Shopsmith Forums

I am new to this site but have had my Shopsmith for ages. I have really been impressed with the knowledge here. I'm sure someone will know the resolve to my problem. When I try to tighten the 2 levers on my fence it always wants to creap out of alignment with the blade. The table is aligned to the blade however the fence always wants to move. Please tell me what causes this.

BTW it is a 520.

Thanks in advance.

Remember that the 520 fence actually aligns itself to the front rail and then secures itself to the rear rail.

It is imperative that these rails be properly installed for the rip fence to align properly.

Furthermore, the rip fence must be aligned. I assume you have done all of that.

bhurley

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like Dusty hit the problem with the fence itself being out of adjustment. It has adjustments to square it to the table.

Thanks for joining
Mark

dusty wrote:Remember that the 520 fence actually aligns itself to the front rail and then secures itself to the rear rail.

It is imperative that these rails be properly installed for the rip fence to align properly.

Furthermore, the rip fence must be aligned. I assume you have done all of that.

Sequence: 1)Table 2)RailS 3)Fence

bhurley

The four screws shown in the first photo are the ones to use for alignment of the fence.





[ATTACH]5206[/ATTACH]





The lock nut shown in the following picture adjusts the pressure of the rear lock down on the fence. It should hold without slipping but does not need to be so tight that it makes locking the leaver down difficult.





[ATTACH]5207[/ATTACH]




Mark

I thank everyone for their help. I think the prior post indicating that the rear clamp need not be extremely tight may help me. I can't wait to go through the entire alignment process again.

I keep my shopsmith and some other more basic tools at our second house in TN. My primary shop with larger equipment is here at our Florida house. When we go north in a couple of weeks I will test using the help you all have provided. I will let you know.

Thank you very much!

I think some have missed the question....]When I try to tighten the 2 levers on my fence it always wants to creap out of alignment with the blade. The table is aligned to the blade however the fence always wants to move. Please tell me what causes this.

When the Traveling Academy was still active, "Doug" explained that a properly aligned fence will still appear to jump and move away from the saw blade.....and he proved it on his SS, in front of 30 of us. Doug demoed this over and over.

Most of us measure the gap t'ween blade and fence, and adjust fence using one hand ON THE FRONT ( that being closest to you...with the levers).....that will almost ensure that while the gap is correct, the fence is not parallel. When the lever is depressed to tighten....the fence will appear to move as it attempts to correct itself. Depending on how vigorous one initially shifted that fence, the "jump" when tightening the front lever can be considerable.

Doug claimed it was a simple technique fix of the operator. He showed to move the fence in WITH YOUR FOREARM....than would ensure the fence was parallel PRIOR to tightening levers. It took me a few tries but he was right. With practice, the "jump" disappeared completely...without driving myself crazy. And YES, my rip cuts were the right width......

So.....tighten down that fence and check it's initial alignment....If it's already parallel, great. Now move to a new width and tighten. If it moves, the "jump" you are creating. It's just a technique fix. And a bit of practice.

Doc

chiroindixon wrote:I think some have missed the question....]When I try to tighten the 2 levers on my fence it always wants to creap out of alignment with the blade. The table is aligned to the blade however the fence always wants to move. Please tell me what causes this.

When the Traveling Academy was still active, "Doug" explained that a properly aligned fence will still appear to jump and move away from the saw blade.....and he proved it on his SS, in front of 30 of us. Doug demoed this over and over.

Most of us measure the gap t'ween blade and fence, and adjust fence using one hand ON THE FRONT ( that being closest to you...with the levers).....that will almost ensure that while the gap is correct, the fence is not parallel. When the lever is depressed to tighten....the fence will appear to move as it attempts to correct itself. Depending on how vigorous one initially shifted that fence, the "jump" when tightening the front lever can be considerable.

Doug claimed it was a simple technique fix of the operator. He showed to move the fence in WITH YOUR FOREARM....than would ensure the fence was parallel PRIOR to tightening levers. It took me a few tries but he was right. With practice, the "jump" disappeared completely...without driving myself crazy. And YES, my rip cuts were the right width......

So.....tighten down that fence and check it's initial alignment....If it's already parallel, great. Now move to a new width and tighten. If it moves, the "jump" you are creating. It's just a technique fix. And a bit of practice.

Doc

OR, When moving the fence, push it tight against the rail so as to remove the slop between the fence and the rail. When the clamp is loosened, the fence can become 'cocked' due to the clearance.

This applies to ALL versions of the fence.

bhurley wrote:I thank everyone for their help. I think the prior post indicating that the rear clamp need not be extremely tight may help me. I can't wait to go through the entire alignment process again.

I keep my shopsmith and some other more basic tools at our second house in TN. My primary shop with larger equipment is here at our Florida house. When we go north in a couple of weeks I will test using the help you all have provided. I will let you know.

Thank you very much!

Where in TN???:)

Our Tennessee house is in a small town 30 miles east of Knoxville called Dandridge. It is the neatest little town you could ask for. It has a population of about 2,500. We just love it. It looks out over a golf course. Its really pretty.