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Thread: Preparing for sliding table saw

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,694
    I leave my outrigger on at this point, too...both because I use it for more than cutting things, believe it or not, and because if I take it off, I need a place to put it and it's darn heavy, too! LOL Before I reduced the right side space requirements for the saw, I more or less had to take the outrigger off unless I was actually using it, but that meant crawling under it to get to the operator position from the other end of the shop. Taking 16" off the right side solved that for me.

    Last piece of advice: the manual says not to adjust the position of the nuts on the threaded rods that attach the fence guide bar to the saw. Follow that instruction, no matter what. It will take a LONG time to align your fence if you move those nuts. DAMHIKT.
    This is extremely sound advice which I wasn't aware of when I got my saw and paid dearly for in angst getting it back to correct. It's aligned at the factory.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian W Evans View Post
    Last piece of advice: the manual says not to adjust the position of the nuts on the threaded rods that attach the fence guide bar to the saw. Follow that instruction, no matter what. It will take a LONG time to align your fence if you move those nuts. DAMHIKT.
    My saw was delivered in pieces because I told the dealer I was going to move it to my basement. Whoever took the saw apart at the dealer, took the nuts off of the heavy steel bar and put them in a bag tied to the bar. When the SCM tech arrived to assemble and commission the saw, he wasn't concerned about the loss of the factory alignment. The rip fence alignment was fairly quick once he set the approximate distance from the table edge so the fine adjust wheel engaged the teeth on the scale. When I worked on my saw recently, setting the rip fence toe out took about 30 minutes, and I was starting with a lot of toe in, which explained the burnt edges on my ripped plywood.

    The SCM tech told me to keep the set of nuts on the threaded rod closest to the blade tight and use it as the pivot point for the toe out angle. Loosen the nuts completely on the next three threaded rods, and make all toe out or toe in adjustments with the outermost threaded rod. He used a piece of tape to identify one tooth on the blade and rotated the blade so that tooth was at the infeed and outfeed side when he measured the distance from the fence. He used a steel rule to get the fence close to the same distance, and then used a setup that looked like a homemade One Way Multigauge to fine tune the toe out.

    After he snugged up the outermost nuts, he put a dial gauge on a magnetic base at the outfeed side of the cast iron table and moved the gauge to contact the fence. After he zeroed it, he started snugging up the nuts on the inner threaded rods while keeping the dial gauge needle as centered as possible. I was surprised to see how little effort it took to move that thick steel bar. All of this took him about 15 minutes, then he tested the fence angle with a piece of 19mm MDF. We were both satisfied and then he did something I didn't expect. He loosened all of the nuts, except those on the reference rod, wiggled the steel rod to make sure it was loose, and then handed me the wrenches. I could have strangled him. He was patient and watched as I fumbled with the process. It took me just under an hour, but I did it.

    You are correct, the manual does say not to adjust those nuts, but it is possible to set the rip fence correctly. After all, someone had to do it the first time at the factory.

  3. #18
    To my mind, the most immediately important improvement is to make a zero clearance table insert. The wide opening on the factory supplied insert is an invitation for narrow cut-offs to get pulled down under the table, which is potentially dangerous and creates a clog point in the dust collection hose. The other most important thing are hold down clamps, preferably including both a really sturdy (albeit heavy) one for when maximum holding power is needed and a light one that's totally easy on/easy off, so you won't be tempted to skip using some kind of hold down and substitute your hands when you really shouldn't.
    Last edited by David Stone (CT); 06-24-2020 at 10:12 PM.

  4. #19
    I remove the crosscut fence and outrigger table fairly often to make it easier to move material around the saw as well as to make long rip cuts. If I had more space the table would rarely come off, but as I have only the one tablesaw the fence comes off frequently. Fortunately the table is not too heavy and the fence goes back into square with no problem. I do have fine lines scribed on the table on either side of the fence for a visual check in case it gets knocked out of position, which it can. That really defines the difference between a lightweight saw like my Paoloni and a bombproof unit like a Martin that can be relied on to stay set in constant heavy use by numerous different people. I'm happy with mine- it fits my shop and my budget- but it has limits. If I had to fiddle with resetting the crosscut fence every time I replaced it I would not be satisfied at all.

    Mike's experience demonstrates the value of knowing how to tune equipment, painful though it may be.
    Last edited by Kevin Jenness; 06-24-2020 at 10:26 PM.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,694
    Quote Originally Posted by David Stone (CT) View Post
    To my mind, the most immediately important improvement is to make a zero clearance table insert.
    No disagreement from me on that! As a matter of fact, I finally took care of that recently...

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....zero+clearance
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    67
    That is a lot of great advice/info/insight... Brian, it is all very much appreciated! FYI I’m not laughing at all about the butt handle, it makes perfect sense to me! Lol

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    67
    Good call David, first day tasks will be Fritz and Frans along with the zero clearance insert.

  8. #23
    I guess the butt bar is an acquired taste. We had one on a saw in a 5 man shop and no-one used it, but I have seen them in use in other shops. To me it's just a thigh bruiser.

    When breaking down a full sheet I use the carriage lock to get the sheet registered against the fence. I'll use the front clamp if the sheet is warped at all, and hold up the back left corner when trimming the first long edge. (The crazy horse comes in handy here.)

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,694
    I keep the little handle tucked up close to the outrigger. I don't use it much...sometimes because I forget I have it...but there are times when it does help with moving the wagon, depending on the workpiece size and orientation.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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