TS Wing Alignment

[Jeff Cord]

I recently picked up a new table saw and have been messing around with the alignment of the various pieces.
In checking the wings it appears the far edges are above the level of the rest of the saw. I found this by putting a straightedge across the entire table both at the front and back of the saw and shining a light at the back of the straightedge.
At the back of the saw I see no light so all appears good.
When I move to the front I see light under the edge (didn't get any feeler gauge out but there was a good amount of light).
At the point where the wings meet the saw they align perfectly so it's not a matter of the wing being too high. It's really both of the edges.
What's the best way of adjusting this seeing that moving the wings down will cause the alignment where the wings meet the was to be to low.
Jeff

[Dick Parr]

You can use paper to shim where the wings attach to the main table with the bolts. Move then from top to bottom of bolt hole until you get the fit you want. It won't take many layers of paper to do the job. Or check the wing casting to see if there is any burrs that might be holding them from meeting flush.

Good Luck

[Jerry White]

What Dick said, except I used brass shim stock. You can experiment and end up with a nice flat surface.

[Jeff Cord]

I'm assuming the shims should only be used where the wings are out of alignment.
Where do you get brass shims?
Also, don't the shims then leave a gap between the table and the wings? Or is this so small it doesn't matter?
thanks.
Jeff

[Jerry White]

Jeff,

I am fortunate to live close to an old-time hardware store. They are small, but I seldom leave there empty handed. I bought brass sheet stock in 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, and 0.005 inch thickness. I simply experimented with what worked where. If I remember correctly, I only used the 0.001 and 0.002 thicknesses singly or in combination. The extra width of the space between the cast iron wings and the saw top is negligible.

[Guy Boulianne]

Hi Jeff.

I have seen somewhere (probably a printed mag.... wich one ???) that you can also use a soft drink can, I dont know the exact thickness but as they are not what they used to be, it is pretty thin, that is what I used.

Guy

[Lee Schierer]

Jeff, as the others have stated you can shim your wings to get them lined up. Make sure when you do this that the shim is placed only above the bolt, that attaches the wing that is closest to the area you are trying to adjust, to bring the outboard edge of the wing down. To bring the outboard edge of the wing up place the shim below the bolt. This will cause the wing to tip slightly when the bolts are tightened. A little shim goes along way, but you may have to try several thickness before you get it perfect.

Be careful when moving the saw not to lift it by the wings as you can bend, or shudder, break them rather easily.

[Dave Harker]

masking tape makes a great shim between the table saw and the wing, plus is stays in place!

IIRC, the Grizzly manual for my G1023SL suggested that.

[Brad Schmid]

Jeff,
There's one other thing to check. Some manufacturers paint the mating edges of the wings, or unintentionally get some on there. You didn't mention if this was the case or not. If so, remove the paint. It may be causing your problem.

[Rod Upfold]

You can buy "Brass Shim" material at Lee Valley.


http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=40946&cat=1,43456,43407

[Marcus Ward]

Photographic film (roll) is .004-.005. Works great for shims. Sheets are .007 IIRC.

[Frank Chaffee]

Jeff,
It’s not likely that the small angle your extension is off from the main table will significantly affect woodworking, especially if the edges are flush and the extension heads downwards.

I am with you however in wanting to set things up as best I can.

You have already gotten straight advice on how to correct your out of plane tables unless one or both of them is warped in a curvilinear manner.

Based on my experience I would not use masking tape as a shim here and this is why: If force is applied opposite to the shimmed edge of the extension, then the tape will smoosh, if you will, and become thinner. So now you have a somewhat floppy table.

Aluminum drink can sides used to be .002” thick when I used them for shims. The last I checked, IIRC, they were .0015” thick. I don’t have any handy right now. They would serve you well here.

When subjected to high bearing pressure, aluminum will also smoosh and become thinner. This is where brass, steel or stainless steel shimstock should be used.

If you ever need to level a piece to an extremely accurate degree, placing a shim anywhere except directly around the mounting bolts will warp the base. For these situations there are available “U” shaped shims that can be added to a stack of shims w/o removing the bolt.

If you have a twisted wing extension, take out what twist you can placing SS shims above and below the outboard mounting bolts, and call it good enuf!

Frank

[Jarrod Nelson]

Are these cast iron wings? Mine are stamped and one of the far corners was little high when I first installed them. A few wacks with a rubber mallet fixed it right up though. :D

[Tom Donalek]

I haven't done much shimming, but I know one 'alternative' and one certain source for shims. The first takes a little getting used to because it involves hacking up a tool - cut up a cheap set of feeler gauges! (about $5.00) The other source for 'real' shim stock would be the answer to 70% of life's "where am I going to get one of those" questions: McMaster-Carr:

www.mcmaster.com

Usually not the cheapest source, but whatever it is you're looking for, they probably have it, and in a bewildering variety of sizes and options! (For shims they have steel (stainless and, uh, stainable), brass, plastic, aluminum, copper, bronze and nickel - I guess someone, somewhere needs all those options!) If nothing else, it's a fun 'toy store' site to poke around in!

[Jim Becker]

You can also use scraps of tin-foil to manufacture shims for aligning table saw wings. Although my present Jet cabinet saw didn't need any "help", my previous Delta saw did need a little shimming on one wing. It only took a few minutes to faddle with it to get it right.