Shopsmith Forums

My 510 saw table is not square with the saw blade. It is out .007-.009. I have some concerns that if I loosen it and attempt to get it into alignment that I will make it worse. Have any of you had any experience with this issue and do you have any suggestions..

thomas2938 wrote:My 510 saw table is not square with the saw blade. It is out .007-.009. I have some concerns that if I loosen it and attempt to get it into alignment that I will make it worse. Have any of you had any experience with this issue and do you have any suggestions..

If you loosen the four bolts that secure the table to the trunnions, the table will certainly become more out of alignment BUT that is part of the process.

You can search the forum for information on table alignment. There has been much written about that procedure.

I don't do it like anyone else I know but I basically square the blade to the face of the miter gauge (Incra V120). I use +- .005" as acceptance criteria; however, I have become so confident in my procedure that I hardly ever check that measurement anymore.

Please don't use your table saw without the table and fences being well aligned. It is not safe to do that.

thomas2938 wrote:My 510 saw table is not square with the saw blade. It is out .007-.009. I have some concerns that if I loosen it and attempt to get it into alignment that I will make it worse. Have any of you had any experience with this issue and do you have any suggestions..

I just recently had to square my second SS's table to the blade. Somehow????? It gotten to the point of burning the offcut side coz it was about .030 out of square. After about an hour and a half, I got it to be within .002. It does take a lot of trial and error, but it's definitely worth it.

Brent

One thing I'd suggest in squaring the table is to snug down just one of the four bolts that holds the table in place and using that bolt to pivot/rotate the table while you test for alignment between the miter gauge slot and blade. Use a mallet to tap the corner of the table to bring it into alignment with the blade. Then snug down the bolt that is diagonally opposite the first and again check for alignment. Then tighten the other bolts. This can get tedious as the table wants to move as you tighten down those bolts. If you use the same sequence in tightening down the bolts, you may be able to anticipate the movement with your initial alignment so that when you tighten the other bolts the table moves into alignment. All of this is easier said than done, however. Remember to lock the headstock, quill, table height and carriage before aligning the table.

The first thing you should do in aligning the table is square the table front-to-back with the spindle in drill press mode. Use shims in the shape of washers so that they stay in place when you subsequently align the table with the blade.

pennview wrote:One thing I'd suggest in squaring the table is to snug down just one of the four bolts that holds the table in place and using that bolt to pivot/rotate the table while you test for alignment between the miter gauge slot and blade. Use a mallet to tap the corner of the table to bring it into alignment with the blade. Then snug down the bolt that is diagonally opposite the first and again check for alignment. Then tighten the other bolts. This can get tedious as the table wants to move as you tighten down those bolts. If you use the same sequence in tightening down the bolts, you may be able to anticipate the movement with your initial alignment so that when you tighten the other bolts the table moves into alignment. All of this is easier said than done, however. Remember to lock the headstock, quill, table height and carriage before aligning the table.

The first thing you should do in aligning the table is square the table front-to-back with the spindle in drill press mode. Use shims in the shape of washers so that they stay in place when you subsequently align the table with the blade.

Art is so correct with his warning to secure all of the locks before doing the table alignment. It is unbelievable just how much the table moves when the locks are not secure.

After loosening all four trunnion bolts, like Art suggests, I secure one bolt (outfeed left) as the pivot point. Before I do that I push the table back and left as far as it will go and then tighten that bolt (a little more than finger tight).