Shopsmith Forums

I prescribe to the measure twice cut once idea and have no problem to using dial indicators for alignment etc - all good stuff.
But I came unstuck this weekend crosscutting long boards - 3" x 1" x 72". the cuts were made using the mitre gauge and a scrap fence that I tacked on for the extra support - all good but the cuts were nowhere near 90 degrees.
Now my table is within the prescribed tolerance and everything by the book or so I thought. On closer inspection the screws under the mitre gauge were loose and caused me the above problems. All 3 screws that could be tightened were in need of pinching up. This is something I have over looked and on this project did not matter too much as it was a fence/run for a dog kennel but could have been costly if I were after the accuracy one would normally expect.
Thought I might share the "gotcha".
Regards
Sandy

This is a good find, Sandyj and very good advice. It is always wise to check adjustments, especially critical ones, whenever you start a projcet.

I am so happy this worked out without causing a grief.

One thing you might give some thought to. For crosscuts like these, on long stock, I use the sliding cross cut table rather than the miter gauge.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/SawingPromo/ts_crosscut.htm

You can make one of these from cut offs you might have in the shop.

Thanks Dusty I actually do have a sliding table - unfortunately the mitre slider is made of wood and with the heap of rain over the past couple of weeks here the wood had swollen enough to bind in the slot - that was my first choice. I now have made some mitre slot runners out of thick formica.
All good practice.
Sandy

Hi Sandy! Glad you found the cause of your mis-crosscuts.
Wanted to let you know you are not alone with issues like this. I use a SS 24" miter extension (555429). When properly installed, there are 4 washers on the back of the gauge - two for each screw. (a flat one next to the gauge and a lock washer under the nut)

In a rush one day, I located one of the flat washers between the aluminum bar and the gauge. Didn't check until after making a cut! Oops!

I guess I'm a bit of a "chicken" as I don't trust my mitre guage with an extension so I usually cut pieces from a long board slightly longer and then fine tune.

I don't have a sled so that is not an option.

Have fun.

John

The ultimate sled is the Incra 5000 and it has a very long fence and the bar stays tight in the miter slot. I tried crosscutting some 11" wide Oak with the miter gauge and the 20" extension and the long end of the extension would drop below the front of the table and get stuck. With the miter bar pulled back that far it was very loose in the slot.

Lesson learned, spend an extra minute and set up the sled, the results are worth it.

Hi sandyj,

If you use a circular saw for cutting sheet goods, you might consider using it for this purpose too. Other good options include a RAS and a "chop saw".