Table saw blade alignment - Lo-tech / Hi-tech

[niki]

Good day

Well, it's almost spring and I started to "warm-up" the machines...well, TS and router table...that's all my "machines".

A few days ago I re-aligned the table saw blade, fence and sleds.

I don't have all this expensive equipment to align the blade to the miter slot so, I used a "Lo-tech" method just to bring the blade as parallel as I can, to the miter slot.
I call it "Static alignment"

In my opinion, all the "Hi-tech" (and Hi-price) instruments can be "super-duper" accurate but, I think that the blade itself "knows" better if it is aligned to the miter slot or not.

I call this check, "Dynamic alignment"...I just clamp a strip to the sled (or the miter gauge) and cut...when the strip reaches the back teeth, I listen to the noise...

If it's "cutting" noise, I know that I have to turn the blade clockwise.

If I don't here any noise, I know that I have to turn the blade counter-clockwise.

If I hear a "scratching" noise (I mean, the back teeth are just touching the strip) I know that the alignment is good.

Later, I check the fence alignment to the miter slot (Static check), rip some thin board and listen to the noise of the back teeth (Dynamic check)....and, same as above...

Actually, you can omit all the "Static test" and align the blade only by using the "Dynamic test" but the "Static test" will save some time and if you are lucky, the "Dynamic test" will prove good on the first time.

Regards
niki
















And here is the "Dynamic test"


Listen to the noise of the back teeth



Bring the rip fence close to the miter slot and check the distances at one end...



....And the other end



Cut a test piece and listen to the back teeth noise...



I do the same also on the long fence






To check the squareness of the sled, I took a piece of thin board (floor panel)....



And cut it to 4 pieces



I alternate the pieces and checked them on a straight edge...any mistake will multiply itself...

[cgallery]

Excellent post Niki. BTW, how easy is it to align the blade (clockwise, counterclockwise) on your saw? I've seen some saws (like the Bosch or Makita contractor saws for example) where you just have to turn a single screw to align the blade to the miter slot--which is a pretty neat feature.

[niki]

Thank you so much Cgallery

I have two bolts, one on each end of the table and by turning the nuts, I can move all the motor/arbor unit to left or right.

On the pics you can see the bolts/nuts, they are both tight but, during adjustment, I release one nut and turn the other and that is pushing or pulling all the unit.

Very easy adjustment and the fact that the bolts are at the ends of the table, gives the possibility for very fine adjustment.

Regards
niki

[SARGE..g-47]

As usual, very informative post and fantastic illustrations. You may have missed your call as an illustrator.

I use the low tech method and have never invested in the high tech approach. The cut tells me about all I need to know about alignment. So... at this point of the game, I will probably opt to not purchase it and just get a new blade every now and then.

Again.. excellent, informative post and illustrations that accompany, Niki...

Regards from the deep south....

[niki]

I use the low tech method and have never invested in the high tech approach. The cut tells me about all I need to know about alignment. So... at this point of the game, I will probably opt to not purchase it and just get a new blade every now and then.

Thank you SARGE

That's exactly my approach.
Instead of spending money on "Non directly productive" tools/jigs that I can make myself, I prefer to buy a new blade and, looking at the prices of the "Hi-tech's", even a new router...

Regards
niki