the end).

As you noted, both adjustment screws on the fence can be turned to decrease/increase the travel of the locking lever. As long as they are both turned the same amount, it shouldn't affect anything.

Make sure when you are checking slot/blade parallelism that you make a mark on your blade, then rotate the blade around to measure on the other side (the blade is rarely perfectly flat).

I think the only way to explain your symptoms is that the slots, blade, and fence are not all parallel. If you can absolutely confirm that all 4 of those items are parallel, there should be no burning on the back end.

[Bill Huber]

It sounds like you haven't checked the blade parallelism to the right miter slot - I would do this. It's possible the slot were ground incorrectly.


If you are not using the right slot why worry about it. Everything I do is off the left slot. The only thing that ever goes into the right slot is my sled.

[Bill Huber]

The first thing I would look at is to make sure that the arbor is clean, no saw dust on it at all.

I set the blade to left slot and the fence to the left slot. I use a master plate to do all my settings with, this way I do not have to worry about a bad blade.

Set the blade to using the left slot.
Then lower the blade and move the fence over and check it. I would check the fence at a bunch of different points. This will check to make sure the fence is flat all the way.

Good luck.

[Jeff Monson]

What I find really odd is, the support tech used a straight edge and found your settings were off, and after he adjusted the toe on the fence the cuts were considerably better. I would start right there and find out why you came up with something different?

Dans post is great info for aligning a tablesaw. Make sure to mark a tooth on your blade and reference off of that same tooth for every adjustment.

[Lee Schierer]

It is best if you don't try to align off the saw teeth. Most have a relief grind from the face to the tooth root which will through off your measurements. Us the body of the blade. First raise your blade as high as it will go and back it off from the height stop about 1/4 turn so you aren't possibly binding the carriage.

Mount your dial indicator to the miter gauge and place the tip against the blade. Zero the indicator. Then try shifting the miter gauge left and right within the slot. The reading should not change.

Then with the power disconnected, rotate the blade to see if the blade is flat. If it is out of flat by more than .003-.004 it is time for a new blade.

Then mark a spot on the body of the blade close to the outer edge and set the indicator to zero. Without moving the blade, slide your dial indicator toward the middle of the blade and come back to the spot and see if the reading is still zero. If it is, then rotate the blade so that spot is to the back of the saw and check to see that the reading is zero. You want this reading as close to zero as you can get. Remember these marks are only 6-8" apart and your fence is 30+" long so any error here will be magnified by your fence.


Once you are satisfied with your blade alignment do the fence getting it as close to zero as you can at the table front and rear using the same miter slot used for the blade alignment, then slide the dial indicator along the fence and see if the reading fluctuates back and forth, which would indicate your fence face isn't flat. Get your fence face flat before trying to zero the fence.

[Scott Schwake]

Then with the power disconnected, rotate the blade to see if the blade is flat. If it is out of flat by more than .003-.004 it is time for a new blade.

I'm confused by this, please explain how this shows if your blade is not flat.

Thanks

[Jim Riseborough]

I'm confused by this, please explain how this shows if your blade is not flat.

Thanks

Wouldnt as you rotate the blade, if there is any wavyness in it, the dial would go in and out as the wave passes.

[kenneth kayser]

Try a different blade. Always check parallelism on the same spot on the blade. All blades have runout. Saws also have runout. I check runout of my blades at different positions on the arbor. I select the position with least runout and mark the blade and the arbor. This reduce runout to the minimum but does not eliminate runout; checking at the same spot on the blade is still necessary.

Also check that all elements of the blade carriage have no play.

With a brand new saw, you should not have to spend a lot of time to get it to work. Push them for a new saw.

[Dan Friedrichs]

If you are not using the right slot why worry about it. Everything I do is off the left slot. The only thing that ever goes into the right slot is my sled.

The only reason is because the OP may be checking blade/slot parallelism off the left slot, but he may be checking fence/slot parallelism off the right slot (he didn't say).


Lee's advice is good - make absolute sure your measurements are repeatable.

[glenn bradley]

If you are not using the right slot why worry about it. Everything I do is off the left slot. The only thing that ever goes into the right slot is my sled.

Like Bill, I parallel to the slot I use; the left. If your alignment is good and you still get saw marks and burning I would look at blade height, feed rate and overall control of the material. If the blade is parallel to the fence and the material rides the fence there should be no issues other than those caused by released stress. Is this lumber properly dried, etc.?

