Tenoning jig miter slot fitment

Yelverton

Mitch
Corporate Member
So I recently picked up a (very lightly) used Delta tenoning jig from a fellow woodworker. It's in great shape, but I've run into one issue - the steel runner is slightly too wide to fit into the miter slots on my table saw. The runner is attached from the top of the jig with two screws which I can get to through access holes in the top of the jig, so removing and replacing the runner is an option, but the new runner will have to have identically placed threaded holes. How would you approach getting this to fit my saw? Replace the runner (either metal or wood)? Remove some material from the current runner?

Pictures attached for reference. Any thoughts will be much appreciated, as always.
 

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Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Find a used miter slot guide off an old saw that is the same model as yours. A lot of people upgrade their miter guide so there should be hundreds laying around gathering dust. Just have to find one. Pretty easy to drill and tap screw holes as needed.

Alternatively buy a miter slot guide from one of several companies that sell upgrade kits for shop made miter sleds.
I probably have 2 or 3 in my shop.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
If the saw in question is a Sears saw, then there's a problem. The slots on most Sears saws was slightly under 3/4" making it impossible to use other maker's slot accessories.
Do this test:
A penny is exactly 3/4" diameter.
See if a penny drops down in the slot.
If it doesn't quite go, then the saw's slot is too narrow for a standard 3/4" wide bar.
Jerry is likely to be right. Take a little off the edge of the bar.
Since the bar is so short, the job can be done quickly in a milling machine. All that's needed is an accurate measurement of the slot's width. To the nearest .001 would be good. You don't the bar to be too narrow.
 

Yelverton

Mitch
Corporate Member
The saw is a Ridgid TS2412, not a Craftsman. I don't have access to a milling machine, unfortunately.
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
there are several bars that have what is in effect a width adjustment. Go to amazon and search “miter bar” You’ll see ones from micro-jig, rockler, Kreg and others. You can also make one from wood or UHMW
 

Ed Fasano

Ed
Senior User
Before you spend money on a new bar that will still require some accurate drilling and tapping, I'd suggest spending some careful, no-go, go time on one side with a good mill file. I have that jig. The miter slot bar is short and is fairly soft steel, so it will probably file down without monstrous effort. It's hard to image that the saw's miter slot is dramatically narrower. Moreover, you have nothing to lose. If the effort fails, you have the acquisition of a new bar as a backup plan.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
The saw is a Ridgid TS2412, not a Craftsman. I don't have access to a milling machine, unfortunately.
You could get some 3/8 X 3/4 aluminum stock, and mill it down using router table as a jointer. You will need to use a carbide tipped bit for best results. You could also use a carbide tipped blade on the table saw. First, do a piece of hardwood to get the exact width needed, then without changing rip fence setting, run aluminum bar thru.
 

Dorm

New User
Dorm
Well ... I had the same issue with my 70's vintage saw. I simply ripped a piece of hard maple and slowly ran it over the jointer -1/64" at a time until the fit was snug. I applied some paste wax to the sides and it's worked well for several years.
 

Yelverton

Mitch
Corporate Member
Before you spend money on a new bar that will still require some accurate drilling and tapping, I'd suggest spending some careful, no-go, go time on one side with a good mill file. I have that jig. The miter slot bar is short and is fairly soft steel, so it will probably file down without monstrous effort. It's hard to image that the saw's miter slot is dramatically narrower. Moreover, you have nothing to lose. If the effort fails, you have the acquisition of a new bar as a backup plan.
Absolutely makes sense to me. I'll try filing and see how it works. Better to modify instead of buying, as far as I'm concerned. If that doesn't do the trick I'll try a wood runner. All of my shop-made table saw jigs use them, but it may be difficult to get it perfectly aligned since holes will need to be drilled and tapped.
 

Yelverton

Mitch
Corporate Member
Well ... I had the same issue with my 70's vintage saw. I simply ripped a piece of hard maple and slowly ran it over the jointer -1/64" at a time until the fit was snug. I applied some paste wax to the sides and it's worked well for several years.
Yep, I've made a number of miter bars for jigs and actually have some stock already milled to size. My only challenge there will be getting the holes drilled exactly right so that it's square to the jig face.
 

Yelverton

Mitch
Corporate Member
Welp, success. I filed down the miter bar to fit. Took maybe 15 mins of filing and just a couple of minutes to reinstall and adjust for square. There was plenty of play in the allen screws that hold the miter bar to the body of the jig, so getting things square wasn't a problem.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
How much wider is it ? in thousandths please this answers what you can do and how to move forward
 

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