Setting up Wadkin BGS saw

[PhilipL]

I have a Wadkin BGS sliding table saw. It has been moved around a bit and dismantled and rebuilt. I want to set it up accurately. I am having problems because there are an awful lot of setting options for the sliding section of the table. Anyone know what the best order is?

Manual is at: http://www.wadkin.com/uploads/files/Wad ... 20List.pdf

and I here's a picture of the sliding table assembly.

Philip

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Philip
Well I can't comment on that particular machine, but in general:

Align the blade with the mitre slot
Align the rip fence with the blade
Align the sliding table track with the main table
Adjust the sliding table so that it is a tad higher and paraplanar with the main table
Square the ST fence to the blade
Job done.

Yes, I know that's a bit simplistic, but those are the steps.

I show TS setup, including a basic ST setup (not as posh as yours, though!) on my Tablesaw DVDs.

Regards
Steve

 

[Steve Maskery]

Don't you just love automatic offence filters?

I didn't write the word "Dung". Nor did I write the more vernacular and offensive equivalent word. In fact I was referring to the Sliding Table and used the initial letters of that. This was then interpreted as a rude word and replaced with the word "Dung"!

Ah computers. I love 'em.
S

 

[cerdeira]

Hello,

I don't remember clearly but I think there are two bearings attached to the main cast frame and the sliding table rests on these. they set the height on the right (on the blade side) and are not adjustable so take that as your reference point. to set the height on the left and level the table, there are setscresws whose heads sit on stops again on the cast frame. finally set the excentric grooved bearings that ride along the beam.
I would assemble the slider and the main table at the same time and adjust all for level. then move the main table so that the mitre slot is parallel to the blade and then move the slider so that it runs as closely as possible near the main table.
don't forget to check that there is sufficient clearance on the sliding table when you tilt the blade to 45 deg. before you tighten all the nuts (use a regular kerf sawblade when setting up) . if not repeat the adjustments.

 

[PhilipL]

I think I am getting the general idea now. Thanks for the input.

The table was bought off ebay a few years ago but I've never been really happy with the precision. Having moved it into its final (for me) resting place, I'm keen to get it working accurately. I had, unfortunately, to cut the bars upon which the fence slides due to lack of space - it would have been ideal for larger panel cutting.

Philip

 

[andycktm]

I have access/use one of these with both the extension extras in the manual. The sliding table holds an 8*4 sheet! and is dead acurate.

 

[jetsetwilly]

Hi, old thread I know but just wondered how you like your BGS? I nearly bought on a while ago but I went for a new Axminster TSCE12-R instead, and I'm starting to regret it. The TSCE makes beautiful cuts and the ripping is great, but the sliding table isn't. There's too much slop in the support pin which leads to a 'thump' starting big (650mm) crosscuts, and the fence is too sloppy to reliably set to 90deg, both of which make it a pain for cutting small panels.

Does the bgs crosscut fence set up at 90deg without adjustment?

Thanks
Anthony

 

[PhilipL]

"without adjustment"? Certainly not - there appear to be a large number of adjustment points. I just followed the advice given above and it seems to be cutting fine.

 

[jetsetwilly]

Yes, sorry, what I meant was, if you take the crosscut fence off, eg to do some ripping, how much work is it to get it to 90deg when you put it back on?

 

[PhilipL]

I just use a square against the blade. Seems to work fine.

Philip

 

[cerdeira]

Yes, sorry, what I meant was, if you take the crosscut fence off, eg to do some ripping, how much work is it to get it to 90deg when you put it back on?

the original crosscut fence that came with the BGS had a couple of locating pins and was screwed to the sliding table, so i guess once set up it would be easy to get repeatability.
the bad news is that those fences are rare and most often are not found on the used machines in the market.
the good news is that a regular american type mitre gauge fits on the table slots (those are deeper than the 9.5mm 'standard' but work ok).
I use one of those mitre gauges which i 'lock' in the sliding table slot with a magnet acting as a stop. it's as much accurate as the gauge is, and easy to slide in and out.

 

[GK1]

I see frequent references to a sliding table panel saw being set up with the fence square to the blade.

A better way to set the fence up for a truly square cut, is to set the fence square to the direction of travel. If your blade is in perfect alignment, ie, parallel to the travel, it amounts to the same thing, but setting the fence to the table travel eliminates compound errors when the table rails might be a bit out.

Think of the blade as a pin that sticks out from the table and the work runs past it. It doesn't matter what angle the work runs past the cutting point, as long as the good edge that is placed against the fence runs perpendicular to the travel, you will get a square cut.

The point about the table rails being a touch out is valid, an ex-Wadkin engineer told me some years ago that they set panel saws up so that 1) the sliding table runs very slightly away from the blade, so that the upcoming teeth on the back of the blade clear the cut and 2) the rip fence is also set so that a rip cut leaves clearance at the back of the blade.

A square in the table slots is more reliable than a square against the blade. Check the squareness using the 5-cut method.

 

[jetsetwilly]

Thanks guys. I've already got an incra mitre gauge so halfway there