Project Information
I've been wanting a micro-adjuster, but the ones for sale seemed expensive for the functionality, and the ones I had found plans for were fancy projects with t-track, dual fences, and the like. I knew there had to be a clean and simple way to get the same functionality without either paying an arm and a leg or spending two days in the shop. This is what I came up with.
Run a 3/8"-16 carriage bolt through a tee-nut in a scrap of plywood anchored to the side of the table. Make a place on the fence for the head of the carriage bolt to rest against, across the fence from the bit opening. Add a real handle to the other end of the bolt, instead of the acorn nut, which was all I had on hand.
Connect the fence and anchor for the bolt with a spring to maintain tension against the bolt head. My fence pivots on one end; if you have sliding fence you may have to make adjustments to the design.
Now turn the bolt 1 turn for each 1/16" adjustment you want, or a quarter-turn for 1/64". It also makes sneaking up on a perfect fit easier and big bits you want to cut in several passes are made as simple as turning a knob between passes. Total cost: a spring and some other bits from the scrap pile and the hardware drawer.
I made mine removable for those times I use the table without the fence.
Run a 3/8"-16 carriage bolt through a tee-nut in a scrap of plywood anchored to the side of the table. Make a place on the fence for the head of the carriage bolt to rest against, across the fence from the bit opening. Add a real handle to the other end of the bolt, instead of the acorn nut, which was all I had on hand.
Connect the fence and anchor for the bolt with a spring to maintain tension against the bolt head. My fence pivots on one end; if you have sliding fence you may have to make adjustments to the design.
Now turn the bolt 1 turn for each 1/16" adjustment you want, or a quarter-turn for 1/64". It also makes sneaking up on a perfect fit easier and big bits you want to cut in several passes are made as simple as turning a knob between passes. Total cost: a spring and some other bits from the scrap pile and the hardware drawer.
I made mine removable for those times I use the table without the fence.