Table saw setup questions

[Jeff Monson]

I'm setting up my PM2000 saw and have a couple questions

1. I've got .002 difference on the mitre slot to blade alignment, is this acceptable or should I get it, or try to get it to zero?

2. Is there a way to ck my tabletop for flatness without buying an expensive staightedge? And what is an acceptable tollerance for flatness?

[Lee Schierer]

I would think that it is close enough. Getting it perfect might not be possible and you could waste a lot of time that you could otherwise be spending to make things from wood. :)

Don't forget to set your fence parallel to the miter slot too.

A good 3' or 4' level will have other uses and can be used to check your top with feeler gages. If it is flat within .005 it is probably within the manufacturers standards and should be great for woodworking. The main purpose of hte flatness check is to make sure the saw wings are flat to the table surfcae and not drooping or raised up.

[Jim Summers]

I'm setting up my PM2000 saw and have a couple questions

1. I've got .002 difference on the mitre slot to blade alignment, is this acceptable or should I get it, or try to get it to zero?

2. Is there a way to ck my tabletop for flatness without buying an expensive staightedge? And what is an acceptable tollerance for flatness?


1. Naturally 0 is the bullseye. But .001 would probably be workable. Not sure though, on the cumulative error over 24" or so. And then the error over say an 8 foot rip.

2. You might tie a piece of fishing line on one side, then go to the other and pull really tight and eyeball it. Do that from different angles all around the top and you might be able to tell something. I can't think of any way to get a true micrometer reading without some sort of accurate devices to somehow fix a micrometer to.

Sorry not much help.

[Brad Wood]

2. You might tie a piece of fishing line on one side, then go to the other and pull really tight and eyeball it. Do that from different angles all around the top and you might be able to tell something. I can't think of any way to get a true micrometer reading without some sort of accurate devices to somehow fix a micrometer to.

Sorry not much help.

Had a bed, still under warranty, that sagged really bad. the "bed guy" that came out for the inspection pretty much did exactly this... I took a plumb line, with a weight on each end, and just dangled the weights over each side of the bed. He was then able to measure the amount of sag.

Seems like this would work on a saw top as well. similar to post above

[Neal Clayton]

i've never my PM66 closer than .002 either, and have cut ~10 foot door frames on it with no problems. i would consider .003 a good threshold for square, anything less than that is fine, i think.

think of it this way, what's the longest board you're ever gonna cut? the longest thing i could ever possibly want to cut without a power feeder on a table saw is 8-10 foot molding stock or plywod/mdf. at 10 foot, if i'm off .002 from front to back on the table, that's 28 inches / 10 foot = ~4.3 x .002 = .009, or right around 1/32. that's negligible imo.

[Bill White]

I'm setting up my PM2000 saw and have a couple questions

1. I've got .002 difference on the mitre slot to blade alignment, is this acceptable or should I get it, or try to get it to zero?

2. Is there a way to ck my tabletop for flatness without buying an expensive staightedge? And what is an acceptable tollerance for flatness?


.002 is very close. Remember that wood moves, so an absolute zero tolerance is out of the question. I sometimes think that we woodworkers try to mimic the accuracy required for aircraft engines. The quest is fine, but sure takes a lot of time out of the "fun" part of woodworking.
Bill