Dale; try this.
Find something that's flat sheet and accurate in thickness...for example strips of vinyl flooring. lay them in two parallel piles, on a hard flat surface. Start with one thickness, side by side with a 1/2" in between the piles.
place the saw plate on top and drop the blade down through the plate until it just kisses the hard surface on the bottom. Lock the blade, and then cut a slot in a piece of scrap. Check the depth to confirm. Continue the process adding one layer to each of the stack, drop the blade, lock and check the cut depth in the scrap.
After three or four layers you will have confirmed the progression's actual depth of cuts.
The problem with gauges is that the tip of any particular tooth isn't necessarily the highest or lowest point; it's only when the blade is spinning that all the teeth actually go past the point which is perfectly perpendicular to the base plate.
Getting a perfect depth on a TS is tough enough; a circ. saw is a lesson in frustration.
The markings on the saw itself are just a rough guide...the actual blades will vary tremendously. They'll change in diameter every time they're sharpened, or replaced.
Find something that's flat sheet and accurate in thickness...for example strips of vinyl flooring. lay them in two parallel piles, on a hard flat surface. Start with one thickness, side by side with a 1/2" in between the piles.
place the saw plate on top and drop the blade down through the plate until it just kisses the hard surface on the bottom. Lock the blade, and then cut a slot in a piece of scrap. Check the depth to confirm. Continue the process adding one layer to each of the stack, drop the blade, lock and check the cut depth in the scrap.
After three or four layers you will have confirmed the progression's actual depth of cuts.
The problem with gauges is that the tip of any particular tooth isn't necessarily the highest or lowest point; it's only when the blade is spinning that all the teeth actually go past the point which is perfectly perpendicular to the base plate.
Getting a perfect depth on a TS is tough enough; a circ. saw is a lesson in frustration.
The markings on the saw itself are just a rough guide...the actual blades will vary tremendously. They'll change in diameter every time they're sharpened, or replaced.
