Sad but true...TS woes

[drumpriest]

The good news, tonight I made my first ever square cut on a table saw. That is both sad and true.

When I had the BT, I could never get the SMT to stay square. I'm sure that I have some mental deficiency, as others have managed the task. I also never really needed it. In my last shop I had a radial arm saw, and in my current a Makita SCMS. Between those, I've never really HAD to make a finish cross-cut on my TS.

Even sadder, it took 4 hours. I made a cross cut sled for my bt, never worked well. I made one yesterday for my PM2000, also no dice, though I suspect that I can get this one working, I do not believe that I left enough movement in the fence.

After adjusting my Incra V27 for about 10 minutes, I finally got a reasonably square cut. It's out maybe 1/128" over 12". Still annoying, but pretty good for a small miter guage with no fence. With any luck, I'll be able to fix my sled, though the screws for the runners pulled right through the MDF bottom when trying to take it off the saw tonight. grrr....bad night, can't win...

End of rant...

[cgallery]

Nothing has improved my woodworking more than making certain I get square cuts. In days of old, I would: (1) Make a cut, (2) Check it w/ a square and see it was a little off, (3) Figure it was close enough, and (4) Proceed to glue-up so-so looking work.

At one point I purchased an Hitachi sliding miter saw to ensure square cuts.

Then, I finally made the effort to improve squareness on the BT3K with a custom miter slot extension and Incra gauge. And my projects started to look substantially better. My new miter sled is even better than the Incra, allowing me to handle large pieces with ease and incredible precision.

It is a struggle that pays off in the end, good luck!

[drumpriest]

Thanks cgallery, I've not glued up anything that wasn't square, it's just a constant battle, that's all. I'm sick of not being able to put trust any of the machinery that I own to hold alignment. I'm hoping the PM2000 changes that for me. The incra miter is working well, and I'm hoping that the sled will work out as well. With such a long fence, it should be able to be very accurate.

[onedash]

It's out maybe 1/128" over 12".
End of rant...

Are you checking this with a microscope? If it was a space shuttle component you could worry but since its wood Id be pretty happy. Just think at 24" youd still be within 1/64 and 4 feet 1/16th.

[LarryG]

I've been trying to figure out if Keith was saying that with his tongue wedged firmly into his cheek. An "out" of 1/128" per foot is actually the equivalent of 1/16" over eight feet ... and that's equal to (or maybe tighter than, can't recall offhand) the tolerance for manufactured sheet goods like plywood and particleboard. I'd call 1/128" in a foot purty danged good!

[Greg.B]

Thats like the thickness of a hair...lol....

I agree one of the most rewarding things is getting the TS all lined up perfectly. My fence has always been dead on since I first set the saw up. The sliding miter table took about 2 years for me to be able to get that puppy perfect. The problem I find is there are so many variables when adjusting it, that it becomes a vicious circle. What I learned from all of it was first to take the slop out of the table, and then to get the angle of the miter fence correct, once I got these done, it was all of a sudden pefect.

[drumpriest]

Nailled the alignment on the cross cut sled. Seems perfect over 7 inches, no light allowed through. I hope it stays like that!

Thanks all again for the replies. Next is a miter sled jig. Which is what I was building and for which I wanted a perfectly square corner...

btw, I'm using 5$ miter bars from Rockler, apparently they are blowing them out or something. Spring loaded ball bearings keep them snug in the slots.

[niki]

Hi Keith

I would suggest the "5 cut test" method to check the "off square" more accurately.

Instead of replying to your post, I preferred to make a new thread for future "search", so please have a look at it (Tool talk forum).

Regards
niki

[spratone]

So how do you like the PM2000? I have been drooling over that for the last month and am thinking of purchasing one when I get back from deployment later this year.Also, did you buy online or at a store?

[drumpriest]

Got it at on a special buy at a local store. I wouldn't want to pay freight on that beast. It's a great saw, actually, I'm very impressed. The rip fence was easy as pie to align, and has stayed there nicely. Easy to align the fence measurements as well. The built in casters work well, but are completely undocumented. Watched a video online to see how they worked. So far I've liked everything about it. The guard is good, though I'm still thinking of whether or not to get another shark for it. DC is very good. The riving knife system is outstanding, very easy on and off. The spindle lock is unnecessary, and as it's spring loaded, you have to hold it down, not a big win over the double wrench setup.

I'd say if you put the Jess'em miter slide on this thing, it's a super-BT. I can't get over how heavy duty everthing on it is.

[Andrew Benedetto]

Have you considered the Incra miter express add on. I have that w. a 1000SE and it is not as good as a SMT overall but not $500 either. $150 and acts like a ZCTP.
I have a new Unisaw and do not want to cut my 52" Biesmeyer rails for a SMT.
The PM 2K is a great saw. BTW, PennState grad '77. Lots of freinds at the time from Pitt. area when I was in school. Good Luck w. the saw, my first choice but..LOML would kill me. I could not pass on the $900 Unisaw from Amazon. Now I need to sell a new 22124 and try to keep my BT3K since I have lots of accessories. Going to post on that now.

[eezlock]

sad but true ts woes...

Keith, what kind of problems are you having with the V-27 miter gauge?

I have one of these and it works perfect for me...did you adjust all (4)
of the adjustment discs like the instructions said to do ? If you did, I don't understand what kind of problem you could have with it....let us hear what
experiencing and we will try and help.

As to the crosscut or miter sleds...what type of runners are you using in the miter slots? One of the best is the Incra miter slider...it is straight and true
if installed on your sled square and accurate to the blade it will make a sled
that runs true everytime,lots more accurate than wooden types that can
and do expand and contract with seasonal/ weather changes. eezlock

[drumpriest]

Issues are all solved. The crosscut sled is now tuned up. The sucessfully square cut from the original post came from the V27. The only problem with it is that there isn't enough bearing surface to ensure squareness over a wide crosscut. The sled provides this as it's fence is 24" long.

As for runners, I'm using steel runners from Rockler's sale last month. 6$ a piece, no complaints.