Thread: How to adjust a table saw?

There are four bolts that hold the top onto the cabinet. One at each corner of the cabinet. Back them off till they are a bit tighter than finger tight (just tight enough that the top will move when given a tap) then tap the corners of the table till you get the slot parrallel with the blade. Tighten and check often as you do the bolts up. When you are happy, use the nylon adjusting screws to set the fence parrallel with the slot when it is locked. ( some advocate a fraction wider after the blade but I haven't found it necessary).

Thanks, will have a look tomorrow arvo.
Have you got the same saw?

Yep. Got the Gary Pye version. A lot cheaper than the FNQ offering though. It's a great saw.

Well all most.

The best I can get it .

Front of the blade,



Rear of the blade,



Just cant get them both on zero.

Front of the Fence,



Rear of the Fence ,

The fence looks good. The blade is close. I'd say close enough Are you using the same tooth? Have you checked for run out on the blade/arbor?

Have you checked the splitter?

If it is not lined up exactly with the blade, or not at 90 degrees to the table, the workpiece can jam between splitter and fence.

The advantage of adjusting the fence with a small clearance at the back of the blade is that the ripped surface is smoother. There is no reason for the work to touch the back of the blade, and if you are feeding thick stock slowly, there is less risk of burning the work.

NCArcher, I made a mark with a permanent marker 1/4" behind the teeth, also put a new Freud blade on just in case the old one has warped are some thing.

Haven't checked for run out on the blade/arbor, how do you make any adjustments?

I also have the GPW saw, is a hybrid or a cabinet saw?

robgran, The riving knife is parallel to the blade, I made a new thinner riving knife for it.

Kerf = 2.2mm,
Blade = 1.85mm,
the original riving knife = 3mm.
The one that I made is 1.5mm

Originally Posted by wm460

Haven't checked for run out on the blade/arbor, how do you make any adjustments?
If the shaft is not running true then a new motor/bearings or if the shaft is ok check the arbor washers. Although I wouldn't bother in your case, it's pretty good

I also have the GPW saw, is a hybrid or a cabinet saw?
They are a cabinet saw.

What did you make the riving knife from? I want to make a shorter one for mine to suit a 10" blade

Stainless steel, I will find photo and post it later.

Quote " the wood jams up between the blade and fence when I am cutting it."

This description puzzles me, because the spinning blade would cut away any wood which was jamming against the blade, as the stock is pushed through.

This is why the riving knife seems the more likely suspect. The wood can certainly jam between the riving knife and fence if the alignment, angle and width don't match the blade. Does the jamming start after the wood reaches the R. knife?

Another (unlikely) possibility is that the fence might not be completely straight. If there was a slight bend beyond the blade, it would not affect the fence alignment procedure, but could push the wood sideways towards the R. knife when it reaches the section beyond the blade. This type of problem might also be caused by an auxiliary fence which is not perfectly straight, of uneven thickness or not sitting flat against the the aluminium fence.

On Kelly Mehler's DVD, he says that it is possible to lock the fence out of square, even though it has been aligned correctly with the blade. To prevent this happening, he recommends pushing forward on the sliding T- clamp BEFORE and while locking the fence. You could test for this with the alignment kit by using a sequence of: check, unlock, slide side-ways, return fence to position, lock and recheck. Repeat a few times.

Rob

As I was cutting pen blanks I removed the riving knife and it still jammed.

When I assemble the I adjusted the fence to the mitre slot as the manual said, as the result the rear of the fence tapered in towards the blade by .007” .

I did find that the middle of biesimier fence was bowed away from the blade a few thou.

It was too hot in the shed to try it out to day 48*C at 930 am hopefully a bit cooler tomorrow arvo

WM 48 Deg is way too hot to even think straight, without trying any woodwork.

Do you normally set the cutting depth so that the blade gullets are just above the stock?

Next time you get a jam up, could you stop the saw and take a photo without moving the stock, blade, fence, guard, riving knife(if fitted), push stick. It would help to understand what is happening if the position of the wood could be seen.

The problem of a Beisemeyer fence locking out-of-square is related to the type with a clamping device at each end of the fence. The rear clamp is operated by the same lever, on the front T clamp. If the rear clamp grips before the front T clamp, the fence might not have squared up. This could probably be fixed by slacking off the tension on the linkage which operates the rear clamp. Using the technique of pushing on the t clamp before locking, should avoid the problem.

Rob