Best saw alignment tool?

[jsburger]

I have an A-Line It. http://www.in-lineindustries.com/produc ... a-line-it/

The main thing I like is the fact that the bar has spring loaded ball plungers (no idea what the correct term is) that can be adjusted to the Shopsmith miter slots. This pushes the bar flush against the side of the slot and gets rid of slop. Important when you are measuring to the thousandth of an inch. Can also be used in standard table saw miter slots.

It also can be configured to take other measurements. You can read the on line manuals and see what I’m talking about.

Just got a sale email from Peachtree. They have the A-Line-It basic and deluxe models on sale for 50% off. That makes it $40 and $72.50 respectively.

[algale]

Those are excellent prices!

[reible]

Well I'm glad someone got one that worked well. Yes you can read to .001" but with all the movement on mine in the slot that makes little difference. I got mine just after Nick announced it and it seemed like there were a few of us that ponied up at that point. I know it didn't take me long to regret the purchase.

Yes the master plate is great, I've had one for years now. Again it was not the cheap way to go but for me sometimes spending the money is worth it to make things easier and faster to do. In the long run after years of use the $60/$70 comes down to just dollars a year after all.

Part of my hobby is buying shinny new tools. Could I live without them of course but I don't want to. Did that doing without for years and years and I have to say I'm having a lot more fun now then then.

Besides I have family that will enjoy my tools when I'm gone and I hope they bring them good memories and lots of years of use.

Ed

Francis, that is exactly why I wrote the "What can a single crosscut tell you" and "My method to the alignment process".

Ed, I don't know what Shopsmith may have changed through the years, but mine fits very well in the slots, is graduated to 0.001" and it works fine. They may have changed them at some point.

I just prefer my method and one can lock a bar in the miter gauge, and use an automotive feeler gauge to set the distance to the 12" verified flat sanding disk, rotating it to prove it is true through a 360 degree rotation.

I then wiggle / rock it to see if there is any visible change with runout, that can be measured with feeler gauges etc.

None of the fancy shiny things for Francis and it's something I have on hand. Without feeler gauges, I once did it with a thickness of notebook paper to prove up the sanding disk.

One can get a MasterPlate and precision dial indicators to really get precise. See http://www.mastergage.com/display_product.asp?id=4


Everett

[jsburger]

Well I'm glad someone got one that worked well. Yes you can read to .001" but with all the movement on mine in the slot that makes little difference. I got mine just after Nick announced it and it seemed like there were a few of us that ponied up at that point. I know it didn't take me long to regret the purchase.

Yes the master plate is great, I've had one for years now. Again it was not the cheap way to go but for me sometimes spending the money is worth it to make things easier and faster to do. In the long run after years of use the $60/$70 comes down to just dollars a year after all.

Part of my hobby is buying shinny new tools. Could I live without them of course but I don't want to. Did that doing without for years and years and I have to say I'm having a lot more fun now then then.

Besides I have family that will enjoy my tools when I'm gone and I hope they bring them good memories and lots of years of use.

Ed

Francis, that is exactly why I wrote the "What can a single crosscut tell you" and "My method to the alignment process".

Ed, I don't know what Shopsmith may have changed through the years, but mine fits very well in the slots, is graduated to 0.001" and it works fine. They may have changed them at some point.

I just prefer my method and one can lock a bar in the miter gauge, and use an automotive feeler gauge to set the distance to the 12" verified flat sanding disk, rotating it to prove it is true through a 360 degree rotation.

I then wiggle / rock it to see if there is any visible change with runout, that can be measured with feeler gauges etc.

None of the fancy shiny things for Francis and it's something I have on hand. Without feeler gauges, I once did it with a thickness of notebook paper to prove up the sanding disk.

One can get a MasterPlate and precision dial indicators to really get precise. See http://www.mastergage.com/display_product.asp?id=4


Everett

As far as the 'slop' in the miter slot, here is a quote from the SS instruction manual.

"MITER BAR/MITER SLOT CLEARANCE
When one metal part slides inside another metal part,
there must be clearance to allow for that movement.
As with the Miter Gauge Bar on your MARK V, the
Set Up Gauge Bar will have from 4/1000 (.004”) to
6/1000 (.006”) of an inch clearance between the Bar
and your Table (or Fence) Slot.
There are two ways for you to compensate for this.
The simplest is to always pull (or push) the Gauge
Bar firmly and steadily toward the SAME side of the
slot when taking measurements. Or, if you’re not
comfortable with this approach, insert a piece of paper
between the Bar and Slot to eliminate all clearance
before taking your measurement."

On your statement about new tools and doing without, I totally agree. Sounds like I am in exactly the same position as you and I love it. Years of hard work has really paid off.

[everettdavis]

I took a look at mine and I found that years ago I apparently used a piece of Scotch Tape down the edge of the bar that came with the Dial Indicator, which is about .004" to settle mine in.

It has been there for years and I had forgotten about it.

When I took it off and cleaned the bar with some acetone, it did have the slop in it as you describe so they likely are the same part.

I put on a new piece of Scotch Tape and it is very stable in the slot again.

Everett

[chapmanruss]

I have the Shopsmith gauge and have been happy with it. I hold it to one side of the slot when using it. I also made a block for it to use on the Model 10E & 10ER tables. Even with .004 to .006 "slop" in the miter slot that's pretty accurate for woodworking.
I to agree with Ed in that I like "Shinny" new tools and tools new to me that I can make shinny.

[jsburger]

Those are excellent prices!

Yes they are. I just ordered the deluxe kit. I have the SS gauge and it works great even though there is 'built in slop' in the miter bar. It works perfectly using the SS instructions as chapmanruss stated.

The A-Line-It allows use on both the SS and my Powermatic PM2000 table saws as well as other uses that the SS unit will not allow.

Once I get the A-Line-It and confirm it will work on the SS I am willing to let go of my SS unit for a very reasonable price if anyone is interested. It has very little use and is in the original box.

[reible]

Yes I'm aware of the instructions and some where here is a post where I show my results of trying to use the alignment tool at different points along the miter slot like one might do to check the flatness of your rip fence..... The point is that is is not uniform.

So again why pay $76.99 + $12.49 for something from shopsmith that has to have tape stuck to it or feeler gauges wedged in to work right when for $79.99 total price I can have a woodpecker gauge that just works?????

Keep in mind I use the gauge only for verification. I adjust differently then check the results. Trying to adjust with it was no fun for me, but verification works well. Keep in mind you do a whole lot more verification then you do aligning, or at least that is what I find. I go years between finding I have to re-adjusting.

Also somewhere here I show using a master plate in the miter slot for alignment and have very good results using that method. Good results = less then .005".

Ed

[algale]

Those are excellent prices!

Yes they are. I just ordered the deluxe kit. I have the SS gauge and it works great even though there is 'built in slop' in the miter bar. It works perfectly using the SS instructions as chapmanruss stated.

The A-Line-It allows use on both the SS and my Powermatic PM2000 table saws as well as other uses that the SS unit will not allow.

Once I get the A-Line-It and confirm it will work on the SS I am willing to let go of my SS unit for a very reasonable price if anyone is interested. It has very little use and is in the original box.

I have the basic and I find it works very well in the Shopsmith; I hope your results confirm my endorsement.

[ChrisNeilan]

I have the Shopsmith thingamajig. It gets it close, but no cigar. The real villan is/are the bolts the secure the table to the trunions. They like to creap.