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Page 1 of 16

You just purchased the woodworking machine of your dreams, unpacked itspieces, and bolted everything together. Now you’re ready to put this latestaddition to your shop through its paces. Well, not quite.

In testing thousands of power tools, we’ve found only a few that come to usaccurately set. Some components cannot be aligned until the tool is assem-bled, and shipping can knock even a finely tuned machine out of adjustment.

That’s why we always tune up anew tool before using it. We alsorecheck all of its settings periodi-cally, especially if the machine hasbeen moved or starts turning outinaccurate work.

True, tune-up procedures can betedious, at least until you get thehang of them. But an untunedpower tool won’t perform any

better than an untuned piano.

Tuning Up YourPOWER TOOLS

Part 1: Radial-Arm Saws,Bandsaws, and Mitersaws

DS-001 ©Copyright Meredith Corporation 2001DS-001 ©Copyright Meredith Corporation 2001

Look for loose or missing fasten-ers, sloppy bearings, sloppy pivotpoints, and any excess movementof parts that might adverselyaffect alignment or safety. Applymoderate force to each part, look-ing, listening, and feeling formovement or play.

Also check the belt and pulleysfor cracks, wear, wobbling, loose-ness, and alignment. A cracked orworn belt should be replaced, aswell as pulleys that are badlyworn or wobble out of round.

Correct any other problems youfind, either with adjustments cov-ered in your owner’s manual,shimming, or new parts.

The tool tune-up toolboxRegardless of the machine you areworking with, you must be able toaccurately check 90° and 45°angles; all angles between 90° and45° usually are determined by theaccuracy of your 90° and 45° set-tings.For this article, we set out to find

the most precise instruments forsetting these angles. To our sur-prise, we discovered that all youneed are a few ordinary draftingtriangles, available at any art-sup-ply store. These come in clear,smoke gray, and neon pink andorange colors. The neon hueshave a slight edge in visibility, butany color will work.

You’ll need 6" and 8" models,and also may want to add a larger14" triangle for squaring bladetracking on radial-arm saws andmitersaws. We filed notches inour triangles, as shown in theillustration above, so they willclear the teeth on saw blades.

Page 2 of 16

You probably already own therest of your tune-up kit. You’llneed a 24" aluminum level, a 4'aluminum straightedge, a set ofSAE or metric Allen wrenches,and a set of SAE or metric open-end or box wrenches (dependingon the type of screws and boltsused on your machine).For test cuts, lay in several pieces

of ‡×3×12" stock and ‡×1fi×12"lumber. Rubber cement, a woodscrew plug (a ‹×fi×fi" scrap ofwood also works), a playing card,piece of note paper, tape mea-sure, and marking pen will roundout your tune-up tool kit.

First, give your machine a checkupWhether your power tool is brandnew or has been with you foryears, start each tune-up with athorough mechanical inspection.Before you begin, disconnect thepower cord to prevent accidentalstarts.

6"

6"

45-90° acrylic drafting triangle

DRAFTING TRIANGLE

1/4 x 11/4"tooth-clearancenotch forsetting blade90o to fence

1/4 x 11/4" tooth-clearance notch for setting blade 90o to table

Page 3 of 16

Radial-arm saws performmany woodworking feats,but this versatility also canlead to the saw’s undoing.Because it has more adjust-ments and moving parts thanmost other woodworkingequipment, wear and teareventually knock some ofthose settings and parts outof alignment. For accuracy’ssake, the more you use thesaw, the more you’ll need toapply the six basic adjust-ments described here.

Let’s look at yoursaw’s componentsIf you still have your radial-armsaw’s owner’s manual, take it outand confirm the elements identi-fied on our anatomy photo right.(Locations differ somewhat fromone make and model to another.)

All radial-arm saws include amotor and blade assembly thatpivots in a yoke. The yoke, inturn, pivots on a carriage, whichrolls on tracks along the radialarm. The arm itself pivots on a col-umn, allowing you to make left-and right-hand miter cuts.

An elevating crank raises or low-ers the arm to adjust the height ofthe saw blade in relation to thetable. Front and rear tables bolt totable support channels. Sand-wiched between the tables is afence that you position work-pieces against.

