Table Saw Fence Alignment | Safe, Clean, Rip Cuts

Table Saw Fence Alignment. In this video Rob Cosman shows you his method for aligning the table saw fence
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[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Watch Rob align the Table Saw blade: Table Saw Fence Alignment Just posted....dont wait, check it out

[@matthewwilson5967]

Holy cow. You just changed my life. I though getting coated in saw dust was all part of using a table saw.

[@takeniteasyfriend]

A must have reference video for sure. 👍 thanks for the nuggets of detail.

[@shaneclk9854]

Im just seeting up a skil table saw and noticed that the fence was set up as u described from yen factory but now you have given me the best explanation

[@djpenton779]

Great video, great tip, Rob. I just set my fence up this way 30 minutes ago. It solved more than one problem I have experienced for a long time. I have a modestly priced table saw; cannot foresee ever being able to afford a sawstop. Fortunately there is little or no slop in the blade mechanism. I did invest in a pretty good after-market fence. I meticulously set the fence up exactly parallel to the miter slots. I have always had problems with burning and nasty blade marks, even though I switched to a full kerf rip blade for hardwood. Even worse, the lumber always wanted to bind, and veer AWAY from the fence as I pushed it through. I just now ripped a 3 foot long piece of 2" hardwood (after doing Rob's setup), and both problems are gone. Much cleaner cut, and the piece fed through smoothly. And here all the while I had resigned myself to it being the fault of a mediocre table saw. But...no!...setup correctly, it works well. Thanks, Cosman, you're woodworkers' go-to guy for all kinds of instruction.

[@TexChopper]

From this video I learned... I need a new tablesaw...

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Sawstop is the way to go

[@kentboys5017]

This is a great video! You have just explained the most intimidating process on a table saw. You broke it down and made it possible for everyone to easily follow. This video gives me the trust that I can set my fence to be accurate as yours. Thank you for your expertise. Take care.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

No problem Kent. Let me know how it goes on your saw

[@jimshaver898]

Such a great video Rob, I set my General up like this 30 years ago and it still cuts smoothly... an important detail to pay attention to, important message.. All the best

[@richardc6932]

From your early days touring the shows in Halifax and elsewhere you must remember “Dave” selling Ridge blades and Accusquare fence systems. In Halifax he always was at the entrance when you entered the arena. His advice for fence setup was clamp the fence to the blade, then tighten the four nuts on the fence “red-faced” tight. Of course it meant using a quality blade like the Ridge blade. That blade has “almost” NO runout and the best blade I own. Forrest is second. After that, the LieNeilson dovetail saw you sold me that day!

[@johnbies7041]

Epic woodworking table saw accuracy

[@radiok2ua]

Great video, Rob--lots of tips in one place. A good refresher on a few things plus faster ways to tune up the SawStop fence for me as a new SawStop owner.

[@BrantAerials]

Now I have reservations about my table saw. I'll be making these adjustments in the morning! 👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Good deal let me know how it goes

[@sfrskz]

i have an battery powered table saw, overal it s good but fence is bad. i made it parallel to blade today and man it was like blade was trying to push back the wood im cutting. i noticed the same thing and your explaination made it clear. little "misaligment" is a must for clean cut

[@doyalkrishna5656]

Awesome video

[@frankcaico9355]

Love your videos Rob. Looking forward to someday coming down and taking a class!

[@monarchWS]

Thanks Rob. Informative and useful. My SawStop fence will be tuned soon!

[@robinfisher4990]

I guess if you were using a dado blade you would be making a slightly bigger dado then the thickness of the dado blade stack? But would be easily accounted for. Thanks for all your great videos Rob!

[@kevinb6102]

Great vid

[@madisonfireman5006]

Enjoyed your video and, I went along aligning my fence while watching your video. I aligned my table saw blade the other day while watching your video as well. Keep your videos coming I really enjoy watching and learning from them.

[@leafeater5453]

I might give this a try. It is counterintuitive. I have ALWAYS been told too measure the same distance from the groove. I just finished watching a video that showed you how to make a jig to do so. Despite sharp blades I often would have saw marks and even scortching on the wood, especially near the last bit of length that I cut. I cracked it up to a crappy fence or maybe my blade isn't parallel or "straight" with the mitre groove. I heard you mention how to checkthat. I'm going to search your videos for that. Thanks.

[@leonardnoel888]

Very good and extremely important Thank you.

