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If you have ever used the blade for alignment, you know that the blade can make measuring
difficult. It has shape to it and can give you erroneous measurements.
Part of the MasterGage System is to use their MasterPlate. MasterPlate
is a solid 6" x 10" x ¼" thick, "tool makers" quality aluminum
plate.
I am installing this precision plate in place of the saw blade.
Here I am mounting the plate so that it is vertical. I will make a check for
vertical first.
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And, yes, I did unplug the table saw.
I leave the two connectors hung on the hook where I keep my wrench. This gives me a
good reminder to unplug when changing blades — and it saves my back.
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It takes only a second to use the
plate vertically and check to the angle to 90o.
Since the blade angle is adjusted to stops at both ends (90o and
45o) and since sawdust can get in there and effect the stop, I have purposely
moved the 90o stop to be a bit over. When I want to return the blade to exactly
90o. I use this engineer's square. It takes a couple of seconds longer, but it
gives me much better accuracy than relying on the stop.
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Now, I have mounted the MasterPlate
horizontally so that I can get the longest measurement. The SuperBar base fits in the
miter slot. Two steel dowels allow it to ride on the table saw surface. It has several
spring adjustments that let it glide against the miter slot walls without any
"slop."
Here I take a measurement at the right end. I set the dial to zero and move
the SuperBar along the plate.
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I am embarrassed to show you how out of
alignment my saw is. It is 10 thousandth out here. It will take some trial and error
changes, but I should be able to get the alignment within 1 or 2 thousandths.
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On my cabinet saw, I loosen heavy Allen
nuts at each of the four corners and then tap (or bang) the table top until is is aligned.
Once aligned, I tighten all four nuts and then check alignment again. Check your operating
instructions for how your table saw is aligned.
[Note for SuperStation followers: in that the router insert table and the
Exaktor sliding table all hang from the table top, be sure that these units are free to
move with the table top when making these adjustments.]
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With the table top aligned to the saw
blade, I can now align the fence to the miter slot. I would like to have it so that the
back end of the fence is open about 3 to 5 thousandths of an inch. This will help reduce
the chance of wood binding between the fence after the cut.
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On the Incra TS-III, there are 6 screws
which hold the fence extension to the base. Adjustment of the fence is very easy.
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The last alignment step is to check the
miter gauge alignment to the MasterPlate. It is right on.
With the SuperBar and the MasterPlate you can "super tune your table saw
fast." That is what the MasterGage literature says, and I can repeat it for a fact.
It really is a good system — one that every table saw should have.
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