Using Dial Caliper to square saw fence....

[Brent Stone]

I just ordered a grizzly dial caliper that I want to use to square up my table saw fence. I am having a hard time getting it situated so I can run it down the length of my fence. I had hoped to attach it to my mitre guage via the on/off magnet on the base of the dial, but it is too narrow. Any ideas on how to accomplish what I am trying to do? Thanks in advance for any help.

[Tom Jones III]

I took a small piece of sheet metal (that I got from the Borg in the ducting section, very thin stuff) cut it a little bigger than the magnetic base and screwed the sheet metal to a strip of wood that fits tightly in the miter slot.

[Mark Singer]

Remove the miter gauge and put a piece of mdf in the slot...I think 3/4" fits tight ....move the fence over and place the caliper between...should be a 32 open on the out feed side...check the blade too

[Lee Schierer]

(This post assumes you meant Dial indicator not dial caliper)

It really doesn't matter how you attach it to the miter gage as long as it doesn't move while you are taking readings.

I attach my dial indicator to the miter gage by first attaching a block of wood to the miter gage using the existing slots in teh miter gage. Then I use a wood screw and washer to attach the dial indicator to the block of wood.

[Bill Roland]

Here is a picture of one idea.

[Harry Goodwin]

I'm over my head with this but be patient. I saw somewhere a regular digital or other vernier type caliper you may already own used to set up anything such as blade or fence. They used the small debth gage that extends when the caliper is open and used if from a fixed piece of scrap in the mitre gage to measure distance to the blade or fence. Since I own a Starrett digital I think it would work. Harry

[George Summers]

Try clamping the magnetic base to the face of the miter gauge. Any clamp will do, I use a 6" bar clamp. Of course, you will have to make sure that your miter gauge bar does not have any slop in it (in the miter track) or else your measurements are meaningless.

George

[Per Swenson]

Ok, maybe its me,

But I like easy fast and foolproof.

No real contraptions. I simply allign the fence to the mitre guage

using a block of steel. Flush on the infeed side. Then using one of those

spark plug feeler guages .002 over on the out feed. Done.

Of course the saw blade we check oh, now and then with a dial,

but rarely.

Per

[Frank Chaffee]

OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .03125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.

Not sure just how I got the info, but all those crummy tablesaws I used in the past I C-clamped the back of the fence open a bit… and I still got all ten upper digits.

Now I have an Incra fence, as does Per, that I will soon put on my saw. I will use a splitter and a Zero Clearance Insert.

Mark, why would one set a fence so that wood guided along the fence skates at an angle thru the blade, making the kerf wider and subjecting the wood being cut to unequal forces at the front and rear of the blade?

I know this is a really fundamental question, but it may be important to many of us right now.

Frank

[Michael Ballent]

I am not really a guru but usually one would toe the back of the fence away from the blade to assure that the wood would not bind especially at the back of the blade because it could launch the wood back at the operator. AKA kickback. I usually try to get it .002 to flat parallel If I cannot get right on I err on the toe out.


OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .3125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.

Not sure just how I got the info, but all those crummy tablesaws I used in the past I C-clamped the back of the fence open a bit… and I still got all ten upper digits.

Now I have an Incra fence, as does Per, that I will soon put on my saw. I will use a splitter and a Zero Clearance Insert.

Mark, why would one set a fence so that wood guided along the fence skates at an angle thru the blade, making the kerf wider and subjecting the wood being cut to unequal forces at the front and rear of the blade?

I know this is a really fundamental question, but it may be important to many of us right now.

Frank

[Per Swenson]

What Michael just said,

But for us its not really the kick back its less burning on your stock.

Here is a picture of the only two tools I use.


Hope this clears things up.

Per

[Frank Chaffee]

Thanks Michael and Per,
Two thou I understand for wood, 32 I don’t.
Frank

[Michael Ballent]

Thanks Michael and Per,
Two thou I understand for wood, 32 I don’t.
Frank

Yeah I have no idea why one would want to have the fence to toe out that much.

[David Abel]

OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .3125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.



Frank

A "guru" claims you should toe out the rear of the fence by nearly 1/3 of an inch? What's wrong with this picture?

I shoot for a few thou as others have mentioned.

[Frank Chaffee]

A "guru" claims you should toe out the rear of the fence by nearly 1/3 of an inch? What's wrong with this picture?

