GD

Glen Duff

13/01/2005 8:07 AM

Rip Fence Alignment

What is the proper way to align the rip fence. I have a General with a
12" blade and a General ripping fence. In particular I am interested in
how much off-parellel to the blade should it be? I am assuming it is
not expected to be perfectly parallel but a little closer at the front
of the blade than the back.

Any assistance is appreciated.

With thanks,

Glen Duff


This topic has 18 replies

DB

Dave Balderstone

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 11:17 AM

In article <[email protected]>, Unisaw A100
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Then they go to align the fence to the slot with,
>
> a dial indicator.


ROFL!

--
"The thing about saying the wrong words is that A, I don't notice it, and B,
sometimes orange water gibbon bucket and plastic." -- Mr. Burrows

DB

Dave Balderstone

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 11:18 AM

In article <[email protected]>, Glen Duff
<[email protected]> wrote:

> What is the proper way to align the rip fence.

On my saw? By eyeball, with a mallet.

--
"The thing about saying the wrong words is that A, I don't notice it, and B,
sometimes orange water gibbon bucket and plastic." -- Mr. Burrows

UA

Unisaw A100

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 10:27 AM

patrick conroy wrote:
>Prolly still stinging from their TiteBond III 'speriment, they've decided to
>cover all the bases.


It's way past that. They show using the stock guide (sloppy
fit which will throw off any alignment) with no mention of
fit (it must be) in the first part and for the second part
they use a Starrett dial indicator.

Talk about your wide variances.

UA100

Sd

Silvan

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

16/01/2005 3:28 AM

John wrote:

> I am not going to try and recall who the particpants were. Basically
> there was one person arguing that the 90 degree setting was required
> to make the alignment and not listening to replies that it did not
> matter as long as the setting remained fixed.

That was my fault, sorry to say. I was trying to figger out how to line up
my shiny new Crapsman, and it descended into that. About a year ago I
reckon.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

JJ

John

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 11:52 PM



patrick conroy wrote:
> "Unisaw A100" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>
>>end of the stick. They state that this is good enough and
>>the click from the tooth contacting the screw is all you
>>need.
>>
>>Then they go to align the fence to the slot with,
>>
>>a dial indicator.
>
>
> Prolly still stinging from their TiteBond III 'speriment, they've decided to
> cover all the bases.
>
>
Did you miss the part where they say to set the miter guage at 90 degrees?
Remember that long argument here a while back.
John

JJ

John

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

15/01/2005 3:23 PM



Unisaw A100 wrote:
> John wrote:
>
>>Did you miss the part where they say to set the miter guage at 90 degrees?
>
>
> Oh no, I saw it. I 'bout wore a hole in my hat from
> scratching and wondering why anyone would think it would
> make a difference. Makes me wonder if Wood ought maybe be
> writing about something other than, well ,wood.
>
>
>>Remember that long argument here a while back.
>
>
> Either my short term or long term memory isn't so good. Can
> you refresh?
>
> UA100

I am not going to try and recall who the particpants were. Basically
there was one person arguing that the 90 degree setting was required
to make the alignment and not listening to replies that it did not
matter as long as the setting remained fixed.
John

UA

Unisaw A100

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

15/01/2005 3:22 AM

John wrote:
>Did you miss the part where they say to set the miter guage at 90 degrees?

Oh no, I saw it. I 'bout wore a hole in my hat from
scratching and wondering why anyone would think it would
make a difference. Makes me wonder if Wood ought maybe be
writing about something other than, well ,wood.

>Remember that long argument here a while back.

Either my short term or long term memory isn't so good. Can
you refresh?

UA100

BR

"Bjarte Runderheim"

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 8:12 PM


"Leon" <[email protected]> skrev i melding
news:[email protected]...

> Insure that one of your miter slots is absolutely parallel to your blade.
> Then your fence should be adjusted to be absolutely parallel the same
miter
> slot. I do no subscribe to having the blade farther from the back of the
> blade than the front.
> After making each adjustment test cut a few pieces of wood.


The miter slot is of course the deciding factor _if_ your blade
is correctly aligned.

A blade that is not parallell to the miter slot will never give
a satisfactory cut in thick or wide wood.

Two factors govern the angle of the blade:
Centered on the wheels or not. Adjustable.
Straight blade guides or not. Adjustable.

Two factors can throw off the cutting angle of a
weel aligned blade:
One sided damage to the teeth of the blade. Get new.
(made when scraping resin off the blade.)
Resin layer inside the blade. Scrape carefully!

All the rest is adjusting to a bad blade angle.

Bjarte

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 2:08 PM


"Glen Duff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What is the proper way to align the rip fence. I have a General with a
> 12" blade and a General ripping fence. In particular I am interested in
> how much off-parellel to the blade should it be? I am assuming it is not
> expected to be perfectly parallel but a little closer at the front of the
> blade than the back.
>
> Any assistance is appreciated.
>
> With thanks,
>
> Glen Duff
>

Insure that one of your miter slots is absolutely parallel to your blade.
Then your fence should be adjusted to be absolutely parallel the same miter
slot. I do no subscribe to having the blade farther from the back of the
blade than the front.
After making each adjustment test cut a few pieces of wood.

