# Micro Adjustment of Table Saw Fence in increments as small as 0.001 inch



## StevenWoodward (Aug 14, 2020)

Moving a table saw fence by very small amounts can be hit and miss.
With a dial indicator at the right location on the fence, I found it is easy to tap the fence and move it by 0.001 inch at a time.

Locate the probe of dial indicator over the fence rail so that dial indicator does not change when the fence is tightened - see red circle in photo below.

A couple of times I have found this fine adjustment helpful:
1. Cutting UHMW runners to fit nicely in the miter slot for floats
2. Cutting mortise and tenon joints on table saw, to get a good fit.

Video Demonstration: Click


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

LOL! .001 of an inch when measuring wood? My Chainsaw not that precise


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

(I can't help it!)

Get an Incra! They hit 0.002" every time and have a "fine" knob that moves 0.001" per click.


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## Nicky (Mar 13, 2007)

.001 is funny considering wood moves.

I do like the jig.

I use something similar on my Biesemeyer fence. I "zero-in" and lock. If I need to adjust, I lift the handle just enough to let the fence move, tap gently. The further up you lift, the harder it is to get fine adjustments.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Vega fences get that done easily. But Andre does make a good point.

My thought on the reason to try to get your setup to that fine degree. If it is, then anything not spot on, you only need to look at the guy running the saw for the problem.


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## StevenWoodward (Aug 14, 2020)

I should have mentioned in the original post, and have now added it…..

A couple of times I have found this fine adjustment helpful:
1. Cutting UHMW runners to fit nicely in the miter slot for floats
2. Cutting mortise and tenon joints on table saw, to get a good fit.

For all other work I just use the measuring tape built into the fence rail. The table saw cut usually gets run over the jointer anyway.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Wow Steve is on a wholenother level of woodworking. Or video making


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## jbmaine (Nov 8, 2019)

I've done much the same for years. I'm a retired tool and die maker and have all kinds of fine measuring tools. You'll often find me tweaking things to the nearest .001


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## StevenWoodward (Aug 14, 2020)

> I ve done much the same for years. I m a retired tool and die maker and have all kinds of fine measuring tools. You ll often find me tweaking things to the nearest .001
> 
> - jbmaine


Nice work. I like the micrometer adjustment. 
I understand those who scoff at 0.001 inch for wood measurements, but there are times when accuracy matters and it is satisfying to be able to achieve that kind of accuracy.

I have a Jessem Micro Adjuster on order, and looking forward to trying out in different situations. 
https://jessem.ca/collections/newest-products/products/new-micro-adjuster


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## iminmyshop (Dec 9, 2012)

Nice setup. Carpentry is mostly about sturdiness and getting the job done. Fine woodworking is all about making something functional into something that is also beautiful. That requires accuracy. A joint off by a few thousandths of an inch will still work. But it looks 2nd rate.

Favorite saying of 2020 about everything from relationships to woodworking: "You get what you tolerate."


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

The tolerance issue is close to my heart, because I used to design tools. Sure, a chest of drawers can have a lot of play in the parts to account for seasonal changes. Then again, when I make a tool chest, I take care to have the tolerances close, because I don't like a drawer that rattles when opened or closed, and I certainly don't want one to stick shut. I have an Incra fence on my table saw, and it's an easy thing to make things as tight or loose as I want.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks for sharing. That's what these forums are for.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

I have one and use it on those occasions I have to sneak up on a tight fitted joint. Works well.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

First off, very nice setup for really exacting work. Having that kind of precision is the Holy Grail.

I do feel like I've warped into a machinists forum.  You guys and your thousandths for woodworking crack me up. *A strand of blonde hair is .001" * There ain't a tenon in the world that wouldn't go together because of a strand of blonde hair on it. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of Incra precision tools in the arsenal but if the final cut is short by .002 it ain't going in the scrap bin.

My problem is that I'm pretty sure that if I move the base of my fence the width of a strand of hair that way down at the other end it is not gonna move with that degree of accuracy. I'd have to use a micrometer every time I moved the fence. However, I have a Grizzly 0771 that I love with a fence that I hate but I just can't justify buying an expensive aftermarket fence unless I ran across one on Craigslist.


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## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

Spent a lot of time tuning my new saw yesterday. I found the fence tends to move quite a bit as I lock it down. So far, I have only got it in line to .005. The T is welded at least a degree off, but is within adjustment range. The instructions provide no guide on how snug I should set the guide rollers and it has no adjustment on how snug to set the lock cam. Just fiddle till I'm a happy I guess.

