# sloppy miter gauge on my Ryobi table saw. need some help



## WWilder (Sep 27, 2008)

I joined LJ about a month or so ago after doing lots and lots of woodworking research (i like to really get into my hobbies lol). This is without a doubt the best forum i have seen….period. Some great people here have helped me tramendously already with advice personally and through prior forums….aka Becky. Thanks to all of you. My next issue i bring to the table before this vast and very knowledgeable forum is how to get the slop out of my miter gage. It is a Ryobi 10" table saw. Home Depot bought. The miter gauge has slop to the left and right making a square cut impossible so i am unable to make projects successfully. I have tried to hold it with pressure to the left…no good. I tried to the right….again…no good. Is there an aftermarket miter that will fit? I am so full of project ideas that i feel my head could explode but i am not gonna try another to just be unhappy due to my limitations with my saw. I am already limited because it wont accept a dado blade and now this. I want to make beautiful and straight and square projects like i see here but…...Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry so lengthy


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## olddutchman (Aug 17, 2007)

Check out the http://www.bt3central.com/index.php .They have many post about the BT 3000, 3100, and also adjustment of the miter guage . I have the same saw, and it is a very precise system . do some looking at the articles there and you will find what you need.


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## jcash3 (Dec 15, 2007)

If it's a standard miter slot, you can "alter" your miter gauge. Most factory miter gauges have a little give in them in both directions and no way to tighten them. Except for taking a nail punch and lightly dimpleing the sides in various places down the length of the bar. When you strike the nail punch it pushes into the bar, Newton's third law, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. The opposite reaction is the sides of the dimple ease out. Do it on both sides and it will "tighten" your miter gauge to the slot.
It will save you a couple hundred dollars for an accurate miter gauge.

Incra makes miter gauges that you can get at rockler or woodcraft that start at $100 and can go up from there.


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

I own Ryobi 10" bench top table saw model ETS1525 (RTS1525 for US market). The miter gauge channel or slot is 3/4"W X 1/4"H and the miter gauge bar is 11/16"W X 3/6"H, thus there is 1/6" plays vertically & horizontally. 
My solution : I made my own slider bar from UHMW for my miter gauge and from hardwood for my sled.


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

How old is your saw? Maybe HD can do something about it if the saw is still under warranty. I have used the dimpling method mentioned by Joey and it removed all the slop from the miter gauge… for a while (about 1 ½ years of use.) Repeated use eventually wore the dimple out. Instead of buying a new miter gauge, I picked up and older saw. If all you want the miter gauge for is making 90 degree cross cuts, consider making a crosscut sled.


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## fredf (Mar 29, 2008)

is the looseness in the bar or in the pivot? I would suspect the latter as the amount of play on the bar in the slot would hardly be noticeable. if the slop in the bar was 10 thousandths the angle would vary in the neighborhood of +-0.05 degree . . . I had one one time that the pivot was loose on. I don't recall the fix. might have been some shrink tubing over the rod. probably easiest to replace I would think.


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

Sorry! typo correction : miter gauge bar measurement 11/16"W X 3/16"H, there is 1/16" plays vertically & horizontally.

Thanks


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## WWilder (Sep 27, 2008)

looseness is in the slot itself or i guess the bar.


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## Gofor (Jan 12, 2008)

Dimpling is one method, but it will be hard to make up 1/16". For a temporary solution, you can lay a few layers of plastic packing tape on it and trim off the excess. This will wear, but if waxed, will allow you to take up the slack for a while before replacing. Aluminum HVAC tape also works. If you use it a lot, I would suggest looking at the Osborne EB3, Incra or Kreg replacements. Keep the old one to sell with the saw when you upgrade.

Go


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## gusthehonky (Feb 26, 2008)

I found one in my job work storage area, if you want it PM me, I don't know if it will be any help, but you could experiment with it and not worry about destroying anything.


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## RussellInMaryland (Sep 16, 2009)

It is not a standard miter slot and the play is both in the attachment point and in the runner of the miter gauge. I was not able to find an aftermarket replacement. I put a strip of clear tape on both sides of the runner and trimmed it. That improved the accuracy considerably and tape lasts for a long while. Can't do anything about the attachment point because it is not screwed but seems to be press fit into the plastic. I made a sled for whenever I need an accurate 90 deg cut. I plan to add a 45 deg guide to the sled.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

If it's anything like my Ryobi BTS12S, then it has a 5/8" wide (as opposed to the industry-standard 3/4" wide) miter slot.

There seems to be ab-so-lute-ly NOTHING made that will replace the 5/8" miter gauge … and I looked. Incra's got nothing. Ryobi's got nothing. Peachtree's got nothing.

It was the main reason that I ended up replacing my Ryobi saw (with a Bosch 4100).

I'd LOVE to know who's bright idea it was to use that non-standard size…..


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## RussellInMaryland (Sep 16, 2009)

Hi Neil, thanks for the response.

