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Tenon Jig for a cheapo Craftsman Table Saw

8K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  LegendInMyOwnMind 
#1 ·
Initial thoughts

I recently bought a really nice mortising machine. Spent more on the tool than anything other than my nice Miter Saw. Want to have a good solid tenon jig. Problem is my El Cheapo Craftsman Table Saw has non-standard tracks. I think I have a solution to the non-standard tracks (not yet verified though).

Random but Related Thoughts

1 - I don't want a router tenon jig because there are way too many passes to get the tenon cut.

2 - I want a tenon jig that is referenced to the miter tracks, not the fence. I'm not convinced this fence is consistent when it's clamped down, but the tracks are not moving. I can't buy a off the shelf tenon jig (read metal construction one) because of the non-standard tracks (referenced above).

3 - No matter whether you use the fence or the tracks it is important to square the blade to the table and the tracks. That's a given with any method. So with the accumulation of tolerances squaring the blade to the table added to squaring the fence to the blade, that's just too much IMO.

4 - I want to use the $15 dial indicator I bought at Harbor Freight. I like the idea of having 1 mill accuracy.

5 - I want repeatability.

6 - I want stops so I can set and forget the settings.

7 - I don't want to reverse the piece between cuts.

8 - I want a drive screw which takes multiple turns to dial in the width with precision.

I really like the woodgears guy's design . It's a really elegant way to cut tenons on a table saw (video ). It's a very complicated machine though. His jig does all except #8 which he doesn't need since his design has a lever and stops.
 
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#2 ·
Squaring up the table

The User Manual has a procedure for squaring up the blade to the miter slot. It also has a method for squaring up the fence to the blade.

I thought I'd take a square to the table to see just how far it is since I've never adjusted anything. I also noticed lately that when I do stuff on the saw the wood starts out against the fence but slowly creeps away. If I put pressure I am getting burns so the blade is probably out of alignment with the fence. But which is it? Is the blade out of alignment or the fence?

The miter slot comes to the rescue as the reference edge. Of course I didn't follow the manual for how to realign yet, but I wanted to get a feel for how things line up. I took a square and here's what I got:

#1 - The front edge of the saw is not a clean edge. It's got multiple "layers" which make it hard to lay a square along it.

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#2 - The back of the saw has a nice square edge without "layers", but it's not square to the miter slot. Makes me doubt the ability of the fence to actually work.

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#3 - The front edge is square to the miter slot. It's really square, which makes sense since that's where the fence attaches. Well, sorta. The fence is on both sides… I think there's more to the back of the fence.

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#4 - Surprisingly, the blade is pretty square to the front of the saw.

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#5 - Not surprisingly the fence is not and it's further away at the back so that explains why wood creeps away from the fence as I push it through. It also explains why I use my miter saw to cut squares.

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I realize I'm accumulating tolerances/inaccuracies by referencing to the front fence and not the miter slot but it seems like a table saw needs to be fence referenced for long cuts and to the miter slot for short cuts.

Now to follow the procedure for adjusting the fence…
 

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#3 ·
Squaring up the table

The User Manual has a procedure for squaring up the blade to the miter slot. It also has a method for squaring up the fence to the blade.

I thought I'd take a square to the table to see just how far it is since I've never adjusted anything. I also noticed lately that when I do stuff on the saw the wood starts out against the fence but slowly creeps away. If I put pressure I am getting burns so the blade is probably out of alignment with the fence. But which is it? Is the blade out of alignment or the fence?

The miter slot comes to the rescue as the reference edge. Of course I didn't follow the manual for how to realign yet, but I wanted to get a feel for how things line up. I took a square and here's what I got:

#1 - The front edge of the saw is not a clean edge. It's got multiple "layers" which make it hard to lay a square along it.

Automotive tire Font Bumper Tire Gas


#2 - The back of the saw has a nice square edge without "layers", but it's not square to the miter slot. Makes me doubt the ability of the fence to actually work.

