Thread: Aligning saw table

do a search on the web for a tutorial re setting up your saw

you should be able to loosen nuts under the table to align the table/mitre slots with the blade.

nothing you can do about runout

Thanks for this, mac_man_luke.

Can you please tell me how the motor and trunnion are fixed in the cabinet type saw? I originally thought that they were all bolted to the table top, so getting the blade parallel to the mitre slot involved shifting the trunnion - a terrible task, I should imagine.

hope you can help clarify

regards,
Jill

Jill, you really need to get to know your local librarian, and ask him/her to get you one of the books on using the tablesaw on interlibrary loan. Do a search on Amazon with the work 'tablesaw' - it should give you a couple of books, either of the ones published by Taunton will have the detailed information.

Basically there are 2 types of table saw - the 'full' cabinet saw type, where the trunnions are bolted to the cabinet and the cast top is then bolted to the cabinet separately, and the 'contractor' style where the trunnions are bolted to the cast top which is also used on some 'hybrid' saws.

If the trunnions are bolted to the cabinet then you just loosen the bolts holding the top and 'adjust' the top to make it parallel. You may find a couple of bolts & some nuts allow finer adjustment than a sledge. The 'contractor' type is more difficult to adjust as you have to find a way to access the trunnion bolts while the top is on the cabinet - unless you know someone with an engine crane.

This mob make an adjuster for contractor saws called PALS, which might give you some ideas on how to make your own adjuster:
http://www.in-lineindustries.com/

Thanks for these very helpful responses. They are really appreciated.

I found out that it was a contactor type saw in a cabinet. After 6 hours of trial and error with a block of wood and a hammer, I was able to get the blade / slot parallel to within 4 thou.

What a cow of a job! There are no alignment marks, no adjusting screws etc. Surely it would be easy to instlall somethinglike the PALS unit.

Now I find that the blade parallellism is way out at 45deg - that means I need to put shims between the main table and the trunion - yikes!

With the mitre slots varying in width ( 19.0 & 19.1mm), I am thinking of sending the saw back to the supplier.

Problem is, Carbatec advise they can't guarantee any improvement with another saw.

Is this poor quality the norm for new table saws, or don't people align them with dial indicators?

regards,
Jill

G'Day Jill

Bit of reading here http://www.newwoodworker.com/basic/tsalign.html

Cheers
Bernie

many thanks Bernie, excellent article,

It forgot to mention to align the blade at 45 deg as well.
I'm afraid I can't find the bevel stops on my machine, so I am wondering if this model tablesaw has them.

regards,
Jill

I agree with you, aligning a table is a cow of a job. Mine if the full cabinet style so it was a matter of loosening the bolts to the cabinet then belting the side of the table with a sledge hammer - with a timber space naturally. But even with a sledge hammer it was still a bitch to nudge it about.

thanks for your suporting comments, rattrap. The big advantage of your type cabinet saw v. my contractors saw is that you can do the adjustment with the sawblade in place, and it is quick to re-test the changes, assuming of course that you can easily get at the 4 table holding bolts.

I have to remove the blade to get access to the 4 bolts bolting the arbor to the underside of the table, then add the blade, then re-test.

All in all, both methods are very hit and miss, pun intended

I like the look of the PALS tool, which provides a far more accurate adjustment of the arbor :
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx...de=videos#tabs

I now find that the more expensive Jet machine has the same rough blade arrangement


regards,
Jill

Jill
You should look at this link-- http://thewoodwhisperer.com/category/video/tool-setup/

Also see if you can get your hands on a Tauton Press DVD entitled "Mastering Your Tablesaw" with Kelly Mehler. Your local library may carry it or you could order it through http://shop.woodreview.com.au/cat/2030863.html?page=1.

May not specifically cover your saw but I'm sure they will be useful. There are other useful and informative sites including Stu's Shed, and Wayne's Woodworking. Try a Google search for Tablesaw setup.

Cheers

Jack

Thanks Jack, I now have a copy of the DVD and the book. Much appreciation for your advice

regards,
Jill

You're very welcome Jill. hope you find them useful.

To me Mehler's ideas seem to be simple and practical. Being a complete novice I read and watched everything I could get my hands on before even buying a saw and came to the conclusion that everyone has slightly different ideas so I just took the advice that seemed to work best for me----the less complicated the better and thats why I liked Mehler. Also he dosen't rely on gauges or other special or costly equipment but just gets the job done.

Regards

Jack