I consider the Ryobi a challenge and a learning opportunity until I decide I am serious enough and interested enough to buy something better. For now it is adequate for what I've been doing and I like the portability. According to the TV woodworking shows I've seen you are better off replacing nearly any miter gauge with some kind of a sled if you want accurate cuts. My sled makes great cuts. Even the expensive tables and miter gauges I've seen at the hardware store have noticeable play.

I used old oak molding that was lying around to make my runners. The molding has two nice straight flat sides which I can put against the fence in turn to rip it to the right size. Of course I first had to double-stick-tape an auxiliary fence of MDF to the Ryobi fence since it isn't flat. Luckily the table slots do seem to be accurate so I was able to get a nice smooth close fit.

I think the same person who had the bright idea to use a non-standard slot size also had the bright idea to design the blade opening without a zero clearance plate in mind. You cannot buy one and making one is an exercise in file to fit.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

I once had a gauge that I couldn't get the slop out of, and this worked for me (until I broke down and bought an Osborne.) Since you can't use an after-market gauage it might work for you too.

1. Calibration: While attempting to "twist" the miter gauge counter clockwise adjust it to 0 degrees (or the desired angle).

2. Use: Then when you use it, "twist" it counter clockwise when you push it across the table. I put some arrows on the miter gauge fence to remind me to always twist it the same direction. After you forget to twist it a few times and suffer the results of a bad cut your memory will improve!!

PS - Twisting it clockwise is just as effective. For me CCW was easier because a long board is normally trying to twist it CCW anyway (assuming use of the left slot).


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## RussellInMaryland (Sep 16, 2009)

Joe, I have never tried the twist method. I have tried pushing it to one or the other side of the slot without much success probably because the wood wants to twist the gauge.


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## sbuckle (Oct 26, 2012)

I have the same problem with my new Dewalt saw. I love the rack and pinion fence slide, a dream to adjust but they include a real, and I mean real cheap plastic miter gauge! I had an idea to add a teflon type tape to the side of the slide to correct the "slop in the slide. I found a UMHW (ultra-high molecular weight) tape at Lee Valley Tools, the link is below.

www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32182&cat=1,110,43466,32182

I rarely use the miter gauge anyway and I find if you are going to make nice stuff you need to make a cross cut sled. I have one for cross cutting parts, one for larger panels and one for dado cuts, and of course one for miter joints. You can Google a search for plans and information. Hope this helps!


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## Tigg (Dec 30, 2013)

Wow, I just found this forum and Woo-Hoo, someone else has had troubles with that Ryobi mitre gauge besides me! The gauge's bar has a little flat wheel near the end of it. That wheel fits the track very nicely, but there is NO corresponding wheel on the OTHER END of the sliding piece to take up the slop in that end as well! So something has to be wrapped around or added to the bar to compensate for the lack of a wheel on the end nearest the mitre head. Okay, cool beans…I'll see what I can find in ye old parts bucket to do the job.

Thanks for all the great suggestions on this forum to get around the problem!! It's always a relief when one encounters a "sticky wicket," to find out that you are not alone, and that there are several ways to skin the cat.

Regards,
Tigg (a new forum member in Oregon)


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I have a Ryobi BT 3000 and my miter gauge fits on the sliding table on the left. It has a pin that fits in a hole in the table and a knob that tightens the miter arm tight to the table. If there is any slop, it is in the sliding table and that can be removed with the cams under the table.

It sounds like you have one with a miter slot and and a bar that fits in it. The bar has to be a real close fit in them or have a spring cam that makes it a tight fit. 
One thing you might be able to do if it is a lot of slop is to rough up one side of the bar and put some tape on top and bottom to make a trough and then pour some epoxy on the edge and file it to make the slide very snug in the slot. It might last a while and keep your miter head in position.

....................Jim


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## Harryn (Apr 25, 2011)

Another method is to drill and tap into the sides of the gauge, say 6-32 at the front and back and use setscrews to take up the slop. A plastic setscrew works great.


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## BubbaJr (Dec 25, 2017)

I found this method interesting…
Whoops, just saw previous post. Oh well, this gives visuals..
https://woodgears.ca/shop-tricks/miter_gauge_play.html


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

The tablesaw is one of the most important pieces of machinery in your shop, Ryobi's aren't really designed for precision cuts, they are more for the weekend hobby man that's just throwing stuff together, you might consider passing it on to a family member or a sale and invest into a higher quality saw.

Myself, I started off with that very same saw and wound up giving it away but not after several years of use, I got my monies worth out of it, but to make precision cuts you need the right tool.


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## Sardo (Oct 13, 2021)

I too have a ryobi table saw with sloppy mitre gauge. My table has two slots. I want to make a cross cut sled but since the ryobi has none standard slots I need guidance. I am thinking of buying another ryobi mitre bar to make runners for the sled. If I attached them to the bottom of the sled each one tight to the outer edge of each slot do you think this will remove the 1/16 play? I am a newbie so pardon if I am not explaining this well.


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