[Ken Taylor]

Are you sure the face of the fence is perfectly flat along its length?

I had a weird problem with a new PM2000 TS 2 years ago see my post from 5/6/2008). Turned out that the back of the fence had a really ugly (proud) weld behind the plastic fence face which pushed out the tail of the fence face about an 8th of an inch.

When ripping long stock, the majority met the blade on one angle, but once the back of board cleared the part of the fence nearest you, the trajectory canted to the left for the remaining 24 inches or so. Burned like all get out.

Fix?

Well, a call to Powermatic, had a new fence en route ASAP (no cost), and they didn't want the defective one in return. Once the new one arrived, I took a good metal file to the nasty weld, flattened it down, and now have 2 perfectly good PM fences.

PS here's the link to my earlier problem: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=83716

[Don Jarvie]

Dru,

Here is a shot in the dark. Is the motor wired correctly? When I put together my saw I had the ground and black mixed up so on 220 I was only getting 110.

The saw cut but bogged down and burned the wood. I fooled with my fence, everything and it didn't stop. My 3hp motor could barely rip 1 x poplar nevermind 2 x 4s

Then looked at the motor and started to test that and low and behold problem solved. Cuts everything.

The problem is the motor starts fine and sounds fine so you don't think of mixed up wiring.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Maybe its the fence?


This was my first thought too. And note - it might not just be the fence, but it could be the tube or mounts on which the fence rides. If the fence is not straight, that's one big problem. But it the tube on which it rides is "bowed", then the ultimate 'direction' of the fence (i.e. the direction in which it points) would be dictated by where the fence is set.

[Keith Christopher]

Wouldnt as you rotate the blade, if there is any wavyness in it, the dial would go in and out as the wave passes.

But I mostly use the belt to rotate the blade as I have found that holding the blade causes you to apply pressure and that can cause it to seem wavy.

[Sean Tracey]

Try a different blade. Always check parallelism on the same spot on the blade. All blades have runout. Saws also have runout. I check runout of my blades at different positions on the arbor. I select the position with least runout and mark the blade and the arbor. This reduce runout to the minimum but does not eliminate runout; checking at the same spot on the blade is still necessary.

Also check that all elements of the blade carriage have no play.

With a brand new saw, you should not have to spend a lot of time to get it to work. Push them for a new saw.

I believe this is it. The slot is being aligned to the blade instead of the arbor.

More in my direct response.

[Sean Tracey]

I have an almost brand new Steel City 3hp granite top saw (Model 35905G, I if recall correctly) that just doesn't seem to want to perform "up to snuff". My rip cuts are coming out either badly burned or rough or both. All my dial indicator measurements appear to indicate that I've got the saw aligned as well as I could ever hope for. The blade is virtually perfectly parallel to the left miter slot. I've tried having the fence "perfectly" parallel to the miter slot (hence, parallel to the blade, in theory at least) and also tried toeing out the fence (away from the blade) by varying amounts in small increments from just a few thousandths of an inch to as much as 0.026" (which I normally consider too much, at least according to everything I've read/heard in the 4-5 years since I took up woodworking, but this is how far out the Steel City tech support person adjusted it when he visited my workshop in person).

What I find really strange is that when the tech support person laid a thick (roughly 0.25", allowing it to contact two teeth angled the same direction on my Forrest Woodworker II blade)) precision straightedge flat on the table between the blade and brought the fence over to gently touch the side of the straightedge opposite the blade, this showed that my meticulously aligned fence (using a commercial dial indicator gauge/jig) was clearly toed in relative to the back of the blade! But my dial indicator had just shown that both the blade and fence were virtually perfectly parallel to the left miter slot. In any case, the tech support fellow toed the fence out to make it parallel to the blade using his straightedge resulting in the 0.026" toe out alignment mentioned above. This improved the cut quality considerably, but seems strange given the extreme amount it was toed out, and given that my dial indicator measurements tell me it shouldn’t be necessary.