Road surface Wood Asphalt Composite material Gas


#3 - The front edge is square to the miter slot. It's really square, which makes sense since that's where the fence attaches. Well, sorta. The fence is on both sides… I think there's more to the back of the fence.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Road surface Automotive exterior


#4 - Surprisingly, the blade is pretty square to the front of the saw.

Wood Road surface Asphalt Floor Automotive exterior


#5 - Not surprisingly the fence is not and it's further away at the back so that explains why wood creeps away from the fence as I push it through. It also explains why I use my miter saw to cut squares.

Wood Rectangle Automotive exterior Gas Parallel


I realize I'm accumulating tolerances/inaccuracies by referencing to the front fence and not the miter slot but it seems like a table saw needs to be fence referenced for long cuts and to the miter slot for short cuts.

Now to follow the procedure for adjusting the fence…
It does not matter if the fence rail is square to the blade, only that the fence rail is straight. When the fence is adjusted to be parallel to the blade, the fence/rail angle will match the blade/rail angle.

Usually one starts by aligning the blade to be parallel to the miter slot. If they aren't parallel it will affect every cut you make with anything that references the slot. That adjustement is usually done using a dial indicator (even a cheap one from Harbor Freight will work) to a tolerance of maybe +/- 0.010" or less. Less is better, but this adjustement is a PITA so get it as good as you can - whatever that is - and call it good enough.

The fence alignment is usually done second because it is affected by the blade/miter slot adjustments.
 

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#7 ·
Squaring up the fence to the blade

This couldn't be simpler. Took me longer to figure out how to get the new long handled hex wrenches out of the packing (had to cut a hidden zip tie). Simply loosen two screws and it moves.

Here's the before front and back pics.

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Wow, that is way off. More than a tenth of an inch. No wonder my cuts were never anywhere near square. I'd like to blame my kid who tosses around the fence like it's an empty twinkie wrapper.

Here's the obvious adjustment screws on the fence. They are allen screws and seem pretty beefy.

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After getting the packaging open, Here's how the wrench goes in. Simply loosen the screws.

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With the blade all the way up, here's the fence against the blade. I didn't follow the User Manual but this makes sense to me. There's a fair amount of play in the fence so this was easy.

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Tightened the screws. Here's the front and back after the adjustment.

Automotive tire Bumper Asphalt Automotive exterior Road surface


Automotive tire Asphalt Composite material Bumper Automotive exterior


It's a snug fit both ways. I probably should have turned the square so it's always pointing into the blade to avoid the teeth which are slightly wider, but the fence did fit nicely when moved adjacent to the blade.

Now I'm cooking with gas!
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Squaring up the fence to the blade

This couldn't be simpler. Took me longer to figure out how to get the new long handled hex wrenches out of the packing (had to cut a hidden zip tie). Simply loosen two screws and it moves.

Here's the before front and back pics.

Tire Automotive tire Motor vehicle Road surface Asphalt


Fixture Bumper Grey Automotive tire Wood


Wow, that is way off. More than a tenth of an inch. No wonder my cuts were never anywhere near square. I'd like to blame my kid who tosses around the fence like it's an empty twinkie wrapper.

Here's the obvious adjustment screws on the fence. They are allen screws and seem pretty beefy.

Electric blue Laptop accessory Gadget Auto part Personal luxury car


After getting the packaging open, Here's how the wrench goes in. Simply loosen the screws.

Hood Table Bumper Flooring Floor


With the blade all the way up, here's the fence against the blade. I didn't follow the User Manual but this makes sense to me. There's a fair amount of play in the fence so this was easy.

Wood Grey Gas Concrete Composite material


Tightened the screws. Here's the front and back after the adjustment.

Automotive tire Bumper Asphalt Automotive exterior Road surface


Automotive tire Asphalt Composite material Bumper Automotive exterior


It's a snug fit both ways. I probably should have turned the square so it's always pointing into the blade to avoid the teeth which are slightly wider, but the fence did fit nicely when moved adjacent to the blade.

Now I'm cooking with gas!
It's hip to be square
 

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