Sawstop PCS - blade/slot alignment out of the box

[Johnny Barr]

I've just ordered a Sawstop PCS :) and I remembered on my last table saw, adjusting the slots parallel to the blade was a nightmare and I lost sleep over it. It was pretty good out of the box but stupidly decided to make it better, in fact I made it worse, much worse. I should have left it! Anyway hours/days later and with the paid help of a technician we got it to under 4 thou which proved OK. I remember getting it to an acceptable 0.002" only to have it wrecked by tightening the bolts. Even allowing for this and tightening them in an orderly way we just got so frustrated. Never again!!!!! :mad:

I've watched the video and read the instructions on how to do the adjustment on the SS and it does look easier but its something I'd rather not do given my history.

Please, please, please tell me its ok (<0.003") out of the box (or most are) and I don't have to adjust it at all. I should have included a few more "pleases"

[Mick Simon]

I can speak for mine as well as for a few other people I've spoken to. Not only was the blade aligned at 90 and 45 degrees, the fence was square and perpendicular as soon as I bolts it on, the 90 and 45 degree stops were spot on. I can't think of other friends and PCS owners whose experience has been much, if any different. The assembly instructions and manuals are the best I've seen in 35 years in the woodworking machinery business.

[Johnny Barr]

That does make me feel better, Mick. Thanks.

When you say aligned do you mean around 0.002" , which I find very acceptable, assuming you used a dial indicator to measure it?

[Larry Frank]

I have had my PCS for several years. It was spot on when I got it and has stayed that way.

[Mick Simon]

That does make me feel better, Mick. Thanks.

When you say aligned do you mean around 0.002" , which I find very acceptable, assuming you used a dial indicator to measure it?

Nope. I'm a firm believer in the don't fix it if it's not broken rule. It's never given me a reason to measure it. It did exactly what I hoped it would straight out of the box.

[glenn bradley]

I agree that if it is doing what you expect, it is fine. Mine was leaving a trace of saw mark on rip cuts so I dialed it in a bit. Use the performance as your guide instead of numbers. If the performance is off, the numbers will help you fix it. If things are working well I would not alter things just to achieve a number.

[Frank Pratt]

Mine was good right out of the box, but it looks like it would be very easy to adjust if needed.

[johnny means]

IMO, most people worry way too much about blade alignment. I won't test my alignment with measuring devices, but by performance. Now, if performance is off, I then breakout the measuring devices.

[Joshua Bass]

My Grizzly was like .030" out of alignment. I realigned it multiple times and found the mechanism had a design flaw. The alignment of the blade shifted directions depending on if you were raising or lowered the blade. I couldn't believe it once I uncovered the source of the problem. I returned it and bought a Sawstop and have never looked back.

[Wade Lippman]

My SS left burn marks when I got it. I adjusted it and it is better now. It isn't easy to adjust, so it if cuts well, leave it alone.

[Johnny Barr]

IMO, most people worry way too much about blade alignment. I won't test my alignment with measuring devices, but by performance. Now, if performance is off, I then breakout the measuring devices.

You are right and I'm one of those who worries too much about this but when you spend huge dollars on a top of the range saw you have high expectations.

[Simon MacGowen]

If it makes you feel better: don't blame yourself, blame it on the myths that many people and writers promote about tolerances. Some of these people ( and there are way too many of them) talk nonsense because they talk as if we were working with metal and steel.

Tool manufacturers love to see the myths to sustain, otherwise how could they sell all kinds of "precision tools" even if meant for machinists to woodworkers?

0.002", 0,003"? I can say with confidence that even if yours was off by 0.004" (a human hair is about 0.004"), you wouldn't notice the difference in your general woodwork. In my work, accuracy of angles is more important.

As regarding the SawStop, I have not had any need to make changes to the factory settings, except the position of riving knife (I prefer the knife to align flush with the right side of the blade (the manual states the opposite).

