BT3100 Miter Fence moves

[COTCJIM]

Being a newbie, I don't know if this has been addressed before. I have trouble keeping the miter fence from moving no matter how hard I tighten it. The long fence is nice, but it makes it harder to keep it aligned. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Jim

[LCHIEN]

try these suggestions first:
From the BT3 FAQ:

What's the little black button on the bottom of the Miter fence for/Why does my Miter fence not stay locked in position?
You must have the little black pivot post on the bottom of the miter fence properly engaged in either hole A or B (on the left or right edge of the SMT, respectively). If you don’t do this then your miter fence will wander around and not cut right angles. This will also make the angle scales work properly.
You must use one or the other pivot points, you must put the little black pivot on the bottom of the miter fence into either A or B. I recommend the using the pivot hole on the right (I guess that's B). Do NOT engage the button into the long slot in the middle of the SMT.
The beauty of the SMT Fence is that it is locked into position at two points - the pivot and the center under the knob. This makes it a solid reference for cross cuts.
Incidentally there’s a little pop-up tab on the left side of the SMT called the Zero Stop. When flipped up it will stop your miter fence at a preset zero angle setting. It is possible to adjust this using the concentric screw in the center of the stop. Be careful, the zero stop is made of a brittle material. Slamming the miter fence into it has broken more than one zero stop.
[return to Top]
What's the orange thingy on the Miter fence for/Why are my Miter cuts off by two or three degrees?
Don’t use the back edge of the miter fence to line up with the angle markings on the SMT.
You must have and use the little orange thingy on the back of the miter fence
Slide it along the rear of the miter fence until it lines up with the angle scale opposite the chosen pivot hole. The back of the orange thing indicates the angle. Remember to read the angle from straight overhead and to check your angles until you have confidence that they are right.
[return to Top]
Where does the washer go in the SMT fence assembly?
It goes under the knob. If you put it under the table or under the fence you will have a lot of problems keeping the fence in position.

[RodKirby]

Should look like this...

[siliconbauhaus]

Is that fence flipped 90 towards the blade?

[LCHIEN]

yeah, Rod is just showing the fence tipped forward so you can see where the black pivot goes relative to the SMT. And the bolt and orange indicator locations, too.

[footprintsinconc]

loring and rod and anyone else:

i dont know about what others may have noticed, but in the zero position, i may have over tightened the bolt at some time and now the surface where the bolt's head rest under the the sled, there are recess (created by the bolt head). i was thinking of getting a washer and filing the edges so that its a wide as the slot so that it gives the bolt head a little more surface area to apply the pressure when you tighten the bolt. what do you think?


thanks,

omar

[siliconbauhaus]

oops yet another DUH moment

[LCHIEN]

loring and rod and anyone else:

i dont know about what others may have noticed, but in the zero position, i may have over tightened the bolt at some time and now the surface where the bolt's head rest under the the sled, there are recess (created by the bolt head). i was thinking of getting a washer and filing the edges so that its a wide as the slot so that it gives the bolt head a little more surface area to apply the pressure when you tighten the bolt. what do you think?


thanks,

omar

As long as the channel in the underside of the SMT is in good enough shape so that the bolt haed won't rotate it should do the job. I would be against putting anything under the bolt head as this will interfere with the ability of the bolt to do its job. If the SMT is severly distorted then ts probably time to get a used one in replacement. Sometimes I have heard people tighten the Miter fence so tight that the top of the SMT gets bent so that the Miter fence sits atop a small hill.

If your bolt head has dented the channel, then your chief problem i would expect is that the miter fence angle adjustment does not run smoothly as you try to slide the fence forward and back in the slot - in this case I would just loosen the knob an extra turn and push down a bit ito free it if it sticks in the dents.

I've said many times here that the BT3 is a instrument that reponds to gentle persuasion, that if you feel you have to use brute force then something is wrong and should be fixed. Going ahead with brute force will probably ruin your saw - its not heavy duty enough to withstand mistreatment.