A miter scale enables you to setthe saw’s travel at angles to thefence. You secure the saw with amiter lock. A bevel scale andbevel lock do the same jobs forbevel cuts at angles to the table.

Tuning your saw by the numbersNow you’re ready to get that sawin tune. Because each of theseadjustments depends on the onethat goes before it, make them inorder—and don’t skip a step.

1 Adjust the columnPlay between the column and thecasting that holds it throws thearm out of alignment, causingsloppy cuts. And a column thatbinds or vibrates as you crank itup and down to adjust the heightof the blade stresses the columnand the gears that move it.

First, lubricate the column. (Weprefer Liquid Wrench because itdoesn’t attract as much dust as

oilier lubricants.) To check forplay, grasp the end of the armwith one hand and try to lift it. Ifthe column moves front to rearwithin the support, tighten thepinch bolts that clamp the castingtogether. These bolts ausually arelocated at the rear of the castingas shown in the Adjusting theColumn illustration on page 4.

Now, turn the elevating crank inboth directions. If the columnbinds, you’ve overtightened thebolts. Back them off slightly, andtest the elevation again. You mayneed to adjust the bolts severaltimes before you arrive at thepoint where the column movessmoothly, with a bare minimumof play. (You’ll end up with a

Radial-Arm SawsRadial arm

Miter scale

Miter lock

Carriage

Column

Yoke

Bevel

Motor

Bevel scale

Front tableTable-supportchannel

Rear table

Fence

Bladeassembly

Elevatingcrank

ANATOMY OF A RADIAL-ARM SAW

Note: Lock the saw at this eleva-tion and do not change the settinguntil both support channels areadjusted completely.

Repeat the procedure at theother end of the support channel.Tightening the bolts can slightlymisalign the support channel, soyou may need to go back andforth a few times to get the chan-nel exactly parallel.

Now, move the arm and carriageto the opposite table supportbracket, and go through the sameleveling procedure. Finally, rotatethe motor to horizontal, returnthe arm to 90°, and reinstall thesaw blade—but don’t replace thetable just yet.

4 Square the blade to the tableAs we’ve already mentioned, youcan’t assume that a table is true,so leave the table off for this step,too. In its place, lay a level acrossthe table-support channels, paral-lel with the fence.

Set your notched 8" triangle onthe level and against the side ofthe blade, as shown in theSquaring the Blade to the Tableillustration. If you see any gap,adjust the blade until it is 90° tothe level, and reset your bevelscale to 0°. Now you can replacethe table.

Why? Because a particleboardtable can absorb moisture andwarp, especially if you’ve cutkerfs into it for cross- and miter-cuts. Trying to check for parallelfrom an uneven surface will giveyou poor results.

Take your time with this step; ifthe table is not set correctly, itwill be impossible to accuratelyset the remaining adjustments.

Begin by removing the tables,fence, blade guard, and blade.Unlatch the bevel lock and rotatethe motor until its arbor pointsstraight down. Secure the bevellock in this position.

Next, unlock the miter-lock han-dle, and swing the arm over theleft or right table support channel.Position the arbor directly over abolt hole in the support channel.Lock the motor and carriage inthis position and finger-tightenthe bolts that secure the supportchannels to the frame. Theyshould be slightly higher than theframe.

Now, slowly lower the motoruntil its arbor contacts a feelergauge or playing card held overthe bolt hole, as shown in theillustration at the top of the next

page. When you can slide thegauge or card back and forth withonly slight resistance, snug up thesupport-channel bolt.

slight deflection, caused by lever-age that the arm and carriageapply to the column.)

2 Check the carriage bearingsNext, slide the carriage along thearm. It should glide smoothly,with even resistance along theentire length of its travel. If it doesnot, or if you find up-and-down orside-to-side play in the carriage,the carriage bearings need adjust-ing.First, wipe the track and bearings

clean and lubricate both, watch-ing out for sharp casting edges.(Liquid Wrench works well here,too.) Carriage bearings are mount-ed on eccentric bolts, as shownabove right. To remove loose-ness, rotate these bolts to movethe bearings in or out. You mayneed two wrenches to do it.Note: Some saws don’t haveadjustable bearings. With these,the only way to remove play is toreplace the bearings.