Pg

Patriarch

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 11:32 PM

Unisaw A100 <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

<snippage>
> Oh no, I saw it. I 'bout wore a hole in my hat from
> scratching and wondering why anyone would think it would
> make a difference. Makes me wonder if Wood ought maybe be
> writing about something other than, well ,wood.
>

I think I wasted the cash on that magazine about twice. But then, I
haven't been a woodworker long enough to remember when they might have been
good.

Patriarch

HM

"Herman Munster"

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 10:59 AM

If I may add the 2 cents of a relative newbe. Get a dial indicator. After
aligning my TS with the method
indicated in the manual I used a dial gauge and found that is was over 30
thousands off. After using
an indicator I have it within 3 thou. Makes a lot of difference in the
quality of the cut.

Cheers
HM

UA

Unisaw A100

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

15/01/2005 1:07 PM

Patriarch wrote:
>I think I wasted the cash on that magazine about twice. But then, I
>haven't been a woodworker long enough to remember when they might have been
>good.


Wood has stayed pretty consistent since it's beginning and I
really couldn't say they ever had a Golden Age. Back in the
beginning they did have Roy Underhill doing a monthly
contribution which is kinda cool when thumbing the back
issues but for the most part they have clinkers just like
all the rest of the magazines.

Now having said that, take a magazine like American
Woodworker. Back "in the day" they had David Sloan, Ellis
Walentine, Andy Rae and others and that was one of the
finest damn magazines you could waste some money on every
month. Since Reader's Digest took over it's pretty much
cork screwed itself into the ground/become something almost
equivalent to Woodworking For Women (arguably the worst
magazine on the stand as it tries to give the impression of
legitimacy but really is something so dumbed down I think
NOW ought to file a class action suit against it and the
publisher).

Popular Woodworking has stayed consistent but usually shows
improvement from month to month and year to year.

Work Bench (August Home) has probably shown the most
improvement and gone from something I wouldn't even thumb
through for free to "worth at least going to the LEEBRARY
every month to read/I might even be tempted to buy a
subscription" to.

Fine Woodworking, I think, is somewhat the Sears of
woodworking magazine and is banking more on it's reputation
than it should be, i.e., it ain't what it once was/could
really use some improvement, Your Mileage May Vary.

I can't figure out what it is I don't like about Woodwork.
It's well written. It's well crafted as a magazine. It has
some great gallery shots and articles but I just can't seem
to get on board. Again, Your Mileage May Vary.

UA100, who is thinking that with a full set of Fine
Woodworkings (from Issue 1 to now) and a full set of Wood
and with volumes of a lot of other magazines on the shelf is
thinking "maybe it's all been said and done and now we're
truly into the re-hashing period, and maybe should save some
money and let some subscriptions lapse...

UA

Unisaw A100

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 11:38 PM

I go for as close to parallel as possible. Anything else is
inviting a kick back.

UA100

UA

Unisaw A100

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 11:35 PM

Pat Barber wrote:
>One of these should help a LOT:
> http://www.ts-aligner.com/tsjrlite.htm



This month's issue of Wood has a short essay on aligning a
saw. For aligning the blade to the miter slot they suggest
a stick clamped to the miter gage and a screw on the blade
end of the stick. They state that this is good enough and
the click from the tooth contacting the screw is all you
need.

Then they go to align the fence to the slot with,

a dial indicator.












white space added for emphasis...

UA100, who is wishing that maybe Wood would put a brown
wrapper on the magazine when they ship it, at least till the
subscription runs out...

Br

Ba r r y

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

15/01/2005 12:28 AM

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 23:52:48 GMT, John <[email protected]>
wrote:


>Did you miss the part where they say to set the miter guage at 90 degrees?
>Remember that long argument here a while back.


Should the miter gauge be grounded if it's plastic?

pc

"patrick conroy"

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

14/01/2005 1:50 AM


"Unisaw A100" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> end of the stick. They state that this is good enough and
> the click from the tooth contacting the screw is all you
> need.
>
> Then they go to align the fence to the slot with,
>
> a dial indicator.

Prolly still stinging from their TiteBond III 'speriment, they've decided to
cover all the bases.

PB

Pat Barber

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

13/01/2005 9:30 PM

One of these should help a LOT:

http://www.ts-aligner.com/tsjrlite.htm



Herman Munster wrote:
> If I may add the 2 cents of a relative newbe. Get a dial indicator. After
> aligning my TS with the method
> indicated in the manual I used a dial gauge and found that is was over 30
> thousands off. After using
> an indicator I have it within 3 thou. Makes a lot of difference in the
> quality of the cut.

AD

Andy Dingley

in reply to Glen Duff on 13/01/2005 8:07 AM

16/01/2005 2:26 AM

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:07:02 -0500, Glen Duff <[email protected]>
wrote:

>What is the proper way to align the rip fence.

Align the table slots to the blade, then align the fence to the table.

Set it wide at the back by the average parallelism error in setting
the fence - i.e. if your fence is accurate and stays square when you
adjust it, then you can set it exactly parallel. If your fence
wobbles, then adjust it so that at least it never wobbles to be
constricting.

--
Smert' spamionam


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