Maybe I'm being overly anal again. You tell me...

[Gary Herrmann]

I took delivery of my new cabinet saw the other day and I've been stealing a few minutes here and there to check alignment etc (note to pic police, I will post when its all set up). I just got done checking for heel (alignment of blade to miter slot). It appears to be out .007" over 10", which (I think) translates to .067" over 8 feet. Admittedly that doesn't sound like much, but if I were to rip two boards and then butt them edge to edge, the gap would be .134" - which I think would be readily visible.

I'm asking your opinion because I know I can be overly anal, and I also don't have the right size allen wrench on hand to loosen the bolts securing the top. So, I may go looking for the right size wrench, or maybe I'll try to be normal - always a stretch for me.

As always, your opinions are welcome and sought after.

[Steve Evans]

Gary

Maybe I'm just as anal, but I like to get the difference down to 1 or 2 thou.

Steve

[lou sansone]

that is a good question. Which way does the miter slot move away from the blade? Does it move away from the blade the same way a normal rip fence is set up ( that is a small amount of draft or tilt to the right of the blade )?

lou

[Steve Stube]

Get the wrench and make the adjustment. I consider it the oddity when I find one set correct when I get it second hand. My sample consist of about 100 table saws that I have bought and resold or adjusted for woodworkers. Many times it is clear that nobody has reset things since it left the factory, so I conclude, that's what was built and sold originally.

[Gary Curtis]

My General 350 right-tilting saw was calibrated by the dealer after shipment from Canada to California. Factory limits and Toe & Heel of Blade being parallel Miter Slot are .003". This is at a 90 degree blade angle (no tilt) At 45 degrees, the tolerance is .007" .

These are factory limits. My machine checked out considerably less than this. I can get the numbers from the dealer tomorrow, and will post here.

Gary Curtis:cool:

[Jim Hager]

Well I would like mine to be a little closer than that and last time I checked it the dial indicator said less than .001. You should probably tweak it a little closer than that if you know how and it isn't all that difficult.

I don't see why you used the example of .067 over 8 feet when the mitre guage slot isn't that long??? That my friend is overly anal:rolleyes: but we can all be that way sometimes.

[Gary Herrmann]

Jim, I used 8 feet so I could extrapolate how much a long rip cut would be off over its length. 8 feet is just the measure I decided to use.

[Gary Herrmann]

that is a good question. Which way does the miter slot move away from the blade? Does it move away from the blade the same way a normal rip fence is set up ( that is a small amount of draft or tilt to the right of the blade )?

lou

Lou, the blade was heeling toward the left hand miter slot as I checked from the front of the blade to the back - I was standing in front of the saw when I measured. I hope my answer makes sense. To fix it, I'll rotate the top clockwise.

Looks like my anality may be within spec for a change. :rolleyes:

[scott spencer]

I don't even consider myself anal, but I can tell you that my saw performs much better aligned at 0.001" out that it did at 0.005". With a cab saw you should be able to dial it in closer and have it hold for a very long time.

[lou sansone]

Ok I am going to go out on a limb here and probably saw it off, but here is my question about left hand miter slots. If I am using a miter guage to do a cross cut of a board that is say 12" wide and I push it past the blade with the miter slot exactly parallel to the blade don't I risk recutting the edge with the back side of the blade? Why wouldn't you want the left hand miter slot ( I realize that they are joined at the hip with the right hand slot ) just a few thousands drifting away from the rear of the blade? It seems to me somewhere in my research in European sliding table saws that the sled actually is designed to do exactly what I am saying. I could very easily be completly wrong in my thinking so this is not one of those questions that I have a firm technical base to opperate from.

thanks
lou

[Vaughn McMillan]

Jim, I used 8 feet so I could extrapolate how much a long rip cut would be off over its length. 8 feet is just the measure I decided to use. I don't really see how an 8' rip has anything to do with your miter slots. Once the wood clears the blade, any error is done, not compounded over its length. (Of course, that's assuming the rip fence is adjusted in relation to the blade, and not the miter slot.) Am I missing something here?

