Recently, I have been going to school for Carpentry which, in turn, has turned me onto wood working. To cut a long story short, I have been slowly building my “mini” wood shop tool by tool, bit by bit and so on. About a month ago, I bought a portable table saw from Harbor Freight and (since I go to school full time and work a full time management job) I just got around to using it a few days ago. Now, I know the issues with some Harbor Freight tools but that Saw itself works great but….
Upon using it, I found that the fence wobbles an 1/8″. Thus, knocking my measurements out of whack. Now, I know that there are replacement fences that can be purchased but sadly, I am on a some what of a tight budget. I was curious if any one knew of a quick fix or possibly a type of jig that can help me correct such a problem?
Thank you,
“The Newbie”
David
Replies
Wobble vs. flex
A fence that wobbles, flexes, or otherwise moves an eighth of an inch after being locked down is an accident waiting to happen.
I'd suggest examining the fence and rail closely to determine the source of the problem, and then devise (or, ask about) an appropriate fix.
To be safe, a fence needs to be precisely parallel to the blade, or, at most, toe out no more than 1/64 of an inch (i.e. the distance from the back of the blade to the fence being no more than 1/64" greater than the distance fron the front edge of the blade to the fence. And, the fence needs to maintain that precise relationship to the blade at any placement along the rail. Under no circumstances should it toe IN - that will cause potentially dangerous kick-backs.
Getting the fence right is part of "tuning" the saw. You can search for articles here, or find more information in books about table saws. Essentially, however, "tuning" includes making adjustments to make sure the blade is parallel to the miter gauge tracks, square to the front edge of the table or front fence rail, and adjusting the fence properly. Whether your saw allows for the needed adjustments is another question.
If you are not sure about things, take pictures and ask questions.
Response.
Mr. Barker,
I appreciate your informative response. I have closely examined my table saw blade and that is square (which I check before every use when making a square cut) and as for my fence, it is perfectly verticle in relationship to the blade but for some odd reason, the part of the fence that is on the out-feed side of the table shifts. I checked the screws and bolts, the table itself. Did everything I could possibly do (or think of doing) and still the same result happens.
I will look up some articles on here as well as do some research on the net for table saw fence adjustments. I just hope I don't have to break down and buy a new fence or... Worse yet... Totally missed something obvious LOL.
Again, thank you.
=D. Anderson =
outfeed shift
First, I appreciate the respect, but "Mr." makes me feel even older than I am. ;-)
Shift or flex at the outfeed end of the fence seems pretty common with poorly-designed (and usually inexpensive) fences. This can be the result of the adjustment/tightening mechanism not being robust enough, or it might be the front rail attachment having some give to it, or shifting when it is tightened.
If the fence is shifting/slipping beneath the tightening bolt, an external star-style lock washer might help. If not, you may have to resort to clamping the outfeed end of the fence to the table after each adjustment.
Another trick to making the adjustments more precise is to place a straight edge against the blade, so you can take your measurements farther back, toward the end of the fence, rather than just at the back of the blade. Just be sure the straight edge is either against the central portion of the blade, or against the edge of the carbide teeth on both sides. (The saw should be unplugged before making such adjustments, of course.)
The level of precision desired here is indicated by the fact that most saw-tuning tools use dial indicators that have readouts in thousandths of an inch.
Replacing the stock fence may ultimately be the best choice. Whether the saw is worth that investment is a separate question.
Good Point
You do have a good point about whether or not the table saw would be worth investing in a new fence. I've been using it the last couple days and just added extra care in measuring the distance between the fence the blade and double checking it by even measuring the right side of the fence to the far right side of the table.
I've been looking into other table saws and sadly, brand new saws are a little out of my current budget at the moment and the used ones I've found locally are... Questionable. For now, I just got to take my time in checking my fence alignment and keep an eye out for a GOOD and CHEAP used table saw. If you hear of or see any, let me know lol
Anywho, thanks again for your time and advice. *Salutes* I appreciate it.
=D.Anderson=
Dude, as someone who's been there done that, take it back. When I started out, in an apartment :) I had a lowes brand 10" benchtop saw that no matter what would not cut strait. I threw the fence away and used a hand made wood fence c-clamped down. Total PIA but it did the job for a while. Learned my lesson and started saving money and a decent ts is critical. You don't need a new one. Get a used TS and old delta or such can generally be had for a song with some elbow greese be up to spead. Watch the craig lists in your area or http://www.searchempest.com (that will search all the CL's in your area. Also go over to the old woodworking tool site (see my sig) and check the classifieds. You see TS's there all the time. I know it hurts but if you can't return it, sell it for what you can and chalk it up to life's unpleasant lesson. I'm telling you right now you well only get frustration with that tool Harbour freight is ok for thow away hand tools but thats it. You can still get good tools that are old (better). I found an original 34 delta bandsaw for 200 bucks on cl and its fantastic. I've got another 16" bs I'm rehabbing for a hundred. There are a couple old TS's over there on the old ww site now for sale. I bought grizzly early on to save money and they were ok, but this is so much better and even cheaper. good luck and stick with it, but no need to be frustrated.
this is screwed up.
Ok, I know this site has been screwed up for some time, but I just posted the above message, and my sign is not youngpup. It's BONESBR549. Hey FWW what the heck? I noticed something funny was up when my sig was missing?
this is screwed up
maybe they are making changes.
Database index error?
This sounds like the member database index is out of sync, resulting in your member number matching up with someone else.
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