Tendon Jig + Dial Caliper

[myoldgarage]

In case you want to aggravate yourself with a dial-caliper in making sure your table is square to the blade.

[Ed in Tampa]

I think it was Dusty that mentioned using the tendoning jig plate as a mounting base for dial indicator and since then I have been having a field day making myself crazy.

Now you offer yet another method. I tweak and nudge and bump seeking perfection and I think all I do is approach insanity as every method produces yet another goal that reason says is simply not needed. Thanks

I think I return to pondering my navel.

[Gene Howe]

Bradley,
Wow! I've been scratching my head for weeks trying to come up with a way to mount the dial. You don't want to know all the configurations I had imagined. This is great!
Thanks so much.

[myoldgarage]

Actually I was going to use a piece of aluminum angle and drill it out, but I needed to cut it, drill it, and dress it with the grinder. I grabbed that block of wood and made this quick-n-dirty version. I was originally going to use a piece of 3/4 inch oak that fits in the weird miter groove. (Ok -- is anything "standard" ? ) I sat for a long time looking at the miter gauge toogle clamp, but again, this popped in my head so I went with it. After fiddling for about 15 minutes, I resorted to a square anyway.

[Gene Howe]

After fiddling for about 15 minutes, I resorted to a square anyway.

Aaargh!!!:eek:
Don't tell me that.

[dusty]

I think it was Dusty that mentioned using the tendoning jig plate as a mounting base for dial indicator and since then I have been having a field day making myself crazy.

Now you offer yet another method. I tweak and nudge and bump seeking perfection and I think all I do is approach insanity as every method produces yet another goal that reason says is simply not needed. Thanks

I think I return to pondering my navel.

Yes, I toyed with the idea of using the base of the Tenon Master as the base for the dial gauge and IT WORKED quite well. But, having said that it worked, I don't use it now. What that base did for the dial gauge readings was provide a stable base upon which to mount the dial gauge. It is heavy enough that it doesn't wobble.

Almost any method of mounting will work. The deviations in readings are a direct result of any unwanted movement in the measuring mechanism. Eliminate that movement (along with the slop in the miter track) and you have very, very accurate readings.

Now we come to the topic of major discussion. Just how accurate do these adjustments need to be. There is no one answer to that question.

It hasn't been all that long ago that I was perfectly satisfied with setups accurate to 1/32" (.03125").

I have found that the table and fence related setups can all be done using the dial indicator to +- .005". That is now my general objective for setups.

Now, does that mean that my cuts are all that accurate. NO, by no means. But it does mean that the inaccuracies that do persist are not the inevitable result of a poorly aligned table or fence.

I now use the Dial Gauge, MiterSet and Wixey quit frequently. They all perform as advertised by their manufacturers.

The poor quality work that I now produce can be traced to some factor :oother than bad setups.

[a1gutterman]

...The poor quality work that I now produce can be traced to some factor :oother than bad setups.

That must mean that you now can only blame...the materials: Yes! That's it! There must be something wrong with the materials!

[calver]

Have any of you viewed or used the ts aligner jr. by Edward J. Bennett
http://www.ts-aligner.com.
It looks stable.

Lot of good info regarding alignment

Dave C.

[shydragon]

Wow, those are some extreme prices for the ts-aligner. I was looking at this for setting the jointer. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002SA98I/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A2U9E50E3XJZ3F&v=glance

And something along this line for the TS. http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=149019&FamilyID=21008

[reible]

Hi,

If I were to ever get another one of these I might go with this:
http://www.mastergage.com/display_product.asp?id=3
Take note they have one that fits the shopsmiths miter slot. They also appear to have a new method of get the fit right on the slot and still have it slide from place to place... if you're interested look at the faq and do a bit of reading.


If you look at any other versions make sure they have a shopsmith version as the miter slot is not the same size as other brands.

Ed