I shoot for a few thou as others have mentioned.

Yikes David!!!
I see now that I missed a digit to the right of the decimal point when I mistakenly wrote ".3125". “ I meant to write .03125", like 1/32".
Sorry,
Frank

[Dev Emch]

What Michael just said,

But for us its not really the kick back its less burning on your stock.

Here is a picture of the only two tools I use.


Hope this clears things up.

Per

Agreed. This is a trick used in cicular sawmills as well to reduce rubbing on the back side of the blade. Reduces pitch build up and burning. In the case of circs, the saw arbor is canted and not the (fence) as there is no fence. Your carriage has to run true. But it makes perfect sense for a dimensioning saw and that is why its done all the time.

[Randy Meijer]

.....Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .03125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.....

Anybody care to offer a comment on Frank's question?? There is a pretty big difference in the 2 recommendations?? Intuitively, the smaller number seems more reasonable; but I'm an amateur and really don't know what is correct??

[Michael Ballent]

Anybody care to offer a comment on Frank's question?? There is a pretty big difference in the 2 recommendations?? Intuitively, the smaller number seems more reasonable; but I'm an amateur and really don't know what is correct??

.002 would be correct... .03125 = 1/32" Way too much IMO.... I would think that you would end up with the waste side being jammed into the blade and cause that piece to fly back at you instead of the piece between the fence and the blade... I would not do that... if not for that reason... then you would probably end up with it burning the wood on the on the "waste" side which could make you have to sand more :eek::D That reason alone would make be try to make it as parallel as possible ... Did I mention that I hate sanding :mad:

[Randy Meijer]

Thanks, Michael. That makes sense to me.

[Frank Chaffee]

Well Michael Ballent and Randy Meijer,
My thanks to each of you for having kept this thread alive.

I expect that in this medium, as in others, there are many appropriate methods for differing circumstances and craftspersons.

We will just have to go forward from here and discover what is best for ourselves.

Later,
Frank

[Frank Chaffee]

I expect that in this medium, as in others, there are many appropriate methods for differing circumstances and craftspersons.
Since the time this thread was active, I have discovered the use of a fence that extends only to the sawcut, so if the wood expands outward in order to relieve internal stresses (as opposed to inwards where it would pinch the back of a blade if cut w/o a riving knife or splitter), then it will not bind between the fence and blade.
Frank

[Mark Carlson]

I pulled out my copy of Kelly Mehler's "The Table Saw Book" and he recommends 1/64th of inch out at the rear of the blade than the front. "Just enough so the rear teeth just miss the stock being cut. This setting gives a smother cut and reduces the potential for kickback."

I then pulled out my copy of Jim Tolpin's book and his tecnique involves placing a piece of wood in the miter guage slot and positioning the rip fence slightly away on the right and using a feeler guage to make sure the feeler guage is as snug in the front as it is in the back. Less snug in the back is ok too.

~mark

[Steve Clardy]

I don't take the time to use a dial indicator.
I cut a random length block of wood, they eyeball the distance between 1/32 and 1/16"
Then my cuts tell me how I've done.

[CPeter James]

Here is my set up and the 3d is to set router bits. The dial indicators cost under $9 from MSC direct.

CPeter
http://members.localnet.com/~cpjvkj/di1.jpg
http://members.localnet.com/~cpjvkj/di2.jpg
http://members.localnet.com/~cpjvkj/di3.jpg

[Bruce Page]

I set my fence with a .015 to .020 toe-out at the rear of the fence. Your fence does not have to be perfectly aligned with the blade. As far as overall table saw accuracy, it makes little difference whether your fence is dialed in at .000 or set with .020 toe-out. What you have to remember is this, the distance between the leading edge of the blade and the fence face remains constant as you push the board through the cut.
The advantages of toe-out are less chance of a kickback, less pitch buildup on the blade and little or no burning - I never have any burning, not even when ripping 8/4 cherry.

JMHO

[Boyd Gathwright]

Here is my set up and the 3d is to set router bits. The dial indicators cost under $9 from MSC direct.

CPeter
http://members.localnet.com/%7Ecpjvkj/di1.jpg
http://members.localnet.com/%7Ecpjvkj/di2.jpg
http://members.localnet.com/%7Ecpjvkj/di3.jpg
.... Like your details, especially your pics. I have something similar made out of metal :).



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