mitre table adjustment problem??

[MaryL]

Hi everyone: I just replaced the plastic sliders on my mitre table and am having trouble adjusting them. If I tighten them too much the table won't slide properly, but if I loosen them (even a little) the table moves too much to get a good cut. I'd be very grateful if someone can tell me how to do this.

thanks,

Mary Louise

[vaking]

Hello Mary and welcome to the forum.
3 out of 4 screws that hold the SMT are adjustable. One is fixed (that is the pivot point) the other 3 are eccentric. There are several procedures described here at the forum in the getting started section on how to adjust the SMT (Sliding Miter Table is the name for it).
Thanks,

[scoly]

Mary
The adjustment is just finiky. Easiest with a helper and just keep at it till satisfied. You are correct about a little adjustment makes a big difference so it is up to you to make minute adjustments. Important to hold the screw in place securely while the nut is tightened. Patience is definitely a virtue doing this task.
hth
Steve

[gmack5]

EVERYTHING, both fences, the front rail (the one closest to the operator), and the SMT all reference off of the SAW BLADE.

The first thing to do is make sure you're locking down the SMT to the RAIL correctly. Lock down the FRONT two tabs first, then the BACK two tabs. Once you have the Base of the SMT locked down, you can then check it's parallism to the Saw Blade, using the Jig listed below.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...89164857&idx=2

To check the SMT Base, mount the Jig to the side of your Saw Blade, then attach the Jig to it such that the Nail is at the operator end and the Sliding table is all the way back. Move the SMT Base so that the edge of it is close or barely touching the end of the Nail. Now, Reverse the position of the Jig such that the Nail is towards the rear of the Saw and the Sliding Table is all the way towards the front of the Saw, towards the operator. The Nail should be the same distance from the SMT Base as it was in the front.

Any difference in the distance would indicate that the SMT Base is NOT parallel to the Blade. Adjust the Base in small increments until it's parallel to the blade, using the adjusting screws that hold it to the rails. Once this is done, you can proceed to adjusting the Sliding Table parallel to the Saw Blade.

Lets check to see if the SMT is parallel to the SAW BLADE. (This is what you've been waiting for!)

Move the SMT base a little closer than you had it in the last check for the SMT Base, such that the Nail on the Jig is about an inch or so over the edge of the Sliding Table, towards the front of the Saw.
Place the Block on the Sliding Table, so that one corner of it is just barely brushed when you move the Sliding Table towards the rear. Now reverse the Jig so the Nail is towards the Rear of the Saw, without touching the Block and move the Sliding Table farther back so that the Nail just barely touches the Block (it shouldn't move at all). If this condition exsists, then your Sliding Table is Parallel to the Saw Blade and no adjustment is necessary.

If this is NOT the case, then follow the adjustment proceedure below to bring the Sliding Table parallel to the Saw Blade.

There are four screws envolved, a "normal" shoulder screw and three eccentric screws.
The normal screw is the pivot point and should never require adjustment, since the others use it as a reference point to adjust for parallel and to take the slop out of the SMT, with respect to the carrier.
The RIGHT FRONT screw is the "normal" screw.

CAUTION: the eccentric screws are a little delicate, so be careful that you don't torque them too hard, as they WILL break off.

To make the SMT Sliding Table run parallel to the saw blade, be sure the LEFT front eccentric screw is "snug", but not tight, to the base, loosen the LEFT REAR eccentric screw and make sure the SMT is good and sloppy (Don't want it to interfere with the effort to bring the SMT parallel)
The Right REAR eccentric screw is used to bring the SMT parallel to the saw blade, adjust it by applying a slight pressure to the RIGHT side of the SMT as you adjust for parallel by rotating the RIGHT REAR screw.
Once you're sure you're parallel to the saw blade, lock down the eccentric screw by keeping it in it's rotational position with a screw driver (I find that an offset screw driver works very well for this) from the bottom as you snug up the nut on the top of the screw.

NOW take the slop out of the REAR end of the SMT by rotating the LEFT REAR eccentric screw, until the SMT is snug, but not tight, you should be able to push the SMT towards the back with very little effort, in other words, it should "glide" smoothly, with very little or no side to side slop.
Be sure you hold the screw in position with a screw driver to keep the screw from rotating as you tighten the nut on the top of the screw.

Your SMT should now glide parallel to the saw blade!

Your Miter Fence, while not directly envolved in the adjustment, needs to be adjusted also. This is accomplished by adjusting the "Quick Stop", located on the Left side of the SMT, about mid-way down the side. Adjust your "Quick Stop" (the little tab that swings up on the left edge of the SMT) so that it brings your MITER FENCE square to the blade (it's also an eccentric screw) when you gently swing the miter fence up against it.

You can also check your Rip Fence with the same Jig by mounting the Jig with the Nail towards the Rip fence, just barely touching it. Now reverse the Jig with the Nail at the back of the Saw, if the Rip Fence is the same distance from the Nail as it was with the Nail near the front of the Saw, then it's parallel, if not, there are two Screws near the front of the Saw on top of the Rip Fence that are used to adjust the position of the Fence. I would only loosen ONE of them at a time, using the other one as a pivot when aligning the Rip Fence.

One other thing to be considered.... The Clamp for the Miter Fence consists of a 5/16-18 bolt that passes thru a plastic bracket that provides the clamping pressure to hold the Miter Fence in whatever position you put it. The hex head on the clamping bolt rides IN a grove on the bottom of the SMT. The groove is sized in such a way that it keeps the bolt from turning as you tighten the knob on top of the bracket. If the Clamping Bolt is properly installed (head in the groove) there is no way that it could deform the Sliding Miter Table, since it merely clamps a piece of Aluminum (the SMT base) between the Miter Fence and the head of the bolt. IF you put a washer under the clamping bolt (on the bottom) in an effort to straddle the the sides of the groove that it was designed to ride in, it might deform the SMT when pressure is applied by clamping the Miter Fence with the Clamping Bolt improperly installed. YMMV

That should do it!

You should be good to go!

[bigstick509]

To the best forums on the Net.

[MaryL]

Thanks everyone.... I used the advice posted here and my mitre table is working fine now. I still don't know exactly what was wrong... most likely operator error, eh? An old lesson relearned: Don't work when you're too tired... I really appreciate the help.

Mary Louise

[mdutch]

Hey, welcome Mary!!

Not to be a stick-in-the-mud, but according to the "Book of Kirby" ( The Rod Kirby Method of BT3000 Alignment - By Rod Kirby ) the first item to align is the Miter Base (the fixed part, item #14 in the manual's Figure B). From what I understand, until that's parallel, adjusting the sliding Miter Table Top (1) doesn't get you very far.

FYI, I've never had to adjust the Miter Table Top, just my Miter Base (14). So all my adjustments were with the four base-mounting screws (17), not the Eccentric Screws (20) that adjust the sliding Miter Table Top.

Am I way off base here?