Issues with Hongdui Mitre Gauge

[TerribleMaker]

Hi All,

First new thread on here so hope I've picked the correct thread for this topic.

I got the Hongdui Mitre Gauge and Fence combo (popular on YouTube as being very well made etc) for Christmas this year as a shared gift from all my family. I've been eager to try it out but I'm hoping someone on here has or at least has had the gauge and can help me as I'm struggling to get it set up square.

If I want it square to the table, then I can't seem to have it square to the blade and vice versa even though they are separate adjustments. The adjustments are all Alan key based and there are two that sit on the face behind the fence that I believe is meant to push the fence forward or back to square it to the blade and then there are 3 bolts on each side of the gauge that is meant to allow me to square it to the table. However if I get it square to the table and then try to square it to the blade using the two adjustments on the fence, it will take it completely out of whack for the table again.

I feel pretty dim for how confused this is making me. I must be missing something obvious, hope someone here can clue me in to what I could be doing wrong.

Thanks in advance

 

[Sideways]

Have you checked that the blade of your saw is parallel to your mitre slot ?
0.01mm resolution dial gauge fastened to a jig that references off one edge of the mitre slot. Read the front of the blade plate, rotate the blade so that you measure to the same spot on the blade plate but now at the back edge of the blade.
This eliminates any measuring error caused by the blade being warped.
Until you know the blade is parallel to the mitre slot by measuring it, all bets are off.
They aren't necessarily right from the factory, they can be knocked or moved in transit or in use. The only way to know is to measure it.

 

[Bingy man]

I’m certainly no expert here but is the blade of your I assume tablesaw parallel to the mitre slot .you need to start at one point and follow through from there . So set up your mitre gauge at exactly 90 deg using a known square then set your blade at 90 deg to the mitre gauge using the same known square , finally set your fence at 90 deg from the mitre slot . Everything then should fall into place . This is how I did my job site saw . The important points are a true 90 deg square ( Moore and wright or starrat etc) and that the mitre guage has a snug fit in the slot and there is no slop . Take your time and don’t rush . If you are a degree out setting up the mitre guage this will be transferred to the blade . Be careful not to place the end of the square on the teeth of the blade and make sure the blade is perpendicular to the table - again avoid placing the square on any part of the teeth .

 

[TerribleMaker]

Have you checked that the blade of your saw is parallel to your mitre slot ?
0.01mm resolution dial gauge fastened to a jig that references off one edge of the mitre slot. Read the front of the blade plate, rotate the blade so that you measure to the same spot on the blade plate but now at the back edge of the blade.
This eliminates any measuring error caused by the blade being warped.
Until you know the blade is parallel to the mitre slot by measuring it, all bets are off.
They aren't necessarily right from the factory, they can be knocked or moved in transit or in use. The only way to know is to measure it.

Hey, thanks for your response. I have checked this not long ago and while not perfect, it's about as close as I can get it.

However, I'm not making a cut and then noticing the cut isn't square. It moves out of square to the table as soon as I adjust it square to the blade and the only way to get it level with the table again is to back off the adjustments for the blade. This is meant to be an easy gauge to set up so I must be missing something obvious here but I'm oblivious to what it is.

 

[TerribleMaker]

I’m certainly no expert here but is the blade of your I assume tablesaw parallel to the mitre slot .you need to start at one point and follow through from there . So set up your mitre gauge at exactly 90 deg using a known square then set your blade at 90 deg to the mitre gauge using the same known square , finally set your fence at 90 deg from the mitre slot . Everything then should fall into place . This is how I did my job site saw . The important points are a true 90 deg square ( Moore and wright or starrat etc) and that the mitre guage has a snug fit in the slot and there is no slop . Take your time and don’t rush . If you are a degree out setting up the mitre guage this will be transferred to the blade . Be careful not to place the end of the square on the teeth of the blade and make sure the blade is perpendicular to the table - again avoid placing the square on any part of the teeth .

I'm using an machinist square I picked up a while ago but I have checked it all against another square I have and seems to be no difference. I'm ensuring I'm not touching teeth when squaring to the blade as well.

I didn't see your response before my last response so apologies for repeating myself but it's not me noticing my cuts aren't square, I haven't even got that far as it moves so far out of square vertically to the table when I use the horizontal adjustment screws.

I'll try again in the morning, I had to give up this evening as I was winding myself up haha. If I have no luck, I'll try to add some photos to the thread.

The best guess I have is that the horizontal adjustment screws are I guess a little on the lower side of the fence whereas the bolts securing the fence to the gauge are a bit higher. So maybe as I tighten the bolts to fix the fence, it's pulling the top in and the adjustment screws are pushing the bottom out. Though I am only tightening it the bare minimum so it kind of seems unlikely.

 

[Orraloon]

Sideways beat me to it. All miter gauges however good have to ride in the slot so if the slot and blade are out of parallel then nothing else will be right. Go through a basic tablesaw setup as a first step. I dont know the particular gauge so not fully understanding the issue so here is a clip on basic blade slot line up. I used a combination square to check mine . The clip shows a few ways to measure it. Get the saw set up first then worry about the miter gauge.
tablesaw setup - Google Search
Regards
John

 

[TerribleMaker]

Sideways beat me to it. All miter gauges however good have to ride in the slot so if the slot and blade are out of parallel then nothing else will be right. Go through a basic tablesaw setup as a first step. I dont know the particular gauge so not fully understanding the issue so here is a clip on basic blade slot line up. I used a combination square to check mine . The clip shows a few ways to measure it. Get the saw set up first then worry about the miter gauge.
tablesaw setup - Google Search
Regards
John

Hi John, I did what I was able to regarding setting everything parallel and square on the saw when I first picked it and while not perfect, I think the blade is about as parallel to the slots as I'm going to be able to make it.

Not sure if you've seen my response to Sideways but the the issue isn't me making a cut and noticing it's out of square but rather the mitre guage moving out for square to the table bed when I use the adjustment screws to square the fence to the blade.

I probably haven't explained it the best in my opening post so I'll try to take some photos to illustrate what I mean tomorrow morning.

Thanks for responding