Rip fence alignment

[Ed in Tampa]

Once again something someone said triggered me to get the infernal dial indicator out.

Oh the frustration!

I was using it to check my fence. I don't know how you guys do it but everytime I touch that indicator I get another reading, .001 is a mere addition of one finger of pressure. I actually found touching my hand at various different locations would and did effect the reading.

Finally after convincing myself my fence needed adjusting I gave up with the dial indicator and decided to try dial calibers.

I clamped them to my mitre gauge, in a way that allowed the the movable jaw to move, and using the depth pin measured my fence front and back. I found after all my work with the dial indicator I still had a slight toe in (to the left) at the back of my fence. The dial caliber immediately revealed it, plus I could see the light between pin and fence when the whole rig was moved from the back of fence to the front.

I don't know if my mind just won't work with a dial indicator or what but using the dial calibers which captured and retained any movement was by far easier to visualize and fix.

I simply adjusted the fence until the dial caliber pin remained in contact with the fence for the entire length of the fence. It was in my opinion far simpler than using the dial indicator.

After it is all said and done I think I still like the remarkably simple method SS suggests. They suggest using a dowel rod in the hole in the mitre gauge. The one thing the dial calibers taught me was to use the smallest rod (wire) I had or to sharpen the dowel rod to a point. By using a very small contact point, parallelex vision errors which can effect your reading, will allow you to see light if/when the rod moves away from the fence.

P.S. I have sworn off ever using my dial indicator again on my SS. In fact I'm about ready to sell the dial indicator at the next garage sale.
Ed

[kd6vpe]

I too have had the same troubles using mine. I saw one person use a feeler gauge to keep it tight to one side of the miter slot I thought that was pretty cool. I will keep mine though because it is helpful in aligning my joiter knives which I don't have to do often but it works well for that task and also for the run out on the saw blade.

[mtobey]

A high quality long stroke DI is a bit more forgiving. I also have a digital DI with about 5/8" stroke. I use it and the oneway castiron bracket and 1-2-3 blocks when I truly need precision.As a new owner, I was again pleasantly surprised at the consistency of the miter slots. A very frustrating size but darned accurate.mt

[drewa]

No poop talking allowed.

Although the dial indicator is a very useful and accurate tool, it may not work for everyone. As with everything, even cat skinnin', there are many ways to do something and some ways work better for some than others. Ed, with your adversion to the dial indicators, I think it just is not your tool. However, I have had much success with it. I have also had success with just loosening the fence and butting it up against the blade.

It seems to me that there are tools and operations that you are just at Zen with and others~ to the garage sale.


Be good,

Drew

[robg]

Hey, if you decide to sell it at a garage sale, let me know. I have been thinking about trying one (but my lack of ability to get perfect alignments in all other adjustments has convinced me to hold off in light of the price.

[reible]

I think it must be an "Ed" thing. Put me on the side of not a good use of my limited resources (money).

First the idea wasn't a bad one. However some of he design aspects make this a lot less of tool then it should have been. Way to much slop in the bar and then they never stablized it to keep it from tipping. Several other companies thought of this, even Rockler:
www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2355
Note the way it sits on the table, and the use of the bar stock. Several other companies have also gone this way and it makes a lot of sence.

On the good side it did prove that my saw was already set up correctly the way I've been doing it for years... No reason to change how I've been doing it.

It also proved to me something that I had thought was the case all along. The table with little effort can tilt/tip and that adding the extension table and connection tubes makes it in to a much more stable machine. After all it is like going from 2 upright supports to 4.

I should also point out I like dial gauges and I've had one for years and in the machine shop where I once worked they were very useful. When the whole process starts to depend more how you hold or touch something the usefullness goes away.

Mine will not be going on sale anytime soon but it also will not be used for aligning my shopsmith.... maybe using it as a paper weight would be good, that way I will be less likely to make the same mistake again. Again this is only my opinion but it has to have a thumbs down from me.

Ed:(

[dusty]

The Dial Gauge falls into the same category as the Wixey. I do not need that kind of accuracy in my measuring devices.

An engineering square, the miter gauge and a long straight rod do everything I need.

I have both and I'm going to keep them. They do what they are advertised to do and one never knows what tomorrow might bring. I may really need them. Besides, if I start discarding everything that I don't use regularly, SHMBO may become suspicious. A thorough audit would not be good.

[ldh]

For what it's worth I use a simple stop rod in the mitre gauge and a feeler gauge. If the toe is in I set from the front and if it is out from the back. My SS cuts small stock better than my Delta. I must defend the Wixey as a needed tool for the SS and just about any tool that you need to set an angle on or repeat one.
ldh

[reible]

They do what they are advertised to do....

And that is:

"When it comes to precision set ups for your Miter Gauge, Saw Table Fence, Saw Blade, Router Fence, and more...look to the New Shopsmith Dial Indicator Set Up Gauge! Measurements can be achieved to 1/1000 (.001) of an inch with ease. The universal mounting block with miter bar allows the Dial Indicator Set Up Gauge to be used in your saw table and router table miter slot for simplicity and accuracy. And, with the 22 interchangeable tips that come with the Dial Indicator Set Up Gauge, you have extra versatility for nearly any measuring or set up job."

So you can set your rip fence to .001 with ease?

Ed

[mtobey]

As I noted in a post, I bought the 500 rip fence upgrade. It is very impressive with the twist handle pluslever. About three minutes with the standard for my 4 inch Starrett micrometer and that fence dialed( it is a pun -didn't intend it but noticed it before typing the next word) in. I have two, maybe three of the other standard model fences - they would probably be good for semi-permanent jigs where true precision was not a mandatory component.mt