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Table saw alignment fixture (Rockler)

algale

I agree with Dusty that +/- 0.005" is achievable and a good goal on the Shopsmith. There's no question you need to do an alignment based on what you are showing here.

FYI, I don't Measure on a tooth itself; its an odd surface and the tip of the dial indicator doesn't interface with it very well or repeatably. Instead, I use a Sharpie or other magic marker to put one dot on the dull (not shiny) part of the blade's plate near, but not on, a tooth.

Rotate that dot down to the front of the table. Put tip of gauge on dot and zero the gauge. Now rotate dot to the back of the table and slide gauge back there and put plunger on dot and read measurement. The difference is how far off you are.

When you align your fence, keep it mind the side of the blade you usually have the fence on and try to have any error in alignment so that the rear end of the fence is further away than the front end of the fence from the blade. This is so as you stack up alignment errors you don't end up creating a situation that could result in a kickback. If you don't understand the principles at work, do some research on table saw alignment and kickback before proceeding or ask questions here.

DLB

dusty wrote I read your two visuals as .000" and .682". As I said just before this post, I look for something less than .005".

Since the OP is learning the indicator, I have to disagree here. 0.682" is a huge number in this context. I read the two visuals as about 0.100" and about 0.0682", a difference of about 0.032". On this type indicator the small dial gives tenths of inches, or in other words counts full rotations of the large dial. At least on models I've used zeroing the outer dial does not zero the small dial, which can create confusion when making absolute measurements and is why I say 'about' above. But you don't need to make absolute measurements for table saw zeroing. You just need two numbers to compare and to know whether the second is positive or negative relative to the first.

- David

dusty

Agreed! The small inner dial should read 0 when the plunger is touching nothing. Pushing the plunger all the way in should rotate the dial ten times. maybe a little bit more depending on dial indicator quality.

MilRet

DLB wrote
dusty wrote I read your two visuals as .000" and .682". As I said just before this post, I look for something less than .005".
Since the OP is learning the indicator, I have to disagree here. 0.682" is a huge number in this context. I read the two visuals as about 0.100" and about 0.0682", a difference of about 0.032". On this type indicator the small dial gives tenths of inches, or in other words counts full rotations of the large dial. At least on models I've used zeroing the outer dial does not zero the small dial, which can create confusion when making absolute measurements and is why I say 'about' above. But you don't need to make absolute measurements for table saw zeroing. You just need two numbers to compare and to know whether the second is positive or negative relative to the first.

- David

Thank you. I need to watch the gauge much more carefully I have much to learn. Thanks to all

pilvr83

I have a lot to learn also. I am a silent lurker on this forum.

Thank you’s

JPG

Let us establish some facts re the gauge.

IIUC the pix with the gauge indicating about "57" with the small dial indicating a negative reading is the at rest, fully extended plunger.

The "zero" pix is with the small dial indicating close to "1". The plunger is pushed in almost .100"

The "70" pix is with the small dial indicating closer to "0". The plunger is pushed in less by over .030".

I hope that is correct and helps. If not I will correct this.

The dial reading going clockwise I assume is as the plunger is pushed.

i.e pushing the plunger in increases both the dial indication and the small dial reading.

dusty

pilvr83 wrote
dusty wrote
pilvr83 wrote 2EC4BBA2-7D54-493C-AB6A-918D6172F9A5.jpegI need to learn how to read the gauge. The reading I had was from zero to the “30”. I look closely and see the small hash marks are .001 each. If I am reading the gauge correctly, is it one time around equal to 1.00 “? If my table is “30”, my reading .030”?

Should I be adjusting the table?

Thanks

Greg
The gauge that you have shown here reads 57 thousands (.057"). I aim to adjust my table to something less than .005". How long is the stem on your dial indicator? I suspect it is 1" long. Push the stem in "slowly" and watch the dial. Push it in and count the numbers of revolutions you see the dial make. Touch the tip and barely push the stem. .005" is 5 of the tiny tick marks around the outer perimeter of the dial gauge.
I should aim for a reading from the zero to the fifth hash mark to the right? For example the “1/2” if on a ruler? Pretending gauge is a ruler.

Gregg

Looking at the first image that you posted, if there is" no pressure "on that plugger your dial indicator has some inherent error. With no pressure on the plunger the small dial should read zero. If you push the plunger all the way in (1") the dial should make 10+ revolutions (1"). Let the plunger go back and the small dial should go back to zero.

dusty

pilvr83 wrote I have a lot to learn also. I am a silent lurker on this forum.

Thank you’s

You will have this licked in no time,

Looking at the 2nd image you posted, you have the dial indicator all set to begin the alignment verification. The long indicator is at rest and the outer dial is set "0". Ignore for now the small dial. It indicates the fact that the plunger is against the blade and is pushed in slightly. This is your reference reading.

When you move the dial indicator to the opposing point on the saw blade the reading is that of the opposing saw tooth and should be in the close vicinity of .005" (5 small ticks on the outer set of numbers). This number is somewhat arbitrary as many of us have different expectations. I dpon't believe you will see this numberr in any Shopsmith documentation.

The last image shows the dial indicator having moved some .068+". You would like for this to have been +- 5 ticks of "0".

Be patient. Getting the table repositioned can be a tedious task. I have spent an hour + getting there.

pilvr83

Thank you for making it much easier for me to understand.

dusty

pilvr83 wrote Thank you for making it much easier for me to understand.

Just remain patient and persevere because proper table alignment is very important.

Don't hesitate to return with questions. There will always be someone here willing to assist.

john_001

Now if you really want to drive yourself nuts, after you get the slot aligned to the blade to your liking (e.g., 0.005), check it again with the table tilted. If it's still 0.005, you're gold. But if it isn't, it can't be corrected just by rotating the table. It means the table is canted forwards or backwards (i.e., the trunnion's axis of rotation isn't parallel to the table top). The table needs to be shimmed between the table and the trunnions. Unfortunately, I can't remember offhand which end needs to be shimmed for which error or by how much.

roy_okc

I might have missed it above, but make sure you're measuring on the same tooth, at the same point. Take a sharpie and mark that tooth, measure at front (or back), then rotate and measure at the opposite from where you first measured it. This ensures that you aren't measuring a tooth with a slightly different set.

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