Help with table adjustment on a 520

[eddievanhoy]

Hello everyone. This is my first post so I might be asking a very basic question so please overlook my ignorance. I have a 520 that is a late 80s model but is very clean and runs good; but for the life of me I can not get the table aligned. I have watched the video and read the posts on here (http://www.af.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/vi ... 5&p=179472) but the table never gets any better after alignment. Last night I set up the rip fence (and measured on both ends of the table to verify the fence was square) to cut a half sheet of plywood 12". After pushing the half sheet through the cut I ended up with 12" on one side and 11.75 on the other end (4 ft length). I get this result no matter if I am ripping or using the mitre sled for cross cuts. So the obvious answer is the table is not square. But I have tried the adjustment procedure around 10 times with little or no improvement. I live in Shelby NC if anyone is near me and willing to show me what I am doing wrong. Thank you for any advise.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Welcome to the forum! I'm fairly new at woodworking myself, but some real experts will weigh in before long. Meanwhile, I have a couple of questions:

When ripping, does the workpiece pull away from the fence during the cut? It would seem that it must.

What kind of blade are you using? Is it sharp and in good condition?

I've never had a problem like that on my Shopsmith, but I have on a chainsaw. On a chainsaw, the cut will wander if the cutters are dull, or unevenly sharpened. Sharpening them properly has always solved the problem for me.

[JPG]

You have mentioned 'table' alignment, then referred to useing two other things involved in making a cut(rip fence, miter gauge).

First of all to cut 12' off a half sheet(4' x 4') of plywood should only be done with a rip fence and not with a miter gauge(I be ignoring the possible use of a large sled).

Just what are you adjusting the table to? I do hope it is to make the miter gauge slot parallel with the face of the blade.

That however is only the beginning.

The rip fence needs to then be aligned to the miter gauge slot aka the blade face.

Finally the miter gauge(not relevant to cutting 4' x 4' workpieces)is zeroed out to be 90 degrees from the slot.

I cannot envision how a 1/4" over 4' 'error' can be introduced when using the rip fence unless the work piece is not being held tight to the fence or something else is moving. Are all 5(quill feed, headstock, carriage, table height, table tilt) clamps locked??? Any of the three underlined could cause creep.

[sehast]

Ripping 4'X 4' sheets of plywood is pretty unwieldy on a Shopsmith. It can be done but you have the proper support to ensure contact with the fence is maintained throughout the cut. I set the floating tables up to give as much support as possible both in front and behind the blade and use Board Buddies on the fence to keep the sheet against the fence.(http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-W1104-B ... rd+buddies)

But really the safest solution is to use a hand held circular saw in conjunction with a good track guide, like this http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... system.htm

[dusty]

I am going to make a statement here that applies ONLY to the task of ripping a 4'x4' piece of plywood. It is for the sole purpose of answering eddie's question.

To SAFELY rip a piece of plywood like you are speaking of, you must do two very important things first.

1) Align the table so that the miter track is parallel to the blade.

2) Align the rip fence so that the rip fence is parallel to the blade (or miter track).

Now, how wide a cut are you trying to make. Your table likely is not wide enough to facilitate the rip fence.

This means that you need to add either a floating table or the extension table. Do you have those accessories and are they part of your set up?

When cutting large sheets, I mount the rip fence to the right of the blade, set my cut width and stand to the left of the blade. When cutting, I concentrate on keeping the work piece tight against the fence and proceed with the cut. I do not watch the blade (I know where it is at). I concentrate on the edge of the work piece and the fence. They must not be allowed to part company.

I hope this helps.

Be Careful. In my opinion, this is once of the tasks that will most likely cause you difficulties when using the Shopsmith. I have had full sheets of plywood pulled from my hands because I lost control of the work piece and let it go its own way.

[colday]

I was making a very similar cut this spring, it was 2'x4' cutting it in half the long way. I setup the rip fence to the right of the blade, and setup an outfeed support, I figured what could go wrong. Well, right at the end of the rip, the plywood came right up and over the blade so fast, I was hurt before I knew what was happening! It caught my left arm right on the bisep muscle, and I got to wear that badge of stupid for quite some time!

BE CAREFUL!

Steve