OK – I am setting up my first table saw, a Ridgid TS 3650. No problem on the overall assembly, but I can’t seem to get the blade assembly aligned. I am using a MasterPlate and SuperBar for aligning but here’s the issue: When running the SuperBar from front to rear in the left miter slot I get a runout of +0.003 from the front of the MasterPlate to the arbor, then it goes -0.003 from the arbor the far end, essentially back to 0 on the gauge. Either the miter slot is closer to the blade near the arbor, or the MasterPlate itself is slightly warped.
So it seems to have a bow either in the MasterPlate or the miter slot is not square. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on the situation? And is 0.003 inch an acceptable number?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Dave
Replies
You may want to ask Ridgid, but I really doubt if 0.003 inches would be much of a problem.
Try ripping a piece of hardwood and see how it works. If the saw doesn't "bog down" and you don't get burn marks on the wood, you're probably ok.
How does it cut? That is the real test.
Do you have a quality straightedge you can check the MasterPlate with? That's what seems most suspicious IMHO.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Put the MasterPlate on backwards and see if the reading reverses also. If it's the same, it's the miter slot.
Also, make sure that the SuperBar is adjusted snug in the miter slot. Some slots vary in width slightly at the edges. I found a narrow spot on my Delta that cleaned up quick with emery paper wrapped around a piece of wood. Getting rid of that little narrow spot in the slot made checking the blade dead-on accurate. (I use the SuperBar and MasterPlate also)
Tom Hintz
Because there is always more to learn!
Thanks for all the input. I did try the MasterPlate on the reverse side and the deviation was opposite. Also, I was able to get the miter slot pretty square to the fence, so it looks like the MasterPlate has the deviation, which is a little surprising.
I ripped a piece of hardwood and it seemed to run through pretty easy, no burn marks.
Since I am a rookie at this and for my own piece of mind, just how far does the alignment need to be out of whack to create a kickback problem?? My projects and skill level don't require professional tolerances, so as long as I'm comfortable with the safety of the setup, all is good.
I agree Pete, it's time to plug it in and get to work...
Dave
There's no such thing as zero in engineering, just acceptable deviation from zero (tolerance). The MasterPlate is advertised to be good to a thousandth, as is the MasterBar, so you're already looking at a theoretical deviation as high as .002.
In use, you're going to put a longer miter bar into the slot, which will smooth out the effect of any imperfections. When you put the blade on, you'll probably find that it's got a few thousadths of wobble to it.
All this is academic. Most buyers of this saw will use it out of the box. It's time to declare victory and plug the saw in.
Pete
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