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285 Posts
OK, I did a casual search on this yesterday and didn't come up with what I was looking for. As a caveat, I put myself through college by working in the Chemistry machine shop and one of the P-chem labs at the University of Florida (Go Gators). I learned a lot and a tolerance of 0.001" was considered normal.
I just built a tiered box to house my cats' litter box. I did finger joints for the outside, and I learned some things about my tools. They aren't really straight. I would have been wise to adjust them before the project started, but the end result was passable for a turd house.
So, I started with my cutoff saw. I made two 90 degree cuts on 2" stock and face them together. I spent hours fiddling with the stop screw and never felt I had it perfect. I can barely slide a .002" feeler gauge on one end but a 0.003" gauge won't go. Is this "good enough"? Gee I hate that term.
On to my 10" Ryobi table saw. I love this saw and it's as smooth running a machine as I have ever played with. I had played with the rip fence a year or so ago, and felt it was close to being perfect. So, I bought a dial indicator and set up to fit in my after market miter slots. I loved the fact that this set-up has spring loaded ball to force the miter bar all the way to the side. I got a variance of 0.005" from one end of the fence to the other. I then measured the blade. There was no measurable wobble on the blade, but there was a variance between 0.001" and 0.002" from the front to the rear of the blade.
So, what's the deal here? I've cobbled together a few wood projects in my day, but I feel more competent with metal working. I really enjoyed making the cats' litter tray enclosure and would like to make some decorative boxes as presents and such. Are there any tips for tool tune-ups and alignment you would like to pass on to such a rank (even though I bathe) amateur?
I just built a tiered box to house my cats' litter box. I did finger joints for the outside, and I learned some things about my tools. They aren't really straight. I would have been wise to adjust them before the project started, but the end result was passable for a turd house.
So, I started with my cutoff saw. I made two 90 degree cuts on 2" stock and face them together. I spent hours fiddling with the stop screw and never felt I had it perfect. I can barely slide a .002" feeler gauge on one end but a 0.003" gauge won't go. Is this "good enough"? Gee I hate that term.
On to my 10" Ryobi table saw. I love this saw and it's as smooth running a machine as I have ever played with. I had played with the rip fence a year or so ago, and felt it was close to being perfect. So, I bought a dial indicator and set up to fit in my after market miter slots. I loved the fact that this set-up has spring loaded ball to force the miter bar all the way to the side. I got a variance of 0.005" from one end of the fence to the other. I then measured the blade. There was no measurable wobble on the blade, but there was a variance between 0.001" and 0.002" from the front to the rear of the blade.
So, what's the deal here? I've cobbled together a few wood projects in my day, but I feel more competent with metal working. I really enjoyed making the cats' litter tray enclosure and would like to make some decorative boxes as presents and such. Are there any tips for tool tune-ups and alignment you would like to pass on to such a rank (even though I bathe) amateur?