Tool Gloat - A-Line-It

[gesiak]

I won the big raffle prize at tonight’s Fox Valley Woodworker’s Club meet. Scored an A-LINE-IT DELUXE Machinery/Tool Alignment System w/ 22 Interchangeable Tips, 11 inch Long Anodized Aluminum Bar, Anodized Aluminum Smart Bar, Dial Indicator, Precision Steel Pin and Arbor Run-Out Kit. On a table saw, it will allow you to test table saw alignment, arbor shaft run-out, saw blade run-out, rip fence alignment, and fence straightness, arbor/chuck run-out, jointer/planer head to table parallelism, jointer/planer knife alignment, out-feed table alignment; router/shaper spindle run-out, or any other set up or alignment measurement you desire.

It’s been awhile since I checked the set up on my table saw and drill press. That will get done this weekend.

 

[zargon]

Good luck with that. Just remember... it's "WOOD" working... not Tool and Die or critical machining ... a couple .000" in metal can be disastrous... wood moves in "inches" not .000"
But... it is always nice to know that if you were cutting 3" steel on your table saw that all the parts would be within a very close tolerance.
Wood on the other hand... wants to expand and contract even after you have meticulously "machined" it to the .000"
.... now if I could just keep my band saw cuts from drifting to the north and south poles...

 

[jr14]

Agree w Zargon. Wood is not a static material, in my experience. Part of its charm, I guess, is allowing for seasonal movement.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

I don't need a dial indicator to see that my SawStop fence is not 100% dead flat :'(

Regardless.. great win!

Enjoy.

 

[Wilsoncb]

If you need some practice, come on over to my shop.

 

[Mike Davis]

I have tuned up more than a few SawStop and many other saws. Wood may move but the saw should still be accurate and repeatable. If you want your wood parts to fit within a 1/32 inch then it helps to have the saw set to .001…

 

[Mike Davis]

You can’t cut wood to fit like this with a wonky saw.

 

[Mike Davis]

I don't need a dial indicator to see that my SawStop fence is not 100% dead flat :'(

Regardless.. great win!

Enjoy.

I have flattened them before. The first step is to map out the high spots. Then a little work. Then map again.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Then mysteriously flatness occurs.

 

[gesiak]

They are useful in determining set up of the tool not the wood. An example of that. Using my drill press to drill pen blanks, I noticed that the hole at the top of the blank was dead center, how ever the bottom hole was off center. Additionally, the hole was slightly oval.

Using the A-Line-It tool from the club library, I noticed that taking a reading at the drill bit just under the chuck varied by +/- .0100. Taking a reading on the shaft showed no variance. Some research indicated that when the chuck was put on the shaft it was on square. Removal and reseating of the chuck eliminated that. Now the holes are center and not oval.

I agree with Mike. You never get accurate results or fit is your tool is not properly set up.