Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Aug 03, 2006 01:02am | #1

   If the saw is new, I'd first suggest calling Delta on the chance that the fence is defective although this seems unlikely.

   Biesemeyer fences aren't designed to have their faces removed, the plywood core of each face is screwed onto the steel fence tube and then the outer laminate face is glued on, hiding the screws.  The only way to get at the screws would be to peel off the laminate facing which would destroy the laminate and probably damage the plywood core.  Personally I think that this is a terrible design.

   As to adjusting the clearance between the fence and the table, on the outfeed end of the fence, the nylon pad that is on the underside of the tube is supposed to lift that end high enough for the facings to clear the table surface.  If the facing is too low for the thickness of the pad, then something is wrong with the fence, since there is no adjustment for changing the thickness of the pad.

   On the infeed end, the clearance between the bottom of the fence and the table is determined by the height of the rectangular tube that the head of the fence rides on.  The height of the tube, in turn, is set by the height of the angle iron that is bolted to the front edge of the saw.  The height of the angle iron is adjustable because the holes in the front of the saw table and its extensions are larger than the bolts supporting the angle iron, so there is a small amount of play for setting the height of the angle iron before the bolts securing it are fully tightened. 

   I've occasionally seen saws where the holes won't allow enough play to get the height correctly set, the easiest fix is to use a file to extend the hole, though again, if the saw is new, you might want to talk to a Delta rep.  An alternative to filing the holes is to use washers to raise the tube off of the angle iron. 

   With Biesemeyer fences they usually include a small "L" shaped gage made from a piece of Masonite that is set on the table with the shorter leg hanging down over the edge and the angle iron is adjusted to just touch the gage.  If no gage is included, the instructions that came with the fence should give you the proper height for setting the angle iron.

   The blade being out .014", is enough to affect the quality of the cut and should be adjusted.  Unfortunately I have not worked on the new Delta hybrid saws and I can't give you any advice about the specifics of setting the blade parallel to the miter slot.  This should be covered in the saw's manual.  If the saw is difficult to adjust, you should probably quit when you get to .005" or less out of line.

   John White  

1. 
   MosesN | Aug 04, 2006 08:02am | #2

   John, thanks for the information.

   Using your tip I checked and it turns out the fence sides (you're right, it is a very foolish design which could easily be changed) protrude too far below the steel tube. so much so that they don't allow the slider pads to touch the table top. I called and Biesemeyer is sending me a replacement fence.

   I was able to get the blade to less than .001" out of parallel. It tooka bit of doing until I realized that I should leave one of the four bolts relatively tight so as to pivot the assembly around it with my trusty 2x4 and dead blow mallet.

   Thanks again for your help. Any thoughts on how flat the table should be?

1. 
   JohnWW | Aug 05, 2006 03:11am | #3

   Most saw manufacturers try to get their tops flat within .010", and this is typically about as good as most of them do.  By far the most common flaw is that the tables dish toward the blade opening.  Unless the dishing is extreme, it generally doesn't have much affect on the saw's accuracy.

   John W.