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As a member of WWGOA I get notices from time to time of new videos and classes. Among the notices are shorted videos eluding to a specific topic or instruction. One such email had a link to how to adjust your miter gauge for accuracy. I'm a big fan of Incra products and early on after buying my Sawstop table saw I wanted a better miter gauge and looked into Incra. I ended up buying their Miter Gauge 1000SE because of the fence system and have used it primarily for 90 degree cuts that were checked using an accurate square, my Woodpecker 1812 square to be specific. But that was not using the miter gauge to it's fullest extent and to be honest I'm not sure I checked it well after receiving it.
After George's video clip I decided to check and see how accurate the miter gauge actually was. I made sure the saw blade was 90 degrees to the table, the fence to be 90 degrees to the blade, and then the fence to be 90 degrees to the table. An extremely small adjustment was needed for the fence to blade as was the fence to table. Bother were barely noticeable but if you're going to do the exercise do it well. I had also calibrated the fence stop to the blade making sure the ruled fence top was accurate.
I then cut some 2-1/2" wide poplar I had milled to 6" lengths and cut 6 boards. Actually they were cut to 6-1/2" on the miter saw and then each end trimmed 1/4" on the table saw for clean, square, and equal lengths. Then I went through the stack and cut a 30 degree miter on each board and then repeated for the opposing miter. When those were done I aligned them and used my strap clamp to hold the pieces together. I was amazed at the fit. I had expected to need to make an adjustment but all 45 degree joints were tight and clean. For the record these pieces were cut from a 1/2" board and using the strap clamp wasn't the easiest on this thickness but very doable. Unfortunately the strap clamp hides some of the outside fit as the cloth strap is folded over some. I'll have to glue this up and repost a picture after I figure out how not to get clue all over the strap......
To summarize, making the adjustments is worth the time and effort if for no other reason then to learn. As pointed out in George's video, any error that would have been seen would be the error multiplied by 6 giving you a very good idea of how much to adjust you gauge. See for yourself.
https://www.wwgoa.com/video/tuning-up-your-miter-gauge-incra-000341/
After George's video clip I decided to check and see how accurate the miter gauge actually was. I made sure the saw blade was 90 degrees to the table, the fence to be 90 degrees to the blade, and then the fence to be 90 degrees to the table. An extremely small adjustment was needed for the fence to blade as was the fence to table. Bother were barely noticeable but if you're going to do the exercise do it well. I had also calibrated the fence stop to the blade making sure the ruled fence top was accurate.
I then cut some 2-1/2" wide poplar I had milled to 6" lengths and cut 6 boards. Actually they were cut to 6-1/2" on the miter saw and then each end trimmed 1/4" on the table saw for clean, square, and equal lengths. Then I went through the stack and cut a 30 degree miter on each board and then repeated for the opposing miter. When those were done I aligned them and used my strap clamp to hold the pieces together. I was amazed at the fit. I had expected to need to make an adjustment but all 45 degree joints were tight and clean. For the record these pieces were cut from a 1/2" board and using the strap clamp wasn't the easiest on this thickness but very doable. Unfortunately the strap clamp hides some of the outside fit as the cloth strap is folded over some. I'll have to glue this up and repost a picture after I figure out how not to get clue all over the strap......
To summarize, making the adjustments is worth the time and effort if for no other reason then to learn. As pointed out in George's video, any error that would have been seen would be the error multiplied by 6 giving you a very good idea of how much to adjust you gauge. See for yourself.
https://www.wwgoa.com/video/tuning-up-your-miter-gauge-incra-000341/