3 Adjust the table parallel to the armTo ensure that the blade will cutthe same depth along the entirecrosscut, the table and arm mustbe parallel to each other.Surprisingly, this adjustment isbest made with the table off.

Page 4 of 16

Crosscut arm travel set screws (do not adjustthese for column play).

ADJUSTING THE COLUMN

Column

Column casting

Column castingpinch bolts

Yoke

Carriage bearings Eccentric bolt adjusts bearing.

ADJUSTING THE CARRIAGE BEARINGS

Carriage rail

Arm(cutaway)

Page 5 of 16

5 Square crosscut travelto the fenceThe accuracy of this adjustmentdepends on a fence that’sabsolutely straight. Sight alongyours. If you see any signs of bow-ing or twisting, replace the fence.

Now, lay out two lengths of 1×2to elevate the 14" triangle ‡"above the table. Rubber cement a‹×fi×fi" scrap of wood or wood-en screw hole plug onto the sideof the blade just above the teeth,as shown in the Squaring CrosscutTravel yo Fence illustration onpage 6. (A small magnet also willwork.)

Adjust the triangle so it is flushagainst the fence and barelytouching the wood plug. Veryslowly, pull the carriage throughits travel. If the plug moves the tri-angle or moves away from it,adjust the arm as shown right, oras explained in the owner’s manu-al for your saw.

Swing the arm to 45°, thenreturn it to 90° and recheck.Replace the guard. Now removethe triangle and 1×2s, plug in thesaw, and crosscut a 12"-widepiece of plywood. Check its edgeagainst the triangle. When you aresatisfied that the crosscut issquare to the fence, reset themiter scale to read 0°. Unplug thesaw again.

6 Correct blade heelHeeling occurs when the blade isnot parallel to the motor’s line oftravel. Heeling causes rough cuts,splintered edges, and kickbacks.

To check for heeling, clamp thelevel to the fence, then hold the 8"triangle firmly against the leveland the side of the blade. The tri-angle must contact the entire sideof the blade. If you see a gap at thefront or back of the triangle, theblade is heeling. Adjust it asexplained in your owner’s manu-al. Check this adjustment often.

Motor and saw blade arbor straight down and in locked positions.

Playing card

Worktable support

channels

Check all fourcorners.

Worktable supportchannel

Adjustment nut

Drafting triangle

Place a level between table supports.

Worktable support channels

SQUARING THE BLADETO THE TABLE

ADJUSTING THE TABLEPARALLEL TO THE ARM

Page 6 of 16

Adjust set screws until arm travel is square.

Gap betweenblock and triangleat end of arm travelindicates armis not squarewith fence.

Triangle

Wood block

1/4 x 1/2 x 1/2" wood block glued to saw blade with rubber cement

Move yokealong triangle.

Fence

Drafting triangle

3/4"stock 2" wide to raise triangle off table

SQUARING CROSSCUT TRAVEL TO THE FENCE

Saw blade raised slightly above table (middle of plug should ride at same level of triangle).

Table talkIn testing saws for this article,we ran into a common prob-lem with radial-arm saws:Once kerfs have been cut intothe particleboard worktable, itabsorbs moisture and begins towarp.To find out if that’s happened

in your shop, check your saw’stable by laying a straightedgeor long level across it. If youfind warpage, replace the tableand protect it with an auxiliarytable. (A few coats of varnishon the top and bottom of thetable will help keep moistureout.)

To make an auxiliary table,cut panels of ‹" plywood ortempered hardboard to fitbehind and in front of thefence, and stick them downwith rubber cement. Now youcan cut your kerfs in the auxil-iary table without penetratinginto the main table beneath it.

Upgrade your bladeIf you’re tuning up a new radi-al saw for the first time,replace the inexpensive bladethat came with the saw. Youwon’t get accurate readings(or cuts) with a cheap blade.For 10" saws, we recommendbuying a quality, carbide-tipped blade with 60 or 80teeth. Several manufacturersmake blades with tooth geom-etry specifically designed foruse on radial-arm saws.

