Anyone willing to loan me a dial indicator?

[Yelverton]

I bought myself a new table saw last week (through our sponsor Klingspor, of course) for delivery this Thursday afternoon. Exciting times. After spending the coin on the saw, I'm not keen to spend any more than I have to on setup tools and I think it would be foolish to cheap out on something like a dial indicator. Is there anyone near Durham that's willing to loan me a dial indicator I can use for blade/top alignment?

 

[Mike Davis]

I have extra but I'm not going to Durham this week. Wish I had know Friday.

 

[Yelverton]

I have extra but I'm not going to Durham this week. Wish I had know Friday.

Too bad, thanks anyway Mike. I'll keep my fingers crossed, I know someone has one.

 

[marinosr]

I will not discourage you from borrowing vs buying. But I will say it would be foolish to not cheap out on a dial indicator. If the runout on your table saw blade is 0.002", you're doing GREAT. There's no need whatsoever for the sub-thou accuracy that a Mitutoyo or similar will give you. The $15 Harbor Freight indicator is good enough for woodworking. No magnetic arms or anything fancy either. Double-stick tape the indicator to a tight-fitting stick in your miter slot and let-er rip.

Congrats on the new saw!

 

[Yelverton]

I will not discourage you from borrowing vs buying. But I will say it would be foolish to not cheap out on a dial indicator. If the runout on your table saw blade is 0.002", you're doing GREAT. There's no need whatsoever for the sub-thou accuracy that a Mitutoyo or similar will give you. The $15 Harbor Freight indicator is good enough for woodworking. No magnetic arms or anything fancy either. Double-stick tape the indicator to a tight-fitting stick in your miter slot and let-er rip.

Congrats on the new saw!

Hah, thanks Richard. I never thought I'd hear someone recommend buying a precision measuring tool from HF.

 

[Mike Davis]

A $10 dial indicator is better than no indicator.

 

[bob vaughan]

A $10 dial indicator is better than no indicator.

Ditto.
Use your imagination and whatever you have at hand.

 

[Yelverton]

I love that miter gauge setup, Bob. Clever stuff.

 

[Michael Mathews]

Mitch, what exactly do you need? just the dial indicator or do you need a magnetic base with mount also?

 

[Yelverton]

Mitch, what exactly do you need? just the dial indicator or do you need a magnetic base with mount also?

I can make a jig for the miter slot to mount the indicator, so that's the only critical piece, but a miter bar mount would be good. Purpose is setting blade/table to square (or hopefully just checking it), so not sure a magnetic base would work for that.

 

[Michael Mathews]

Mitch, PM sent!

 

[Yelverton]

And Michael comes through with the goods. Plus he works 2.9 miles from my house. Doesn't get any better than that, NCWW comes through again.

 

[Dee2]

I've got an alignment plate (installed in lieu of the blade during alignment) that I can no longer use. I'll bring it to the picnic if you want to make an offer.

 

[bob vaughan]

I love that miter gauge setup, Bob. Clever stuff.

Note the spot marked with a felt tipped marker. Check that spot at the front, rotate the blade and check that spot at the back.
Even just a little side pressure will move the indicator point but checking the blade at the same spot on the rotation will give a good reading.
That photo (taken decades back) showed a tilted blade because that seemed to make the best photo.
Use that same rig to check the fence. If you've got a Biesemeyer fence, don't get excited if it reads like a ocean wave. That's just the way they are. You can average it for fence alignment.
The gauge is a Harbor Freight special to show that's pretty much all you need. Just don't drop it. It's not a high quality durable or shock-proof indicator.

 

[Yelverton]

I've got an alignment plate (installed in lieu of the blade during alignment) that I can no longer use. I'll bring it to the picnic if you want to make an offer.

Thanks, Gene. Probably more than I need for my hobbyist purposes but if you want to bring it I'll definitely take a look.