Table saw blade alignment - Lo-tech / Hi-tach

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Niki

Established Member
Joined
18 May 2006
Messages
735
Reaction score
0
Location
Poland
Good day

Well, it's almost spring and I started to "warm-up" the machines..well, table saw and router table..that's all my "machines":cry:

A few days ago I re-aligned the table saw blade, fence and sleds.

I don't have all this expensive equipment to align the blade to the miter slot so, I used a "Lo-tech" method just to bring the blade as parallel as I can, to the miter slot. I call it "Static alignment"

In my opinion, all the "Hi-tech" (and Hi-price) instruments can be "super-duper" accurate but, I think that the blade itself "knows" the best if it is aligned to the miter slot or not.

I call this check, "Dynamic alignment"...I just clamp a strip to the sled (or the miter gauge) and cut...when the strip reaches the back teeth, I listen to the noise...

If it's "cutting" noise, I know that I have to turn the blade clockwise.

If I don't here any noise, I know that I have to turn the blade counter-clockwise.

If I hear a "scratching" noise (I mean, the back teeth are just touching the strip) I know that the alignment is good.

Later, I check the fence alignment to the miter slot (Static check), rip some thin board and listen to the noise of the back teeth (Dynamic check)....and, same as above...

And as I know that, somebody will tell me "A post without pics is not a post".....(at least, not niki's post)...here are the piccies...

Regards
niki


01.jpg



02.jpg



03.jpg



04.jpg



05.jpg


And here is the "Dynamic test"
03-1.jpg


Listen to the noise of the back teeth
04-1.jpg



Bring the rip fence close to the miter slot and check the distances at one end...
05-1.jpg



....And the other end
06-1.jpg



Cut a test piece and listen to the back teeth noise...
07.jpg



I do the same also on the long fence
08.jpg



09.jpg



To check the squareness of the sled, I took a piece of thin board (floor panel)....
10.jpg



And cut it to 4 pieces
11.jpg



I alternate the pieces and checked them on a straight edge...any mistake will multiply itself...
13.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top