Subsequently, after he left, I noticed that his alignment adjustments had reduced the clamping pressure of the fence locking handle. So I snugged that up slightly and then checked that the fence was still toed out about 0.026” or a few thousandths more, and did another test cut. To my dismay and surprise, the burning and rough cutting problem is back despite the fact that I've got the fence right back to being toed out 0.026" the way the tech support person had it after snugging up the clamping handle pressure. I can see downward arcing tooth marks on the work piece which to me would seem indicative that the fence is toed out too much resulting in the blade “digging into” the side of the work piece at the front of the blade instead of cutting smoothly in parallel to the feed direction. Does that observation make sense? Is there any good reason for the rip fence to be toed out so much relative to the miter slot/blade? This amount of toe out alignment is completely contrary to everything I’ve learned in the last few years about table saw alignment. I realize for rip cuts the key is for the fence to be parallel to the blade, not necessarily the miter slot, but since my dial indicator measurements clearly indicate the blade is parallel to the miter slot. I’m beginning to wonder if my dial indicator is somehow inaccurate, and the blade isn’t actually parallel to the miter slot like it appears to be from the measurements.

My apologies for such a lengthy description of the problem, but I’m hoping someone more experienced than myself might recognize these symptoms and have some idea what might be going on. When I first aligned this saw I was thrilled because I had never been able to complete the alignment process as accurately as it appeared to be on this new saw. But the end result has always been very poor cut quality which I can’t explain, and Steel City has been unable to figure the problem out either.

I haven’t checked the 45 degree bevel alignment yet. The top had to be completely removed to get the saw down to my basement shop, but the delivery fellow and I thought we got the shims put back at the correct corners of the top. If we didn’t and the 45 degree bevel alignment is off, could that possibly be affecting my table/blade alignment when the blade is at 90 degrees? I’ve always been under the impression the shims were only there for adjusting the 45 degree alignment, but I’m so perplexed that I’m probably starting to grasp at straws.

If anyone can offer any suggestions as to what I might be overlooking or doing wrong, I be very grateful!! The obvious answer would seem to be that I'm just not doing my alignment measurements accurately or correctly, but I've done them probably more than 10 times now with the same results, and the same technique and dial indicator/jig always seemed to work fine on my old saw. So I'm now officially "stumped"! And Steel City doesn't seem to be able to help further either.


Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

Dru Dron
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

From what I can tell, it is something you are doing wrong with the way you are using the dial indicator. I am basing this on the fact that the straight edge did not agree with your dial indicator readings and the fact that the rep was able to get the saw to cut better.

The miter slot should be aligned to the arbor, not the saw blade.

In order to assure this, you should lift the saw blade to it's highest setting and mark the saw blade with a felt marker. Set the dial indicator on this mark when the mark is as close to the front of the saw as possible.

Next, slide the dial indicator to the back of the saw and then rotate the saw blade so that the indicator is reading on the marked point. This will cancel out any effect due to the blade being bent or otherwise warped. You should now be able to align the table to the arbor. Before doing this, though, I would remove the saw blade as suggested before, check the face runout of the face that the blade mounts to and check the arbor shaft run out too. Make sure the arbor doesn't move when wiggled.

Also, as you know, the pinch effect of the saw blade and fence narrowing at the back must be avoided, so you need to err in the other direction.

It's been awhile since I aligned my saw, so I may have left some steps out.

Another thing, check the screws on the back of the dial indicator and make sure they aren't coming loose. The Mitutoyo one, I have always does that and gives false readings.

[Scott Schwake]

Wouldnt as you rotate the blade, if there is any wavyness in it, the dial would go in and out as the wave passes.

Wouldn't this detect the arbor and blade runout, not just the blade?

[Dan Friedrichs]

Wouldn't this detect the arbor and blade runout, not just the blade?

Yes. Hopefully the arbor runout is REALLY small, though :)

[john bateman]

T

Also check that all elements of the blade carriage have no play.



I own a completely different saw, but this turned out to be the cause of my poor cut quality problems. When mine is set to zero degrees, the carriage can move unless the bevel lock is engaged. Once I figured this out, I had to realign the blade, as the lock actually changed the heel of the blade.

But now it cuts as smooth as I could ask for...as long as I keep that lock engaged.

[Dru Dron]

Hi everybody,

Thanks a lot for all the input. I really appreciate it!!

Sounds like I left out a few details I should have mentioned but I was trying (unsuccessfully) to be brief.

