alancooke wrote:I read several ideas for lining up a cut and thought I would add one more.
What about putting a sacrificial board on the face of the miter gauge, cutting a small notch in it and then aligning the mark on your workpiece with the notch in the board?
Excellent idea - this would give an exact location of both the right and left edge of the blade. (I'm assuming that after the first cut the small notch becomes a saw kerf) This method may be exact for only one set up of the saw table/headstock. Not sure if that little rubber ring (on the way tube) is really exacting on the position of the blade to the table with all new set ups.
Guess I'll explain by thinking (bias). Years ago (once upon a time) when I received my new 510 and un-packed it, I removed the cardboard tubes from the way tubes, then noticed that rubber ring. Thinking it also was packing and not understanding a reason for it, I cut it off with my knife. For years I used my SS without a problem of positioning the saw blade/table relationship. Only because of this forum was I made aware of the purpose for that thing. Yes, blade positioning is faster now, but I am not at all sure of repeated accuracy of the settings. Just don't trust it yet. Do you find it to have repeated accuracy?
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
I don't believe the rubber ring on the way tube is intended to give you an instant, no effort realignment of the blade for fine cutting where "accuracy" is a requirement.
I believe it is intended to allow you to reposition the headstock so that the blade is aligned somewhere near the proper location. Near enough that when the table is lowered, the blade will come up through the table insert.
If you are needing .125 inch (1/8 ") accuracy (or better), you best measure (or use some other personal favorite trick) to get there.
The rubber ring won't do it. I use the adjustable quill a lot.
The Stop Ring gives me repeatability to at least 1/32" maybe better. I use custom made zero clearance saw inserts and can use one with the same blade for several months before the slot starts to become slightly wider. I've also noticed this with a homemade sled and the Incra miter sled 5000.
Mark the wood and place it on your sled or against the face of the miter gauge. Flip the saw guard up out of the way and hold the flat surface of the base of an Engineer's Square against the side of the blade you want to align with the cut mark. The square should contact at least three teeth on the saw blade. It helps to put a scrap the same thickness as the workpiece beside the blade and rest the base of the square on it.
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Move the workpiece sideways until the cut mark aligns with the surface of the square. Remove the square and the scrap; swing the guard down into place, and make the cut.
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Mark misaligned.JPG (51.76 KiB) Viewed 14365 times
I would have never thought of that. Now I can another bit of info in the old thought tank. I see that you are from Lancaster Chuck I was stationed at Edwards for 3 years. Just left in Oct. of 2005
This goes in the category of]"Why didn't I think of that!"[/B]