Page 7 of 16

Bandsaws

Just six simple procedurescan transform a chattering,wandering, hard-to-controlbandsaw into a machine thattruly sings. Sure, you cancoax adequate performanceout of a saw in the shortterm by tinkering withminor adjustments, but over-stressing the blade, bearings,and wheels leads to majorrepairs down the road.

Inside your bandsaw:the parts that make it tickThe cutting edge of a bandsawconsists of a continuous, welded-steel blade that rotates around anadjustable wheel up top and adrive wheel below the saw’stable. (Some large-capacity band-saws have a third wheel below.)Tires on the wheels cushion andhelp protect the blade.

Adjusting the upper wheel con-trols blade tension and tracking.The tensioning control (see insetphoto) raises and lowers the

wheel; a tracking control on theback of the saw—often called thetilt knob—tilts the wheel ever soslightly, causing the blade tomove slightly from side to side onthe wheel.

Upper and lower blade-guideassemblies limit the blade’s travelfrom side to side. Each assemblycontrols lateral movement with aset of guide blocks; thrust bear-ings limit rearward travel whenyou push a piece of wood intothe blade.

Table-lock knobs help you tiltthe table to any angle between90° and 45°. A table stop makes iteasy to return the table to exact-ly 90° time after time.

A few preliminariesBefore you begin a bandsaw tune-up, inspect the entire machine.Pay special attention to the tires,the wheel, and the thrust bear-ings; replace any componentsthat are worn badly.

Adjustable wheel

Tensioning control

Trackingcontrol

Thrust bearing

Guide blocks Blade

Table-lock knob

Drivewheel

Tire

Table stop

Upperblade-guideassembly

Lowerblade-guideassembly

Page 8 of 16

Also check to be sure thewheels aren’t out of round orwobbly. Clamp a reference point-er about „" away from the tireand spin the wheel by hand. Ifthe gap opens and closes, thewheel is out of round and thewheel or its tire should bereplaced.

Finally, install the biggest bladeyour saw can handle, usually fi".And for safety’s sake, pleaseunplug the saw. You’ll need toplug it in again for a few adjust-ments. We’ll tell you when.

Six steps to a smooth-running bandsaw1 Check blade tensionAn under-tensioned blade willmake sloppy, wandering cuts.Over-tensioning strains the blade,wheels, bearings, and shafts, andcan even bend the saw’s frame—in much the same way an archerstrings a bow.

Most of the adjustments that fol-low depend on a properly ten-sioned blade, so let’s first makesure yours is right on the money.If it’s equipped with a tensiongauge, check to be sure thegauge indicates no more thanone-half to one blade-width high-er than the blade on the saw. Toverify a gauge’s accuracy, or ten-sion a saw that doesn’t have a

gauge, check the tension byapplying firm pressure againstthe side of the blade with your lit-tle finger, as shown in theTensioning the Blade drawing. Ifthe blade moves more than ‹",the blade is under-tensioned.

You also can literally “tune” theblade. First, release the tensionentirely, and disengage the guideblocks and thrust bearings fromcontacting the blade. Pluck theblade and you’ll hear a dull fuzzytone. As you crank up tension,continue strumming. The soundwill rise in pitch and improve inclarity. When you reach the clear-est tone, the blade is properlytensioned; if the sound begins todiminish as you tighten, theblade is over-tensioned.

After you’ve tensioned theblade, make a mark somewhere

on the tensioning mechanism sothat you can consistently returnto the same tension; you mayneed to release and retensionthree or four times before com-pleting the wheel-alignmentprocess.

2 Align the wheelsWheels that are out of whack cancause vibration, and acceleratewear on the thrust bearings andthe tires themselves.

If yours is a brand-new saw, donot assume that the wheels werealigned at the factory. Chancesare good that they weren’t,because you only can checkwheel alignment with a properlytensioned blade in place. Whenwheels are precisely aligned,they are said to be “coplanar,”which means they are exactly

Bladeshouldnot moveover toone sidemorethan ‹".

