# Racking my brain over this Leigh super 12 stop alignment



## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

So i bought a leigh super 12 this past week, what really attracted me was the variable spacing. While it seems like a good jig, I'm have issues getting the front stops aligned. I've checked my stock both with a square, and a digital angle meter. The problem is that when i flush the top and sides of the front/back stock, and go to clamp it in to tighten the stops, it wants to pull my front stock out of flush/squareness.

Has anybody had any issues with this or maybe could shed some light on this? I've even tried loosening the clamping pressure and it helps to some degree.

I have NO issues with the fitment of the joints, they're nice and tight, flush and true, what happens is that one edge or another on the side is off.

It probably would be bad, as I'm leaving my stock wider and will plane down to leave my reveal. (These are for drawers by the way.)

Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

I've got the super18. Do you have that little piece that goes in the side (the piece the left edge of the wood butts up against) in correctly and all the way? IIRC it could be flipped and still go partway in so it looks good, but really isn't in the right position.

If you're doing short boards then it might help to put another piece the same thickness in there next to it, to get more even clamping pressure. If you don't do that, then don't overtighten the end that doesn't have any wood in it. Once you get the correct clamping pressure it shouldn't be too difficult to use the cams to tighten the front bar. The big thing is getting that little piece on the left inserted correctly, and making sure you get the front piece positioned correctly against it when tightening the bar. 
EDIT: And wasn't there instructions in the initial setup on how to make sure the top and front assemblies are correctly positioned? If you don't do that step 110% correctly then you will never get the ends of your boards to line up correctly.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

The little piece that goes in the side? The stop itself?

If thats what you're implying, the wood needs to be flushed and squared and then the stop is brought against the stock and tightened.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Also, i set the top stop, and checked it with a square. It's on. Referencing off that with square stock give's you the position of the front stop. Those are good. I don't understand is why when i clamp my stock it wants to throw it off.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

"Also, i set the top stop, and checked it with a square. It's on. Referencing off that with square stock give's you the position of the front stop."

Yes, that's part of the initial setup. Without the little piece that goes in the side. You squared the top stop, put your two boards in, got them lined up, and moved the front stop -without the insert - over until it's flush with the front board. And then you tightened the stops so they don't shift. And then you did the entire thing over again on the left side. If that was done correctly, then it should just be a matter of following the instructions in the manual for whatever type of joint you're trying to do - some you need the insert piece, some you don't - and making sure you hold the board flush against the stop with one hand while tightening the front holding bar with the other. If you can't get it to work, Leigh has some good support info on their site and they have tech people you can call to help figure out the problem. They were pretty good when I called them last year.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

What is this little piece you are talking about Joe? The "offset" piece you use for one pass half blind dovetails? That is irrelevant in my case as I'm doing variable spacing. Maybe I'm confused..


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I've almost got it worked out. Worst case, I'll have to plane the bottom flat. Seems kinda weird that Leigh would use a crummy system for registration purposes.They're places to cut corners, but in my opinion, that should not be one of them. Yes probably 90% of people have no troubles with it. The plastic reference guide just seems cheap, Not sure why they didn't extrude it into the body like on the D4, guess thats one of the reasons It's much cheaper.


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