[@jwd888]

just got meself me 1st table saw then rob drops this ....... cheers

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thats because I knew you just got a new saw

[@watermain48]

Thanks Rob. I have the SawStop Jobsite Pro saw due to the small size of my shop. I hope these tips will work on it.

[@Joey.Darkwoods-Studio]

Great video and info, thanks!

[@billboy7390]

The screws that you mentioned that hold the laminated plywood fence faces go into t-nuts so they don’t strip easily. biesemeyer definitely designed the Best fence. There original fence was a little better built then SawStop. Bought my first fence from Bill Biesemeyer himself at is factory in 1984 and put it on an old Sears table saw. $350.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes it changed fences forever. Sawstop is a Biesmeyer design....

[@bradleytuckwell4854]

Your content is always great and informative.So thanks for creating such a awesome channel

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

My pleasure!

[@jrmacks]

Thank you Rob for info and nice trick with the paper!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

you bet

[@kathrynnewton8721]

Such a good video though - thank you!

[@williammurray4767]

In your earlier table saw video you mentioned that the only disadvantage to the Sawstop fence was that it lacked micro adjustment. Woodpeckers makes a product they call the Flip Stop system that provides micro adjustment, as well as other features you might find useful. I have it on my Saw Stop and like it a lot. Unlike many Woodpeckers tools, this one isn’t unreasonably expensive. Great videos; fun to watch a master at work.

[@fisiipeautome2391]

I got a different one but didn't know you can adjust them thanks mate

[@oconnorwoodworking]

Awesome video! I'm doing this today.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Might be a step above your abilities, call The Goat for assistance.

[@adamhass8522]

I’ve often wondered about this. I’ll give it a try

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Let me know how it goes

[@gregturk2824]

Rob, great videos as always. I’m 67, love building things. I’m ditching my delta table saw for a saw stop. Do you or your viewers have a recommendation on fence size? I’m currently using a Biesemyer 52.

[@robertbamford8266]

Fence is make or break! 👍 Fence face square to table. It will be interesting when I check my Biesemeyer fence for that for the first time. And it’s only been on my Craftsman since 1983 or so. Thanks for the tip.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

let me know what you find out

[@wisconsinwood]

I recently bought a 3HP Professional series SawStop and this tutorial and the other one on blade alignment were very helpful. Thanks Rob!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

you bet

[@fisiipeautome6662]

Thx

[@Borescoped]

Is Frick ok?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Cut two tendons and a nerve. Sewn back together. Time will tell

[@realpdm]

Very helpful. One problem I've had when adjusting my sawstop fence (same as yours) is figuring out just how tight to make it when it is unlocked. I get a good bit of straightening that happens when I lock the handle down. Very finicky process. Thanks for sharing this and the other one about table alignment.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thnaks for watching and commenting

[@Shotsmoky]

I recently purchased a SawStop and noticed quite a bit of saw marks on the back end of the cut. Definitely going to use your method of alignment. Thanks so much Rob.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Let me know how it goes

[@kathrynnewton8721]

Very interesting and it makes sense, but specific to your Sawstop really? I have a Bosch and have constant problems with my fence!

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Idk how I missed this

[@anvilhead0]

So what you really ideally want is a fence that is parallel to the front edge of the blade, and is then slightly relieved to give clearance?

[@TurkiAU]

Could you do a video on how to align the riving knife? Thanks and best regards.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thats a great ideas

[@jhersk]

How do you set the gauge if you use both full width and narrow width blades?

[@johndomik8267]

Hey Rob, John here from Moncton. Would you know where I can purchase a Biesemeyer 30" rip fence for my Delta Contractors table saw 36-650. Thanks

[@jswoodcreations]

I have the same fence and after tighten down the screws to attach the face of the fence to the bar, the fence wasn't flat. I had to shim the fence. Is this being overly picky?

[@louisshambarger2230]

What you do is simpler and just as good as my method. I use a surface gage and a dial indicator and drop the pins on the surface gage into the tee slot. If you do this you may find that the two faces of the rip fence aren’t perfectly flat. I use shim stock to get them as accurate as I can. I need new faces but the last time I checked, Saw Stop was out of rheum.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You can do the alignment with a dial indicator. I dont I just use simple everyday tools

[@philmininni5981]

5 stars

[@warniedaniel9867]

Does your previous power planer video go into specific detail on max hight with a given width of a board through a planer Ex a 7/8” thick board on its edge going through the planer what would be your max safe thickness

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I never put boards through my planer on edge. I do edges on the jointer then table saw

[@deanrampy4564]

I have a Sawstop. I have to jiggle the handle a couple of times to ensure the fence is in its proper position and at the correct cutting distance before I fully lock the handle. There is slight lateral movement in the fence when I do this. Is this normal?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes....I do the same

[@Sadowsky46]

With this kind of luxurious US-style fence I always wonder if they come with the saw or if there is a standard to fit them to any saw?