Approx. 6"

TENSIONING THE BLADE

Upper wheel needsto move in to be

coplanar.

Trackingadjustment

Straightedgeshould lie flaton upper andlower wheelson both sidesof the hubcenters oneach wheel.

Bandsawframe

Lowerwheel

Flat

Straightedge(long rule, ormake one outof ‹" plywoodto fit into thesaw cabinet)

WHEELS OUT OF PLANEBUT PARALLEL

(NOT COPLANAR)

Upper

wheel

ALIGNING THE WHEELS

WHEELS ARE COPLANAR

Guide block

Thrust bearing adjustment knobs

Guide block set screw

Set the guide blocks. Place a piece of notepaper between the guide block and blade, tighten the set screw. Repeat on other side of the blade.

ADJUSTING THE GUIDE BLOCKS

Blade gullet

Draftingtriangle

Table beveladjustment

Bandsaw table

SQUARINGTHE TABLE

TO THE BLADE

Raise the upperguide assembly

to full height.

Positive90° stop

Page 9 of 16

parallel with each other andlocated on exactly the sameplane.

Begin by removing the table, orat least tilting it as far out of theway as possible. Open or removethe blade covers.

Now, position the 4' straight-edge across both wheels. Hold itas close to the wheels’ centers aspossible. (See the Aligning theWheels drawing on the previous

page.) If the straightedge con-tacts all four rim edges, congratu-lations—your wheels are copla-nar.

More likely, the straightedgewill touch only two or three of

the edges, and you will need tospend some time aligning thewheels. First, you need to get the wheels

parallel. To do this, tilt the topwheel until the straightedge con-tacts both edges of either the topor bottom wheel.

Next, note the gap at the wheelwhich no longer contacts thestraightedge. Continue tilting thetop wheel until the gap under thestraightedge is equal at both thetop and bottom of the non-con-tact wheel.

The wheels are now parallel,and you will need to move one orthe other of them in or out the

distance of the gap to make themcoplanar.

The procedure for aligning thewheels varies from manufacturerto manufacturer. With some

Page 10 of 16

SHIMMING A ONE-PIECE CAST-FRAME BANDSAW THAT HAS A MISALIGNED WHEEL MOUNT

Some mounts havefine-tune adjustment

set screws.

Shim underneath mounting bolts if there are no fine-tune adjustmentset screws.

Wheel mount

makes, you loosen a set screw atthe hub of the lower wheel, slidethe wheel in or out until it’scoplanar with the top wheel,then tighten the set screw.

Other manufacturers requirethat you remove the blade andthe upper wheel, then add orremove shims on the shaftbehind the wheel. Standard hard-ware store washers work just fineas shims—or you can make yourown from sheet metal. Install andretension the blade.

3 Track the blade“Tracking” refers to the path theblade follows around the wheels.Rotate the upper wheel by handfor several revolutions and notethe position the blade assumeson the wheels. If the wheels arecoplanar and the blade is proper-ly tensioned, the blade should

track itself with little or no helpfrom the tilt knob.

Don’t be alarmed if the bladetracks toward the front of thewheel slightly. It needn’t trackdead center, only in a straightand consistent line.

Continue turning the upperwheel by hand until tracking sta-bilizes, using the tilt knob toadjust tracking slightly if needed.Then replace the wheel coversand table. Plug in the saw, andjog its switch on and off severaltimes. If the blade continues totrack properly—and it should, ifyou’ve done everything right upto this point—bring the saw upto full speed.

Don’t be surprised to observethat the tracking shifts slightlyunder full power. As long as itdoesn’t move more than aboutÎ" you’re still okay.

4 Set the thrust bearingsYou can adjust thrust bearingswith the saw running or off; wefind it easier to set the bearings“by ear” with the saw running.Ease the bearing up to the bladeuntil you hear a clicking sound orthe bearing begins to spin slight-ly. Then, back off the bearing sothe noise or spinning stops.

After you’ve adjusted the upperand lower thrust bearings, checkto be sure they’re set equally.Feed some wood into the front ofthe blade, and notice if both bear-ings begin spinning at the sametime. If not, readjust one bearingor the other.

