New General Table Saw & member (photos)

[Kent Parker]

Hello all,

First a big THANK YOU for all that are making this forum such a pleasure to attend. :D My name is Kent and I began my woodworking journey apprenticing as a woodboat builder. After leaving the yard, I worked for myself repairing and doing alterations to boats and eventually specializing in full and partial boat interiors. About 18 years ago I took a slight tack and began inspecting vessels which in the marine industry is called a marine surveyor/consultant.

I still have a tremendous need to create and also have a detached "2 car" shop, so....after three years have managed to finally empty the junk and make way for my sanctuary.

First big purchase is a General International 50-260. (Taiwan made) Really pleased with the overall quality, finish and machining of the table top. Oddly enough the Canadian fence, which is just like a Biesmeyer I had, is not square to the table on the left side, only the right side. :( (see photos if they show up). I am in discussion with my supplier who has inform the regional General rep. Just waiting for a call to see about getting a new fence.
Anyone ever check theirs for square?

More on the saw after its up and running.

KP

[Steven Wilson]

Nice saw. I'm not sure how the face attaches to the fence but you should be able to shim the fence back to square. The fence on my old Powermatic had a spot where the fence was out and I took off the face, filed off some burrs and shimmed the fence into place, it was dead on after that. Ah the joys of commissioning a new machine.

[Frank Pellow]

I see that this is only your second posting here Kent. What a great way to start off.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your fence. I have heard that General is good about fixing problems like this, so I think that things will work out for you in the end. But, it is a pain to experience things like this.

I will be installing a similiar fence on my new General-650 table saw next week and I will be sure to check it right away.

[Kent Parker]

Nice saw. I'm not sure how the face attaches to the fence but you should be able to shim the fence back to square.

Steve,

The General fence, like the Biesmeyer has multi-lam plywood faces that are machine screwed to the painted steel extrusion that makes up the fence. A plastic laminate is then glued to the plywood and trimed on its upper/fore and aft edges. You would have to un-glue (damage) the laminate to shim.

I could but, I'll wait

KP

[Jim Dunn]

Nice purchase there Kent! Is that a "case" of bubbly I see on the shop floor? Frank Pellow needs to take note of the amount of that stuff you bought for the help. I bet Frank needs many more cases of long neck to get his stuff moved from the garage to the shop:)

[Mike Cutler]

Nice to meetcha' Kent. You have areal nice TS there. I can't help you with the fence issue. Just wanted to say welcome to SawMill Creek. :)

[Frank Pellow]

Nice purchase there Kent! Is that a "case" of bubbly I see on the shop floor? Frank Pellow needs to take note of the amount of that stuff you bought for the help. I bet Frank needs many more cases of long neck to get his stuff moved from the garage to the shop:)
Jim, I trust that you mean AFTER the move and set-up of my stuff. :)

[Steven Wilson]

The General fence, like the Biesmeyer has multi-lam plywood faces that are machine screwed to the painted steel extrusion that makes up the fence. A plastic laminate is then glued to the plywood and trimed on its upper/fore and aft edges. You would have to un-glue (damage) the laminate to shim.


That bites. Almost all of the other manufacturers have changed to another mounting method, it's a real shame your fence uses the orginal mounting method

[John Scarpa]

Kent,
Welcome aboard! sorry to hear about your fence problem. Though I believe that General has a good reputation for taking care of this kind of thing. Hey and congratulations on getting that space cleared for your sanctuary. enjoy it!
John

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Kent,

Welcome to Saw Mill Creek, you are soon to find out that this is the best danged WW forum on the net! Great people, great mods and great stories, gotta love it!

Congrats on the saw, after General fixes you up, you will be glad that you waited for a Perfect saw :)

[Jim Dunn]

Hey Frank it's your party;) Just so long as you get it moved by 12 I think you'll be alright:)

[Mark Singer]

Kent,
There are a couple of teflon guides under the fence rail lock angle. If one is missing or damaged it could explain your problem. Take it off and flip it over and inspect it.

[Kent Parker]

Nice purchase there Kent! Is that a "case" of bubbly I see on the shop floor? Frank Pellow needs to take note of the amount of that stuff you bought for the help. I bet Frank needs many more cases of long neck to get his stuff moved from the garage to the shop:)
Jim,

I..uhh,, yes that's a case of spent wine. (I'm in Napa ;)) I had forgotten it was in the photo, dead give away.....

I use the wine bottles to make water glasses. I've got a 24" lapidary saw (rock saw) which cuts through very nicely and then I finish off the edges with a water fed diamond grinding well.

Cheers

kp

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Welcome Kent...beautiful saw you have there.

[Doug Shepard]

That's one General worthy of a salute. Welcome to the creek.

