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Aligning a contractor saw can be a little tedious, you need to loosen 3 of the 4 trunnion bolts and nudge the trunnions (usually the rear most one) one way or the other to get it aligned. Once you get close, it can be very hard to get the last several thousandths (if that's what you're after). The pals give you a hex bolt to tighten or loosen (there's 2, so you need to adjust both) to get the alignement, then (best of all) they hold the trunion steady while you tighten the bolts back up. One huge problem i had was the dang thing shifting as I tightened the bolts (yes, I know the procedure).
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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Well Herb, here's my reason for wanting them. As hard as I have tried I cannot get the front and back of the blade to be "reasonably" close to being the same distance when measuring those points from the miter slot. Hope that makes sense. Anyway, I believe the last time I checked the front and back differed by around .012. I want closer than that. Previous attempts have been to loosen the rear bolts and use a hammer and block of wood to try to "nudge" the blade. At almost 70 years old there's got to be a way that doesn't involve laying on my back under my TS. For $20, plus all the recommendations above, I'm going to give it a try. I know .012 doesn't sound like much, but it is when you're trying to put good joints together. Hope that helps. Mine are in the mail, I'll post again when they're installed.
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Ok, here's my PALS adventure. Found some things that I had to address before I could get down to the actual adjusting...none of which was the fault of the product. As mentioned in the PALS literature, I did need to file a small flat on each end of the trunnion, no big deal. When I started to install the PALS brackets and the 5 mm fine adjusting screws, those screws were to short the reach the trunnion. Had nothing to do with filing the flat, they were just too short....nothing that the PALS folks could have anticipated. I went to my local mom and pop hardware store and bought longer 5mm screws, only to learn that the longer screws did not have a longer thread area. I checked even longer screws and they were all like that...same length threads. I also checked the local box stores and got the same result. I ended up using some stainless steel screws which had longer threads. Next issue with my mid-90's Craftsman saw was that the right side (from the back) of the trunnion was so close to the side of the cabinet that, when the bracket was installed, there was no room to get an Allen wrench into the adjusting screw. Ended up drilling a small hole in the cabinet to access the screw head. Now the good news! Using a homemade measuring device, a digital caliper mounted into a length of hardwood, I was able to fairly quickly get the blade to .002. Fortunately, things did not shift around significantly as I tightened the bolts. One thing I would add, when installing the PALS, use either the instructions on the package or the instructions on their website. The installation sequence is not the same. Bottom line, I'm very pleased with how the brackets worked!
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So how does the saw cut?
RD
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"Boy could I have used those pocket screws!" ---Duncan Phyfe
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Good news, time to saw some wood!
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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Unfortunately, it's going to be a few days before any cutting actually takes place. A sizable chunk of my shop has been taken over by a make shift spray booth for a grandpa project. All my power tools are rolled into one area to make room for a dresser and crib that are getting repainted. I just made sure I could get to the back of the tablesaw for the PALS installation.
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(02-10-2017, 12:36 PM)fredhargis Wrote: ... I once heard them described as $1.50 for the hardware, and $20 or so for the idea. True, but it's a great idea.
Don't mind spending 20 bux on them if they work so well and make life easier... but is there any cheaper option for the gauge? The A-Line-IT is like 150 bux... if it had other functions, i could justify it.
Colin
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There is, I made a runner for my miter slot, and then a clamp to clamp my dial caliper in...works just fine. I've seen similar jigs to hold a dial indicator.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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(03-13-2017, 02:40 PM)fredhargis Wrote: There is, I made a runner for my miter slot, and then a clamp to clamp my dial caliper in...works just fine. I've seen similar jigs to hold a dial indicator.
what does a dial caliper cost?
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