How to Align Your Table Saw Blade for Safe and Clean Cuts | Rockler Skill Builders

[@timlillard390]

Thank you very much! I inherited an ancient Craftsman table saw when my brother-in-law passed away. It seemed to work all right, but I always had a bit of resistance pushing stock through the saw. I figured it must be the fence, but before I adjusted the fence I saw this video. After aligning the BLADE, then aligning the FENCE, the saw cuts like butter, completely free of resistance and no scorching or circular gouges. Again, thank you!!

[@walione1000]

You do have to spend some time setting the saw up... blade, fence, etc. But once done, the saw is great. Fairly compact which is Nice kzbin.infoUgkxXh-4_3-ZT1fFWP91ZV7iVqzElr0lEb-a I did get an Incra Miter Gauge which takes some setup as well. The stock miter gauge can be adjusted in the miter slot with a little painter's tape... this tightens up the side to side play a lot.

[@feldonrichards8395]

*Just completed a big trim project on my house **MyBest.Tools** Performed very well. Also appreciate how easy it is to move, set up and store with the integrated stand. No more cutting wood on my knees.*

[@russ8001]

Thanks. After what seemed like the Twilight Zone, I found that my blade was warped (happened when a thin excess piece got jammed between sled and blade and I couldn't get saw turned off quick). Anyway, after I put a new blade on, I found that the blade run-out was less than a thousandth and so when I did the test you recommend above I was partly measuring the warped blade. Found with straight blade, I adjusted trunion and got parallel to within a thousandth. Once this was done I got fence adjusted to within a thousandth with the miter slot which should mean I am aligned across the entire saw. Tested by shaving some thin amount off some birch ply endwise and cut was uniform over length so thank you alot for this. This will allow my finger jig to perform again!

[@davidforrest937]

Marking a single tooth and measuring to the same tooth protects you from blade runout/warped blade.

[@MackTheMaker]

Thank you so much for this video!! I recently inherited the exact same Powermatic saw and had to take it apart when moving into my basement workshop

[@joeyrivera5368]

Clear and simple way to do it..Thanks..

[@joshtardiff3402]

Excellent detail and right to the point this is exactly what’s going on with my saw. The back of the blade is off to the left about an 1/8 on an inch. Thanks for the video

[@SilverBack.]

Great explanation, Thank you for sharing

[@rockler]

Thanks for watching! 🙌

[@AbangAbangan]

wow...good idea..

[@bobmackey8529]

How accurate is good enough?

[@d.k.1394]

Great video

[@rockler]

Thanks!

[@douglashaner6802]

Thank you, I would have simply checked the front of the blade and then the back, not knowing to check the exact same tooth. I do own a magnetic angle cube, do you find those to be accurate?

[@carverparkes2276]

thank you

[@luisestevesirvent2990]

¡Gracias por las provechosas indicaciones!.

[@yadaelroiy]

thanks, have that problem with my blade

[@rockler]

Hope this helped! Thanks for watching. 💙

[@harrisonfoster1889]

My table saw is mounted directly to the underside of the table is this still a usable method

[@rockler]

Hi Harrison Foster, Please reach out to our product support team at 1-800-260-9663 or [e-mail]. They'll be able to assist you. Thank you

[@DennisMathias]

Yeah, you guys and your cabinet saws. You were talking about trunnions so I had my hopes. How do I get my old Craftsman Contractor in the beam?

[@rockler]

Hi Dennis, we recommend reaching out to our Product Support team at 1-800-260-9663 or [e-mail]. They will be able to assist you. Thank you!

[@genesanders1199]

Once you lined up the blade correctly you did not mentioning tightening the bolts. If they are not tight the table could shift again. Do you tighten the bolts in front under the table and just leave the back one alone since the holes won't line up with the bolts? I would do that, but I want to hear it from you to be sure.

[@rockler]

Hi Gene, we always retighten all the bolts after we have properly aligned the components.

[@genesanders1199]

I straightened the blade by shifting the motor unit and then was able to clamp it in place. There was something there to clamp to. So, finally, I’m all set. The msg gave off too much dust. Wood would have been better. It’s also very heavy.

[@genesanders1199]

Not. Msg-MDF!

[@ashleywynn4923]

Use a dial indicator, igaging store has the easiest one to use thays made for table saw set up. You want to back of the blade plus or minus 0.005”, make sure its not a negative measurement at all as your wood will bind against the fence causing kick back.

[@karlt10]

EXCELLENT video

[@mardakworkshop4450]

thanks man 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@waynew7175]

If you move the back end as you state at around 4.50, you would even get a tighter distance from the slot at the back of the blade and cause a kick back for sure. Please explain what I'm missing here.

[@Jeff-qd1bg]

You are moving the table and not the blade, so you are in fact moving the mitre slot away from the blade.

