Self adhesive rule that came with my table saw....

Craig Johnson

Member
Messages
113
Location
The Couv, Washington
I bought my Steel City table saw last year and had noticed the self adhesive rule that came with it was off by at least a 16th or more when measuring/cutting longer distances with the fence.
The fence is in alignment with the blade so Im pretty sure thats not the problem.
Measurements under about a foot or so are fine.
What I did do was peel that one off and replace it with a Starrett.
So far so good based on what I measured.
My question is are all of the ones that come with the saw crap?
I would assume they dont spend a lot on real accurate ones.

What say you....
 
The one on my Bies was pretty good over the 30" range. I moved the tube to the right to get some extra capacity out of it. I added a Rockler tape as a replacement. It is off about 1/16" in 18" or so; really poor in my opinion.

I added the Wixey digital gauge which is great and the current tape gets me close enough to fine tune my measurement in with the DRO. I still want to add an accurate tape because I'm just that way ;-) Many folks have talked about the Starrett so I will probably go that way.
 
I've got the same problem with my Unisaw. I even bought a Wixey and put on it but I still verify with my tape measure when I make a cut. How much is a replacement Starrett tape Craig?

Hi Royall.
It was cheap.
I got a 3/4" x 6 ft and it was around 7.00. I figured since it was a Starrett I wont have the same problem as the cheapie. Seems more accurate.
Will do some test cuts and be sure.
 
You folks that are using the Wixey digital gauge do you like it and how is it for accuracy I was looking at one for my saw as its getting harder and harder to see the MM on the tape for building my organ pipes :D

I need to see .5mm at times.

Jay
 
I've got the same problem with my Unisaw. I even bought a Wixey and put on it but I still verify with my tape measure when I make a cut. How much is a replacement Starrett tape Craig?

You folks that are using the Wixey digital gauge do you like it and how is it for accuracy I was looking at one for my saw as its getting harder and harder to see the MM on the tape for building my organ pipes :D

I need to see .5mm at times.

Jay


This threatens to become a blatant thread-jack but:

Royall, if your Wixey isn't dead-on when appropriately zeroed, email Barry Wixey. He will get you fixed.

Jay, I really like the repeatability and confidence of the Wixey but you do need to calibrate it more often than I expected. Of course setting your fence next to your blade and pressing a button is not really a big deal once and awhile. I have never had it lose calibration during use or even over a couple days. I do want a decent tape still as it makes getting "in the ballpark" easier.
 
Well I have an update.
I was able to get pretty good cuts with the Starrett tape but still not quite where I wanted them to be.
I also am lacking a long rule/straight edge for my measurements in my shop.
So from what I understand use the rule on the saw to get it close but use a straight edge or rule for really accurate ones.
So, I ordered a Pinnacle 36" rule from Woodcraft.
I figure this will get me where I want to be.
 
This threatens to become a blatant thread-jack but:

Royall, if your Wixey isn't dead-on when appropriately zeroed, email Barry Wixey. He will get you fixed.

Jay, I really like the repeatability and confidence of the Wixey but you do need to calibrate it more often than I expected. Of course setting your fence next to your blade and pressing a button is not really a big deal once and awhile. I have never had it lose calibration during use or even over a couple days. I do want a decent tape still as it makes getting "in the ballpark" easier.

There is a couple of things I want to check and then I'll contact Barry. He's too nice a guy to bug if you haven't got all your ducks in a row.
 
Craig is the Sterrett tape a plastic tape? That is what I thing the problem is with the one on the my TS. I'm thinking that as I was adding it to the rail I could have stretched it while laying it out. It will grow a little over 1/16" in about 28-30". It seams too that the Wixey will grow. I sometimes wonder if it isn't the splice that makes it be erratic.
 
Hi Royall.
The one I got is steel.
It seems like mine had that problem too (as in growing in the 25-30 inch range).
I think this is about as accurate a tape as is available.
I will need to do some more cuts to check.
Probably do that tomorrow.
 
Craig is the Sterrett tape a plastic tape? That is what I thing the problem is with the one on the my TS. I'm thinking that as I was adding it to the rail I could have stretched it while laying it out. It will grow a little over 1/16" in about 28-30". It seams too that the Wixey will grow. I sometimes wonder if it isn't the splice that makes it be erratic.

I had this issue replacing one on my TS once. I had to re-order the metal one instead. I think I paid around $10 for the metal one.
 
Well Craig you convinced me. Today I went and bought 2 of the starret tapes but in the 1/2" version and put one on my crosscut sled and will put the other on my ts. I wish I would have done this along time ago along with the incra miter slide bars:thumb:.
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