To help with the calibration of my new SawStop, I invested in a table saw alignment tool.
After doing a lot of internet and magazine research, I purchased a TS-Aligner, Jr. from Ed Bennett via his website. Ed makes these tools himself, and the fit, finish and accuracy is excellent. The included instructions and DVD are also very good. It is a bit pricey, but for the quality of the tool, I think that it was worth it. The TS-Aligner also seems to be more versatile than many other similar products (you can use it to align a lot more than table saws), and it also has some unique features that I think work better than other methods.
It was easy to learn to use, and my saw is now calibrated much more accurately than I would have been able to achieve without it.
Calibration and alignment of woodworking tools is a lot like sharpening for me. I did not realize how important either of these skills was when I began woodworking, but after time and experience, I've learned that they are necessary evils if you want to be successful.
Advertisement
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
About mattsanf
Matthew Sanfilippo is currently Executive Director of PSII (Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator) and the CenSCIR (Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure), Associate Director of ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
Prior to CMU, Matthew was Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, a large engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed a technology consulting division for Baker including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality (VR), visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services.
Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on Information Security, Supply Chain, Network and Mobility Solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies after investment.
Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, a Boston-based engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up division that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics.
Matt is current board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania, a board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), and a former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also a former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.
I read your post and am going to refer my husband to Ed Bennett’s site. He is currently struggling because the jointer we inherited from my father that he was just LOVING (it’s the first one he’s owned) is now out of alignment. He’s been forced to use his table saw right now to cut (and recut until he can get a straight enough edge to glue up his sides) to make the side pieces to our Chair and Loveseat.
I think he’ll need to spend some time learning these skills so he can start using his jointer again.
Thanks for your post.