In the second and final part of our tablesaw setup series, we continue our quest for fine tuning. Topics include setting the blade bevel angle, adjusting fence alignment with the blade, adjust fence so that it is square to the table, setting up the insert, and lining up the splitter.
And at the end, you will get a nice full view of the new saw. For those who are curious, it is a PM Custom from the folks at Wood Werks Supply.
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23 Responses to “56 – Tablesaw Setup/Tuneup (Pt. 2)”
Excellent review and video Marc, once again.
During the setup you’ve mentioned that a think kerf blade would require a different adjustment of the splitter. Does it means that your splitter should match the width of the balde ?
On the same topic, I’ve read online that a thin kerf blade is prone to more vibration hence less accurate cuts. Is it really a big deal for thin material ? Or does a stiffener solve the pb ?
Thanks again
ah, Marc? I do believe open flames are a fire hazzard…..
sweet saw, Marc – and great vid. Thanks!
Very cool looking saw Marc, you should be proud of that.
Thanx Marc,
As my son would say, “Swwweeeeeet!” Sweet tablesaw Marc. It’s always an inspiration to see your shop in the background, especially how clean it is kept.
Nice job explaining the basics of machine maintenance and tuneup. And since I am not always on track with sending you these notes, Thanks for all the teaching you do online, I am a better, and safer, woodworker for your deft, talent, and clear explanations. (Grateful appreciation to the woman behind the camera, Nichole also)
Victor
I have to echo Victor here by expressing my appreciation for your teaching abilities. I am a very new woodworker and I stumbled onto TWW via FineWoodworking.com and I am so thankful that I did. It seems like you are reading my thoughts sometimes as I will have some sort of a question in the workshop and the next week, BOOM, there it is, explained perfectly by Marc.
It is through this type of forum that I have found that even though it may sometimes feel like I am going through some sort of problem that seems trivial, others have had, and conquered that same issue. This gives the rookies like me a quiet confidence that we aren’t always wandering on our own, rather that there are more experienced woodworkers out there that are willing to help.
Thanks again Marc!
great video Marc! just read your article in Popular Woodworking, great job! well now I’m off to tune up my table saw!
Marc
Once again awesome presentation. The saw is dynamic looking and I really like the metal top of the right saw table extension.
Thanks for all you do frot he woodworking field.
Marc,
I use to really struggle getting my blade to 90, until I found a really cool trick. You can make this jig in less than a half hour and you will NEVER squint down a square pushed against your blade EVER again. See here: (at the bottom)
http://www.garagewoodworks.com/jigsfixtures.htm
This tool will save you time AND it is more accurate than squinting at a square for light.
PS I love the new saw! :^)
Marc
one more step when I set up the saw (and I use a dial indicator for it 11 bucks at Harbor Freight) is I mount this on a piece of wood in the miter slot so it is stable and a constant distance to the blade. Then I tilt the blade at 45 and have the indicator at 90 degrees to the blade and measure the height from front to back.
I have a X5 Unisaw and I had to add .006 in shims to the front of the table so that the trunions and the table were in the same plane. Other wise there would be a pinch of the cutoff piece at the back of the blade when cutting bevels. Obviosly for 90 degree ripping this error never appears. At our guild meeting only one other person had this issue and it was a contractor version, so he added some shim stock as a spacer/washer on the bolts holding the trunion to the table.
Like the new saw though – really sharp.
Marc,
Great video. I like your non-fanatical practical approach to things. After very careful setup of the blade to the miter slot, I simple move the fence in line with an edge of the slot and adjust according to feel. I slide my finger along the slot to sense whether it is off one way or another.
Tom
Man, Fine woodworking is cramping your style. they just released a table saw alignment video on their web site…
Rats! Foiled again! lol
Where were you 2 months ago when I had to beat my contractor saw into submission to get in in alignment? I wound up doing exactly what you showed in your video, so I guess I did it right. Its pretty good now but I think it could be better.
On second though a table saw that isnt aligned is the perfect excuse to get a new one!! With a cast iron extension table, and flames! I love that!
Thanks for doing what you do! Its great!
Thank you Marc very much for great video!!!
what did you do with the old ts? how much did you sell it for and where did you sell it? I want a place to purchase used tools.
Sold it to a local woodworking friend. Can’t remember what the price was but I always give my friends good prices. :)
This is video has been a life saver. I bought a old Rockwell/Delta unisaw that was made in 1952 and had to take the top off it to rework some of the guts. When I put the top on it was way out of alignment and with all the web sites out there I found a lot of pictures that wasn’t much help. Your video taught this old dog some new tricks, but that wasn’t to hard being I new to wood work.
Thanks
Ok I not going let this one die yet. Great video Marc it’s just what I was looking for. My TS hasen’t been perfect sence I’ve had it. I took some notes and I am going to get all tuned up tomorrow. So thanks Marc for the tips.
Great video :) Time for me to go check mine again!!! LOL Thanks again for doing great videos :)
Thanks so much for the Tune Up video. I own an old Craftsman TS from the early 80′s. and it’s never been tuned. I was considering buying a new saw in order to achieve greater accuracy, but maybe now I can spend that money on something else if a good tune up does the trick.
Thanks again
Marc-found your website while looking for info on tuning up my 2005 craftsman table saw. Could never get table squared up right following instructions from manufacturer (which are same ones as you so clearly show in your video). Everybody I spoke to simply said take a block of wood and whack the table (3 of 4 bolts loosened of course) into alignment. It was always off by 1/32″ at back of table. Finally took the top off and while trying to figure out what to do (enlarge bolt holes to allow more room for adjustment) I saw that the motor was never mounted even remotely square to the cabinet. It was off by 1/4″ in the back so that I would never have been able to square the table to the blade. Loosened motor mount bolts eyeballed it to get closer to square, mounted table and squared it up just like you did. Some folks may benefit from my experience as it isn’t always like the folks at the factory say it is! Thanks again, now to tune up my band saw. Richard R
Marc,
I’m really thrilled to see these tool setup videos on your site! I will finally get to take possession of the contents of my late grandfather’s entire woodworking shop later this year and I imagine that I will have quite the task ahead of me as far as tuning up all his old tools, especially the ones that haven’t been touched or turned on in nearly ten years.
That said, you can probably figure that I’d love to see more on tuning up different sorts of tools!
Thanks for the great site, and keep up the good work!
Ed
Marc,
I just watched the two videos on tuning up the table saw. You covered the main points quite well, however you didn’t cover an adjustment that I found was a problem with my old Unisaw that I rebuilt a while back. I thought maybe you could cover it in a third video maybe.
The problem showed itself as the blade binding against the workpiece as it’s fed out on the backside of the blade, much like we see when the table is out of alignment to the blade, or the fence to the blade. I had just aligned the table and fence and everything was working fine until I started cutting 45 degree blade tilt cuts. It was then that I was getting the blade binding. It didn’t make much sense as it was fine when the blade was at 90 degrees. Then I started thinking in 3D. The problem was that the table was not level to the tilt axis of the trunion. When it’s at 90 degrees, both axis’ are aligned but only at that position. However when the trunion is tilted, the axis deviates from that of the table. The fix was to shim the front of the table up almost 1/8″. This brought the two axis’ closer together and now It doesn’t bind regardless of the blade angle.
I hope you can share this info with your viewers, I know that I’m not the only one who’s had this problem.
Thanks,
Wayne Booker
Salem, OR