[Jim Dunn]

Surrrrre Kent, but somebody hada empty em, right;) Sure is a nice excuse not to go to Walmart for glasses. Cheers

[Greg Tatum]

Welcome Kent,
I have a similar problem with my HTC fence....one side is square to the table while the other side is off by just a tad. The fence on the HTC is pops off easily for replacement, though....what I do is just keep it square on the right side of the blade 'cause that's the side I work on most and then use an auxillary fence (saddle type) when working on the left.

I used the nylon set screws on the part of the fence that rides the front rail to square the beam to the table but it doesn't help if the fence isn't attached square to the beam.

When I charge my camera I will take some pics and show ya the HTC...until you get a fix from General just use an auxillary fence to square you up....hope the helps and again, welcome.

Regards,
Greg

[Russ Massery]

I noticed in your pics that there wasn't a side table attached is there anything supporting the rail? If not the weight of the rail could be pulling the fence in that direction. just something to consider.:rolleyes:

Russ

[Kent Parker]

I noticed in your pics that there wasn't a side table attached is there anything supporting the rail? If not the weight of the rail could be pulling the fence in that direction. just something to consider.:rolleyes:

Russ
The front rail is bolted with seven bolts to the table saw top edge so really no load to speak of at the far end of the rail that would tweak the fence. The fence is square on its right side, just not the left. I'll be making the side table this weekend.:)

KP

[John Bailey]

Kent,

Welcome to the "Creek." You'll enjoy it here. I hope you are still going to do some work on boats. I'm working on a shop right now and plan to do some boat building. Even if you've had your fill of boat building, every once in awhile maybe you could check out what I'm doing and give me some pointers. Nice saw and again, welcome.

John

[Greg Tatum]

Hey Kent....here are some pics of the HTC fence and how it attatches...Rockler sells the clips and router bit to make your own...the fence faces are made from UHMW plastic and replacements are spendy from HTC and other suppliers....I made extra ones from plastic cutting boards that appear to be the same material but I don't know for sure....anyway, you could make your own with ease and sacrificial faces as well...just make them square to the top of the table and you are set.

Also a pic of the aux. fence...works on either side plus keeps things handy.

Good luck,
Greg

[Mike Holbrook]

Hi Kent,

I just went through setting up a General International Contractor Saw. I also had some problems with the fence and rails, the two relate. I am not sure that our rails & fence work the same but I will relate what I found & hope it helps.

First, turn to the pages in the manual that relate to setting up the saw, find everything relating to setting up the rails and fence (especially the pictures) cross it all out, rip those pages out of the manual, burn them and have someone else burry them where you could never find them.

Do not fritz with the thing for a day and a half like I did. Call Trevor ext 33 at General International (not Canadian General). Trevor will give you the straight skinny on the PDQ. Basically the directions were done for an Asian version of fence system and your saw, I believe is like mine, a Canadian product. On mine I was trying to connect the rails like it showed in the instructions, wrong holes to many screws. The result is rails that can not be leveled and a fence that want level to the table. There are two larger screw holes at the far ends of the table, front and back. Those are the only two holes that get screws. The two screws on each rail hold them on just fine and suddenly the rails level and the fence works.

My fence rides on a foot that rests on the far side rail. I had to add a washer to the screw holding the foot on the fence to shim up the back side of the fence. My version of the fence, and possibly yours, is not designed to ride on the table but just over it.

Hope this helps. If you need help though call Trevor, he's the man!

Ohhh and welcome to the Creek!

[Kent Parker]

Mike,

Thanks for the info on your fence. I have been in touch with Trevor Of G.I. however my fence is Canadian made and I am now awaiting a call from General.

My saw is Taiwan made and not one of the pre drilled holes in the fence lined up. I drilled and counter-sunk them all.

The front rail of the Canadian fence has a small score (notch) that lines up with the right side of the saw blade. After clamping in in place to the table top, General provide a presssboard "square" to properly position the front rail in relation to the table top surface. I held the long, heavy front rail in place by resting it on wood cleats that were clamped at the corners of my table top. The position of the rail is fairly critical as it affects how the fence sits on the table top. Example: If the rail were to be mounted level with the table top, the fence would have a big gap between its underside and the table top.

I have taken the guide rail off and remeasured and discovered that my positioning of the rail was as precise as I could hope for. The nylon rub pads on the underside of the fence appear uniform in thickness and are not adjustable. The pad at the far end of the fence rubs on the table top, not the rear rail. Oddly, on the general web site http://www.general.ca. they say that the "The nylon padded leg slides on the back rail" . With this fence the rear rail is not in contact with the fence at all. Contact points for the fence are on top of the square guide rail (has the measuring tape) and about 3" in from the far edge of the table top, on top.

