Main Table Alignment

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Mon May 13, 2013 11:16 pm

bcone1381 wrote:So, i picked up a dial indicator and used it the last time I re-aligned my table. I got her really close and it felt so satisfying. Then my curiosity demanded that I spin the blade by hand to measure the wobble in my saw blade. Well....lets just say that the reason you put the dot on the blade is because if your blade is like mine, it isn't flat. That brought me to my next conclusion that being a hair off probably makes no difference.

You are right. Saw blades do wobble. I found blade stabilizers can really make a difference. I always used a set on my table saw blades in the past. There are different diameters available as they do restrict your cutting depth. I found it really helped so I could buy the cheap HF 10" saw blades and get a some what of a straight cut with them since all of my cutting was less than 2".

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Mon May 13, 2013 11:44 pm

billmayo wrote:You are right. Saw blades do wobble. I found blade stabilizers can really make a difference. I always used a set on my table saw blades in the past. There are different diameters available as they do restrict your cutting depth. I found it really helped so I could buy the cheap HF 10" saw blades and get a some what of a straight cut with them since all of my cutting was less than 2".

I've heard that a SS 1-1/4" arbor itself serves as a blade stabilizer. Any truth to that?

How does a SS 5/8" arbor compare?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue May 14, 2013 1:38 am

BuckeyeDennis wrote:I've heard that a SS 1-1/4" arbor itself serves as a blade stabilizer. Any truth to that?

How does a SS 5/8" arbor compare?

It is gonna be the size of the washers/nuts that makes a difference. 1 1/4 is 2x 5/8.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Tue May 14, 2013 10:23 am

BuckeyeDennis wrote:I've heard that a SS 1-1/4" arbor itself serves as a blade stabilizer. Any truth to that?

How does a SS 5/8" arbor compare?

That has always been Shopsmith's claim and the reason most often given when asked why they had 1-1/4" arbors. I don't know if that claim was ever challenged and if so what evidence of proof they offered.

It may be valid but it also it may have been a marketing ploy forcing us to buy blades from them before the 5/8" arbors were made available.

Personally I'm very happy with Shopsmith blades with the 1 1/4" arbors and I use them almost exclusively.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue May 14, 2013 10:46 am

BuckeyeDennis wrote:I've heard that a SS 1-1/4" arbor itself serves as a blade stabilizer. Any truth to that?

How does a SS 5/8" arbor compare?

I don't know how to answer this question. I use both size arbors and I don't recognize a difference in performance between the two.

If I have a blade whose performance would be improved by a stabilizer, how would I know?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue May 14, 2013 11:47 am

dusty wrote:I don't know how to answer this question. I use both size arbors and I don't recognize a difference in performance between the two.

If I have a blade whose performance would be improved by a stabilizer, how would I know?

It 'wobbles'.]that[/B] is why the larger arbor hole beginning with the Mark 5.

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Tue May 14, 2013 9:17 pm

[quote="JPG40504"]It is gonna be the size of the washers/nuts that makes a difference. 1 1/4 is 2x 5/8.]

You piqued my curiosity. So when I got home from work, I did a bit of research. My 1-1/4" arbor has an OD of 1.865". My new-from-SS 5/8" arbor has an OD of 1.857". So for what it's worth, both are 1-55/64", +/- a few thou. Odd dimension.

Both are built like brick you-know-whats. It would be a disservice to call the thing under the nut on my 5/8" arbor a washer. "Massive undercut clamp ring" would be more accurate. So I must agree with Dusty that they should perform equally well as "blade stabilizers". But I hear that SS has produced several different types of 5/8" arbors, so your results may vary.

Next question: just what are the dimensions of the blade stabilizers that Bill Mayo endorses? No word from Bill yet, but Rockler sells some that are 3" in diameter. Compared to the SS clamp rings, they look a bit thin, and there is no undercut apparent in the photos. The Rockler reviews did say that they were very effective.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Tue May 14, 2013 11:27 pm

BuckeyeDennis wrote:Next question: just what are the dimensions of the blade stabilizers that Bill Mayo endorses? No word from Bill yet, but Rockler sells some that are 3" in diameter. Compared to the SS clamp rings, they look a bit thin, and there is no undercut apparent in the photos. The Rockler reviews did say that they were very effective.

I used 4" & 5" blade stabilizers on the 5/8" arbors. These were heavy and thick. I used the blade stabilizers on my 10" table saw, Shopsmiths and 10" RASs that I have sold in recent years. I do not remember when or where I was able to find these items. They worked really well for the cheap 10" saw blades. I never used any 3" blade stabilizers as they were only a little bigger and no thicker than the washers being used. I did machine the ID of a set of thinner 4" blade stabilizers for a Shopsmith 1 1/4" arbor. I did find that the blade stabilizers did help reduce the saw blade wobble and flex. I do not believe you need blade stabilizers if you are using a high quality saw blade. Having access to a metal lathe and other metal working equipment has given me the capability to modify a lot of items to work on and with the Shopsmith.

reible · Post by **reible** » Tue May 14, 2013 11:56 pm

This discussion takes me back to 2009, and Ed in Tampa I'm still waiting (see post #9).

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=2869

Ed

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Wed May 15, 2013 6:40 am

reible wrote:This discussion takes me back to 2009, and Ed in Tampa I'm still waiting (see post #9).

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=2869

Ed

Thanks, Ed. That was an interesting read, and it answered a lot of questions.