In any case, most of your replies are confirming what I know (or think I know) about the proper procedures for aligning the saw (blade and fence). A few brief clarifications regarding what I've been doing:


I am aligning both the blade and the fence to the same miter slot. I have actually tried both the left and right slots and get the same results, at least within 0.001" to 0.002". I do prefer to reference off the left slot though, since that's the slot I use the most, by far.
I have checked and confirmed with a precision straightedge and my dial indicator that the fence itself is straight, again within a couple of thousands of an inch.
As mentioned by a couple of people, when checking the blade alignment I have been measureing from the same spot just behind the same tooth (not from the tooth itself) before and after rotating the blade from front to back, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing that part right.
I've been very careful to make sure there is no lateral slop in the carriage of the dial indicator measuring jig. Seems O.K.
I do my measurements with the blade set to its maximum height (minus about a quarter turn of the adjustment handle, as someone recommended).
My measurements have been very repeatable. I've lost count how many times I've gone through the alignment process, but it must be 10-15 times by now, excluding the tech support fellow's visit.
During the support tech's visit, I made all the test cuts at his suggestion. He made no comment about seeing anything wrong or ill advised about my technique or feed rate, etc.
Looking back, I don't think I mentioned that I'm using primarily hard maple as my test pieces. I'm aware that hard maple has a tendency to burn, but I did not experience much burning with my old, smaller hybrid saw (2hp G.I.)
I've tried several different blades including a thin kerf ripping blade and thin kerf combination blade (both Freud). They helped a bit with the burning but the cuts were still noticeably rough. THese blades used to cut very smoothly on my old 2hp. saw.
I find Don Jarvey's "shot in the dark" idea about the wiring of the motor interesting. Seems like an odd possibility, but it reminds me that I have made the observation that my saw seems underpowered for 3hp and does seem to have to "work hard" (or at least harder than I expected) when cutting with the full kerf blades. Compared to my 2hp saw I had expected this 3hp saw to "zip" right through most woods (my test pieces have only been about 0.75" to just over 1" thick). Mine doesn't bog down, but does seem to be straining a little, and if I try to increase the feed rate slightly (in case my feed rate was too slow and that had something to do with the burning) I can feel a slight tremor/vibration as though the saw can't handle it. The wiring may be fine, but now that it's been mentioned I'll at least look into it.

I freely acknowledge that it is strange that the service tech's straightedge method contradicted my dial indicator readings. User error on my part was the first thing I assumed. That's why I've been spending so much time trying and retrying to do the alignment (i.e. I've been trying like crazy to uncover an error I'm making). But my measurements have been so consistent that I just can't explain it. I'm doing all this the same way I did things on my previous saw and it always seemed to work fine. I discussed this with him and he had no explanation either. His attitude was just forget about using a high precision measurement technique like a dial indicator or feeler gauges and just use a straightedge the way he does and just keep toeing out the fence until it cuts well and feels good.

Steel City's position now is to tell me that it's just a "woodworking" machine not a "metalworking" machine, and I shouldn't be trying to be so precise with my alignment measurements. This bothers me a bit because every reference book, magazine, DVD, website or TV show I've ever referred to when learning woodworking over my first 4-5 years of enjoying this hobby seems to talk in terms of getting the alignment within a very few thousandths of an inch (0.003" seems to be a common target value for blade and fence alignment).

Now that I'm experiencing problems and have expressed some dissatisfaction with the saw, they seem to be getting defensive, and seem to be criticizing anyone that promotes trying to achieve high precision with their woodworking machines. I hope my expectations aren't unrealistic or unreasonable, but compared to my experience with my old 2hp hybrid saw, I expected this 3hp cabinet saw to perform at least as well, if not better, in terms of cut quality and ease of use. As it stands now, the last word from Steel City customer support was that he didn't know what else to say and that with "PRACTICE" I should be able to make it work! I hate to say it, but I'm become very disappointed with this Steel City product and have mixed feelings about their customer/tech support.

On the bright side, this whole situation led me to contact Hendrik Varju at Passion for Wood (some of you may be familiar with his woodworking business, woodworking magazine articles, woodworking school and DVD's), and I will be having the privilege of having him come visit my shop next Monday (fortunately his business is only a little over half an hour away from where I live) to give my saw a thorough going over as well as giving me some personal lessons on using my table saw. His total fee may end up being a little pricey, but after all this frustration and confusion, it will probably be money well spent. Hopefully Monday will put an end to the problem once and for all (fingers crossed)! Should be interesting, whatever the outcome.

Thanks again for all the insight, and apologies for another long, wordy post!

Dru

[Dru Dron]

Hi everybody,

Thanks a lot for all the input. I really appreciate it!!

Sounds like I left out a few details I should have mentioned but I was trying (unsuccessfully) to be brief.


