Thread: Alignment Tips / Tricks

Its been a while.........thought is was worth reposting this - works with the Powered Saw Table too - except you cant take the top off, and you may need to manually move the saw (as opposed to turning the cams) but the priciples are the same.


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But here is some notes I orininally posted early 2005 year regarding saw alignment tip/tricks. Pardon the humour - this post was written when I was working for Triton, and when I had a lot of passion for the product.
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Best suggestion I can offer, is to go back to step one. I have done this Many, many (MANY !) times on countless machines, and have only seen one that stumped me (due to a manufacture defect - in particular a fence that only had a 89.5 deg face...DOH!).

:eek: TURN OFF THE JUICE TO THE WORKCENTRE AND SAW! For god's sake TURN OFF THE POWER !!:eek:

Leave the top locked on - and with your 1/2" socket, loosen by a couple of turns each, the four top bolts (into the aluminium slide channels), and the four bottom bolts and nuts (you may need a shifter, or the tube spanner supplied). these are the bolts from the end plate to the long bottom rails - not the ones holding the legs on. Now with the top still in place (locked on) - stand up and *lightly* kick outwards on the diagonal (away from the centre of the table), the four legs. Work your way around the table a couple of times. You are aligning the end plates to the table top. When you are done - crawl around and tighten the bolts and nuts (all 8), back up. Work around like the wheel nuts on a car. You should find NOW that the top will unlock, and lock with ease.

Push the Fence out of the way.

Remove the Blade Guard and Riving knife (Kerf Plate).

Use a *QUALITY* set square (and check that it is actually square) to align the blade to 90deg to the table (using the micro adjuster on the front of the saw). Check both sides of the blade, and make sure you are checking the face of the blade and not the edge of the teeth. Take your time until it is spot on.

Remove the table top but keep the fence on.

Grab a large phillips screw driver, and loosen (IMPORTANT - LOOSEN BY 1/2 to 1 TURN *ONLY*), the 4 screws that hold the mounting blocks - while holding the appropriate knob underneath. These block will need to be a little loose so you can adjust them - but the 9 1/4 sucker HURTS when it drops on your foot (or wallet)! You want your saw to hang there - but not fall out. We wont be moving it too much. While youre down there - lossen the screws in the cam adjusters a little bit.

Use a 1/2" socket with an extension bar to turn the adjustment cams - and move the blade as far to the right (as you are standing at the switch end) as possible. This probably wont be much further out then you have it anyway - but it all helps.

Push the fence in, and lock it in at Zero both front and back. Take you time and make sure it is spot on. A little felt tip marker to colour in the arrow tips wont hurt either.

Stand on the RHS, and use your 1/2" socket to move the saw back in towards the fence. Only move a 1/8 turn on the back, and then 1/8 turn on the front. Dont be tempted to crank it all the way to the fence on the first go. Keep repeating...1/8 front -1/8 back. You will notice when you move the front in, that the back may move very slightly back out. This has to do with the position of the cams, in relation to the ends of the saw base plate (and the alignment of Venus with Uranus - or something....).

Keep moving the blade in to the fence a little bit at a time. When the front (or back) of the blade JUST touches the fence...STOP! Now adjust the back (or front) in to JUST touch. you will probably notice the opposite end has kicked out slightly. Adjust it back in - and again for the front. You will need to juggle between the two for a while - moving them in and out until you get it. Dont lose your cool here - your almost done, and this whole process will mean the difference between fun and frustration.

When you think you have it - STOP fiddling!

Try to turn the blade backwards....you should be able to turn it easily - and you should also here it slightly scraping the fence - even leaving a slight scuff mark as it touches. If it is hard to turn, you have the blade pressing too hard to the fence. Back the blade off with the cams. Go back a couple of steps and try again.

All good ? Now, grab a piece of copy paper. Hold the paper against the fence lengthways, and see if you can 'work' the paper between the fence and the blade. move it (the paper) back and forth, and try to slip it between the two. I know it sound stupid, ,but if you have too much pressure, you wont be able to get it in the without ripping it on the teeth. You should be able to get it in and back out, without damage to the paper.

Still good ?

One at a time, reach under the table, and gently push the mounting blocks back in against the saw base plate. Just push them in snug but not too hard as this may move the blade. You may want to loosen them ONE AT A TIME first, then puh it in, and the hold the knob underneath, and tighten the phillips screw on the top snug. Continue with the other three mounts one at a time. Spin the blade back every now and then to be sure nothing has moved. When you have done all four mounts....Grab the knobs underneath, one at a time, and really tighten those screws down.

Hang in there...nearly done...

Push the fence back out of the way, and replace the top and lock it in place. Now fit your riving knife (dont worry about the blade guard yet). All going to plan - if you look along your table from the front, you should not be able to see the riving knife behind the thickness of the blade. Worst case, you may JUST be able to see it on the waste (RHS) of the blade (looking from the front). Grab a nice straight edge, or straight bit of timber, and rest it against the blade TEETH, touching front and back, and extend it out the back of the blade, to see if the riving knife does indeed run around the centre of the blade. Check both sides of the blade.

CONGRATS... you have either fixed it - or wasted half an hour. Either way, its worth a go.