5 Adjust the guide blocksGuide blocks are best adjustedwith the saw not running, sounplug the saw. Set the upperblocks, then the lower ones.

Metal shim

Shim at joint to

straightenupper part of frame.

2-piece bandsaw frame

SHIMMING A MISALIGNEDTWO-PIECE FRAME

Upper partof frame is tilting.

THAT

havement

ath if

tment

Page 11 of 16

First, adjust the guide-block assemblies in or out so that theguide blocks come just up to the gullets of the blade’s teeth.Make sure the guide blocks do not contact the teeth undercutting loads.

To set guide-block clearance easily and accurately, we usea strip of note paper as a thickness gauge. Start with theupper left block. Loosen its set screw, slip the paperbetween the block and blade, as shown on page 9, andnudge the block up against the paper and blade. Take carethat you don’t deflect the blade.

The clearance is right (about .0025") when you can movethe paper with very little resistance. Leave the paper in placeand lock the guide. Repeat the process with the upper rightblock and another strip of paper.

You’ll soon get proficient at setting the upper blocks,because they should be readjusted every time you move theguide assembly up or down. Use the same technique to setthe lower guides. They’re more difficult to get at, but youneed to readjust them only when you change blades orthe blocks become worn.

6 Square the table to the bladeUse a 6" triangle to determine if the blade and tablemeet at 90°. If they don’t, loosen the table beveladjustment locks and move the table until you can seeno gap between the triangle and blade, as shown inthe illustration on page 9.

If you can’t square the table with the locks, the tablestop underneath is probably set too high. Lower it aturn or two. After you’ve squared the table and lockedit in place, raise the stop until it contacts the table.Reset the miter scale to 0°.

If the wheels in a two-piece saw are ‹" or more awayfrom coplanar, slide the upper-blade guide assemblyfrom top to bottom. If the guides do not stay parallelwith the blade side to side or front to rear, check thejoint where the two halves of the frame bolt together.Chances are poor machining or misalignment here is causingthe upper frame to lean forward, backward, or side to side.Like most aspects of a woodworking machine, this situationcan remedied through adjustments. But, if the saw is stillunder warranty, return it for repair or replacement.

With an older saw, you can bring the joint into alignmentby shimming it. First, back off all blade guides and thrustbearings. Loosen the blade tension and the bolt or bolts thathold the two pieces together. Now, add shims in small incre-ments until the wheels are coplanar or close to it.

Note: Automotive feeler gauges make excellentshims. They’re easily cut to size, won’t crush, and giveyou an assortment of thicknesses in thousandths of aninch.

If your saw has a one-piece frame you will need to trya different approach. Here, correct severe misalign-ment by shimming the upper wheel mount

Page 12 of 16

Compared to the complexi-ties of adjusting a radial-armsaw’s multitude of parts orgetting a bandsaw to trackprecisely true, tuning up amitersaw is a breeze. Butsince mitersaws vary greatlyin design and the location(and even existence) ofadjustments, turn to yourowner’s manual to learnwhich parts come into playfor each step.

Mitersaw designs fall intothree categories: miter-only,compound (miter and bevel),and sliding-compound saws.Let’s first look at the ele-ments these have in commonand also how they differ.

Anatomy of miter-onlyand compound sawsAs you might have guessed, amiter-only mitersaw cuts nothingbut miters. Being the most basicof mitersaws, all of its parts arefound on a compound mitersaw,so refer to the Anatomy of aCompound Mitersaw photo left

top for the components discussedhere. A head that includes themotor and blade rotates 45° (ormore) left and right. To move theassembly, you loosen a miter lockhandle, move a turntable, thenlock the handle at the angle youwant to cut. A miter gauge at thefront of the saw indicates theangle you’ve selected.

You lay the work up against afence. For safe, precision work, astock clamp secures the wood tothe fence or table.

