mitersaw question

[Michael Handrinos]

Hi Guys. I have a question maybe you could answer for me. I'm trying to align the fence with the blade on my miter saw. I've tried various ways with the same result. I make a cut and on one edge it's square. Then take the square on the other side it's not. Can someone tell me whats going on?

Thanks

[tyler mckee]

Is your square square? I like to cut a piece of of scrap then stand both pieces on edge and flip one of the cut pieces 180 so it's standing on the opposite edge. Push the fresh cut ends together and check for any gap. Anything less than a perfect 90 will show up as double what you are off

[Lonnie Cook]

Michael -

Is it a one-piece fence? If so, I bet the two sides are bent / twisted / etc. relative to each other. Same could be true of a two-piece fence, but I can't help you with that.

Here's what I did on my Harbor Freight saw to correct the problem (not a lot of QC at the HF plant!):

> Cut a piece of straight multi-ply plywood to match the fence. Do not cut out for the blade.

> Hot glue the plywood to the fence. Use a known square reference to hold the plywood perpendicular to the MS table while the glue sets. The hot glue will fill the voids of the crooked original fence.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s50/lonnieinorlando/WoodWorking/Tools/SCMS/Fencebeforecutting.jpg

> Run the saw through the plywood fence.

> Adjust the fence to be 90-deg to the blade.

- Lonnie

[Rich Engelhardt]

I use two Swanson Speed Squares - the plastic ones & Swanson, not a knock off.
I saw a diddy on either How It's Made or Modern Marvels that featured Swanson. The showed the steps they take to check the accuracy of each one & I have to say it was impressive.
I checked both of mine against a Starrett & they were spot on.

Anyhow - I lay them against the sides of the blade in the down position, then square the fence to them. I tighten down each side of the fence a little at a time and alternate every half turn or so once the screws are snug.

After checking against the Speed Squares, I cut make a 90* cut in a piece as wide as I can fit. Then I flip the cuts end over end and check the front and back side using the Starrett.

FWIW - I get in a lot of practice @ this keeping my Ryobi 10" and my Delta 8 1/2" in tune and square.

[Jon McElwain]

I've got a Dewalt 12" SCMS that I can true up quite well, and a cheap $50 Delta 10"CMS that has a single piece fence that is visibly out of square with the blade and out of alignment with itself! If you place a long board on the delta up against the fence, there is 1/8" or more gap between the wood and the fence in the middle of the fence near the blade. I rigged up a wooden fence similar to Lonnie's (although I like the hot glue idea...) and I have been able to get descent results. The Delta is used exclusively for framing and rough cuts of course. If I need really tight control, I usually go to the table saw - provided the piece is not a 10' piece of molding or something!

[John Coloccia]

Hi Guys. I have a question maybe you could answer for me. I'm trying to align the fence with the blade on my miter saw. I've tried various ways with the same result. I make a cut and on one edge it's square. Then take the square on the other side it's not. Can someone tell me whats going on?

Thanks

Just to clear up what's going on:

Are you taking the straight edge to the wood and one side is out of square? I'm just asking because you're talking about taking a cut and measuring that. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding. From how I'm reading this, it seems like the wood you're cutting has two sides that aren't parallel, which would indicate a problem at the table saw, or maybe even the jointer.

Anyhow, I would guess from what I'm reading that the workflow you have might be off. Are you jointing one edge and then taking it to the miter saw? That won't typically give you two parallel sides.

Maybe I'm just being stupid and aren't reading your question the right way.

[Michael Handrinos]

Just to clear up what's going on:

Are you taking the straight edge to the wood and one side is out of square? I'm just asking because you're talking about taking a cut and measuring that. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding. From how I'm reading this, it seems like the wood you're cutting has two sides that aren't parallel, which would indicate a problem at the table saw, or maybe even the jointer.

Anyhow, I would guess from what I'm reading that the workflow you have might be off. Are you jointing one edge and then taking it to the miter saw? That won't typically give you two parallel sides.

Maybe I'm just being stupid and aren't reading your question the right way.

Not at all. I'm cutting a board 10" wide on the MS, then take a Starret square and hold it on the cut cut. Perfect 90. Take the square and put it on the opposite side and it isn't square.

I want to thank you guys for helping me out here. I'm going to try your ideas tomorrow. I'll let you know how I make out

Mike

[Keith Westfall]

Perfect 90. Take the square and put it on the opposite side and it isn't square.

It would seem that perhaps your 2 sides are not parallel...

[Roger Bullock]

I may be off from what you are describing but if you make a cut and without changing the orientation of the boards you check for square on both cuts with one side being square then to me I would have to think it is a problem with one side of the blade. Make a dado cut and check for square on both sides of the finished cut. If one side is square and the other is not, then check out your blade on the out of square side.

[Frank Guerin]

It would seem that perhaps your 2 sides are not parallel...

Bingo. We have a winner.

[Bob Turkovich]

Let's talk this one out a little further. I had a similar problem on an older Delta miter saw that was unrelated to the fence. (BTW Michael, you didn't note whether your saw was a sliding miter or not - for this discussion, let's assume it's a chop saw.)

If the two sides of the fence are not parallel to each other, you could have two conditions:
1.) The right side of the right fence is closer to the operator than the left side of the fence. In this case the working piece will not be resting up against the fence at the kerf and the result will be a cut not at 90 degrees to either piece.
2.) The right side of the right fence is farther away from the operator than the left. In this case - if you are operating the saw with the right hand, you are usually holding the work up against the left fence with your left hand. The right side of the right fence will not be touching the work. When you make the cut, you should still get a straight cut on both pieces unless the right side piece rotates up against the fence as you're making the cut.

In my case, the fence was straight and parallel. I took the saw to the local Delta repair center - showed them my sample pieces with the cut/flip/mate process indicating the non-square cut. They proceeded to make some sample cuts and in every case got a perfectly square cut. We found that I was not using the lock lever to hold the blade at the 0 degrees setting - I was relying on the detent to hold the blade square. The result was a beveled kerf with one side of the bevel - the left side - 90 degrees to the fence.

I suggest you make a sample cut with the work piece clamped down on both the right and left sides. That will make sure the work piece isn't moving when you make the cut. If you still have a non-square cut, make sure the blade isn't floating as you are stroking it through the cut.

BTW - the old saw is long gone. The blade guard broke (out-of-warranty) and the part was not available. The Delta phone-in service rep gave me two choices - run it without the guard :eek: or replace it. I replaced it - with a DeWalt (before they were the same company).;)