Delta contractor saw alignment

RalphV | Posted in General Discussion on May 18, 2020 03:25pm

Hello,
I’ve been a FW subscriber for so long I am running out of storage space for old issues. I’ll start with my question. If I use my table saw only for ripping (I have a chop saw bench for cross cuts) and I have it correctly aligned to my fence, why do I need to worry about its alignment to the miter slots? Now, the background: I have a 24 year old Delta 34-444 contractor table saw. The tilt and blade height mechanism recently began to bind, so I took off all my extension tables and stand and turned the saw upside down. I disconnected the trunnions from the top, cleaned up the sliding parts, gears and shafts. It reattached the trunnions to the top and now the movement is very smoot. I am just waiting for my saw blade to come back from the sharpening service. I know the blade is not likely to be in alignment and I understand that you need to loosen up the trunnions enough to move the blade into alignment. It sounds like a pain in the neck when the saw is right side up, so I’ll have to deal with it. I’ll give it my best shot. But I have also read many accounts of people who said there was not enough play to get the blade into alignment. And aligning the blade when tilted requires some shimming with washers, which I don’t think you can do unless you take the trunnion bolts off and have the saw up side down. I can see why people buy cabinet saws for this reason alone.

Replies

mikeinohio | May 18, 2020 03:39pm | #1
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If I use my table saw only for ripping (I have a chop saw bench for cross cuts) and I have it correctly aligned to my fence, why do I need to worry about its alignment to the miter slots?
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If you are going to ignore your miter slots completely, I don't think you need to align the blade to them.

Then the only adjustments you care about are:

1. Blade to fence parallelism

2. Blade to insert alignment - especially if you already have a collection of zero clearance inserts.

Mike
ajg1942 | May 18, 2020 09:07pm | #2
I have the same table saw and the alignment of the blade parallel to the miter slots is really easy if you install the PALS CTS alignment kit 5/16 in. Which you can get off amazon.. The difference.. without the kit the adjustments are made with a mallet.. with the kit the adjustments are made by allen screws. for $20 + shipping I think it's money well spent..

There is a video YouTube that goes over the install and adjustment using the PALS.. Title of the video is "Aligning a Contractor Saw with the PALS"

The kit does not help with the alignment for angled cuts which does require shimming...
geedubbee | May 19, 2020 10:43am | #3
Excuses abound for not doing something completely but, there is also no need to spend cycles setting something up that you will never use. If the saw is going to be a ripping station then blade to fence alignment is your important relationship.

You will want to make anyone who may use the saw aware that it is only setup for ripping as a partially aligned tool has the potential for mishap. That being said, aligning the saw for cross cuts at 90 degrees (skipping bevel cut alignment) is not a big job.

Certainly as I get older and the floor gets farther away some of the contortions involved are more problematic. The PALs mentioned were a real problem solver for my adjusting of a troublesome contractor saw.
_mj_ | May 19, 2020 11:17am | #4
If you set it up that way drive a wedge into the miter gauge slots front openings to keep them from being used. Super dangerous.
stantheman | May 19, 2020 12:19pm | #5
I lived this way for years, until I gave up trying to get accurate crosscuts on the miter saw, and got a miter gauge for the table saw. I just dont think a miter saw is a precision tool for woodworking - ok for carpentry and rough cuts. My two cents.
RalphV | May 19, 2020 08:10pm | #6
Thanks for the comments. I tend to agree with Stan about inaccuracies in sliding miter saws. And a misaligned blade prevents you from using a sled on the table saw. I am going to give a go with getting the blade aligned to the slots. But still, most of my work is rips on the table saw. Just sent my WWII for sharpening.