I have a 10″ Ryobi table saw. I have the stock miter gauge on it now. I’m not all that familiar with TSs but I’m pretty sure the gauge is a piece of junk. I’ve also read a couple posts by people not too thrilled with Ryobi products. I have several as they are inexpensive. Wish I had payed attention to this board more before buying them. Any suggestions on better miter gauges that would fit Ryobi TSs that aren’t all that pricey. I don’t need the best available, just the best value.
Thanks in advance.
Drew
Replies
Why do you think the miter gauge is junk? There are ways to fit a sloppy miter gauge without spending hundreds on an after market item. Most stock miter gauges need a little work as well as an added wood fence with a slip resistant face. Actually, sleds are far superior to miter gauges for cross cut and miter cuts. They are a little harder to make but worth the effort.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
"Actually, sleds are far superior to miter gauges for cross cut and miter cuts. They are a little harder to make but worth the effort"
I've got the porter cable bench saw, and I built a good sled for it. Copied the plans from Highland Hardware (http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/slidingtable.pdf). Very happy that I did. The problem with the jobsite saws is that the tables are really small. You might get tempted to use your miter gauge when it is very unsafe (e.g., when crosscutting a piece of wood wider than 6"). On a contractor or cabinet saw, that might not be a problem, but on the bench saw, you're looking for trouble.
Build a sled. It'll cost $10 for the plywood and it makes a fun project.
Drew,
Which Ryobi do you have? If it's the BT3000 it's quite a saw. (Sarge well tell you too.) Sarge you out there?
I owned two of them and both performed well. Why two? I took it to my dad so he could use it and he liked so much he kept it. Then he bought me a new one. I got 14 plus years of use from mine and sold it to a friend when I bought a Grizzly cabinet saw. My friend loves it.
I take it your new to woodworking? You can do a lot with a bench top model if you take the time to learn the tool. I'm not saying there aren't piece of cr** tools out there but Ryobi generally makes a reasonable tool. They aren't top of the line but they perform well for most homeowners.
If you haven't taken the time to tweak and adjust your saw, you should. Even Delta Unisaws require tweaking before we use them. You can buy an aftermarket miter gauge, like a Incra one but before you spend a $100 on one. What are you trying to do? If your trying to cut 90 degree square cuts maybe a crosscut slide would do.
I guess what I am asking is several things.
Are you new to woodworking?
What do you intend to build?
What type of wood do you see yourself using?
Sorry, for asking more than answering.
FWIW. Check out http://www.bt3central.com/
Enjoy.
Edited 2/23/2005 10:36 pm ET by Len
Thanks for the responses. I'll admit that I'm a very very green beginner. I have the BTS20R portable table saw. I bought it close to a year ago with the intention of using it for basic projects around the house (bought my first house last year). Didn't really have the intention of getting into woodworking at the time. But then winter came (I'm about an hour north of Albany, NY in a very rural area) and I needed a new hobby. Before buying the TS and getting into WW I had virtually no knowledge of how to work power tools so I'm sure my biggest problem is simply from ignorance of how to get the most out of them. But, the miter gauge is very wobbly in the rail and I have trouble getting good accurate cuts. Not really sure where the hobby is going to take me. I've been working on very simple woodshop type projects (basic workbench, lumber cart, very basic storage cabinet). Who knows, maybe the tool is just fine and all my problems are from lack of knowledge.
Thanks
Drew
Drew,
Congratulations on your new home. I'm sure you will be finding lots of projects you can use your new found hobby.
Your table saw is a job site saw. It's not bad but it is not meant for fine furniture building. That being said you still can do a lot with it. I used to have an old Makita job site saw that a friend gave me and a really horrible Emerson 3 wheel band saw. I made a great number of toys and furniture for my nieces and nephews with those tools. The toys and furniture are making their second round with friends.
Lets talk about your miter gauge. More questions. You say it's wobbly. Could you add a length of wood to the front of it? This would help stabilize it. Or is it loose in the slot? In that case, you could drill and tap into the side of the bar a couple of flat head screws. One at the front and the other at the back. Adjust those until the bar slide snug in the slot, without binding.
If you are concerned with cutting perfect right angles then a crosscut sled might be the ticket. Take a look here there is a design guide for building one.
http://benchmark.20m.com/plans/plans.html
You can also make one that has 45 degree blocks to cut miters. BTW. Take a look around the the benchmark web site. Lots of good information.
Another good website to peruse. http://www.woodshopdemos.com/
Ah, my secretary is giving me a dirty look. I better get back to work.
Enjoy!Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
Thanks Len. Looks like a decent project for the weekend...once the painkillers wear off.
Thanks again.
Drew
Drew,
The sloppy fit of the miter bar can sometimes be remedied by using a hammer and a steel center punch.
Lay the bar in the saw's miter slot, and determine where the movement is occurring. Push it side to side with your finger at either end of the bar. Take the bar/gauge out and, on a solid surface - not the saw! strike the side of the bar with the punch three or four times spaced approx.' 1/8" apart. This will dimple the metal slightly, and should raise the metal enough to make a tighter fitting bar. Do this where ever there is movement/play.