- Vaughn

[Jim O'Dell]

Gary, I would try to align it to the best that I could with the "tools" I had available to me. In my case that would be a framing square:eek:
I wouldn't consider it anal. If so, a lot of us are. If it's not important, why do we want tight joints? If it is important, we can't get those tight joints with any tool if it's not aligned properly. Jim (who's already looking for decent alignment tools for calibrating the tools I have when I get them moved into the shop I'm rehabbing).

[Gary Herrmann]

I don't really see how an 8' rip has anything to do with your miter slots. Once the wood clears the blade, and error is done, not compounded over its length. (Of course, that's assuming the rip fence is adjusted in relation to the blade, and not the miter slot.) Am I missing something here?

- Vaughn

Good question Vaughn. You are correct. I didn't think through my own thought process (geez, does that even make sense?). I was thinking in terms of generalities not specific cutting actions. That said, I still want to square the miter slot to the blade, and as you stated square the fence to the blade as well. Good catch.

I'll go bang my head against something for awhile to hopefully clear my thougths.

[Mark Carlson]

I must be anal too because I would lossen the bolts and bring it down to less than .001. My General 650 was aligned by the dealer before I brought it home. They even measured the top for flatness and provided a grid of high and low spots. It was very reassuring to have them check it before I brought it home. All I had to do was align the fence which is easy on Bes type fence.

You didn't mention what type of cabinet saw you bought.

[Bob Johnson2]

Let me know how you make out, I found trying to tweak out the last couple thousandths using a rubber mallet and 3/8" bolts to be less then an exacting process. That said, when I checked mine a day or so after I got it it was off about half of what yours is, it still is, but I did try. I found just tightening the bolts moved it back to it's original possition. Kind of like losing weight, tends to return to the original.

[John Lucas]

Let me know how you make out, I found trying to tweak out the last couple thousandths using a rubber mallet and 3/8" bolts to be less then an exacting process. That said, when I checked mine a day or so after I got it it was off about half of what yours is, it still is, but I did try. I found just tightening the bolts moved it back to it's original possition. Kind of like losing weight, tends to return to the original.
Bob,
Here is a case where Ithink a regular good old steel hammer and small taps do you better. And I do this with bolts loose and then more as I tighten them. It takes maybe an hour but once tightened all the way, it is in.

[Gary Herrmann]

Well, after fidding with the saw for awhile (30-45 minutes?), I got it down to being out by .001. I actually let it go to about .006 the other way to account for movement when I retightened the bolts. Maybe somebody has a more scientific method, but I'll be happy with .001.

[Frank Chaffee]

Gary,
I understand why it may not be relevant to the cut at hand to extrapolate to eight feet, but I too, find it is much more meaningful to visualize 1° as 2 3/32” in 10 feet than 1/64”/inch.

I sympathize with you regarding the frustrating process of locking a casting in position when zinc plated washers are bearing on a rough, or even somewhat smoothed casting. On machines that require this type of adjustment more often than very rarely, the casting will be machined flat and square to the screw axis and the washer will also be machined flat rather than stamped. This costs more than our hobby shops can afford, however.

Lou Sansone has brought up an interesting question regarding cuts made with use of miter slots: Will the back end of the blade scar or burn the already cut board as it passes thru? Personally I think that the blade should be as true to square as possible to prevent this or its opposite from happening. The rip fence presents another condition, that in which a board may expand or open up from having been cut, and so requires a riving knife or splitter to keep the board from pressing into the blade. In this situation I can see that a fence could be spread open from the blade.

I am inexperienced here, but pay attention when you all talk about this.

Frank

[Jim Bell]

I feel you did yourself a huge favor correcting the adjustment on your saw. Now add a good blade to the mix and enjoy. It is and has been most table saw accidents occur due to poor adjustments and cheap saw blades. I like to wax my table too.
Jim