Sliding table saw angle helper

[David Zaret]

i own a Martin sliding table saw, and i have a digital scale on my crosscut fence. but, of course, the reading on the stop block only works when the fence is at 90 degrees - as soon as you turn it to any angle off of 90, the length reading doesn't really help in determining the length of a board with an angled end. this is because the point of rotation of the fence isn't directly on the face of the fence, or at the blade - it's offset substantially, causing the length measurement to change as the fence is rotated. Martin sells a feature on their new higher-end saws called "Radiocompens" (sp?) which automatically accounts for the angle of the crosscut, and indicates the proper length distance to accommodate the angle. this feature is ~$10,000 alone - certainly worth it if you're in the market for a new Martin, but for those of us with regular sliders, not helpful.

i wrote a little utility that accounts for these offsets, and provides the proper stop position based on an inputted length and angle. i velcro'd an old tablet to the saw, and run the utility in Google Sheets - all free, and easily available on any platform, and any old device. nothing special required to run it.

the utility has some constants, including the two offsets mentioned. you input the fence angle, the length you want, and the blade angle (yes, it does compound cuts) and it spits out a stop position to ensure that the long edge of the board is that specified length. if you tip the blade, you can also provide the width and thickness of the board, and it'll give you the "other three points" on the compound cut. works for any angle, any size board (it's just trigonometry packaged in an easy-to-use spreadsheet).

anyway - i have just started using this, and so far it's handy. if anyone wants to try it, i can easily share the sheet and step you through it. it's not particularly complicated, but it's handy. if anyone has better ideas on how to achieve this, or techniques they use to power through compound angled cuts on a slider, please speak up. if you want the sheet, DM me here, or reach out at dave at curl and burl dot com.

-- dz

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[Lisa Starr]

That's great! I even have an old tablet hanging around.

[David Zaret]

That's great! I even have an old tablet hanging around.

i solved my little math problem with the sheet. lisa, if you want a copy, reach out to me via DM or email.

[David Zaret]

this thing is great! old iPad velcro'd to the slider, and suddenly i have a perfect calculator to help with compound angle cuts. with two measurements, it'll work on any slider.

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[Dan Friedrichs]

That is cool!

[Erik Loza]

...sells a feature on their new higher-end saws called "Radiocompens" (sp?) which automatically accounts for the angle of the crosscut, and indicates the proper length distance to accommodate the angle. this feature is ~$10,000 alone...

That's nuts. I think the digital compensation option adds maybe $3K to one of our machines. On a side note, for folks who don't have (or have) a Felder and want to drop some cheddar on a jig that handles the math for you, the EGL can be fitted to most any sliding table:

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Erik

[Joe Calhoon]

On a side note, for folks who don't have (or have) a Felder and want to drop some cheddar on a jig that handles the math for you, the EGL can be fitted to most any sliding table:

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Erik

That is not true. Double miters are not easily adaptable between different mfgs without a trip to a machine shop. These all mount to the rail of the sliding table and Felders is totally different than anyone else’s. Someone brought a Felder ELG to my shop once to see if it fit The Martin. Not even close. You are better off to order specifically for your brand of saw.
here is a page from the Panhans catalog.
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[Erik Loza]

Joe, Austria can probably source out adapters for other brands of slider....

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Erik