Table saw setup question

Just be sure the tail of the blade isn’t pinching in toward the fence by that amount or it could bind/burn/kick back, etc., otherwise you’re fairly close.

Your fence spec is right on what I shoot for. The blade is a bit more than I usse, normally 0.001” to 0.002” within parallel to the miter slot but I suspect neither of us could tell the difference if everything else is right. I have seen saws that “worked great” according to the operator but I could detect blade alignment issues with a tape measure.

-- Tom Hintz, www.newwoodworker.com

Get your saw as close as you can each time you adjust and you will have less worries that it was out of tolerance. Strive for the best you can and then work out then rest…

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

Something doesn’t looks good to me…

“The miter slot to the blade difference is .004”

“My miter slot to fence is .003 difference with the widest part to the rear of the saw”

In this condition, it looks to me that the rip fence is “closed” by .001” to the blade…that can lead to a kickback especially if you are not using riving or splitter.

I usually strive to get blade/miter slot of .001”~.002” and adjust the rip fence to “open” a hair (or parallel to the blade) that I do first with caliper and than “fine tune” by listening to the blade during actual cross-cut and rip-cut…

Deuce, I would endeavor to get the miter slot/blade MUCH closer to parallel. Tom and niki are right, in my opinion. I worked an hour (less, actuatlly) to get my TS to less than .001 blade-to-slot. This adjustment is the most importnat of all. You should also check the tilted-blade adjustment and shim the table to within .001 indication at 45 degrees. These two adjustments ensure accurate cuts and, most of all, are the foundation to all other adjustments. Get a dial indicator and check out tablesawalignment.com for methods to do the measuring. I built a “slug” that fits in the miter slot and carries the dial indicator. You can also make a dial indicator holder that’s clamped to the miter gauge face, if your guage’s bar fits the slots correctly (zero play, smooth travel) Your fence should have .002-.003 tail-open adjustment -no more- after you get the blade-to-slot adjustment within .001. If you get a dial indicator and a good machinist’s square, you can also use them to get your miter gauge dead square. Trust me, you’ll be happier with all your cuts once you get the saw and miter gauge dead-square!

-- M1911BLDR