Table saw extension wings

[Alan Greene]

Happy New Year to everyone.

I am fairly new to the forum. I have some questions about leveling my Craftsman 22124 TS wings.

What is an acceptable flatness for the wings? The left wing is less than .001" in the front but .010 at the back. The right wing I have only been able to get to .024 front to back. This is measured at the point farthest from the blade using a new Lee Valley straight edge and feeler gages.

I am using cut up soda cans for the spacers. Is there anything better to use? Should I put the spacers so they are around the bolt or at the bottom of the wing?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

As I am fairly new let me tell you a little about myself. I learned to woodwork in England at a young age (a kind of apprenticeship) using only hand tools. Family and military obligations leave me "re-sharpening" my hand tool skills and learning about power tools. I am a disabled veteran who is using my woodworking as therapy and a hobby. The LOML is extremely supportive of this and has helped immeasurably. I have completed one project, a large cabinet for the laundry room, which needs to be redone. I have definitely learned from those mistakes.

I have been devouring information on the web and am impressed by the level of camaraderie and information available here:) :) :) , and some other sites.:)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I also have used the aluminum from soda cans as shims. and it works almost as well as brass stock.

I measured my tablesaw a few months ago and it is within 0.10mm (0.004 inches). Certianly flat enough for woodworking considering that many people use router tables made of wood. I wouldn't worry about being 0.01 inches out, however your other measurement is too far out of tolerance.

The shim stock has to be located in the position required to correct the problem, for example if the far right edge of the right extension is low, the shim stock has to be below the bolt to raise the edge upwards. The clamping pressure of the bolt will keep the shim stock in place.

Obviously if the extension table itself is not flat, you cannot shim it to correct the problem.

[Lee Schierer]

Aluminum is fairly soft and will compress if highly loaded. You might want to look at using a harder material.

Placement of the shims is key to raising or lowering the outside edge of the extension. Placing equal amounts of shim above and bleow the bolt only serves to move the wing away from the table. If you want the outside edge to go up then place the shim strictly below the bolt. If you want the edge to go down place the shim above the bolt. Stay away from the thickness of the bolt itself so that the table will pivot slightly when the bolt is tightened. Normally shims that are about 1/4 inch whide will work the best. If they stick out from the table after you get everthing tight, use a file to bring them level with the rest of the surface.

Remember the wing may be fairly stiff so adding a shim in one area will affect other locations to some extent as well.

[Larry Zeiser]

Maybe the soda cans are too thick. I have the same saw and leveled my tables with metal duct tape. One layer in a few spots on the bottom portion of the table did the trick. Checked them with a 24" straight edge from Woodpeckers and I could not see any light for the whole length. That seemed flat enough.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Alan, it sounds like the extensions may not even be flat, but rather are warped since the out-of-level condition is not consistent front to back. Shimming may be a real pain to accomplish without transferring that warp elsewhere. I would be inclined to determine if the problem lies in the wings or the main tabletop, and have them replace either the wings or the whole saw if need be.

A little shimming is commonplace. Having to manipulate warped iron is not, and is not acceptable either.

Jake

[glenn bradley]

I found when leveling mine that CI is amazingly flexible. One wing was perfect. The other required a lift of the outer edge. While working at it with steel-foil tape (pick your shim) I found that small spots of shim would actually leave me with high and low spots along the length. Longer strips along the bottom edge (for me) solved the problem.

P.s. From experience; Orions tolerance is .01", a little loose in my opinion. I achieved much better. Spend the time now. My saw has been a joy since I got it right (read close enough for me).

[Alan Greene]

The tables seem to be individually straight. I may be using to wide a piece of aluminum. I will pick up some of the metal tape and redo the right extension wing. I appreciate all of the help.:)

[Matt Anfang]

I had a similar problem on my delta contractor saw, I called them and they sent me a new wing.

But I didn't want to wait for the new wing, so I found that grizzly recommends using masking tape as a shim. I had my doubts but it worked perfectly. In fact, my wing was down .025" at the edge, and I used 2 pieces of masking tape and that was too much. I went down to just 1 and it raised it near perfect.

I ended up mounting the replacement wing on the other side. It's kinda like a free upgrade for my saw.

Matt

[Art Mann]

I am surprised you have to do any shimming at all on that model to get the extensions flat. I bought a less expensive Ridgid tablesaw and I didn't have to do anything to get the top to within 0.003" other than carefully align the wings as I installed them.

[Jim Becker]

Art, it's not uncommon to need a little "wing shimming" even on the more expensive cabinet saws, but it is usually minimal.