[@bjsharplin1]

Ok, I thought the same thing. However, he has a cabinet saw, so the table top is moving, not the saw blade. The blade remains stationary, and the table top rotates around the blade.

[@JohnCran]

I move my tablesaw everytime I use it.

[@alexvaughn4602]

same...

[@sarahmiranda7130]

Same

[@davidsteinfeld9123]

sure would like to know about the next lesson I have gotten a ryoby 10 in table saw at a garage sale it was working great till I changed out a dulled blade then the problems it smoked badly the neibors think the place is burning down not at all savey about the adjustment thingy of thes saws it did not have instructions was still pretty new in the box if it was used twice was to many the deal was to nice to pass up and I never new of this prior will indeed like to know a bit more about the the next lesson as for now the saw stays parked till I could figure it out to far out of my league of expertise also that question if you should know of anything about this brand of saw about that next lesson please thank you in advance

[@rockler]

Hi David, we recommend reaching out to our Product Support team at 1-800-260-9663 or [e-mail]. They may be able to assist you. Thank you!

[@davidforrest937]

My cheap saw (Delta Shopmaster TS220LS, $100 in 2001) is too cheap to align this way-- the saw is attached to the bottom of the table by tiny brackets holding a 3/8" rod. There might be 3/16" adjustment possible at the rear, but it isn't enough to pull the blade into alignment with the undersized miter slot. I push it all the way to the right and then I set my fence parallel to the blade, and sometimes use a block against the fence as a miter guide.

[@shootsandscoots]

Nice wood shop you have. Wood floors are nice and the cabinets are great! Do you find yourself using the cubby shelf as a work space or just an overflow for odd size items and current projects and nick-backs. I’m stuck in a non AC 2 car garage that I need to pull the car out to do any work. Spent all day yesterday cleaning up and organizing so it should pay off for efficiency .The teeth on most blades are Alternating Tooth Bevel - ATB. So best to use the tooth closest to the reference edge that your aligning. Your PowerMatic PM1000? has an accurate t-slot, so the screw at the end of the board if your lacking a combination square is “good enough for government work”, My Bosch 4100 is far less of a machine and there’s too much slop to accurately make a fine adjustment, although I think I dialed it in using the combination square (really cheap one) and feeler gauges to measure the gap of the square to the t-slot using the tooth as the reference stop. I finished my calibration and checked the work after the adjustment: tap-nudge-tap-nudge, wiggle,wiggle-tap, nudge tighten then check. Cutting a board on the t-slot twice gives you an accurate assessment, because there might be run-out, blades not true or user error? . Once to just incise the board using a cut line. Then visually looking at the mark. First cut is too the outside of the line, with the wood clamped. Turn off the saw, inspect. Second cut is through the scrap to the far end of the blade. Inspect the cut vs reference line. Keep even pressure. For cheap saws I would thing a cross cut jig would be a better option since your Guiding the jig along two t-slots this lessening the slop. Anyhow, progressively work down to narrower reference lines, as you dial it in. I took a feeler gauge and measured the distance between the square and the t-slot as mentioned. In my case I was off .008” so it gives me a working point for the adjustment. After everything was calibrated and tightened I did the same with the fence. I just moved the fence all the way to the end of the combination square and tightened down the fence. I tried to get the fence as parallel to the blade as possible, checking how I lock down the fence without moving it out of position. Once I thought it was super accurate I took a sheet of paper and tried to pass it through the gap from the end of the square and the fence. A sheet of paper is around .002-.003” so it’s pretty close. A little thicker is a poker playing card if you have no feeler gauge.? My Craftsman gauges start at .005”. So anything approaching a few thousands is mostly good enough?? Besides once you make a pencil mark to cut your already off by more than a few thousands. Wood moves with seasons and humidity. If you want super accurate work with metal and become a machinist. That still doesn’t stop me from using a cheap micrometer to measure stuff.

[@artsmith103]

Ohhhh, I don't have to measure to know it's out of alignment :-( Bought mine off a truck in parking lot sale. Probably Ryobi return, then got passed on to me.

[@mustafanaser4099]

👍👍👍

[@yalmaboxer6878]

спасибо

[@michaellovetere8033]

You don't adjust it against the tooth, in spite of common thinking..you use the blade body close to the tooth you are using. Always put in a good blade when you do this, as an old blade may have warp in it.

[@danielslackergenius1641]

Trust me, you don't want a kickback injury.

[@radsmolinski924]

I feel like this guy looks like uncle Joey from Full House. Am i right...?

[@claudegraham4770]

I appreciate the effort, but really, measuring over such a short reference surface serves little purpose. A straightedge as long as the saw table slot is required to dial in the necessary accuracy.

[@GamerNxUSN]

I feel like this guy is going to pull out a woodchuck puppet to entertain his brother's children...."Is it made of.....WOOD?"

[@HORRUS29]

Uncle Joey?

[@djleadone]

Lol