Consistant Cuts...... I give up..... HELP

[greeneyedeagle]

Ok..... I've been working on this all day long. I'm trying to get consistant 90 degree cuts ..horiz and vert. I've been messing with my 7.25 sliding miter saw and doing all that I can to make sure I push down the same rate and I push it back to finish the cut. I also tried building a sled for my table saw....which about worked but the oak runners that I used worked ok at first but I guess some moisture got to it a bit and now the sled wants to stick. So is a radial arm saw better for a 90 x 90 cut in some 8" x .5 and .75 material like walnut, cherry, maple and mahogany? I'm sure its my low dollar saws but just don't have the money for the high priced advanced models. The Table saw is a 2hp 8.5" Skil and the sliding miter is a Craftsman. I've got a 10" craftsman but it will not cut anything that wide in one pass.

thanks for any suggestions

 

[Mike Davis]

I just bought an Incra miter guide for the same reason, my cuts are not square nor consistent. I narrowed the problem down to this and hope it helps. I also bought a Starrett master precision square to make sure my saw is set up correctly.

I'll let you know sometime Saturday.

One thing I say say with authority! The radial arm saw is worse, unless it is one of the huge industrial models.

 

[Makinsawdust]

If consistent cuts are what you are after, stick with your table saw and sled.
Clean the sawdust out of your table saw slots and see if that's what's binding your sled. If that don't work, wax your sled's runners. If that don't work. Lightly sand the runners with 220g or finer, until they do work then wax them again. Also, make sure you are using the right blade for the application.
Hope you get it worked out.
Rob

 

[Sully]

I don't have a sliding miter saw so I cannot add anything there.

But I will second the comments about waxing the table saw sled runners. Also keep your table saw waxed. If you do sand the runners you should recheck the sled fence for squareness to the blade. A sacrificial face on the sled fence is much easier to resquare. You could use 1/8 hardboard for example as a sacrificial facing for the sled fence. The table saw will work very well for these types of cuts.

I almost exclusively make all my 90 degree cuts using a radial arm saw. However, I never make any angle or beveled cuts with the RAS so it stays very well locked in.

J

 

[cpowell]

WWers seem divided between CMS and TS for miters, and get repeatable cuts from both. My CMS is just for rough crosscuts. I use the TS with a Incra V27 miter gauge for finish cuts. I get decent joints with this setup.

What is decent? ... the untrained eye will not see minimal joint line imperfections unless directed to it. Make sure you aren't so focused on perfection that you are beating yourself up over what others would consider pretty clean joints.

How are you establishing the 90 degree miter angle? Precision square or just making a frame and measuring diagonals?


Chuck

 

[froglips]

One factor I haven't seen mentioned yet is stock preperation.

Is your material jointed and planed before you attempt to crosscut the ends?

If you stock isn't squared up, any crosscuts or rips will leave you with inconsistent results.

Hang in there, it can be quite frustrating.

Jim

 

[Guy in Paradise]

Use metal track runners on table saw sled

I found that my wood runners fluctuate too much during the year, sometimes too tight and other times too loose. Solved the problem with metal track runners. Once the sled is adjusted, cut are perfect every time. One less thing to fiddle with. Of course, tracks and sled have to be swept/cleaned off, so that binding and alignment is consistent every time.

 

[ScottM]

I would use UHMW plastic for the runners. I know Klingspor sells it in 24" and 36" lengths.

 

[PeteQuad]

I don't want to be a pusher or anything, but this is something the EZ Smart stuff really excels at. I get perfect square cuts every time with it. I have the full blown Powerbench and really never feel the need for a Miter saw. Well, sometimes with difficult angle cuts it would be nice to have a good one out and ready - circular saws are not great with angles, butI have other solutions for that anyway.

