Miter gauge too wide

[Porter Bassett]

I have a cheap miter gauge that's too wide to slide easily in in the slot. What is a better way to slim it down than by taking it to the belt sander?

[Steve Schoene]

A little info might help. Is the tablesaw in question a Craftsman? Craftsman made their saws with slightly smaller miter slots just to force people to buy Craftsman brand accessories.

[Rob Cunningham]

Does it fit in the slot at all? If it's just too snug, check the runner for burrs or if it's bent. If it doesn't even start in the slot then measure the bar and slot to see how much difference there is. If it's close you might get away with a few swipes on some emery cloth on a flat surface. Otherwise a machine shop could mill it to the width you need but you will need accurate measurements.

[Brian Clevenger]

Agreed with both of the above posts.

Craftsman saws (the ones made by Emerson IIRC) tended to have a slightly undersized miter gauge. If that is the case, your best bet may be to get a compatible Craftsman miter gauge.

The tolerances and fit are pretty important for the miter gauge/slot in order to get accurate repeatable performance. I would have a hard time recommending trying to fit the gauge by taking to a sander.

[Chip Lindley]

As you stated, the miter gauge is a cheapie. Just touch it to the belt sander until it slides nicely in the slot. If you are heavy handed and the bar is a bit loose you can always use a center punch to dimple the side at both ends to take up the slack.

[Lee Schierer]

If the bar goes in but doesn't slide easily, try paste wax on the bar and in the slot. If there are only a few places where it feels tight you can stand a file on edge in the miter slot and remove any burrs or rough areas. Work slowly so you don't make it sloppy. The center punch trick mentioned above is a temporary means at best for taking out the slop.

If you have any small machine shops near by they can put your bar on a surface grinder and remove .0005" at a time.

[Frank Drew]

If it's just a tight fit a light touch with a file might be all you need.

[Porter Bassett]

It's just a tight fit.

It's the cheap miter gauge that I got with my old Delta bandsaw. It fits fine in my table saw's miter slot, and my table saw miter gauges fit in my bandsaw's miter slot, but the one that came with the bandsaw is just too tight to slide in the bandsaw's slot.

I'll try a light touch with a file, and if that doesn't work, I'll try a light touch with the belt sander.

Thanks for the responses.