Shopsmith Forums

For those of you who are familiar with MasterGage then you may already know about the SuperBar. For those of you who are not then may I suggest a visit to:

MasterGage.com

I have the MasterPlate and have had it for years. It is my go to method of alignment for a lot of reasons. Do you have to have one? No, I got along with just a blade for years and years but then once I had one I saw the light. We are not here to talk about this product but it would seem that it would be a great companion for what we are talking about, the SuperBar.

First let me add a little personal information about the MasterGage company. It is a one man company run by a retired USAF disabled veteran in Southern CA and has been around since 1996. He invents, develop manufacture and assembles the products. The exception to this is that the dial indicators are imported but that is still remarkably made in the USA........

The SuperBar comes in the standard 3/4 x 3/8 miter slot version, the sears (.740) slot and a shopsmith version. If you go to the site it mentions the shopsmith one but no way of ordering it. You will need to contact him directly. Also he doesn't take all credit cards so in my case I had to mail a check out to him but that works fine be it perhaps a little slower.

At this point I can't review it but I have put it together and adjust it to fit the slot on my shopsmith. I can get a nice sliding tight fit so I think this could be the answer to some of you wishing you had something better then the sloppy shopsmith system. I took a few pictures which should be useful for getting an idea of how this might work. Come spring I'll give it a try.
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Keep in mind part of my woodworking hobby is buying tools to try out. Sometimes I find things that change how I do things and other times they are total flops and I waste my money. If this doesn't interest you move on, no reason to rain on anyone else parade.

Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the info...very informative. Also thanks for letting us know that he offers a Shopsmith sized miter bar for it as an option. Definitely worth considering. Looking forward to seeing your review on it after things thaw a bit.

Do you think there will be an advantage to it instead of the one from Woodpecker?

I have the Woodpecker version and using those bars in the miter slot is a pain. I am ordering one from him tomorrow. Emailed him today because there is not a SS option when ordering and he replied promptly stating to just call him to order. He hasn't had time to update the website.

Jack

I think the woodpecker has the better centering system at least in theory. I have come to grips with the handing of the bars so that is not really an issue for me I have heard that others have had problems. This superbar is much simpler with some minimal adjustments you have a good fit in the slot and are ready to go without having to play to much.

I will go a comparison of an alignment this spring. I can't imagine they will be off my much.

Ed

Anyone considering the SuperBar should check out the MasterPlate from the same people - also available in a shopsmith version - which makes it even easier to align your table to spindle. Gives you a machined flat reference plate to put on the saw arbor and with a good dial indicator setup in the miter slot (like the SuperBar, although I have the SS version which works just fine) it makes quick work of the job.

Interesting three point width adjustment. Does it suggest equal 'tightening' of the three screws?

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:48 am Interesting three point width adjustment. Does it suggest equal 'tightening' of the three screws?

Equal tightening...No.

The instructions say to adjust the two outer screws for a "smooth" slide back and forth in the miter slot (which reduces most all of the slop) and to then adjust the center one for a firm fit in the miter slot. The sides of the SuperBar will not necessarily be parallel to the edges of the miter slot.

It works. It really does. The base of the SuperBar measures .720" in width (with no adjustment. My miter track measures ,7344". My Shopsmith miter bar measures .725" allowing for .0094" of lateral movement.

In a static test against my alignment plate (not a blade and not a MasterPlate) I can reduce that movement to .001". Adjusting the setscrews on the SuperBar to get to that point was a slow and tedious procedure but I think well worth the time and effort. Now for a durability test. I'll come back after a few weeks of shop time and recheck the measurements. I use an arbor mounted plate from Infinity.

The SuperBar won't have changed but the Shopsmith table may.

Side Comment: I do not move the dial indicator back and forth (tooth to tooth) as many do. I use two dial indicators, each zeroed to the plate in the center of the plate and then position the dial indicators at the infeed and outfeed sides of the plate. In that setup, I then strive for "equal" indications on both dial indicators. Blade (plate) is then parallel to the miter slot.

dusty wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:33 am Side Comment: I do not move the dial indicator back and forth (tooth to tooth) as many do. I use two dial indicators, each zeroed to the plate in the center of the plate and then position the dial indicators at the infeed and outfeed sides of the plate. In that setup, I then strive for "equal" indications on both dial indicators. Blade (plate) is then parallel to the miter slot.

Thanks for the note. Very accurate. I also do this, although I did not understand why it is better to do this, it was just that they somehow showed me that this is better and that's it, I do this out of habit.