 

[flatheadfisher]

I had this problem when I first started trying to make furniture and it took several corrections to get things square. First, I didn't realize that 90 degrees on my table saw gauge wasn't precisely 90 degrees. I got one of those digital angle gauges that stick on the saw blade and the table and that solved one problem. The first sled I made was almost square but not perfect. I made a better one and made sure the fence was precisely 90 degrees to the kerf. These two things really made the difference for me. But, sometimes, I still couldn't get things just right. I bought a jointer and that ended my troubles. So, I learned three things:

1. The stock must be square - the two faces parallel and square to at least the side you are going to use.

2. The blade must be precisely 90 degrees to the piece.

3. The piece must be presented to the blade at precisely 90 degrees.

It is amazing how tiny errors in all three areas can lead to a big problem...

BTW - I bought some of this stuff and it really makes the sled slide:

 

[greeneyedeagle]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Seems I need to work a bit more on the table saw sled.
I have another question on that also.....
Since I have a miter slot on both sides of the blade, should the sled be one unit with the cut in the middle - but the sled as a whole is still a single unit, or will one miter track be enough to keep things square? I seen a sled unit at the last woodworking show and basically it looked as if each side of the sled was seperate on either side of the blade.

Thanks again.....

 

[Tarhead]

Make sure your miter slots are square to the blade before doing anything else. You can have the best crosscut sled in the world and it will be only as good as your miter slot set-up. Loosen the 4 bolts holding down your top and adjust the top to bring them in line. I just did this recently and it really makes a lot of difference with crosscutting/miter cuts and it was simple and quick. Here's a discussion and pics: http://ncwoodworker.net/forums/f31/tablesaw-top-allignment-21957/



Give me a call if I can help.

 

[Charles Lent]

After you make the first cut through the sled the sides are separate, except for the high front and back rails which hold both sides together and in line with each other.

Charley

 

[Joe Scharle]

Before you build a sled, make sure your TS is setup properly. You can make something like this cheap. $5.00 HF dial indicator mounted to scrap. You don't want it on a mag base, as I have found I can get a 'tilt' error on one of those bases.


Then make yourself a 2 track sled like this. But it doesn't have to be pretty, just functional. I've used $300 miter gages that still flex at the pivot point, so I can't recommend those.



And if the dial indicator shows zero deflection from 1 miter slot, but shows deflection from the other, then the slots are not parallel and you'll have to settle for a single runner sled. But you must know if the slots are parallel before investing a lot of time in building your sled.
Good luck...have fun
Joe

 

[greeneyedeagle]

Thanks Joe .....

I just got done taking the top off the table saw and I'm going to try to find a machine shop in my area that can put it on a bridgeport or CNC and dial in the miter tracks and make sure both are the same width and parallel to the blade area. It's an aluminum top so it should be that hard to do since its 18 x 26. If anything else.... the saw got a good blowing out / cleaning and I even checked the brushes on the motor.... if I can get the top "Squared" away... no pun intented...... we should be good to go.

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments

Palmer

 

[Mike Davis]

You really don't need to go to that much expense, especially on a lower end table saw. You could buy a better saw for the money a machine shop will charge.

Just line up one track to the blade and you're good to go.

I never put two tracks on a sled. Any humidity change will make the tracks too wide or too narrow to fit the saw.

Don't over engineer it, just line it up and use one track.

(after thought) Since the top is aluminum, changes in temperature will probably shrink and expand the top making the expensive machining a waste.

 

[Makinsawdust]

I agree with Mike. Too much money and time on too little saw. There's probably nothing wrong with it now or at least nothing that can't be overcome.
I've made some sleds with one runner and some with two. I've never had what I call a real problem with either. I need to make some new ones. After looking at Joe's I have "sled envy". Mine looks like they've been used hard and put up wet. Could be cause they have.
Rob

 

[Gotcha6]

If expansion & contraction in your runner is a problem you may want to try 2 small flathead brass screws counterbored and countersunk into the center of the runner on the side. You could then adjust out any lateral play you have periodically as needed. Undercutting the runner and using a spring steel insert on the side will also help keep the opposite face in contact with the saw miter slot.