In any case, most of your replies are confirming what I know (or think I know) about the proper procedures for aligning the saw (blade and fence). A few brief clarifications regarding what I've been doing:
I am aligning both the blade and the fence to the same miter slot. I have actually tried both the left and right slots and get the same results, at least within 0.001" to 0.002". I do prefer to reference off the left slot though, since that's the slot I use the most, by far.
I have checked and confirmed with a precision straightedge and my dial indicator that the fence itself is straight, again within a couple of thousands of an inch.
As mentioned by a couple of people, when checking the blade alignment I have been measureing from the same spot just behind the same tooth (not from the tooth itself) before and after rotating the blade from front to back, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing that part right.
I've been very careful to make sure there is no lateral slop in the carriage of the dial indicator measuring jig. Seems O.K.
I do my measurements with the blade set to its maximum height (minus about a quarter turn of the adjustment handle, as someone recommended).
My measurements have been very repeatable. I've lost count how many times I've gone through the alignment process, but it must be 10-15 times by now, excluding the tech support fellow's visit.
During the support tech's visit, I made all the test cuts at his suggestion. He made no comment about seeing anything wrong or ill advised about my technique or feed rate, etc.
Looking back, I don't think I mentioned that I'm using primarily hard maple as my test pieces. I'm aware that hard maple has a tendency to burn, but I did not experience much burning with my old, smaller hybrid saw (2hp G.I.)
I've tried several different blades including a thin kerf ripping blade and thin kerf combination blade (both Freud). They helped a bit with the burning but the cuts were still noticeably rough. THese blades used to cut very smoothly on my old 2hp. saw.
I find Don Jarvey's "shot in the dark" idea about the wiring of the motor interesting. Seems like an odd possibility, but it reminds me that I have made the observation that my saw seems underpowered for 3hp and does seem to have to "work hard" (or at least harder than I expected) when cutting with the full kerf blades. Compared to my 2hp saw I had expected this 3hp saw to "zip" right through most woods (my test pieces have only been about 0.75" to just over 1" thick). Mine doesn't bog down, but does seem to be straining a little, and if I try to increase the feed rate slightly (in case my feed rate was too slow and that had something to do with the burning) I can feel a slight tremor/vibration as though the saw can't handle it. The wiring may be fine, but now that it's been mentioned I'll at least look into it.

I freely acknowledge that it is strange that the service tech's straightedge method contradicted my dial indicator readings. User error on my part was the first thing I assumed. That's why I've been spending so much time trying and retrying to do the alignment (i.e. I've been trying like crazy to uncover an error I'm making). But my measurements have been so consistent that I just can't explain it. I'm doing all this the same way I did things on my previous saw and it always seemed to work fine. I discussed this with him and he had no explanation either. His attitude was just forget about using a high precision measurement technique like a dial indicator or feeler gauges and just use a straightedge the way he does and just keep toeing out the fence until it cuts well and feels good.

Steel City's position now is to tell me that it's just a "woodworking" machine not a "metalworking" machine, and I shouldn't be trying to be so precise with my alignment measurements. This bothers me a bit because every reference book, magazine, DVD, website or TV show I've ever referred to when learning woodworking over my first 4-5 years of enjoying this hobby seems to talk in terms of getting the alignment within a very few thousandths of an inch (0.003" seems to be a common target value for blade and fence alignment).

Now that I'm experiencing problems and have expressed some dissatisfaction with the saw, they seem to be getting defensive, and seem to be criticizing anyone that promotes trying to achieve high precision with their woodworking machines. I hope my expectations aren't unrealistic or unreasonable, but compared to my experience with my old 2hp hybrid saw, I expected this 3hp cabinet saw to perform at least as well, if not better, in terms of cut quality and ease of use. As it stands now, the last word from Steel City customer support was that he didn't know what else to say and that with "PRACTICE" I should be able to make it work! I hate to say it, but I'm become very disappointed with this Steel City product and have mixed feelings about their customer/tech support.

On the bright side, this whole situation led me to contact Hendrik Varju at Passion for Wood (some of you may be familiar with his woodworking business, woodworking magazine articles, woodworking school and DVD's), and I will be having the privilege of having him come visit my shop next Monday (fortunately his business is only a little over half an hour away from where I live) to give my saw a thorough going over as well as giving me some personal lessons on using my table saw. His total fee may end up being a little pricey, but after all this frustration and confusion, it will probably be money well spent. Hopefully Monday will put an end to the problem once and for all (fingers crossed)! Should be interesting, whatever the outcome.

Thanks again for all the insight, and apologies for another long, wordy post!

Dru

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