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How accurate or precise must my table saw be for feature rings

Ed Korsberg

PRO Member
I tried to make a feature ring (eventually for WoodturnerPro) using a design from LaminationPro. But as I cut the strips on my portable contractors table saw and then glued them together it became quite obvious something was amiss. It you look at the pictures in the link below it will be apparent. I suspect my table saw has 1 or 2 alignment issues. The blade may not be 90 degrees to the table and the fence may not be parallel to the blade. I also don't think I cut the matching 1/7 2/6 3/5 strips to the same width. I was cutting the strips from what I think is called the waste side of the blade and not from the section between the blade and the fence.

Can a portable table saw be precise enough for such intricate cuts or do you need a high quality solid cabinet saw?

Title: Evidence that table saw is not accurate
 
Hi Ed. What brand and model of portable saw do you have?

Also if you have not looked at this thread, Lloyd posted some info from a presentation he did. Take a look. It may help in set up and construction of multigeneration cuts.

Title: Lamination PRO Tutorials - Multi-Generation Laminations
My table saw is a Dewalt DW744. It is about 20 years old but not really heavily used. The bearings seem solid and in general this model is more solid than the new Dewalt models which seem to be made of plastic.
I like the backlash free rack-pinion fence on this saw but how precise must I align the fence to the blade?
I do have a dial gauge I can setup to run up/down the length of the fence to measure trueness to the t-slot.
Is there a number 1000's of inch I should strive for?

Also I did look now at the tutorials above and they seem very helpful but yet again want me to buy more tools :)
I noticed that Dubby Sled. I have an Incra miter and sled. Will that work just as well? I know I often hear the term 'Weggie sled' but I do not have one of those yet. But I can see a real need for that Rockler clamping frame, I need that and that dubby stop looks useful too.
 
I have and use a incra miter and sled. Also made a segeasy sled.

One thing to check on your table saw is the fence alignment. Is it parallel to the blade. For example if you have the fence set 1" away from the blade, is the fence 1" at the front and 1" at the back. This is generally done my marking a tooth on the blade, take a measurement at the front (closest to you). Rotate the blade so the marked tooth is at the back (away from you) and measure. The fence needs to be as close to parallel as possible.

- A good sharp blade is important. I use a 80 tooth finishing blade most of the time.
- imo, you should go for the blade/fence alignment to be as close to 0 as you can get. The exit (back side) may be out a couple of thousandths to help reduce binding.

As far as a wedgie sled. Here is a link to the site
Title: Wedgies
They are pretty easy to make. Instead of wedgies, I have been using a digital angle finder. Works well.
 
My table saw is a Dewalt DW744. It is about 20 years old but not really heavily used. The bearings seem solid and in general this model is more solid than the new Dewalt models which seem to be made of plastic.
I like the backlash free rack-pinion fence on this saw but how precise must I align the fence to the blade?
I do have a dial gauge I can setup to run up/down the length of the fence to measure trueness to the t-slot.
Is there a number 1000's of inch I should strive for?

Also I did look now at the tutorials above and they seem very helpful but yet again want me to buy more tools :)
I noticed that Dubby Sled. I have an Incra miter and sled. Will that work just as well? I know I often hear the term 'Weggie sled' but I do not have one of those yet. But I can see a real need for that Rockler clamping frame, I need that and that dubby stop looks useful too.

I looked at the Rockler multi track and that looks interesting but where would I get the multi track clamps from? I went to Rockler's web site but do not see any reference to this clamps used to connect the 4 corners of the square clamping channel
 
I got a new thin kerf 3/32 Freud blade today. I installed it and then using one of those cool digital angle meters measured my 90 degree stop to be about 89.4 or 89.6 degrees. Is that 'good enough' to perpendicular for these southwest patterns or is a true 90.0 what we need? I ask because I true to adjust my 90 degree stop but no amount of force I was willing to torque on the hex screw holding the stop down would budge it. It did squirt som PB on it hoping it will loosen up soon.
Also how parallel must my fence be to the t-slot? I do have a dial gauge I can install and measure.
 
Ed,
Checkout my table saw sleds in the Buy, Sell, Trade forum. I avoid using thin kerf blades due to the possibility of blade flutter. I strongly recommend the Freud LU85 full kerf blade. I have been using this blade for over 20 years with excellent results.
 
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I got a new thin kerf 3/32 Freud blade today. I installed it and then using one of those cool digital angle meters measured my 90 degree stop to be about 89.4 or 89.6 degrees. Is that 'good enough' to perpendicular for these southwest patterns or is a true 90.0 what we need? I ask because I true to adjust my 90 degree stop but no amount of force I was willing to torque on the hex screw holding the stop down would budge it. It did squirt som PB on it hoping it will loosen up soon.
Also how parallel must my fence be to the t-slot? I do have a dial gauge I can install and measure.

I was able to successfully set my blade to 90 degrees and also aligned my fence properly. The fence was very much out of alignment. I tried a few test runs and it is looking better.
 
Looking at Lloyds multi track system from "tips and tricks" it looks like the plates are Rocklers Toggle Clamp Mounting plates. I image you could make your own to put the tracks togeather.

Title: Toggle Clamp Mounting Plate

View attachment 3851

When I cut a set of laminate strips for building up a feature ring I seem to have issues with getting the strips not to shift around. After glue up is dry then I find I have to sacrifice some of the material to get an even width between strips. The picture below is how I am clamping my laminate strips. I sorely need a better setup such that was highlighted in Llyod's 'tips and tricks.pdf. Is that clamping station from Kreg, Festool or something different?

Title: Imgur
 
When I cut a set of laminate strips for building up a feature ring I seem to have issues with getting the strips not to shift around. After glue up is dry then I find I have to sacrifice some of the material to get an even width between strips. The picture below is how I am clamping my laminate strips. I sorely need a better setup such that was highlighted in Llyod's 'tips and tricks.pdf. Is that clamping station from Kreg, Festool or something different?

Title: Imgur
You glue up strips similar to what I do as far as making the laminate. The more accurate your strips are to being the same width throughout the length of the strip the better your lamination is going to be. That is if the sides are not parallel you will see a compounding error as you make 2nd and 3rd gen cuts. I generally join one edge of my board, the joined edge is placed against the saw fence as I cut a strip.

The question I have is when you cut a strip, have you measured the width and multiple places to see if you are close to parallel? Your issue in cutting strips may be in the fence alignment.
 
You glue up strips similar to what I do as far as making the laminate. The more accurate your strips are to being the same width throughout the length of the strip the better your lamination is going to be. That is if the sides are not parallel you will see a compounding error as you make 2nd and 3rd gen cuts. I generally join one edge of my board, the joined edge is placed against the saw fence as I cut a strip.

The question I have is when you cut a strip, have you measured the width and multiple places to see if you are close to parallel? Your issue in cutting strips may be in the fence alignment.

Before I fixed the alignment issues on my saw (blade at 89.6 degree and fence not parallel) I did notice the widths were not as consistent as expected. Since I realigned the saw and did another test lamination now the widths are within a reasonable tolerance. Note that I just ordered the Rockler 2-1/4" Multi Track, 36-inch and Toggle Clamp Mounting Plates. But I still would like to match that up with good work surface such as the Kreg clamping table or similar. This is an expensive hobby :)
 
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