Delta 36-725 Fence Alignment; almost there but am a bit stuck!

[John Nicoletti]

I purchased the Delta 36-725 to replace my Ridgid 4512 that I returned. Unfortunately, that saw has a really poor fence/alignment procedure and no matter what I did, I could not get consistent results.

Now I have a built 36-725 in my garage and tried to align the fence last night, however I'm running into three issues:

1. I got the fence to within 2/1000ths of an inch when using the right (long) rail. It is consistent every time. However, if I have the fence in an area where the left side of the T is on the short (left) rail and the right side of the T is on the right rail, I am way off, more like 3/100ths of an inch. From what I'm seeing, it looks as if on the back side of the fence guide tube, where the two section meet, it's not flush. What is a sure method of getting the back side flush? It seems like it will not budge for me and no matter what, there is a slight lip where the short side protrudes out more than the long side.

2. Anytime I lock the fence down, the left side of the T, no matter where it is on the rail system, lifts up off the rail a bit. Granted, the fence is secure and does not move under pressure, however there is a lift to the left side T guide, where as the right side is touching the tube. How do I correct this?

3. The back end of the fence is sloped down to where the very end actually pinches the table. Instead of the gap being equal all the way across, it's slopes down, with the front at the highest point and the rear end actually touching the table (yet it does still slide pretty smooth!). I tried playing with the plastic adjustment screws on the T, but that will only affect the front of the fence, which is already too high. Is there a way to adjust the rear?

I do have and can upload pictures of all three of these issues later.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Thank you,
John

[Steve Eure]

I have that same saw and I have no issues. Is your rail on the left side straight with the left rail? Is you left extension table flat with the cast table? These are the first two things I would check. You need a good straight edge to do this. I would not use a level, but it will work in a pinch. They sometimes are off a tad.

[John Nicoletti]

Is your rail on the left side straight with the left rail?
Steve,

I'm not sure what you mean by this...?


Is you left extension table flat with the cast table? These are the first two things I would check. You need a good straight edge to do this. I would not use a level, but it will work in a pinch. They sometimes are off a tad.

Yes, the Extensions are as flat as they can be to the cast Iron table. While I did use a 48" level to check, it was a Box level, which is pretty rigid and not warped.

Here are some pictures of what I'm seeing:

Right side of T-Square touching the rail when locked (white nylon screw):
http://i.imgur.com/hVXXZI8.jpg?1

Left side of T-Square lifted off the rail when locked (white nylon screw):
http://i.imgur.com/W6XhNj9.jpg?1

Bottom fence to table spacing issue:
http://i.imgur.com/KwlxhLm.jpg?1