Pro Fence Adjustmenr

[jnoce77]

I recently installed the 520 upgrade kit in my MK 5. When I first tried to use the rip fence, the front clamp was so tight that it wouldn't close down all the way. I adjusted the nut in the front if the fence and got it to clamp down finally. It still seems that I cannot get it to clamp in a straight line though. Also when I need to use an extension table for larger cuts, it is very difficult to get the front to clamp while the rear clamp seems almost too easy to clamp. I move the fence from the rail slide, not by grabbing the top of the fence (after watching Dave Reed's video). Am I adjusting the tension correctly and am I clamping correctly (back or lower clamp first)?

[algale]

About the fence not clamping in a straight line on the main table, i.e. parallel to the miter slots, are you making sure to register the fence against the front rail before locking?

A lot of times people new to the Pro Fence forget to register the fence against the front rail by pushing the fence up against the front rail and keeping pressure against the front rail when they lay the fence on the rail or as they slide the fence to the desired width of the rip cut.

When that happens, as soon as they go to lock the fence, the application of clamping pressure causes the fence to register against the front rail and the fence moves whichever way it needs to in order to square up. People assume the fence was square before the locking pressure (it wasn't) and wonder why the fence skewed when it locked.

What you really want is for the fence to be parallel to the miter slots when it is locked. To check for parallelism, you need to lock the fence in place on the main table within a few inches of one of the miter slots and carefully measure the distance at both the front and the back of the fence between the fence and the miter slot. A dial indicator that rides securely in the slot works great for this, but you can also use an adjustable square. Retract the blade of the square until it is flush with the base. Now put the base of the square in the miter slot and hold the base firmly against interior edge of the miter slot nearest to the fence. While holding the base firmly in place, extend the blade of the square until the end of the blade just touches the fence at one end; then slide/move the square's base along the track until you get to the other end. If a gap appears between the end of the blade and the fence or if the base of the square is pushed away from the edge of the miter slot, the fence is not parallel to the slot. If the the blade kept in contact with the fence and the base of the square kept in contact with the edge of the miter slot for the entire distance, the fence is parallel to the miter slot.

You can also make this measurement with the old trick of inserting the long Shopsmith Allen wrench through the hole in base of the miter gauge.

[dusty]

I wholeheartedly agree with all that has been said here BUT once this has been done it should not be necessary to do it this way every time the rip fence is installed.

The front (infeed) lock should have the effect of locking the fence to the front rail in the proper position. One should not need to hold the fence against the rail when securing the fence to the front rail. Locking it should automatically achieve that. Think of the rip fence like a t-square referenced to the front rail. If all is well, the toe of the t-square should parallel to the miter slot (the blade).

The alignment procedure supplied with the fence is, in my opinion, grossly inadequate.

[garys]

My question would be, "does the fence clamp in the same line each time"? If not, the problem would be in the clamp not being adjusted correctly or inconsistent manner is it being used. If it clamps consistently out of line, then look at the fence itself for an adjustment of the fence to align it right. I don't have a 520 fence so I don't know if there is a way to align it. I suspect there is. I have a 510 fence and mine wanted to clamp down slightly out of line each time I used it. I inspected it and found 2 screws on the under side that allowed me to align it exactly the way I want it. Since then, it clamps right each time it is used.
The guys with 520 fences in hand should be able to help with that.

[dusty]

The two fences clamp differently but "in principle" they do the same thing. First you secure the fence to the front rail (which registers the fence mechanism to the front rail) and then you lock the outfeed end of the fence to the rear rail.

Both of the fences need to be aligned and then secured (all done with the front mechanism registered (locked)) to the front rail.

