Trouble setting up new table saw

[Dan]

John-I finally worked it out with .025" shims, now I'm good to ~.003 on each. I think the error was that prying the table on one side didn't really replicate the effect of shims.

[Dan]

You got it, Ed.

Dan

[dadiOH]

Dang shame you didn't have a .022 washer so the .003 error disappeared :)

[Swingman]

No shit? But apparently not without a $2000 cabinet saw set up to +/- .003, eh?

Yessir, it a damn crying shame that the lack of a $2000 cabinet saw, set up to .003, stopped the likes of Duncan Phyfe, and more recently old Frank and Sam's careers, dead in their tracks. :)

[Swingman]

LOL ... the key to actually "making furniture" is to make more more sawdust than OCD measurements. ;)

[Swingman]

ROTFLMAO! ... Hey, think of the commercial possibilities! "Woodmachinists" everywhere would beat your door down. :)

[pat_edfischer]

at

> Thanks for your support!

Dan,

I would also appreciate the PDF articles you mentioned in your post.

TIA. Ed F.

[Doug Miller]

Ed, it sounds like he's offering to pay your travel expenses.

[Vic Baron]

Y'know - after many years of lurking and occasional posting in this newsgroup and having to deal with the seasonal trolls that surface, it's nice to be reminded of the good stuff - like someone actually helping someone else.

OK, enough sentiment - gotta go make some noise & sawdust!

Vic

[Dan]

Ed - They're on their way, let me know if you have any trouble receiving them.

Dan

[whit3rd]

45 degrees is always described (by careful persons) as 45 +/- something-or-other. So the typical way to get a full circle out of 45 degree wedges is to join four wedges for the left half, join four wedges for the right half, and joint both halves to make the final joints fit. Another way is to temporary- mount the items side-to-side with the crack, run it through the table saw to open that crack to a straight 1/8" void, then close the joint. Kerfing was what Roy Underhill called it, though his technique used a handsaw...

[Ed Bennett]

Very true! The words "dead on" are somewhat of a misnomer. Everything has some error if you look closely enough.

I've heard of this. It's a popular technique among those who do segmented turnings. The joints will all be tight but the circle becomes a bit less circular. The lathe guys end up having to make the walls of their turnings a bit thicker so that they can then turn them round.

In other words, cut both pieces at the same time. Yes, I've used this technique (long, long ago). You pretty much want to assemble the whole thing first. For something like a frame, where you have to maintain equal lengths on opposite sides, you'll end up cutting through all of the joints - gap or no.

There's a third option that you didn't mention. That is, cut the pieces accurately enough to avoid the gap in the first place. Then you don't have to use these or any other methods to rework the joint(s). It takes a bit more skill and knowledge but it's much faster and cleaner in the end. The other techniques are good for those who are not interested in developing their machinery skills.

Ed Bennett [e-mail]

of the TS-Aligner.com

[Ed Bennett]

There's something I've never heard of before!

I've heard of "single-ended" and "differential" used to describe electrical interfaces. In that application, the differential interface is very immune to noise. There are many measurement instruments that take advantage of this interface. They're not mechanical instruments.

I've heard of (and used) measurement setups where the output of two gauges are combined by a dual channel amplifier to produce a sum or difference reading. I wouldn't exactly call such a setup less prone to error! And I've never heard it described as "differential". I've never heard of single gage setups as being "single-ended".

I've been designing and manufacturing measurement instruments since 1991 and have never heard the terms "single-ended" or "differential" used to describe the measurement technique/process itself. Please do tell.

Ed Bennett [e-mail]

of the TS-Aligner

[Dan]

Thanks for the reply. An interesting technique, I'll have to keep it in mind.

Dan

[Ed Bennett]

Doh! Blew that one big time!

Anybody in Hawaii need help with their table saw? Perhaps sometime in January or February? ;-)

Ed Bennett [e-mail]

of the TS-Aligner

[Ed Bennett]

I'd like to think that there's a happy medium between those two extremes. Certainly, you can't avoid making some sawdust while woodworking. But, the guy who spends all his time doing test cuts and reworking joints doesn't really have much authority on the topic of machinery skills and the need for proper alignment. Neither does the guy who can't apply his machinery skills to solve real world woodworking problems.

Some guys, when they first get an alignment jig, are like a kid who has never had candy before. They eat so much of it that they end up with a tummy ache.

Ed Bennett [e-mail]

of the TS-Aligner

[Dan]

Well in my case I had the applicable measuring tools from a number of engine overhauls I had done some years ago, they were readily adapted to this task, and using them in this way was not a special "treat".

Individuals have varying philosophies about what is important in all manner of things; I guess woodworking is no different. But referring to someone's attempt to simply realize the full potential of a sizable investment as "OCD" strikes me as childish name calling and requires no further response.

Thanks again to those who made helpful replies to my post.

Dan

[Leon]

Well, ;~) spending a lot of time doing test cuts to sneak up on a setting is certainly less than desirable. However, ;~) If you don't make a test cut after changing a bevel or miter angle you are making a test cut on you project wood. I stole that from the, "test a finish on scraps rather than your project". Almost always I make the test cut to verify that I have set the machine up to the correct angle to start with. LOL

[Ed Bennett]

Thanks Leon, it sounds like your medium is much happier than some others!

Ed Bennett [e-mail]

of the TS-Aligner

[Swingman]

Bzzzzt! ... If you'd been around a little longer, you'd realized that "OCD" was a reference to Ed's self characterization in a recent thread on plywood manufacture.

You apology is accepted. :)