Proper alignment and setup are the foundations of Table Saw accuracy. They don’t guarantee that your work will be accurate, but you will find accuracy pretty elusive without them. Keep the following in mind while you read articles on this blog:
1. You’re going to have to learn some new things
Keep an open mind. Don’t automatically dismiss a tool or technique just because you’ve never seen it before. In order to understand something properly, you need to know three things:
- What
- Why
- How
Take some time to understand the principles which provide the basis for answering these three questions. Especially the first two. If you don’t understand “what” and “why”, then “how” is just a series of rote steps in a procedure. You could easily go astray without knowing it. And, you’ll have no basis for contingencies if something unexpected happens. Each article will include a section explaining the “What”, “Why”, and “How” of that topic.
2. You’re going to have to unlearn some old things.
If you’ve been self taught, or have picked up a lot of ideas from popular magazines and hobbyist books then it’s likely you’ve got some bad habits. Don’t get defensive. Tuning up a Table Saw is a lot like learning to hit a golf ball. The intuitive and comfortable thing is often wrong. There’s a lot of bad information out there and a lot of very prominent self proclaimed experts promoting it (in books and magazines). They are very difficult to avoid.
3. You’re going to need some new tools
If you don’t already have a dial indicator, then it’s about time you get one and learn how to use it. They aren’t expensive (under $20) so everybody can afford one. There are ways to align a Table Saw without a dial indicator but they are pretty darn tedious. It’s kind of like choosing to use a telegraph over a telephone. Both work, and telegraph skills could come in pretty handy if you ever get stuck in the 19th century. But, the 19th century has been over for quite some time and the phone is a lot easier to use. There’s not much virtue in insisting that the telegraph is the way to go. Neither is there any virtue in insisting on “feel the rub” or “hear the scrape” methods of Table Saw alignment.
This isn’t rocket science or brain surgery so there’s no reason to feel intimidated. And, a lot of people don’t understand dial indicators so there’s no reason to feel embarrassed. There is no more virtue in avoiding dial indicators than there is in avoiding literacy. There’s a great dial indicator primer on my web site to help get you started.
You can make your own dial indicator jig (many good examples on the web) or buy a commercially made model. Here’s a home made clone of a commercially made jig. As you might imagine, I’m somewhat partial to my own products and will be using them throughout this blog. You can even get by with a standard magnetic base (but it’s far from ideal).
While you’re at it, consider getting dial calipers. I don’t know how I could live without them.
Each category in this blog will contain articles about a particular aspect of Table Saw setup, alignment, or accessories. You will probably do best if you start with the oldest articles in a category and progress to the newest. Comments from readers are more than welcome!
What this blog is not about:
I didn’t create this blog to promote trial and error methods for adjusting and aligning a table saw. The whole idea here is to promote better methods. Methods that are faster, easier, and more accurate. Intelligent, logical methods that produce predictable results. Methods that don’t drive you crazy with fussy “feel the rub” or “hear the scrape” sort of judgments. Methods that don't devour your time with mindless test cuts. Everyone knows that a table saw can be aligned without a dial indicator. You can find such methods described in every book, magazine, and web site that has ever featured table saw alignment. Personally, I don’t want to do it that way. And, I don’t want to teach others to do it that way. The same convoluted logic can be applied to every tool in the shop. Everyone knows that wood can be cut without a table saw. Everyone knows that holes can be drilled without a drill press. Everyone knows that an edge can be shaped without a router. Everyone knows that woodworking can be done without shapers, jointers, planers, chisels, hand planes, etc. But, you found this web site because you wanted to learn something about table saw alignment. And, this is where you will learn intelligent methods and skills for mastering your table saw.
I didn’t create this blog to promote woodworking with absurd and ridiculous tolerances. All of the adjustments and measurements in this blog relate to the machine, not the wood. The goal is to provide the accuracy needed to avoid test cuts. You can’t avoid test cuts unless you have some assurance that a machine adjustment will produce a particular result. And, unless you can control the adjustment with more accuracy than you expect in the results, you can’t have that assurance. When you control the adjustment with sufficient accuracy, then the machine will not contribute any error. The only error you are left with are your skill (technique) in operating the machine and the inherent limits of the material (the wood). If you don’t use a sufficiently accurate method to make the machine adjustment, then you won’t know if error in your results are due to skill, the material, or the machinery and you’ll end up doing test cuts. And, test cuts are the hallmark of those with few (if any) machinery skills.
I didn’t create this blog to put an end to craftsmanship. Have you ever wondered about the saying “The craftsman never blames his tools.”? Some people get the wrong impression and think this means that a true craftsman is someone who can make beautiful things using junky tools. That’s not what it says at all. The true craftsman is always responsible for the results. He chooses the tools, he maintains (aligns and adjusts) them, and he learns how to use them properly to make beautiful things. It doesn’t matter if he chooses old hand tools or modern machinery – the craftsman always takes responsibility for the results. Someone who blames his tools is automatically declaring that he is not a craftsman. He chooses bad tools, doesn’t know how to maintain them, and he doesn’t know how to use them. He is not willing to take responsibility for the poor quality of his work so he blames something else – his tools. When you can align and adjust your table saw so that it contributes no error to the outcome, and refine your technique so that accuracy is limited only by the inherent properties of the wood, then you are a true craftsman. If you spend your time making test cuts, using subjective (feel the rub, hear the scrape) alignment techniques, and blaming your table saw for a lack of accuracy, then you are not a craftsman.
Ed Bennett
ejb@tablesawalignment.com