Shopsmith Forums

I've had this alignment tool idea and hoped to have one made but since it isn't happening I release it here. This sketch is not to scale but the idea is what it is.

The vertical plate is designed to fit a 5/8" saw arbor, the round section fits in the miter slot. The distances can be what ever you want them to be, so if like Dusty you want that perfectly centered top you use that dimension.

Once the jig is mounted on the shaft the table is then adjusted to the bar and the table screws tightened.

Would best be made by someone with the skill level necessary to do it in metal, aluminum more then likely for the flat stock and the round stock can just be purchased. If you used tapered pins for alignment the top plate could be bolted to the round stock......

I think Dusty has all the necessary dimensions in his drawings and one of us engineer types could refine the idea and add the dimensions. Then we would need a prototype to play with, could even be done in wood I guess to make sure there are no flaws in the idea.

I just don't have the time or the inclination right now to work on this. We have some talented people here but I don't know if anyone wants to put the time and effort in to doing so either.
I know it so simple........ and I'm sure it would work. Heck maybe even shopsmith could run with it, but of course the cost could be prohibitive unless they were sure they could sell a few thousand.

Ed

One question I expect to here is why the round bar? The round bar takes the width of the miter slot out of the game. A little wider, a little narrower it still locates the center of the slot. It might look a bit like this:
Ed

You and Dusty are obsessed At least it will give him something to do in the heat of the summer. Go for it Dusty

Ed,

Instead of an L shape mounted on an arbor (how would you take this off without having to move the table out of the way?), how about a sliding story stick mounted on just the top piece (still using the dowel to center on the miter slot) that touches the blade or sanding disc? Might need a support between the dowel and the blade to make it more level, although perfect level wouldn't be critical.

If I were making, I'd probably do something like this using wood:
- 1" or whatever size dowel that works well in the miter gauge without bottoming out, maybe 4-6" long
- 1/4" or so straight hardwood dowel several inches long, this would be what touches the board. Shape one end to a rounded/point where it will touch the blade.
- 3/4" x 2-3" wide by whatever length seems right, leaving at least an inch or so between the end and the blade
- Bore a 1/4" (small dowel size) or slightly larger hole through the 3/4" board lengthwise, about 1/4-1/2" from one edge
- Drill a proper size hole through the edge of the 3/4" board and tap for some sort of thumb screw, might want to soak the threads with som thin CA glue to strengthen. This will be to lock the small dowel in place. Might want to use a nylon bolt to avoid damaging the dowel.
- Attach the 3/4" board to the large dowel.
- Possibly put a riser on to make the contraption somewhat level.
- Mark the dowel with a fine marker and/or scoring mark for position(s) desired, although would have to be sure a marker doesn't bleed. You could have a few spots on it with different color markers/scores or use different dowels for different depths.

I like it! I think it would work.

Reible'
I really hate to burst a person's bubble especially when they had a good idea. I think that you may run into a patent issue from this one
https://www.amazon.com/Woodpeckers-Prec ... nment+tool
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:Reible'
I really hate to burst a person's bubble especially when they had a good idea. I think that you may run into a patent issue from this one
https://www.amazon.com/Woodpeckers-Prec ... nment+tool
Bill V

A home brew tool dose not infringe on a patent. Ed did not say he wanted to produce it just the opposite.

I doubt there would be patent issues as using a rod in a slot/track has been done for hundreds of years...... the rest well that is different as well and the end purpose is not measuring which is there end purpose. Besides there was another company doing this some years ago that they may have copied that design..........

So if you look at the woodpecker method it looks like this:
So even that is different then I have shown. There method is better in that it would place the lower two bars deep in the slot, a better place to use as a reference then what I had thought about at the top of the slot. Not a big thing but if one needed to you could add a couple off smaller bars after the fact so to speak or mention it as another option for use.

As far as mounting goes what I envisioned was to mount the 5/8" arbor on the spindle then take out the table insert, lower the table, put the gauge in the hole and slide it over the spindle. Put the nut on the arbor and tighten. Then loosen the screws holding the table just enough to allow it to move. Raise the table to engage the rod in the miter slot and lock in place. Snug the table screws and recheck, tighten and recheck...... One could also use clamps to make sure the rod stays in the slot.

I really think it needs to be metal. A wooden prototype could be used to verify that.

BTW Masterplate has a gauge that is designed to fit the shopsmith slot in case anyone wants to get one:

http://www.mastergage.com/display_product.asp?id=3

The problem with these systems is that you are still measuring, a jig like I showed needs no measurements after it is designed. This would be the sort of thing the factory would use. BTW shopsmith has been shipping aligned machines for a while now so they more then likely have a jig that does this or at least they should.

Ed