general panel saw advice

[als427]

Hello all

I need some help in knowing what is an acceptable tolerance in a panel saw.
I recently bought a new scm sc4e and I'm underwhelmed with it.
One requirement for me was a mitre slot and there is one running along the sliding carriage , so I can make jigs and so on to fit in that slot. Theres one called a fritz and franz jig that is excellent. However , although the sliding carriage runs true I have discovered the mitre slot within is bowed by as much as 1.5mm along the length. Ive contacted scm who've told me this is ok as it doesn't stop the use of clamps designed to fit the slot but I have pointed out , to no effect , that the slot is used for various jigs and surely it wold be required to be straight , at least with only a minimal deflection . I think it is widely accepted the mitre slot is used for jigs and so on.
what's really weird is that the carriage itself is dead straight , just the slot within is bent.
am I being unreasonable or should I expect it be straight and run true to the blade along its length?

crfap drawing attached but you get the idea. If you sight down the carriage you can see its bent!

The locator bolt for the crosscut fence locates +/- 1mm as well , which Ive also been told is an acceptable tolerance , although there engineer even reported it was excessive play

thanks all , advice welcome

 

[siggy_7]

Does that bow in the T-slot matter for your application? With a panel saw, I've never seen someone try to run a jig through the T-slot in the way you would with a traditional cabinet saw. Rather, you clamp a jig into the slot and then push it through on the sliding mechanism. So provided you clamp the jig in about the same spot each time, a bit of bow shouldn't affect the jig function. With the "Fritz & Franz" style jig, if you reference the component length against the fixed part of the jig you should get consistent results.

The slop in the crosscut fence location does sound excessive, but if you ensure you're always registering it the same way with respect to the "slop" before clamping it down then again I don't think you should have an issue.

 

[als427]

thanks , re the fritz and franz jig , depending on where the piece you are cutting places the back of the jig , or where you set the crosscut table , the reference will vary as the end of the jig will move either nearer or further from the blade by 1.5mm

whatever holding / template jigs I make , depending on length , the reference end will always be inaccurate , as rather than it being exactly where the blade will cut , again , it will vary by 1.5mm

On another note though , would it not be reasonable to expect it to be straight anyhow?