Using Dial Caliper to square saw fence....

[Brent Stone]

I just ordered a grizzly dial caliper that I want to use to square up my table saw fence. I am having a hard time getting it situated so I can run it down the length of my fence. I had hoped to attach it to my mitre guage via the on/off magnet on the base of the dial, but it is too narrow. Any ideas on how to accomplish what I am trying to do? Thanks in advance for any help.

[Tom Jones III]

I took a small piece of sheet metal (that I got from the Borg in the ducting section, very thin stuff) cut it a little bigger than the magnetic base and screwed the sheet metal to a strip of wood that fits tightly in the miter slot.

[Mark Singer]

Remove the miter gauge and put a piece of mdf in the slot...I think 3/4" fits tight ....move the fence over and place the caliper between...should be a 32 open on the out feed side...check the blade too

[Lee Schierer]

(This post assumes you meant Dial indicator not dial caliper)

It really doesn't matter how you attach it to the miter gage as long as it doesn't move while you are taking readings.

I attach my dial indicator to the miter gage by first attaching a block of wood to the miter gage using the existing slots in teh miter gage. Then I use a wood screw and washer to attach the dial indicator to the block of wood.

[Bill Roland]

Here is a picture of one idea.

[Harry Goodwin]

I'm over my head with this but be patient. I saw somewhere a regular digital or other vernier type caliper you may already own used to set up anything such as blade or fence. They used the small debth gage that extends when the caliper is open and used if from a fixed piece of scrap in the mitre gage to measure distance to the blade or fence. Since I own a Starrett digital I think it would work. Harry

[George Summers]

Try clamping the magnetic base to the face of the miter gauge. Any clamp will do, I use a 6" bar clamp. Of course, you will have to make sure that your miter gauge bar does not have any slop in it (in the miter track) or else your measurements are meaningless.

George

[Per Swenson]

Ok, maybe its me,

But I like easy fast and foolproof.

No real contraptions. I simply allign the fence to the mitre guage

using a block of steel. Flush on the infeed side. Then using one of those

spark plug feeler guages .002 over on the out feed. Done.

Of course the saw blade we check oh, now and then with a dial,

but rarely.

Per

[Frank Chaffee]

OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .03125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.

Not sure just how I got the info, but all those crummy tablesaws I used in the past I C-clamped the back of the fence open a bit… and I still got all ten upper digits.

Now I have an Incra fence, as does Per, that I will soon put on my saw. I will use a splitter and a Zero Clearance Insert.

Mark, why would one set a fence so that wood guided along the fence skates at an angle thru the blade, making the kerf wider and subjecting the wood being cut to unequal forces at the front and rear of the blade?

I know this is a really fundamental question, but it may be important to many of us right now.

Frank

[Michael Ballent]

I am not really a guru but usually one would toe the back of the fence away from the blade to assure that the wood would not bind especially at the back of the blade because it could launch the wood back at the operator. AKA kickback. I usually try to get it .002 to flat parallel If I cannot get right on I err on the toe out.

OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .3125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.

Not sure just how I got the info, but all those crummy tablesaws I used in the past I C-clamped the back of the fence open a bit… and I still got all ten upper digits.

Now I have an Incra fence, as does Per, that I will soon put on my saw. I will use a splitter and a Zero Clearance Insert.

Mark, why would one set a fence so that wood guided along the fence skates at an angle thru the blade, making the kerf wider and subjecting the wood being cut to unequal forces at the front and rear of the blade?

I know this is a really fundamental question, but it may be important to many of us right now.

Frank

[Per Swenson]

What Michael just said,

But for us its not really the kick back its less burning on your stock.

Here is a picture of the only two tools I use.


Hope this clears things up.

Per

[Frank Chaffee]

Thanks Michael and Per,
Two thou I understand for wood, 32 I don’t.
Frank

[Michael Ballent]

Thanks Michael and Per,
Two thou I understand for wood, 32 I don’t.
Frank

Yeah I have no idea why one would want to have the fence to toe out that much.

[David Abel]

OK,
Now here I see two of my woodworking gurus suggesting from .002” to .3125” relief by the back of the fence. This is a difference of >15 x.



Frank

A "guru" claims you should toe out the rear of the fence by nearly 1/3 of an inch? What's wrong with this picture?

I shoot for a few thou as others have mentioned.

[Frank Chaffee]

A "guru" claims you should toe out the rear of the fence by nearly 1/3 of an inch? What's wrong with this picture?

I shoot for a few thou as others have mentioned.

Yikes David!!!
I see now that I missed a digit to the right of the decimal point when I mistakenly wrote ".3125". “ I meant to write .03125", like 1/32".
Sorry,
Frank