Can anyone offer some wisdom?
I have a decent old Craftsman saw with a Unifence. I've checked and double checked the blade tilt (zero, according to my steel square), I've fine tuned the fence so it's 90 degrees, the table itself seems flat. BUT...
When I rip a board, the cut is off by a couple of degrees. On a standard 3/4inch board, (run through flat), one side of the cut is about a sixteenth higher than the other side?
I bought a new blade with no change.
Any advice? Thanks!
DS
Can anyone offer some wisdom?
I have a decent old Craftsman saw with a Unifence. I've checked and double checked the blade tilt (zero, according to my steel square), I've fine tuned the fence so it's 90 degrees, the table itself seems flat. BUT...
When I rip a board, the cut is off by a couple of degrees. On a standard 3/4inch board, (run through flat), one side of the cut is about a sixteenth higher than the other side?
I bought a new blade with no change.
Any advice? Thanks!
DS
One would have to say that, despite what your square says, your blade is not
90 degrees to your "flat" table.Another check: lay a straight edge, perpendicular to the blade, across the table and see if you don't have a swale/valley where the throat is.
I don't think I understand exactly what the error is, but there are several things that matter:
1) The table should be flat. If it is a cast table, this is more or less guaranteed, at least within reason. You can get usable performance from a very shitty table. 2) The blade MUST be parallel to the miter gauge slots. Usually setting this means shifting the table relative to the saw arbor, which in turn involves loosening bolts holding either the arbor to the table or the table to some mounting which holds the arbor, and is a fiddly operation. It is important, however; rip cuts will bind against the fence or wander away from the fence. 3) The fence MUST be parallel to the miter gauge slots.4) If you want the face of the cut to be a right angle, then the blade should be perpendicular to the table. If your square says it is, then it is (again within reason. But a sixteenth in 3/4" is a 5 degree angle, which is like a wart on the end of your nose--you could easily see it is cockeyed.)
| Can anyone offer some wisdom? | | I have a decent old Craftsman saw with a Unifence. I've checked and | double checked the blade tilt (zero, according to my steel square), | I've fine tuned the fence so it's 90 degrees, the table itself | seems flat. BUT...
Not sure about the wisdom part; but I think I'd take a few minutes to check the steel square by fitting it to _both_ sides of the fully-raised blade.
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
Maybe his square is out of square.
Lee
Sounds like the blade is not square to the table.
Fastest way to find out:
1) Raise blade to full height.2) Place a piece of say 1/2" plywood, about 4"x12" against miter gage on the 1/2" edge that is installed on left slot and make a cut that will be about 3" high.
3) Move miter gage to right slot, turn plywood 180 degrees, line up cut with blade, make 2nd cut thru first.When the cut edges are parallel, blade is square to table.
Adjust blade as req'd.
Lew
PS: I repeat the above EVERY time I adjust the blade to make an angle cut. I don't trust stops.
If you cut a groove does it make a straight groove but at an angle, or does it angle out in both directions? If it's the former something is screwy with how you are squaring the blade. If it's the latter you've got problems - and if you aren't exaggerating how off it is you shouldn't be using the saw until corrected.
-Leuf
Suggestion #1: Check your square and make sure that it is really square.
Suggestion #2: Adjust the blade tilt, make test cut in scrap, readjust and repeat until satisfied.
Also, maybe the square is not sitting on the table, but on the throat plate, and the throatplate is NOT perfectly level with the table top
More of a problem with SMALL squares, larger ones typically/hopefully will be able ot sit on both the table top AND the throatplate.
Lastly, maybe the square he is using is NOT totally accurate as to square, definitely should use the square on both sides of the blade and also make sure the square is sitting LEVEL on the tabletop, NOT just on the throatplate
John
"Also, maybe the square is not sitting on the table, but on the throat plate, and the throatplate is NOT perfectly level with the table top
More of a problem with SMALL squares, larger ones typically/hopefully will be able ot sit on both the table top AND the throatplate. "
Actually, maybe the square is sitting on the throatplate AND the table, but the plate is a hair lower, causing the perpendicular part against the blade be at more then 90 degrees. In which direction is the cut off? Is the top or bottom of the cut accurate to what is measured?
-Jim
More strangeness:
Here's a follow-up question to my original post: when I cross-cut, the cut is perfect 90 degrees; it's only when I'm ripping that something weird is happening and creating a bevel cut of a few degrees.
Any ideas?
Possibly the boards you are ripping riding up a bit off of the table as you push them past the blade. I'd imagine you put a decent amount of downward pressure on a board you are cross cutting with a miter gauge or sled, something that is less likely to happen when ripping. Of course, to apply downward pressure safely when ripping one needs an appropriately designed push stick.
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