[DLB]

We've had another recent thread on the Pro Fence adjustment, indicating that if the fence clamps are far out of adjustment it is not clear how to adjust them. It is important that the handle position be correct while making the adjustment: https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... 23713.html
Some variation in the rear/outfeed clamp moving from table to table is 'normal' in my experience. It is caused by manufacturing variation creating slightly different distance between the front and rear rails. Normally, a single adjustment is good enough, it might be slightly loose on one table and slightly tight on another. If you can't achieve a satisfactory adjustment I would think shimming the rail mounts would work, though I've never done it.

Am I adjusting the tension correctly and am I clamping correctly (back or lower clamp first)?

Lower clamp first is correct. Most, not all, of us call that front (or infeed). As far as adjusting it correctly, it sounds like you are but I'd like to confirm handle position you are using. If you are getting consistent results but the fence is not square (parallel to the tracks) that is a different adjustment.

- David

[dusty]

To get a better understanding of how the front (infeed) lock works, I would suggest that you remove a front rail from one of your extension tables and then remove the rip fence. Turn the rip fence upside down on the main table and mate it with the front rail. In this manner you can lock and unlock the fence to the rail and observe how the two mate and why the fence squares with the rail when the lower lever is in the lock position.

Since your fence is new, the pads on the rip fence will not be worn but if they were old if wear pattern could adversely effect the squaring of the rail to the fence. When that happens, the four screws on the top of the fence need to be loosened and the fence adjusted to be parallel to the miter slots. You won't have to be concerned with that for many years of service.

[jnoce77]

We've had another recent thread on the Pro Fence adjustment, indicating that if the fence clamps are far out of adjustment it is not clear how to adjust them. It is important that the handle position be correct while making the adjustment: https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... 23713.html
Some variation in the rear/outfeed clamp moving from table to table is 'normal' in my experience. It is caused by manufacturing variation creating slightly different distance between the front and rear rails. Normally, a single adjustment is good enough, it might be slightly loose on one table and slightly tight on another. If you can't achieve a satisfactory adjustment I would think shimming the rail mounts would work, though I've never done it.

Am I adjusting the tension correctly and am I clamping correctly (back or lower clamp first)?

Lower clamp first is correct. Most, not all, of us call that front (or infeed). As far as adjusting it correctly, it sounds like you are but I'd like to confirm handle position you are using. If you are getting consistent results but the fence is not square (parallel to the tracks) that is a different adjustment.

- David

So I guess I was misleading with my terminology. I always clamp the infeed side first and seem to need to adjust the outfeed side so that the fence is parallel. I typically do this with a tape measure on both the in feed and out feed sides of the saw blade. Yes, i do push the fence from where it it sits on the rails of the in feed side. It seems as if the fence is always kicked just a bit to the right on the out feed side. It is taking me about 10 minutes or more to set my fence up each time so that I can get true rips and cuts. I am almost to a point to where I am going to take it back to a model 500 to use the tubular rails.

[dusty]

Could you post a picture of your fence sitting on the main table with the lower lock lever engaged. Don't manually position the fence. Just set it there, push the fence against the rail and lock.

I want to see how the fence looks with respect to the grooves in the table or the miter slot.

Have you ever loosened the four screws on the top of the 520 rip fence?

The following are two pictures of my rip fence setting on the table unlocked and deliberately cocked to one side at the outfeed end. You can readily see that the fence is not parallel to the grooves in the table or the miter slot.

Locking the lower level will (or should) correct this condition but if it does not further alignment of the rip fence itself is required.

The third image was intended to show the rip fence to be properly positioned by locking the lower level. It does not depict that as intended (poor photo).

20200625_062232_100[1].jpg (1.25 MiB) Viewed 7970 times

20200625_062255[1].jpg (1.35 MiB) Viewed 7970 times

20200625_062319[1].jpg (1.52 MiB) Viewed 7970 times

[garys]

Yes, it sounds like your fence needs a simple alignment. Just adjust it so it sits perfectly parallel to the blade in the table, or just slightly away farther away from it on the outfeed side. What you don't want is it sitting a bit closer to the blade on the outfeed side as that will cause burning