Cannot get rid of slop in miter bar

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I bought a miter bar a while back. I think it is an Incra. It came with no instructions.

To remove the slop, I tried tightening the screws that hold the white discs in place. The white discs have a split in them, so I am assuming that they expand to remove the miter bar slop. The black discs appear to not adjust.

However, I have tightened the screws as much as they could go, and I still have a lot of slop. The tablesaw is a common Unisaw and the miter slot has not seen a lot of use to suggest wear. What gives? Any advice is appreciated.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/IncraSlider.jpg
-Jeff :)

[George Summers]

You didn't give the model number but Incra has all the manuals/instructions on line here

http://www.incra.biz/assets/ProductManuals.html

George

[Kent Fitzgerald]

I have an Incra miter gauge, and I've noticed two things that might be relevant:

It helps to orient the white discs so the slit is parallel to the long axis of the bar.

I had to crank down hard on the adjustment screws - it felt like it was too much torque for a skinny hex key, but it worked and nothing broke.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Thanks George. It appears I'm doing everything correctly, but the bar simply does not have enough adjustment. Oh well, it's back to oak runners.
-Jeff :)

[Corey Hallagan]

Jeff, I would contact Incra, if you have standard miter slots the bars should tighten for you.

Corey

[Dan Forman]

Jeff---I don't know anything about your miter bar, but I do have a Unisaw, and the miter slots are two different widths, the one on the left is wider and actually varies in width, the right one is more even, but narrower than the left.

I have a Wood Haven miter bar with several setscrews along it's length, when I move it to the right slot, I have to readjust it in order for it to fit in that slot. I complained about this to the dealer and he said it was typical.

Perhaps your saw is just wide enough to exceed the adjustability of the miter bar? Going with the Jess-Em sliding table has relieved me of that frustration.

Dan

[Mike Cutler]

Jeff.

The online manuals are not including the instructions for the " New and Improved Glide Lock Miter Bar".

Basically you have the wrong parts kit on your slide. You need white split washers on both sides of the bar, and no black ones. Incra Hardware pack C-06 is for over sized miter slide assemblies. The white split washers should have the splits located about 1/16" from the opening. If the bar is laying up on a table top. The splits should be at about the 1 o'clock position for the white washers on the right side of the bar, and about 11 o'clock for the splits on the left side of the bar.

I will try to post a picture of the instruction addendum that I have. I apologize for the poor pic quality. I couldn't get the scanner resolution low enough to meet the image size requirement,and had to do it with a camera.

[Gary Keedwell]

I also have a Unisaw and solved my miter slot problems a few years ago by modifying my miter bar. I drilled and tapped about 4 holes and installed some spring loaded ball plungers which ride on the sides of the miter slot. Since their independent of each other and spring loaded the little balls keep constant pressure on one side of the slot no matter the variances.
I did it to my miter and my Dubby sled with great results. I have had the in there for around 5 years without any adjustment what so ever.

Gary K.

[Dan Forman]

Gary---Where did you get the spring loaded thingys?

Dan

[Gary Keedwell]

http://www.swmanufacturing.com/parts_list.asp?CAT_ID=3

Here is one link...but if you google "spring plunger" you will find many sources. They are available in many thread sizes ( 6-32, 8=32, 10-32 etc.) they look like a set-screw. Get the ones that have a thread lock so it will stay put.

Gary K.

[Dan Forman]

Thanks.

Dan

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Thanks for the input. I've got to retry tightening the screws even more using the orientation of the discs as suggested. I did a search to see if anyone offers the C-06 hardware kit, but no luck so far.

I also like the suggestion on the spring loaded ball inserts. This could be the ticket if all else fails.

Again, thanks
-Jeff :)

[Mike Cutler]

http://www.swmanufacturing.com/parts_list.asp?CAT_ID=3

Here is one link...but if you google "spring plunger" you will find many sources. They are available in many thread sizes ( 6-32, 8=32, 10-32 etc.) they look like a set-screw. Get the ones that have a thread lock so it will stay put.

Gary K.

Now those are too cool. I gotta bookmark that page! These are going on my Delta Tenoning Jig. Thanks Gary.

Jeffery. You may want to consider going straight to Gary's fix. One problem with the Incra discs is that the rear washers get "flat spots" from going in and out of the miter slot as the miter enters and exits the front of the miter slot. This causes the entire miter bar to skew ever so slightly, over time, as it's pushed in.
I'm sure that Incra has the kits. They may even send them to you for nothing. It's worth a call.

[Drew Bernat]

Thanks for the input. I've got to retry tightening the screws even more using the orientation of the discs as suggested. I did a search to see if anyone offers the C-06 hardware kit, but no luck so far.

I also like the suggestion on the spring loaded ball inserts. This could be the ticket if all else fails.

Again, thanks
-Jeff :)

I've got the kit (off a 1000SE) and it's sitting in the corner gathering (saw)dust. PM me your address and I'll stick it in the mail.

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Third thing, which I just remembered: I removed the screws and lubricated them to get them tighter.

[Gary Keedwell]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if any of you are having trouble with a sloppy miter slot. Is it just the Delta Unisaw that is having this annoying problem or are there other saws out there that are having it. It was a big pet peeve with me until I finally came up with something
I remember years ago when I bought my Dubby, the guy at the woodworking show told me to manually push the sled forward and "lean it" either to the left or right the same way every time. That used to bug me. Any input?
Gary K.

[glenn bradley]

I've used Incra's miter slider (with the wedges) and the ones with the discs, also UHMW stock all with success on my two old C-man saws and on my newer hybrid. The one thing that gave me grief on all three is the "Powermatic" tenoning jig. Some steel tape (like for heater ducting) took care of that one as (fortunately) the supplied bar was uniformly narrow (or my saw was wide, you get the picture).

P.s. Gary, we might be hijacking this thread ;-)