[@jefflavenau6805]

The fence in this video comes with the saw he's using. There are other similar designs that can be bought with kits to go on other cabinet saws, but compatibility varies

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

What Jeff said

[@Sadowsky46]

Thanks! I need to look for something similar here in Europe

[@user-dy4xh8rf6w]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

👍👍

[@richardc6932]

Wouldn’t it have been better to get the fence square to the table top prior to aligning it to the mitre slot ?Then you would have an accurate face on the fence to set to.

[@joehirschegger7723]

How often would you check the alignment on your saw?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I assume you are referring to the fence not the blade. When I start getting unclean rips....the saw leaves slight marks on the wood surface

[@georgegholson8583]

What kind of fence is it?

[@stevesteves8915]

I get the principle of this, but as the diff from front to back is only 4 thou, how sure are you that you can reset the front each time to within 4 thou of the previous time?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I do it all the time, no problem

[@en510]

Does this also apply to band saw fences?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Not so much as a band saw moves slower than a table saw, has different forces. with a band saw you have to align the fence to the natural drift in the saw. I will do a video on it

[@bofa83]

I should never have tried to square my table saw up. Now I know what a piece of crap it is. But it makes me more glad that I got it on sale.

[@Nico-bu6bj]

A fence like this that you can't slide forward or backwards (away from you or towards you) is illegal in the EU and for good reason. When you do a rip cut you want to set the fence just past the middle of the blade so there's no chance of binding.

[@klw141]

Your procedure works but.........dial indicator? $25 on ebay, much easier and more precise

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

More precise. Easier?????

[@63Ducati1]

I don't get your reluctance to say that you want the fence to be .004" out of parallel over the length of your slot. You avoid saying any dimension until you start using the paper as a shim that is "about four thousandths of an inch" to gauge the out of parallel. Then you put a piece of wood through with no marks and declared success. Only then do you say the fence is offset .004. What are the variables? Different blades will have different expansion. Ripping an 8 ft board will generate more heat as will harder woods. Constant speed is important and harder woods will require different speeds. But, from you video, .004 is the universal distance. Now, as much as it seems like I am disparaging your video, you are the first person that I have encountered to actually declare a distance and demonstrate it. The tips that you have DEMONSTRATED, not just declared in print or vocally, will provide me with enough information to proceed. If I am ripping a 12/4 oak piece 8 ft long, I'll make a test cut and if I am dragging on the exit, I need more offset. I have a 24 tooth rip blade that usually use on heavy rips as that described. I don't have a riving knife, but do have a splitter. The splitter (custom made) is .004 thinner than my blade which cuts .126 wide on my saw (runnout

[@SeamlessFab]

Dude crafted a Dean Koontz novel about some fence tuning

[@alpachino468]

I see most of these "alignment" instructional videos use SawStop table saws, which I guess is great for those who have SawStops, but for us simple DIY'ers that can't afford/justify the cost of an expensive table saw, there's very little information out there... 😭

[@11211lcb]

I cannot disagree with your misalignment of the rip fence more. I have seen this technique used before as a work around for an inexpensive blade and or saw that is marginal. I have the ICS SS and before that a Jet cabinet saw. My findings are that less expensive blades can benefit from misadjusting the rip fence if you are cutting a small amount off of the board. If you are ening up with a relative wide piece on the waste side, you end up with the tooth marks on that piece of wood. You have accomplished nothing. FWIW with a good quality blade I get smooth cuts with no tooth marks 80% of the time. Even the wood can change as it is cut. And I NEVER follow up with another tool to remove tooth marks other than a sander when and if necessary on the assembled project. If you are getting tooth marks on your wood with a fence set parallel to the blade you either have a saw issue, blade issue, case hardented wood issue or simply bad technique.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

Demonstrating table saw use without a blade guard is, of course, irresponsible.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Unless I know more than you after 50 years of woodworking.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking Know what? Sixty thousand of your fellow countrymen are injured every year by table saws. Most would be prevented by a blade guard. Demonstrating use without one, by someone with the high reputation that you have, encourages such dangerous behaviour. 50 years of experience makes this less acceptable, not more.

[@punishyouhardcore3936]

That was this guy saying is absolut BS

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

???