New SawStop set-up: flat but not level

[Keith Albertson]

I got a new Sawstop PCS a few weeks ago. Today I finished leveling the extension wings and putting on the fence. Everything seemed to have worked out well. Got everything as flat as I could manage, using a long staight edge; I am pretty happy about how flat everything is and how the fence is aligned.

BUT: when I measured the height from the floor, the left extension wing is 34.5 inches high, and the end of the extension table on the right is 35 inches. Thats 1/2 inch over only about 7 feet!!!! Because the table is flat and perpendicular to the blade and fence, I know it won't be a problem with operating the saw. But I do think it will be a problem making an outfeed table or outfeed cabinet.

I did mount the saw on a ICS mobile base with the conversion kit. I followed all the directions. The saw is in the basement, on a concrete slab which is reasonably flat.

Has anybody else had this problem? Is it slightly tilted becasue of the mobile base? Any ideas on how to fix it? I don't want to give up the mobility the base allows. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Take a level to your floor over the same distance. Basment floors only appear to be flat, usually they are sloped to the drain. If the floor is out the same amount tehn its not the saw.

greg

[Callan Campbell]

How do you know your floor is flat?. 1/2" over the 85" that the PCS is wide in its footprint isn't bad really. Just make your out-table that much "off-kilter" to match. Your work should flow and come out accurate at any rate. Add height leveling screws to the base of whatever out-table you build. I would not panic over this one. You could have an almost 100 year old basement like mine with some serious tilt to allow water to make it to the floor drains.:rolleyes:
Lastly, How do I know the PCS is 85" wide?, I came this close[repeatedly] to buying one and selling my '05 unisaw. I just couldn't swing the 85" foot print in my crowded basement. My older Unisaw is almost 10 inches narrower, and still has 52" rails. Both your saw and the new Unisaw share that much wider dimension with the 52" rail systems.

[Keith Westfall]

Take a level to your floor over the same distance. Basment floors only appear to be flat, usually they are sloped to the drain. If the floor is out the same amount tehn its not the saw.

This should not produce a difference in measurement from one end to the other will it? The table may be off level (same as the floor), but the measurements should only be different because either the base is crooked, leveling feet not the same, base legs different lengths, or a issue with the mobile base.

All things being equal, the top will (should?) be the same as the floor...

[Dan Forman]

Everything I make for my basement shop is on leveling legs by necessity.

Dan

[Mark Woodmark]

This shouldnt be a problem. I second Dans input, leveling feet of some sorts. Your separate outfeed table should probably be constructed with them even if your floor is level today

[Michael Peet]

Hi Keith,

I have the PCS but never measured from the floor to the table. However, I'm using the stock mobile base and only the 36" extension so it wouldn't be apples to apples anyway.

My basement floor is so uneven I had to shim one corner to keep it from rocking. I was thinking if the un-levelness was really bothering you, you could do the same. If you didn't plan to move it around a lot, anyway.

Good luck,

Mike

[Van Huskey]

This should not produce a difference in measurement from one end to the other will it? The table may be off level (same as the floor), but the measurements should only be different because either the base is crooked, leveling feet not the same, base legs different lengths, or a issue with the mobile base.

All things being equal, the top will (should?) be the same as the floor...


I agree, I think people are misreading the OP. As I read it even if thing were sitting on a perfectly flat granite slab one side would still be lower by 1/2".

[brian c miller]

Flat and level are two completely different things. Can a wall be flat? Sure but it's not going to be level, if it was level we'd call it a floor.

Measuring from the floor to the top of the table pretty much confirms that the floor is pitched.

You took a known flat and level reference plane, measured to an unknown plane and found the unknown plane was not // to the known.

Just for fun go get a board, joint one edge and then plane the other so you now have 2 // surfaces.

Get a 1/2" thick cut off and put it the one end of the board. Lay the board (with the spacer end under the left extension wing) on the ground, put the level on top and I'll bet a dollar to a donut that the level will read level.

[Myk Rian]

Find a way to lift the low end to make it level, and be done with it.

[Conrad Fiore]

Keith,
If the tables are FLAT front to back, side to side and corner to corner, what more could you ask for. If the mobile base is tilted just a degree, then at 7 feet from side to side, a half inch is nothing. I say shim between the saw and mobile base on the low side and watch the high side come down.

[Keith Albertson]

Thanks for all the input.

My basement floor certainly is not perfectly flat. It has a slight pitch to it, but as Keith pointed out, it still shouldn't make a difference in height from one side of the table to the other. The floor is a concrete slab, and there are high and low spots, crowns, divots, and depressions galor, but they are not glaringly offensive. Depending on where I put the saw on the floor, I can get a floor-to-tabletop height difference of up to one inch, but never less than 1/2 inch.

AS Conrad said, I'm very happy the top is as flat as I could hope for in all directions, and I don't think the height difference will have any effect in the quality of cut.

The real issue is I'm trying to match up another saw and table to use as an outfeed table and dedicated dado saw. And that saw, a Delta contractor, does not have the same height diffence from one end to the other, so I'm working on "tilting" the contractor saw to match the Sawstop.....and was just hoping there was a simple explanation or fix that someone else had encountered. My bet is it has something to do with the mobile base, and I can take the saw off it if I need to....but that defeats the "mobile" purpose. If anyone thinks of something, I'd love to hear it.

[Glenn Vaughn]

A slope of 1/2" in 85" is the same as a slope of 1" in 14 feet
If you level the table it will not be parallel to the floor since the floor slopes. If the tble is set parellel to the floor it will not be level. That is why there is a leveller on the table - just for this condition.