Sliding tablesaw adjustments question

[Mark Engel]

How do you set your sliding table relative to the fixed table on your sliding tablesaw?

I have the Grizzly G0623X. After a few months I am starting to get comfortable with the different ways that I have to work with this saw. One difficulty that I was having occurred when I was using a hold down clamp on the sliding table. When I would slide the table up to and past the blade, there was some resistance to the table movement. Looking at the sliding table I could see that the top surface was maybe 1/16" (+-) below the cast iron main table. When the workpiece was clamped down to the sliding table, it would bind against the fixed table as the sliding table was moved forward. This is the way it was set from the factory, I had not changed it, and the manual does not have any instruction as to how this should be set. My feeling was that the sliding table should be set exactly level with the fixed table. So that is what I tried to do.

So I guess what I am asking is, how did you set your sliding table relative to the fixed table, and why? Is there any reason to have the sliding table below or above the fixed cast iron table on the saw?

[Robert Chapman]

The sliding table should be exactly at the same level as the fixed table or just very slightly above so that material can slide on the fixed table.

[David Kumm]

I set my slider .002 or so above the fixed table because mine is a saw shaper. If saw only you can go a little higher. You first need to make sure the fixed table is flat from front to back, no bow, no droop. Then check the sliding extrusion for flat as they tend to have some variation, particularly on the ends. Adjust the slider so that is fairly consistent past the blade. Doesn't need to be as perfect as with a shaper. Also try to keep the blade parallel to the edge of the fixed and adjust the slider parallel or a couple of thousands out in back. Dave

[johnny means]

On all the sliders I've worked on, the sliding table was the fixed point. The table and blade were then adjusted to it. The tables I've seen all adjust via shims and were slightly below the sliding table.

[David Kumm]

To clarify, it is the support table under the aluminum extrusion that gets adjusted up, down, side to side. There are usually bolts with multiple nuts that attach to the base. I am familiar with the Felder and Knapp tables and am assuming the Grizzly would be similar. Dave

[Doug Mason]

So if the sliding table is slighly higher than the fixed cast iron table, won't it make ripping hardwoods difficult? In otherwards, if one is ripping an eight inch wide piece of walnut, part of it will extend to and be elevated by the slightly higher sliding table. I believe I have read a thread in which the poster would lay down a thin film of plastic to make the fixed table level with the slider.

[David Kumm]

If the slider is a few thousands it doesn't matter. A slider really isn't meant to be used for ripping against the rip fence but rather the board is placed on the slider and the right side ripped. There are parallel fences and clamps to keep the board off the fixed table. Shorter sliders don't work well that way you have to compromise and use them like a traditional american table saw. Most euro sliders have 10' tables and all the ripping occurs on the slider side. Dave

[Jeff Monson]

David is correct, mine is also set .02 above the cast table. It is not noticable when cutting. If the cast table were set level or slightly below the slider, you would have major binding when trying to clamp a workpiece. Also when clamping a workpiece, make sure the clamp does not protrude onto the cast surface as this causes a major drag.....don't ask me how I know

[Doug Mason]

Like the OP, I just picked up a slider ( saw/shaper) and am going through the same process (I'll post some pics this weekend). I will have to experiment with the ripping aspect.

So with a saw/shaper, in which one is doing joinery operations on the shaper, the slider should be set just a tad above the cast iron table?

[David Kumm]

Yes Doug. I set a oneway dial indicator at the spindle and measure the table at that point. You will have some variation along the entire surface but the reference at the spindle is the critical one. My table raises up .004 right at the end but behind the crosscut fence so it doesn't matter.

[Mark Engel]

Thanks for all the good information. When all was said and done the sliding table is now about .002 above the fixed table at the front and about .003 above at the rear.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I spent roughly 6 hours with a technician setting up my saw and got mine setup the "best" I could.

The Hammer K3W I have has 4 adjustment bolts, some bigger Felder models I think have 6 adjustment bolts.

Ideally I would like to see the aluminum table taller than the cast iron by 0.004 to 0.008

The 2011 K3W has a design that attaches a heavy trunion to the middle of the saw which has minimal reinforcement ribbing on the cast iron. This minimal cast iron webbing allows lots of travel for the trunion allowing up to a 4" thick rip. However, this design compromise caused a sag in the center of my saw measurable at 0.017" using a starrett straight edge and feeler gauge OR oneway multigauge. What you can do to somewhat help this sag is there's a support bracket in the middle of the saw that can somewhat push up on the cast iron center if you adjust the bolt. This can help reduce the sag though it might not get it to be perfect. On the better Felder series saws, they have the trunion mount to large axles mounted near the side of the machine body which eliminates cast iron sag because the cast iron only needs to support itself.

When you adjust height of the aluminum table, slide the aluminum table so that the bearing cage is somewhat centered over that area of the cast iron which you are measuring. Also make your adjustments with no outrigger attached. Then when you move the multigauge or dial indicator/base to the other end of the table you should slide the aluminum table so that the bearing cage is centered over the new area on the cast iron that you are measuring.

Some tables might need bearing adjustment and for the ball bearing types, there is a special spring loaded tool that felder uses. The closest tool I could build to adjust the bottom rail width was using a vernier with 1/2" ball bearings epoxied to the ends. I then used an engineer square to make sure the vernier caliper was perpendicular to the rail and then I clamp them shut. I could then set the bottom rail to be parallel within +/- 0.0005". Your bottom rail is set right when you can slide the table with your pinky and the noise it makes and resistance is consistant along its travel path. You want the table to be able to slide effortlessly with no binding, yet not loose enough so that there is play. There are over 20 bearings or so in a Hammer saw so there will be some that arn't making contact with the rails causing some faint rattling noises which is considered normal. I consider the X-roll system or cylinder shaped bearings is a superior system to the ball type.

If your cast iron table top has a sag in the middle then you need to adjust the aluminum table height to be barely above the cast iron on the ends of the cast iron to minimize the gap near the center. I would probably shoot for "0.002". If my cast iron was flat then I would set the gap to be "0.004".

Remember to recheck your height after it's been set because metals have movement too. If you can't get it setup right, loosen the sliding table and let the bottom rail release any tension that might be in there for an hour and try again.

What I don't like about an uneven table is the change in height between the cast iron and aluminum table near the blade can cause the work piece to rock into the blade and cause burns. I havn't had any kickback incidents and my thin rips are usually spot on, but I'd have more confidence using the rip fence is the table top was perfectly flat.

After your table is setup and your outrigger is level with the extrusion, I had to adjust the cross cut fence to be perpendicular to the blade. For this I did the 5 cut method. Take a 4x4 piece (approximately) and rip about an 1/8" off one side using your cross cut fence that you think is perpendicular to the blade. Then rotate that piece counter clock wise so that the freshly cut side is now against the rip fence and make another cut. Repeat 3 more times. Then rotate the piece counter clockwise one more time and rip a thin 1/2" piece off that sheet. Take a vernier and measure the thickness of that strip on both ends and if they are within 5 thousands of an inch, then I would say that it's acceptable.

I think my blade toes toward my rip fence by about 2 or 3 thousands of an inch. I guess it's safer for kickback to have the fence rear spaced away from the blade a small amount though I was just trying to get the blade parallel to the fence as close as possible.

To setup a slider I think the Oneway Multigage is a MUST and a 3 foot or 4 foot straight edge by Starrett will be great. If the Starrett is too pricey then igage straight edge from amazon would be my next choice.

[Mark Engel]

Thanks Chris.

A very detailed and informative post.

[David Kumm]

Chris, how is the slider working? Have you gotten the issues resolved and how do you feel about its performance? Dave