Simon

[Dan Rude]

It took me a while to finish my set-up of the PCS. It cuts like a dream now and wish I had done it sooner.. I used my 4 inch square and a small engineers square to just check it. Dan

[Johnny Barr]

even if yours was off by 0.004" (a human hair is about 0.004"), you wouldn't notice the difference in your general woodwork.
Simon

You're right Simon but if the error gets too big you will notice teeth marks, burning and a wider kerf. So how big is too big? What's acceptable. The saw stop manual mentions 0.002" in one sentence and 0.010" in another. 0.010" to me is too big and on my old TS that would have been very noticeable. I guess what I'm really interested in is for those who have measured it with a dial indicator on a PCS, what did they get out of the box and are they happy with their cuts? Yes I'm anal about this but I'm curious

[Nick Decker]

Johnny,

From the accounts I've read, SawStop's quality control is excellent, and my own experience with their customer service was top notch. That said, humans are involved. No way to know until you set it up.

Congrats on the new saw!

[Jason Lester]

Mine was really close, but I had to make some small adjustments to it. The manual has very good directions on how to adjust it. It took me about an hour or so I think.

[James Jayko]

The only adjustments I had to make were because I didn't know what I was doing.

Tried to use my thin kerf blade from my old hybrid saw and it threw off the riving knife. Realized I didn't need a thin kerf blade anyway and everything was good to go.

[George Muff]

I read all of the stories of perfect alignment out of the box and have to say I was a bit disappointed when the blade on my PCS was ~.011" off from the miter slots. The instruction manual while great everywhere else was a bit lacking in that department. I was relieved to find a video from Sawstop on Youtube which was very helpful in instructing how to access the table top bolts, particularly those at the rear. The setscrews accessible from the top edges along with the front pivot are invaluable for fine tuning the adjustment. Once I got my head around which direction to go with the setscrews all went well. Be aware that the video gives incorrect information on which setscrews to tighten and loosen depending on direction of table rotation and I notice that Sawstop has admitted this in the comments. I did also make slight adjustments to the 90deg and 45deg stops as they were slightly off as well.

Sawstop Blade Alignment Instructional Video - https://youtu.be/gr8jXtfn7lQ

Honestly if mine had only been .003" out I would have never bothered and just checked it after some time if I was noticing issues or feeling bored. It is a great saw and I think you will enjoy using it.

George

[Johnny Barr]

Just assembled the PCS and its alignment is about 0.004". I contacted Sawstop and they said it was well within its tolerance of 0.01" and that it was futile to try and get better and very few have been able to get below .002". Anyway, as mentioned above, its cutting perfectly. I ripped a 6 x 2 board down the middle, using a freud fusion P410 blade, and the cut was smooth enough to glue without jointing. No burning, no teeth marks so all cuts are smooth parallel/square etc so I'll stop stressing and make something:)

[Johnny Barr]

That 0.004" I mentioned above was not right. I did it again using many blades and got closer to 0.01". I wasn't comfortable with such an expensive saw being out so I thought I'd have a go at adjusting it despite my terrible experience adjusting my last table saw. George's post above gave me some encouragement. I read the manual twice and watched their support video and noted their incorrect instructions on that video and guess what, I had it to 0.001" in under 30 minutes. It was dead easy. Using adjusting screws instead of taps with a dead blow hammer made all the difference. I also tightened the bolts diagonally a little at a time and kept an eye on the setting but luckily it didn't change.
The cuts are now super smooth and joint quality. I can now sleep at night!!!

[Mike Schoonmaker]

Link provided is dead

[glenn bradley]

Link provided is dead

I easily found this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Cm2o1Vshg) just searching on Saw Stop Blade Alignment. Not sure why it changed. They still have the clockwise / counter clockwise narration problem around 3:45 but, the general operation instructions are good.

I only loosen the four corner bolts enough to allow the adjustment screws to push the top with a reasonable amount of friction. I snug the adjusting screws once I have the alignment I want and prior to tightening the corner bolts. This helps maintain the alignment when tightening the four corner bolts.