I should stress to all that are reading this post that the fence is not far out of square as can be seen in the photo of my first posting. The square in the photo is about 7" in length and its far end is a fat 1/16" off the table. Really not much and if I were cutting wood for boatbuilding it would not be an issue.

Greg: Thanks for the photos. :) The method HTC has devised to attach their faces seems very practical. I have used the "Key-hole" method to attach framed paintings/pictures on boats.

Cheers,

KP

[Mike Holbrook]

Kent
"Thanks for the info on your fence. I have been in touch with Trevor Of G.I. however my fence is Canadian made and I am now awaiting a call from General."

Answer
..........
Yes, I think they are all Canadian made. I know mine is. The point is the directions that come with the saw, at least mine, are not for the Canadian rails & fence but for the Taiwan ones, according to Trevor.

Kent
"My saw is Taiwan made and not one of the pre drilled holes in the fence lined up. I drilled and counter-sunk them all."

Answer
..........
I think that may have been an oops!....

Kent
"The front rail of the Canadian fence has a small score (notch) that lines up with the right side of the saw blade. After clamping in in place to the table top, General provide a presssboard "square" to properly position the front rail in relation to the table top surface. I held the long, heavy front rail in place by resting it on wood cleats that were clamped at the corners of my table top. The position of the rail is fairly critical as it affects how the fence sits on the table top. Example: If the rail were to be mounted level with the table top, the fence would have a big gap between its underside and the table top."

Answer
.............
Same thing was true of mine, same notch, same pressboard fence. I would consider disregarding that pressboard jig they include, Trevor thought they were a bad idea and cause more trouble than they solve "I don't know why they still include those things". Yes, the position of the rails is critical, which is why I was told to use only the two large pre-drilled holes on the ends of the table, those holes are larger and allow some room to move the fence up or down to align the front and back rails, thats what they are designed for. The exact amount that the rails need to be below the table top is not an exact number. You can use the pressboard to set up the front fence and then adjust the fence height with the rear rail, which is what I did. I ended up having to change the front rail a little though because there was not quite enough play in the rear rail screw holes to level the fence. Trevor had me use the rear rail to adjust the fence level across the table. The bottom of my fence has two nylon inserts that protrude slightly past the plywood sides, like you mention below. My fence balances & slides on that nylon shoe when the foot on the back rail is at the right height (which on my saw and the saws of others I have heard of required installing a washer). I am not sure you have the same fence. I do suspect that you are trying to use Taiwan instructions to install a Canadian fence. Trevor says they are redoing the instructions, but I understand that has been promised for something like two years now.

Kent
"I have taken the guide rail off and remeasured and discovered that my positioning of the rail was as precise as I could hope for. The nylon rub pads on the underside of the fence appear uniform in thickness and are not adjustable. The pad at the far end of the fence rubs on the table top, not the rear rail. Oddly, on the general web site http://www.general.ca. they say that the "The nylon padded leg slides on the back rail" . With this fence the rear rail is not in contact with the fence at all. Contact points for the fence are on top of the square guide rail (has the measuring tape) and about 3" in from the far edge of the table top, on top. "

Answer
...........
I have heard other say that there are at least two different fence systems. Some have their fence ridding on the table. There may be a fence that is designed to just slide across the table top. I am not sure of that. I read a post or two where guys got tired of fritzing with the rear nylon foot on fences like mine. They apparently discarded the foot and let their rail ride on the table top. Check the back end of your fence and see if there is a hole in it for a bolt & nut. If there is check and see if you can find something that looks like a chair or furniture screw in leveler in the parts that came with your saw. On my saw the leveler foot rests on the back rail and allows the fence to glide across the table on its nylon shoe like it was on slick ice.

Kent
"I should stress to all that are reading this post that the fence is not far out of square as can be seen in the photo of my first posting. The square in the photo is about 7" in length and its far end is a fat 1/16" off the table. Really not much and if I were cutting wood for boatbuilding it would not be an issue."

Answer
...........

The pictures of your fence look exactly like mine, same Maple leaf same everything. My fence road on the table top exactly like yours before I got the rails screwed on in the right holes and leveled the fence with the back rail. I got instructions with my saw that say & look like they are for a General fence too, just like I imagine you are working with. According to what Trevor told me someone apparently copied text from Taiwan instructions into the"General" instructions, ******* so do not believe them ********! It was hard for me to fathom that too. There are two allen screws (fine fence adjustment) on the inside rest of your fence. You may not be able to see them without removing the fence from the rail. Those allen screws should allow you to adjust things just about perfect once you get the fence close to level on the rails (or possibly level on the table in your case).

Hope this is clearer,
Mike