Compound mitersaws also havea head that rotates just like amiter-only saw does. But the headon a compound saw also tilts up

MitersawsANATOMY OF A

COMPOUND MITERSAW

ANATOMY OF ASLIDING-COMPOUND

MITERSAW

Bevel gauge

Bevel clamp

Miter gauge

Turntable

KnuckleFence

Stock clamp

Head

Miter lockhandle

Rods

Knuckle

Bevel clamp

Head

Stock clamp

Turntable

Miter lockhandle

Miter gauge

Fence

Stock clamp

underside, shift the table left orright, and tighten the bolts.

Note: Not all saws include thisadjustment. Those that don’tshould come preset for squarefrom the factory.

2 Square the bladeto the fenceAgain, consult your owner’s man-ual or closely examine the saw tolearn how to make this adjust-ment. With some saws you movethe head; with others, you movethe fence or table.

Begin by locking the head in thedown or transport position. Againlay a triangle on the table withone edge against the left-sidefence. Align the other edgeagainst the body of the blade, notthe teeth, as shown in the topdrawing on page 14.

If the blade is misaligned, locatethe fasteners provided for thisadjustment, and loosen them onlyenough to move the part requiredto square the blade to the fence.After you’ve reset the alignment,tighten the fasteners and double-check with the square to makesure nothing has moved. (If yoursaw has a two-piece fence, use a

level or straightedge to align theright side as shown on page 14.)

If you don’t see a gap at eitherthe front or back edge of theblade, make a test cut as follows:

Plug in the power cord, unlockthe head, and lay a 1×2 with its ‡"edge against the fence. Positionthe board for a cut about 4" fromthe end, and secure it with thestock clamp.

After you make the cut, use a tri-angle or square to check that theend cut is exactly 90° to the edge.If it’s not, check and reset thealignment. Once you’re satisfiedthat the blade is perfectly squareto the fence, unplug the saw andproceed to the next step.

3 Square the blade to the tableIf yours is a miter-only saw, thisadjustment may not be possible.With other saws, check theowner’s manual to locate theadjustment points, which are typi-cally situated at the base of the

Page 13 of 16

to 45° to the operator’s left forcutting bevels. The head tilts on aknuckle located at the back of thesaw. To tilt the head, you loosena bevel clamp, select the bevelangle you want on a bevel gauge,then retighten the bevel clamp.

Anatomy of a sliding-compound sawThis one has all the features of acompound saw. And because thehead slides forward, crosscuttingcapacity increases to 10" or 12".As shown in the photo on the pre-

vious page, the head moves alongone or two rods.

Five settings spell accuracyFive simple settings (you mayhave to perform several of themmore than once) will have yourmitersaw singing with perfectpitch. But first, for accurate, cleancuts, equip it with a quality blade.We recommend a 60- or 80-toothcarbide-tipped model.

Also, if your saw doesn’t have astock clamp, get one—and use it.A piece of wood that you merelyhand-hold against the fence canshift slightly, which will affect theaccuracy of your test cuts. And, aswith any power tool, unplug yourmitersaw’s power cord beforemaking these adjustments.

1 Square the turntable to the fenceUnless the slot in the turntable isat exactly 90° to the fence whenthe miter scale is set to 0°, you’renot going to get accurate cuts atany angle.

To check this adjustment, lockthe table at 0°. Lay a 6" triangle flaton the table with one edge againstthe left-side fence. Align the other90° side of the triangle with thetable slot as shown in the drawingabove.

If the slot isn’t 90° to the fence,check your owner’s manual todetermine if you can adjust thetable and, if so, how. Typically,you loosen two bolts on the saw’s

SQUARING THE TURNTABLE

TO THE FENCE

Drafting triangle

Slot insert

Fence

Bottomof saw

Table-adjustment bolts

cut in Step 2 to ensure that theblade is still square to the fence.The cuts in Steps 2 and 3 must beat perfect 90° angles before youproceed to Step 4.

4 Check the miter settingsYou probably can’t do muchabout your saw’s miter settingsbecause only a few manufacturersprovide adjustments for changingthe distance between positivestops. If your saw flunks thesetests, you either must compensatefor any variance or return the sawfor repair or replacement.

