I have what I expect to be a user error, but looking for any advice as to what I should check. My problem is getting straight crosscuts on my 10″ Delta contractor saw. I notice this problem whether I use my home built sliding crosscut sled or simply the mitre gauge with aux. fence, though generally the problem is worse with the mitre gauge.
So here it is. My cuts tend to have a slight curve in the middle of a 2-3″ crosscut piece. When I place an accurate square along a face perpendicular to the joint, I’ll see that the ends of the cut are square, but the middle of the cut has a very slight rise to it, leading to a joint that won’t quite sit flat. The amount of curvature is slight, but enough to open up a mortise/tenon joint.
The saw, fence, blade are well aligned (recently done with dial indicator). The cuts are clean (no saw marks, no burns). The blade is sharp. What am I missing? Thanks!
Replies
Sometimes I'v had that problem. Try raising the blade so that when your done cutting, the wood is in the middle of the blade, without the carbide teeth hitting the wood When I do this I stop there and stop the saw before moving the part past the teeth.
James
Rearwheel-
The problem you describe could be caused by a few things- But the first thing I would check (and I suspect this may be the problem) is the blade.
A premium quality sawblade is "tensioned" and I have had problems where the blade goes out of tension and causes an inaccurate cross cut similar to what you describe (even though the blade is sharp). Any competent saw blade sharpening company will re-tension a blade for around $10.00- the difference in the quality and straightness of the cut (in my experience) is well worth it.
If that is not it then I would look at a few other things- the fit of the miter gauge bar to the slot has to be perfect- no slop! I am sure FWW mag has many articles in the archive on how to fix that)
Also- I contact cement some 220 grit sandpaper to the face of the miter gauge- keeps the piece from slipping (don't know why but it always has a tendency to slip to the left as you are cross cutting).
let me know how you make out
Bob Van Dyke
Thanks, Bob. I'll give it a try... It very well could be the last item (my aux fence on the mitre guage is very smooth, as is the one on my crosscut sled) which would explain why the problem is intermittent.Chuck
Thanks for the suggestions. I think the problem is resolved and was a combination of a loosely fitting miter gauge and a smooth miter fence. I replaced the miter gauge and put sandpaper on the fence. Problem solved! I also took the oppt. to upgrade the blade from a combination blade to a high quality crosscut blade. It cuts great!Thanks again for your help.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled