Shopsmith Forums

stickthrower wrote:JPG- when doing square/straight cuts, I have been squaring up the fence to the blade and the table. I use my tape measure. It is how I would do it before when working on my regular table saw.

Measure the cut, move the fence over, then I would measure the front end from fence to end of table and back to end of table to make sure they were the same, and i would also measure from the front of the blade to the back of the blade to make sure those were the same as well.

i can almost feel a few of you cringing out there.

Cringing? no. Gaining understanding of your 'issues'? Yes.

Just for elucidation, try the following(fence parallel test):

Set the rip fence for ripping, but stop after barely nibbling the work piece. While keeping the edge of the work piece against the fence, move it upward and back to the rear of the fence/blade(turn de saw off first!)

IF the fence IS parallel to the blade, the nibbled kerf will match up to the back of the saw blade.


And this(miter gauge square):

Set the miter gauge to 0. place a work piece against the miter gauge face and mark that edge that abuts the gauge face. Use a wide board at least a foot long.

Cut the work piece completely through at the center. Notice if the blade nibbles the work piece at the rear of the blade. If nibbling occurs, the miter gauge slots are not parallel to the blade. This applies to both miter gauge slots so try it on both sides.

Now take those two halves of the workpiece just cut, set them 'on end'(the ends just cut) with the marked edges adjacent. IF the gauge IS square, the marked edges will be parallel.

Twould be interesting to perform the same 'tests' on yer TS.

JPG40504 wrote:That is how I 'justified' a RAS(I already had the SS).

Needed it to cut rafters with compound cuts for a hip roof.

Methinks a 'skill saw' would have worked as well(maybe better) Shhhh!

A combination square is not too expensive(unless it says 'Starrett' on the side).

You only need the one slide(90/45).

BTW What do you use to check 'squareness'?

I truly hope my wife never reads this thread. I really have no desire to once again have to justify purchase of the "Starrett quality tools I buy" Shame on you for raising that subject publicly. Jim

My comment is mostly in jest, Not totally.

Yeah, I just can't justify the starrett even to myself.

terrydowning wrote:Yeah, I just can't justify the starrett even to myself.

Since I 'inherited' Brown & Sharpe stuff I wish it were Starrett. Seems Starrett is the lone survivor. I paid dearly for a B&S 2' combination square(used) so the B&S 12" slides would work with it.

If ya want accurate stuff, it costs more. FWIW, it will not let you down due to accuracy/quality issues.

Yes I have tried the cheaper stuff over the years, not always with a lack of 'issues'.

Tis cheaper to get the good stuff first rather than more than one 'version'.

JPG- I will have to give this a try when I can get down to the garage. Might have to wait until this weekend.

I will give this a try too on my tablesaw and see how that goes as well.

I'll post again when I get that done and let you all know how it goes. I appreciate all the help on this. i would hate to ruin all the wood I most likely would have with bad cuts.

Nathan

It's a beautiful and elegant side table. It's a good project to start working with wood. I know that you can make something like that. A lot of talented and skillful craftsmen are very helpful here with some detailed tips, photos and techniques. Good luck!


____________________
http://www.sawblade.com

fjimp wrote:I agree totally that proper alignment is the most important ingredient.

Proper alignment, my Asp! (That's the person in the White House I didn't vote for). Proper alignment means nothing. You don't even have to be close anymore. You can be 170 degrees off and it wouldn't make any difference. Close counts. If you don't believe me, our national leader and the Commander in Chief said "We don't have a spending problem; we have a revenue problem." Proper alignment? Get a life!

There is really nothing wrong with this country that a lot of very expensive funerals wouldn't fix.

Hope THAT tangent ends soon!:D

JPG40504 wrote:Hope THAT tangent ends soon!:D

I agree. I apologize for somehow becoming the start point for that crack. Funny but I thought it was only the community threads where I need to refrain from offering comments. Shows how dumb I really am. Again I do apologize for my part in that. Jim

fjimp wrote:I agree. I apologize for somehow becoming the start point for that crack. Funny but I thought it was only the community threads where I need to refrain from offering comments. Shows how dumb I really am. Again I do apologize for my part in that. Jim

You are neither dumb nor need to apologize.

Now I on the other hand, seem to be incapable of understanding how your innocent, correct, comment precipitated that tangent.

FWIW I consider the tangent to be tongue in cheek and a play upon the meaning of 'alignment'. Also a rant!