Mark one test board with an R ateach end and the other with an L.Move the table to the right 45° set-ting, and lock it down. Clamp thestock marked with Rs to the tableand make a cut, lowering the

blade slowly to ensure accuracy.(See the drawing on page 15.)

Remove the two pieces, androtate one so that when the two45° angles are placed togetherthey form a 90° angle, as shown inthe inset drawings. Check thiswith your largest triangle orsquare. Any discrepancy fromsquare is exactly double theamount the miter stop is off.

Now, move the table to the leftmiter mark, and make anothercut. By laying the test pieces ontop of each other, you can deter-

Page 14 of 16

column as shown in the HeadAdjustment illustration.

Position the turntable at the 0°setting, and lock it in place. Placea 6" triangle with one edge flat onthe table and the other verticallyagainst the body of the blade, notits teeth, as shown on the next

page.

Look for any gaps between theblade and the edge of the triangle.If you don’t see any, the blade is90° to the table. If you spot a gap

SQUARING THE BLADE TO

THE FENCE

FenceTriangle should lie flatagainst fence and blade(note the blade-tooth notch in triangle).

HOW TO ALIGN A TWO-PIECE FENCE

Metal straightedge

Line up right fence with left fence.

Head-adjustmentbolts

(shim if necessary)

HEAD ADJUSTMENT

at the top or bottom, loosen andadjust or shim the column base tobring the blade to a perfect 90°angle to the table.

Now, you’re ready to plug in thesaw and make a test cut. Clamp a1×3 to the table, with its ‡" edgeagainst the table. Start the saw.After it’s up to speed, make a cut.Remove the board and use a trian-gle or square to determine if theend cut is at 90° to the ‡" edge.

If the cut is accurate, repeat the

Page 15 of 16

Cut edge

If gap appears, head is not square with fence.

Drafting triangle

Cut edge

Fence Triangle should lie flatagainst table and blade(note the blade-tooth notch in triangle).

Drafting triangle

SQUARE THE BLADE TO THE TABLE

HOW TO ADJUST 45° MITER SETTINGS

R

R

If gap appears, then miter/bevel

is off.

TEST-CUTTING THE MITERS AND BEVELS

Drafting triangle

Drafting triangle

If gap appears, then miter/bevel

is off.

R R

R R

Page 16 of 16

The purchase of these plans does nottransfer any copyright or other owner-ship interest in the plans, the design,or the finished project to the buyer.Buyer may neither reproduce theplans for sale nor offer for sale anycopies of the finished project.

mine if both the rightand left miters are off by the sameamount. If the errors are mirrorimage, recheck Step 2; the blademay not be adjusted exactlysquare to the fence.

If all the previous steps checkout at 90°, the stop slots wereprobably not machined properlyat the factory. To compensate forthis, place pieces of tape over thescale, find the right settings bytrial and error, and mark the tapesat those settings. Unplug the sawagain for the next step.

5 Adjust the bevel stopCompound and sliding-compoundmitersaws require one moreadjustment—setting the 45° bevelstop. With the exception of theMakita LS1211 12" sliding-com-pound saw, which tilts both leftand right for bevel cuts, com-

ADJUSTING THE 45° BEVEL STOP

pound mitersaws tilt in just onedirection—to the left.

We’ve found that the reducedclearance between the table andblade makes it difficult to use a tri-angle for this step. Instead, useone of the accurate test piecesfrom Step 4 as a setting gauge. Justlay it on the table, as shownabove, with the miter against theopen side of the beveled blade.Consult your owner’s manual tofind the bevel stop-adjustingmechanism, and align the bladewith the miter.

Plug in the saw and make a testcut. Clamp a board to the table,with its 3"-wide face against thefence. After you make the cut, putthe two 45° angles together tomake a right angle, and check thiswith a triangle or square.

Just as in Step 4, any error in thisangle is double the bevel-stop

error. Repeat the test cuts untilyou get a perfect 90° angle.Finally, set the miter and bevelpointers to 0°. Your saw shouldbe miter perfect!¿Produced by Marlen Kemmet

Illustrations: Kim Downing

Graphic Design: Jamie Downing

©Copyright Meredith Corporation 2001

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