Aligning the fence on a table saw

I just installed my Forrestor WW II blade. It included an informative pamphlet on alignment for table saws. I read it thoroughly. I was surprised to see that they recommend "opening up" the fence alignment on the back side of the blade .005" to 1/64". The .005" is for an accurate fence. The 1/64" is for a sloppy or worn fence. The idea is to ensure that you don't get the wood in a bind when ripping - the primary cause of burning and a leading cause of kickback (according to Forrestor).

I'd like to hear comments and feedback on this recommendation. It seems reasonable to me. I compare this to Jet's allowable tolerance on blade parallelism (0.0118") and Forrestor's recommendation easily falls in their tolerance.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Davis
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Reply to
Dave W

Interesting point. I wonder if a shim behind the front of a removable fence face would work to allow it to be "toed out" on both sides? Maybe use feeler gauges and insert one equal to double the desired total (length-of-fence) toe-out at the front end, and thinner strips at appropriate spots toward the back to keep the face from bowing.

Reply to
alexy

I set mine dead on if I can. If you have it open .005 on one side of the fence, it's closed .005 when you move the fence to the other side of the blade, which is sometimes necessary.

Gene

Reply to
Gene

I recently set up my new Shop Fox cabinet saw ( bought locally instead of " Grizzly" to avoid shipping hassles; they delivered it to my awaiting Shop Fox Wheeled base) and the T-Square fence clone " Shop Fox Classic" fence describes the same setup; slightly open back side of the fence to eliminate binding and burn. I have not checked it for deviation yet, but with a new Freud Glue Line rip blade, the cuts in plywood and oak are flawless.

Reply to
Dennis Slabaugh, Hobbyist Wood

After repeated attempts of getting my Vega utility fence just perfect, I shimmed it at the locking head with three layers or blue painters tape on one side to cause the end of the fence to be just -.002 from the front of the fence.

It was easier than messing with the bolts one more time.

I've since seen in books that one should cut a straight board and jam it into the miter slot and use a feeler guage on the far end to adjust it for parallelism.

Alan

Reply to
Alan W

I prefer as close to parallel as possible... BTY, is Forrestor a new brand of blade?

Reply to
Leon

I misspelled it. Its Forrest, as in Jim Forrest, the president of the company.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Davis

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