Shopsmith Forums

anmius wrote:I use the miter gauge for positioning stock in the drill press mode, I use it on the belt sander table for positioning stock, I use it on the band saw table (as a fence), and it even works when I use the shaper function. In fact, I use it there much more than I do on the table saw because I have a sled and an Osborne miter gauge.

It will take considerable miter bar 'slop' to cause an error of 1 degree or more.

1/2" 'slop' creates less than 1.5 degrees error.

.030" 'slop' create less than 1 degree error.

[quote="JPG40504"]It will take considerable miter bar 'slop' to cause an error of 1 degree or more.

1/2" 'slop' creates less than 1.5 degrees error.]

I don't know!! I have cut parts for a couple octagon frames that I never gone dead on and I thought I had very, very little slop in my miter track. When I do that, I set the protractor with a Wixey (0.1° accuracy).

I lock the miter gauge to the table slot in the belt sander to sand pen blanks square. Just make sure that the table is square to the platen and the miter gauge head is square to the platen also.
Bil V

dusty wrote:I don't know!! I have cut parts for a couple octagon frames that I never gone dead on and I thought I had very, very little slop in my miter track. When I do that, I set the protractor with a Wixey (0.1° accuracy).

.1 degree error(accuracy deviation) over 16 cuts can = 1.6 degree error.

Tain't the bar slop! Tis the protractor setting.

JPG40504 wrote:.1 degree error(accuracy deviation) over 16 cuts can = 1.6 degree error.

Tain't the bar slop! Tis the protractor setting.

You are correct about the degree of error introduced by miter bar slop. It is minimal but there is some.

Cross cutting a 6" board using a miter gauge with a .1° error will introduce only a 1/64" out of square cut.

dusty wrote:You are correct about the degree of error introduced by miter bar slop. It is minimal but there is some.

Cross cutting a 6" board using a miter gauge with a .1° error will introduce only a 1/64" out of square cut.

Less!!!!

0.01047197...";)

marcp1956 wrote:Please excuse the very basic questions: Why wouldn't you want the miter guage to move? I thought it's only purpose was to push lumber through for different angled cross cuts. Is the miter guage used in the fixed position when performing a different operation, like disc sanding the end of boards?

Sanding pen blanks is one already mentioned option, I also lock it in place as a jig when horizontal boring, (I usually also use a longer face attached to the miter gauge), as a locator stop in conjunction with the rip fence for exact placement of a drilled hole in identical parts. There are undoubtedly other reasons for locking the miter in a particular location.
Remember that the original designer of the Shopsmith was a machinist and engineer who thought in ways to set up a machine for repeat operations to speed production and reduce errors.

marcp1956 wrote:Please excuse the very basic questions: Why wouldn't you want the miter guage to move? I thought it's only purpose was to push lumber through for different angled cross cuts. Is the miter guage used in the fixed position when performing a different operation, like disc sanding the end of boards?

Its' primary purpose is as you say, a tool used for cross cutting on the table saw. It other applications it becomes a fence that sometimes needs to be fixed in position. It is when fixed that the tapered screen comes into play. Using the tapered screw, the miter bar is spread slightly which locks the miter bar in place in the miter track.

I use it a frequently when performing sanding operations.

The disk serves no purpose if you have no t-slot. Take it off and store it where you will have it when you need it!