prevent a miter gauge from moving in the slot

[Günter VögelBerg]

I am sorry for all the inane posts I have been making lately. I am in the mode of improving my shop in small, incremental ways and my brain is all over the place.

I have the grizzly sliding table attachment and the miter gauge it comes with has quite a bit of slop and I am required to square it to 90 every time I take it off the saw. I have tried various improvements and non has been satisfactory. I just ordered a Jessem 07150 miter gauge after reading a lot of reviews. I am hoping to continue to use the slider but replace the miter gauge with this one. This would require that I affix the miter gauge into the slot so it does not move, but I would still need to be able to easily remove it for rip cuts then reinstall. Ideas?

[Jamie Buxton]

Miter gauges are supposed to slide, but not rattle in the slot. Most good ones have little allen screws going horizontally through the bar. You can adjust them out to remove slop. When you get them right, the gauge slides okay, and is easily pulled out of the slot.

[Günter VögelBerg]

Miter gauges are supposed to slide, but not rattle in the slot. Most good ones have little allen screws going horizontally through the bar. You can adjust them out to remove slop. When you get them right, the gauge slides okay, and is easily pulled out of the slot.

But I need it to not slide because it will be affixed to a sliding table top. I want to be able to lock it in place, loosen it for removal, then lock it in place again, preferably without tools or fiddly adjustments.

[Davis Young]

If the miter slot is a t-slot with a matching t-bar, a threaded through-hole through the miter bar will allow a knob or handle with male thread to contact the bottom of the slot and “push up” the miter bar against the t-slot. If there is no t-slot, I have seen miter bars with a split groove lengthwise that, when a knob with male thread is inserted, will spread the bar to lock it in place.

[David Buchhauser]

You can drill holes for dowel pins (I would probably use 1/4" dowel pins) in the bottom of the miter slot. Match drill these to 2 holes in the miter bar. Your choice whether to press the dowel pins into the miter bar or miter slot bottom. Then drill/c'bore a hole in the miter bar and match/drill and tap threads into the bottom of the miter slot. The hole in the miter bar is counter bored so a socket head cap screw can be used to secure the miter bar to the bottom of the miter slot with the top of the cap screw being slightly below the top of the miter bar when installed and tightened. Let me know if you need further information.
David

[Jamie Buxton]

It sounds like you have two functions you're trying to cram into one device. You might do better to use two devices.

One function is a standard miter gauge. It slides in a miter slot. It is not bolted down. All you need is a good standard miter gauge, and you can buy that.

The other function is some sort of angle thingy which fastens firmly to your sliding table. It doesn't ride in the saw's miter slot, and has nothing to do with it. So make that angle thingy bolt to the sliding table. Include registration pins so you can remove it and put back in exactly the same spot. You can use bolts and a wrench to bolt it in place, or if you're completely allergic to tools, use bolts with knob heads on them. You can buy those at Woodcraft or McMaster-Carr.

[Rick Potter]

Question. Is the slot in the Grizzly slider a regular sized 3/4" slot like on cabinet saws, or is it a larger slot, as used on sliding table saws?

If it is the larger style, as used on Grizzly sliding table saws, Grizzly sells lockdown bars with a threaded hole, or you could make one from hardwood. If it is that style, there should be one on the miter gage that came with it.

[David Buchhauser]

It sounds like you have two functions you're trying to cram into one device. You might do better to use two devices.

One function is a standard miter gauge. It slides in a miter slot. It is not bolted down. All you need is a good standard miter gauge, and you can buy that.

The other function is some sort of angle thingy which fastens firmly to your sliding table. It doesn't ride in the saw's miter slot, and has nothing to do with it. So make that angle thingy bolt to the sliding table. Include registration pins so you can remove it and put back in exactly the same spot. You can use bolts and a wrench to bolt it in place, or if you're completely allergic to tools, use bolts with knob heads on them. You can buy those at Woodcraft or McMaster-Carr.

The table saw already has a sliding attachment, so no need for the miter gauge to slide in the slot. He just wants a method to remove it for conventional work, and put it in place for setting the work piece at the appropriate angle for cutting. The goal is to have it always go back to the exact same place so he doesn't need to square it to the blade every time he re-installs it. I have the same Grizzly sliding attachment on my saw, so I can "feel his pain" as far as re-squaring it every time. I don't take mine off very often, as I have another table saw that I can use for other cutting tasks.
David

[David Buchhauser]

I made an aluminum bar that slides into my miter slot for quicker squaring up of the miter gauge. The problem with the red Grizzly supplied miter gauge/fence is that it has slop in the adjustment so that even it were bolted down and doweled, the gauge itself is very inaccurate and not repeatable.
David


Grizzly slider miter gauge.jpg 20190425_144131.jpg 20190425_144144.jpg 20190425_144205.jpg Setting Slider Miter Fence to 90 degrees with Square.jpg

[David Buchhauser]

I added the Incra miter 5000 to my saw. It rides on the sliding attachment, but locates using the miter slot in the table saw wing. The Incra miter bar has adjusters to tighten it up in the miter slot to take out any side play (or slop). I normally just leave the Grizzly red miter fence in place, although it could be removed without affecting the Incra sled. I also have a small F&F jig that fits onto the Incra 5000 for smaller work. For me - this is a hobby. It's not a production wood working shop.
David

20190424_194536.jpg F & F Jig 1.jpg F & F Jig 2.jpg F & F Jig 3.jpg slider flush with front of saw.jpg

[Wayne Cannon]

The Incra miter bars have adjusters that are accessible from the top, i.e., while the bar is in the slot so they can easily be tightened to pick the bar in place. This is as opposed to most bars with a set screw through the width of the bar.

Unfortunately, the Incra approach attempts to center the bar in the slot and does not reference the bar against either side of the slot. However, this is not a concern for you, since for your application, you can square the miter fence to the slot after locking the bar in place.

[Matthew Curtis]

I have the same grizzly sliding attachment. I squared the miter fence and then marked a line across the sliding attachment so that the next time I installed the fence I can use the line as a reference. Not the best solution but it works pretty good.

[Lee Schierer]

My Kreg miter gauge bar was a little loose in my miter gauge slot when I first got it. I had some UHMW adhesive backed tape on hand that was .005" thick. I ran a strip of the tape down one side of the miter gauge bar. This eliminated the slop but still lets the miter gauge slide smoothly. Each application of tape lasts several years. McMaster-Carr has thin UHMW tape.

[Günter VögelBerg]

Well...I didn't realize the miter slots in the slider are different. This might not work like i want it to. I am wondering if i can swap the bar in the jessem for the grizzly bar.

[Günter VögelBerg]

So I am thinking I can remove the miter gauge from the bar, put a shim of either aluminum or umhw (would be about 3/16) between the miter bar and the rest of the assembly, then re-install. I can use one of the existing knurled handles from my grizzly, tap a whole in the miter bar to receive it, and use it to lock the gauge in place. Am I nuts?