Power Tools tune up

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I have no experience of tuning up power tools. Soon, I will have to calibrate and tune up a couple of saws. I read Stu's thread of jointer tune up with great interest and I will probably re-visit it in the future. I noticed that he was using a oneway gauge to make the adjustments. Correct me if I am wrong, this tool was specifically made to calibrate jointer knives.

It is my understanding that there are kits like A-Line deluxe kit which can calibrate other power tools as well.

What do you guys use in your shop and how do you rate it's performance?
 
I use a square or several and a nice metal ruler. There are several web sites and you tube videos on almost every piece of equipment. But it is usually high school
geometry type stuff. It it parallel, square, tangent ect. one thing that often helps is a piece of white paper behind what you are trying to square up as it makes gaps more visible.

Basically blade 90 deg to table and parallel to to slot. Then miter gage square to table slot or blade. Lots of way to do the same thing. Here is a good description using both simple and more exotic.
http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/calibrate_sled1.htm

Garry
 
Mohammad this is an aspect that i think does not need loads of cash spent on special tools to get right.

The most important part is understanding what has got to happen and how to get it to do it.

Then you can get the setting right with a variety of devices and some of the most simple ones are the best.

In the case of the jointer i do think that 1 way gauge is tremendous but my view is its very applicable in Stus case with an old machine and the way there are only two blades in his case.

But the key is understanding what he was doing and how to go about it. It also does take practice.

First time i did some of my machines all that really happened was me getting familiar with them and their adjustment points. It took me a while to get a "feel" as to what is real and what is just never gonna happen on my machines given the category they in.

There were also aspects that i never expected would need tuning that made a difference that have nothing to do with any purchaseable gauge.

Consider this , on a table saw at the low end there is no gaurantee that your arbor is running true. Then how much is true and acceptable.

One needs to consider that the arbor like most of the belt driven machines is running as a overhanging weight to the bearing its running on.

This applies in the case of the bandsaw as well but not a jointer.

In the jointer the blades are supported both sides by bearings.

The arbor of a table saw blade and bandsaw lower wheel have no support on the other side.

When i set my saw up without the blade and put a dial indicator on the flange supporting the blade i discovered significant run out.
This run out was not through wear in the bearing but rather poor manufacture of the part. (its not a million dollar machine).

So little things like this can make a world of difference and are not difficult to fix. I was not the first to come across this fact.

The same for the nut and washer holding my blade on. They are cheap and been pressed. So to the washer was not making contact evenly across its surface same for the nut. Well simply running them on some 400 water paper and smoothing them out relying at that time on the bed of the table saw made a noticeable difference in my saw.

Only after i had done this did i then get the mitre slot aligned with the blade.

I had chased that problem back and forth for sometime before curing it.

This is what i mean about getting more familiar with the machine.

Same for bandsaw. I have a book did all the tune ups etc. But it took reading about vibration from Iturra catalog to have me look into where the drive pulley was secured on the drive wheel shaft that took a load of vibration out of my machine and it was night and day when i then tried resawing a thin piece. This aspect was never mentioned in any of the things i had read. In my case i took for granted that the pulley had been put in the right place at the factory...NOT.

I still think if i could spend time with some on this forum while they do their machines i would learn 1000% more. So be prepared it a road you walk with a journey. Jigs help but i seen many videos where pros just use very basic items like set squares and get real good results just because they trully understand what is to be achieved and when to stop.;)

Best of luck. Remember you got quiet a knowledge base here so you aint alone.:)
 
Garry, thanks for the link. I did find a lot of information and videos on the web. The woodwhisperer's website has some excellent videos on the topic. I was just interested in finding out what works for the family members.

Rich, I have the video by the same title. I haven't seen it yet though. That is on my soon-to-be-done list.

Rob, thanks for all the info. I do plan on getting familiar with the tools and I don't want to spend a whole lot of money unless it is necessary. I will buy the necessary tools if they can make the calibration process easy, accurate and efficient.
 
I was just interested in finding out what works for the family members.

For the tablesaw (plan was in some woodworking mag). Just as accurate as the $100 versions but, leaves more money for wood.

22124 Alingment 004.jpg 22124 Alingment 005.jpg 22124 Alingment 010.jpg

I align my cabinet mounted trunnions with the wings off. This makes shimming to assure parallel at various angles a snap. After attaching the wings any small tweak (if required at all) is a minor adjustment.


For the jointer and planer.

Rotocator-poor-mans.jpg

Shop made Rotocator out of a 1-2-3 block and the same dial indicator from the tablesaw jig plus a bolt and a knob. Many of our specialty suppliers sell the dial indicator 'points' for $12 to $15. I got the same set at 'little machine shop' for a few bucks.
 
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For the tablesaw (plan was in some woodworking mag). Just as accurate as the $100 versions but, leaves more money for wood.

View attachment 62445 View attachment 62446 View attachment 62447

I align my cabinet mounted trunnions with the wings off. This makes shimming to assure parallel at various angles a snap. After attaching the wings any small tweak (if required at all) is a minor adjustment.


For the jointer and planer.

View attachment 62448

Shop made Rotocator out of a 1-2-3 block and the same dial indicator from the tablesaw jig plus a bolt and a knob. Many of our specialty suppliers sell the dial indicator 'points' for $12 to $15. I got the same set at 'little machine shop' for a few bucks.


That's where I purchased mine too.
 
I used something similar to the Align-It (don't recall the brand), but it's essentially a dial indicator and at jig to hold it in the miter slot, similar to the shop-made jig Glenn posted. I say "used", since I've only used it once to set up my saw and fence. Since then, everything has stayed in alignment on my saw.

In most cases I don't think measuring to thousandths of an inch is necessary in woodworking, but setting up a tablesaw is one exception. I know a lot of guys do it with a ruler and a square, but I suspect most of those guys have to run the wood over a jointer before a rip cut is smooth enough to glue, even if they're usiong a good cabinet saw. I get glue-ready rip cuts on a Ridgid contractor saw by setting the blade and fence to within a few thousandths of an inch from perfect. I'm convinced it's worth the effort to use a dial indicator for that particualr setup task.

BTW, if you want to borrow my indicator and jig, I'm sure we can arrange it. ;)
 
Thanks Glenn. That seems like something I could make.

Vaughn, Thanks for the offer. I will let you know if I need it. I am thinking it would be better if I had one in the shop.

Bart, go easy on Vaughn.:rofl: He has already been very helpful.
 
I have the same setup as Glenn. In fact I copied his. It works very well.

I really use my Wixey Digital Angle Gauge. Examples: Get jointer fence PERFECTLY square (or any other angle) to the "table". Get band saw table perfectly square to the blade. Get table saw blade perfectly square to the saw top.

You can also use the Wixie to set any of the above to any angle you choose extremely accurately.

Glenn is an absolute master at setting up machinery. For example, if you want to do a 1/16th inch thick resaw on my BS, just set the fence for 1/16th and don't even think about worrying about drift---There ain't none no how. My old Sears contractor's saw is as square to the world as you could desire---far better than most woodworkers cabinet saws. Etc.

I hope this was helpful.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
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