This is a standard T-square fence, so it is new to me. The Ridgid was a double clamping. Don't have my power plug yet, so no cuts meaning I have not fiddled with bumping it a scooch one way or the other. I do intend to make a pair of clamp on micro adjusters so I can set the fence to two repeatable offsets. I also thought about some "standard" offsets as just blocks that fit in the miter slots trimmed to that last precision for "standard" tenons. With my luck ( and skill level) I find it is not uncommon to go back and make a new piece after I have moved to another step so repeating a setup would be quite handy. Never seems to come out dead on using the old piece.

For normal work , I find somewhere around .005 or so to be enough. Blade runout is usually at least a thou, and most of mine are closer to 2.

Yes tenons need not be .001 in fit, but offset matters. In picture framing, precision matters. Lock miters on the router matter. As has been mentioned on the forum, instrument makers even go to small diameter blades to get more precision. So it depends on what you are doing. Steve mentioned he was trimming poly slides.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

> LOL! .001 of an inch when measuring wood? My Chainsaw not that precise
> 
> - Andre


My thoughts exactly! It's the old wood machinist vs. woodworker thing.

And I don't think he's listening…....


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## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

Been reading about as many fences as I can find. As usual, 90% of the "reviews" are copy of add copy and clearly the reviewer never used one or was even a woodworker. I take ore stock in forum comments about actual users, though again, they may be well informed and skillful, or may be idiots who don't know how to use it.

Trends: 
Old top notch seem to have fallen off due to quality or cheapening.
Vega seems to be love hate. Sloppy finish I can fix, but the number who complain about it slipping is almost as high as the number who absolutely love them. Design or adjustment?
Incra seems to have a similar split, most love them, but too many similar issues with it locking non-parallel and the scale slipping. 
The Harvey fence rides on ball bearings rather than just a pad and foot. I can replace the aluminum rail with a pair of MDF making it a typical Bei' fence. Maybe I can look at finer detail on how the cam lock works and it may just be a tweak. 
Another option is the VeryCoolTools guide. 
Looked at the Wixey specifications and what I don't like is the deviation is accumulative. But, do we ever actually set a fence that accurately 20 or so inches?
Looking at my guide, I wonder if I could cut it apart, reweld it closer to square and offset it to the right for a couple more inches. I had a 36 inch fence, and this one is only 32. The adjustment pads don't have any lock on them so I guess I need t take it apart, clean and then some red locktite so they don't slip and woudl only go off due to wear.

Several of the fences have more limited right rip that stock. I wonder, why are the T's not "L"s ? It would give the same cross accuracy but several additional inches of rip. Maye a bit less left of blade, but I don't remember when I ever cut left and several newer saws do not rip left at all.

Discovering a lot of little details on my saw. Things like the edges on the splitter were sharp enough to cut you. Well, it is a $1500 saw, not a $5000 saw. I am more than happy to smooth the finger hole edge. I'll post a full review after it has cut a bunch of wood. Cant wait. Killer is waiting on my CV dust collector. Canisters came, but main unit may be a couple more weeks.

So, thinking how to add adjustable index and micro adjust to my basic fence and how to get it to move less when locking. Maybe the ball bearing guides on the T end need to be spring loaded so it is preloading the pads a little. As I am going to re-do the scale viewport so it is right down on the scale and add a magnifier. I guess shimming the left side of thin kerf blades is really the most reliable. The Rigid had a little friction thumbwheel to help move the fence just a hair, but I found just a tap to be more accurate.


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## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

Well, a couple hours more fiddling, fence is strait within .0015. I can tap it in pretty small increments, but I think I will make a magnetic holder as was shown above. Blade was square with in 2 thou, and I can bet half of that is the blade. I wonder though, if a clamp on block with a threaded bolt would be more precise over tap-tap-tap.


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## StevenWoodward (Aug 14, 2020)

> .... I wonder though, if a clamp on block with a threaded bolt would be more precise over tap-tap-tap.
> 
> - tvrgeek


I was all set to use something like a block with threaded bolt, or even a Jessem Micro Adjuster, but thought I would try the tap-tap-tap and was surprised how well it worked. It is rare that I have a need to adjust the fence so finely, so decided to stick tight the tap-tap-tap. Might depend on how freely the fence glides on the rails so could be different on other fences.


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