You will have to readjust the gauge back to 90 degrees after this procedure. Over time the dimples wear down, in which case just redo the aforementioned procedure to correct for it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
He can do the same thing by peening the bar. Striking the bar with a hammer to mushroom out the edge slightly in a few places. You generally have to use a mill file to tune the fit. It's often not the tool but knowing how to tune and use it. There are plenty of catalog items that will separate a novice from his money due to lack of knowledge.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
"He can do the same thing by peening the bar."
That is what I recommended he do.
"The sloppy fit of the miter bar can sometimes be remedied by using a hammer and a steel center punch."
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Actually, peening doesn't use a punch, just the hammer. Same principle of swelling the edge slightly, then using a file to fine tune. I was just supporting what you said with a little different technique.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I'll second Mathew's comments on the Incra100se. Excellent and well made. I also have their fence system for my router table. They make good stuff. I got mine from Woodpeckers as well. Good luck.
Bones, his is a benchtop model saw. He'd need to make sure our 1000 miter bar will fit in the slot before plunking down the dough.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Yep the width of the slide cannel is important. Mathew mentioned his model was a bench top. To be sure, here are the spec's for the 1000se. You will need a 3/4 groove for the bar. The bar that slides in the groove is 18 3/8" long, and the cross bar (part that is 90 to the blade) is 18 1/4" long. It telescopes out for longer length.
Thanks to everyone for all the tips. I've looked around at some of the sites provided, done some web browsing on my own, and have researched in some books. I've seen several sleds that I like and am going to try to come up with something that combines aspects from several other designs and photographs I've seen. I need a new project for tomorrow anyhow.
Another thing that came to mind while talking with a friend last night. As I mentioned, I bought this TS prior to getting into woodworking as a hobby. After reading about different types of TSs I'm realizing that I should have waited to get a different saw. But, I had a thought that I wanted your opinions on. If I take the portable legs, wheels, and aluminum outfeed support off the existing saw it would essentially be a benchtop saw. I was looking at it tonight and I think I could build a permanent stand for it. With some work I think I could also build some additional units to attach to the sides and back of the saw to allow for increased workspace. Might not end up being a cabinet saw, but could be a rigged middle ground. Any thoughts?
Thanks again for all the feedback.
Drew
There are two items that likely won't fit that saw (likey -- I'm not positive):
An aftermarket miter gauge
A stacked dado set
You can live without the first. I, personally, could not live without the second. Do you have around $500 or $600 you could spend on a saw? If so, you can get an excellent contractor's saw for that money. Should be able to sell the Ryobi for something.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
The instructions seem to indicate that a stacked dado set can be used..."mount the dado blade, using the blade and chippers appropriate for the desired width of cut". Doesn't specifically reference a stacked set but this seems to me to indicate that it is capable of using them.
My list of things to buy is very, very long. Unfortunately a new saw is fairly low on the list.
Thanks, Drew
Measure the arbor length, see how much of a "stack" you can get on there. Keep in mind, too, that the mass of a 6" dado set is pretty impressive, depending on how many chippers you have set up. A small motor will have to be babied.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Bones & Forestgirl,
As I said, I use the Ridgid TS2400 -- a benchtop saw. Although it is a benchtop saw, the TS2400 has a little more space in front of the blade than other benchtops, it has T-slots, and it's fence is as substantial as the ones on most contractor saws.I wouldn't cross-cut on the TS2400 wider than maybe 6". For my recent bookcase project, I mitered several pieces of molding, each 2" wide and ranging in length from 10" to 74". I did the miters with the 2" face against the 1000SE fence, with the blade raised just a bit more than 2" high. Of course, for the 74" pieces, I could not use the 1000SE flipstop.I was installing the bookcase today and had an opportunity to gaze on all those miters again. All the miters are on the top of the bookcases. The bookcases are low, only about 30" to 35" high, so the miters are all highly visible. Throughout, the 1000SE in combination with the the TS2400 produced perfect miters. I should add that I was using the stock blade.Using the t-slots in the 1000SE fence, I am trying to develop a simple hold-down that will secure even very long pieces into place.PS: I just got back from a party, and decided for some strange reason to check on Knots. I apologize if my writing seems a bit incoherent!
Edited 2/27/2005 7:38 am ET by Matthew Schenker
funny thing happened when I bought my sliding compound miter saw... the miter guage got very neglected.
you need a good fitting miter guage, but if it came down to spending $200 on a top shelf one versus $500 for a SCMS, I'd save up and go with the latter.
akg1776,
This is a timely subject. Just this morning, I cut molding to surround the top of an oak built-in bookshelf I am building for someone. I used my Incra 1000SE to cut all the miters with my new Ridgid TS2400 table saw. All I can say is, I wish I had this combination of tools a long time ago! Together, they made the job so pleasurable, and accurate.
The miter gauge was right on 45, offered great support as I moved the stock through the blade. The flip stop and micro-adjust fence let me "sneak up" on the correct length. The Ridgid TS2400 is just a benchtop saw, but it is smooth and made great cuts.
Of course, your interest is in the miter gauge, so let me say that if you're looking for an aftermarket model, the Incra 1000SE is a great choice. Before using it in the table saw, I used it for several months in my router table, and it performed beautifully there as well.
If you're interested in this miter gauge, go here:
http://www.woodpeck.com/miter1000se.html
Now I'm wondering about how to add an 8' fence to it. Just kidding, sort of.
No, I do not get a commission from Incra!
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