[COTCJIM]

try these suggestions first:
From the BT3 FAQ:

What's the little black button on the bottom of the Miter fence for/Why does my Miter fence not stay locked in position?
You must have the little black pivot post on the bottom of the miter fence properly engaged in either hole A or B (on the left or right edge of the SMT, respectively). If you don’t do this then your miter fence will wander around and not cut right angles. This will also make the angle scales work properly.
You must use one or the other pivot points, you must put the little black pivot on the bottom of the miter fence into either A or B. I recommend the using the pivot hole on the right (I guess that's B). Do NOT engage the button into the long slot in the middle of the SMT.
The beauty of the SMT Fence is that it is locked into position at two points - the pivot and the center under the knob. This makes it a solid reference for cross cuts.
Incidentally there’s a little pop-up tab on the left side of the SMT called the Zero Stop. When flipped up it will stop your miter fence at a preset zero angle setting. It is possible to adjust this using the concentric screw in the center of the stop. Be careful, the zero stop is made of a brittle material. Slamming the miter fence into it has broken more than one zero stop.
[return to Top]
What's the orange thingy on the Miter fence for/Why are my Miter cuts off by two or three degrees?
Don’t use the back edge of the miter fence to line up with the angle markings on the SMT.
You must have and use the little orange thingy on the back of the miter fence
Slide it along the rear of the miter fence until it lines up with the angle scale opposite the chosen pivot hole. The back of the orange thing indicates the angle. Remember to read the angle from straight overhead and to check your angles until you have confidence that they are right.
[return to Top]
Where does the washer go in the SMT fence assembly?
It goes under the knob. If you put it under the table or under the fence you will have a lot of problems keeping the fence in position.

I have all the pieces in the right holes, but it still moves a little bit sometimes, especially if I am trying to cut a 90 degree on a board longer than the miter fence.

[COTCJIM]

Should look like this...

[ATTACH]7726[/ATTACH]

Hey Rod, what is with the wood on your miter fence? Something you added yourself I presume. What purpose does it serve and do you have any other pics of it?

Thanks, Jim

[LCHIEN]

I have all the pieces in the right holes, but it still moves a little bit sometimes, especially if I am trying to cut a 90 degree on a board longer than the miter fence.

If you have a really long board it creates a lot of leverage that causes problems with any Table saw miter attachments.

How long is the board in question?
Also are you using the Ryobi miter clamp? That can cause specific problems.

If the board is longer than about 2 feet length before cutting, then I personally take some actions. The SMT should be moved (and long extension rails might be needed) so that the center of mass of the board is over the SMT. So that means if you have a 2x6 10 feet long and you are cutting 1 foot off the end then you ideally need to have the SMT about 4 or 5 feet to the left of the blade. This also applies to the after cut... ideally you need to have the piece balanced after it is cut off - this provides quite a challenge when trying to cut 6 foot off a 12 foot board...
I also try very hard when doing cuts like that to push equally on both sides of the blade, as long as I can do it safely, and to push on the wood near the miter fence by pushing ont he wood itself in a manner that doens't cause it to twist.


Of course the real solution here is to use a CMS (compound miter saw) to handle these awkward wood problems. The CMS is a fixed wood, moving saw system whereas the TS is a moving wood, fixed saw system. The CMS is more suited to long, heavy pieces of wood.

[leehljp]

What Loring said above!

Two things cause problem of moving fence:
1. a gummed up or dull blade will do this.
2. long leveraged board will cause this (fulcrum effect).

Number 2 can be overcome to some degree with "feed" technique. Place your hands on the board and fence at a point that allow for a straight forward push in which there is no resistance on one side or the other to cause drag, which will cause the board to do as you described. Push forward straight through the cut. If the blade is dull or is gummed up (not clean), this inherent resistance will cause the board to rotate.

[RodKirby]

Hey Rod, what is with the wood on your miter fence? Something you added yourself I presume. What purpose does it serve and do you have any other pics of it?

Thanks, Jim

It gives me a longer fence (including my patented fence ends ), and includes the track at the top for stops etc.

NOTE: I moved to the darkside 2 years ago - but still use the same approach - see last pic...

[COTCJIM]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Guess I need to be more careful when feeding the stock.

[COTCJIM]

Thanks -- great ideas!
--Jim