[Jerry Bowen]

Obiously from my previous posts, I am on the same page as Terry. The Incra Mast R lift along with the the Incra LS system is a great combination.

One thing I learned to do with the lift and the micro adjust feature is that of setting up and cutting miter lock joints.

I was never able to cut cross grain cut in a single pass so I did the following. The first step is to get the height of the bit correct. I have the gauges that some people use but because of vision problem they are hard for me to use and even when I used them the single pass on cross grain just didn't work for me. The material would chatter and buck so that a smooth cut was impssible.

In order to get the height of the bit correct I simple make a ball park practice cut and then using my dial calipers I can measure how far off center the cut is. I first mesure the thickness of the stock and divide by two to find where the center should be. Once I know that I use the calipers to determine where the center of the practice cut is. The center is where the male and female cuts meet. This measurement will tell how much the bit needs to raised or lowered in order to be correct and this adjustment is in thousandths. The accuracy of lift makes adjusting the final height of bit very simple and dead on.

Once that the bit is set the next step is to set the fence so that shallow cut are made. I make several of these shallow cut moving the fence just a little rearward after each cut until the final cut leaves a nice sharp edge at the top of the cut without reducing the width of the stock.

Next I zero the insert in the carriage that has the marks on it with the cursor so that I can, once again go to making my shallow cuts on the actual material being used in the project. I conting making the cuts and moving the fence rearward unto the cursor on the carriage is back to where the cursor on the carriage is on the previous zero mark.

This works for both the cuts with the material flat on the table as well as the ones with the stock flat against the fence for the opposing cut. The results have turned out to be perfect with no chattering during the cuts even with cross cutting in hard wood which was impossible for me earlier. The lift and micro adust used together makes this a simple endevor.

I will be the first to admit that the process could be accomplished without the llft and micro adjust but they do make the job so easy and fool proof, at least it works well for me and I like it. It took all of the frustration of using the miter lock bit for me.



Jerry

 

[dovetail_65]

That sounds like a very nice way to do it to me. Anyone using your instructions should get great results. There are many ways to accomplish things, your method seems sound to me. I use micro adjust in similar ways, like in your method usually the micro adjust isn't used initially, but to tweak adjustments.

The thing I like most about the micro adjust is the movements I make directly relate to eh measurement on my digital dial caliper. So if I count spins on the micro screw I know how much it moves, feelers are so much more cumbersome at best, far less precise at worst. I use this same method for mating matched radii when I use a circle jig as opposed to making a perfect height adjustments, but the theory is the same.

 

[Psychbiker]

Obiously from my previous posts, I am on the same page as Terry. The Incra Mast R lift along with the the Incra LS system is a great combination.

One thing I learned to do with the lift and the micro adjust feature is that of setting up and cutting miter lock joints.

I was never able to cut cross grain cut in a single pass so I did the following. The first step is to get the height of the bit correct. I have the gauges that some people use but because of vision problem they are hard for me to use and even when I used them the single pass on cross grain just didn't work for me. The material would chatter and buck so that a smooth cut was impssible.

In order to get the height of the bit correct I simple make a ball park practice cut and then using my dial calipers I can measure how far off center the cut is. I first mesure the thickness of the stock and divide by two to find where the center should be. Once I know that I use the calipers to determine where the center of the practice cut is. The center is where the male and female cuts meet. This measurement will tell how much the bit needs to raised or lowered in order to be correct and this adjustment is in thousandths. The accuracy of lift makes adjusting the final height of bit very simple and dead on.

Once that the bit is set the next step is to set the fence so that shallow cut are made. I make several of these shallow cut moving the fence just a little rearward after each cut until the final cut leaves a nice sharp edge at the top of the cut without reducing the width of the stock.

Next I zero the insert in the carriage that has the marks on it with the cursor so that I can, once again go to making my shallow cuts on the actual material being used in the project. I conting making the cuts and moving the fence rearward unto the cursor on the carriage is back to where the cursor on the carriage is on the previous zero mark.

This works for both the cuts with the material flat on the table as well as the ones with the stock flat against the fence for the opposing cut. The results have turned out to be perfect with no chattering during the cuts even with cross cutting in hard wood which was impossible for me earlier. The lift and micro adust used together makes this a simple endevor.

I will be the first to admit that the process could be accomplished without the llft and micro adjust but they do make the job so easy and fool proof, at least it works well for me and I like it. It took all of the frustration of using the miter lock bit for me.



Jerry

I'm saving that info Jerry, thanks! I picked up a new lock miter bit on ebay for cheap and decided since I got a deal on it, that I would spend the $$ on the Infinity Tools lock miter master jig. These tool/jigs were created by a guy on the Sawmill Creek Forum. Havent used them yet.

 

[Geevesmac]

I spent an hour or so today trying to set a mitre lock bit with my in-table Triton TRA 001, which requires test cuts, and adjustments. I use the lock lever with each setting, however I have been frustrated by the bit dropping when I release the lock, as I loose the height reference. There have been plenty of references over the years to this problem, but I have not seen a definitive solution, or if anyone has established how it happens.
All help much appreciated.
Greg

 

[CharlesWebster]

It happens because the internal elevation screw vibrates and unscrews itself when the router runs. The problem goes away if you leave the plunge spring in when you mount it in the table, but then there is so much friction that it's trouble to raise from above the table.

You can avoid the reset problem, by before unlocking the lever, reaching under the table and turning the height adjustment knob until it contacts the carriage again. And then unlocking the lever. You can partially avoid the table by ensuring that you always make your adjustments on the "up turn" of the height adjuster. That keeps the screw in contact with the carriage better. But it doesn't work every time reliably.

I'd like to find a lower tension spring to replace the plunge spring to see if that cures the issue.

 

[Geevesmac]

Many thanks Charles.
I put the spring back in this morning, and I had no issue with it dropping, although it was a bit stiffer to raise with the winder. The lower tension spring sounds like a good idea.
Where is the internal elevation screw located ?

 

[CharlesWebster]

Many thanks Charles.
I put the spring back in this morning, and I had no issue with it dropping, although it was a bit stiffer to raise with the winder. The lower tension spring sounds like a good idea.
Where is the internal elevation screw located ?

It's between the winder and the elevation knob. Be careful using the winder and the plunge spring together, I've heard that the gear is only plastic and can be stripped easily, but have no personal experience.

 

[Geevesmac]

Thanks for that Charles. Yes, I have read some had plastic gears, and later ones had metal. Still, don't want to push my luck. I am going to remove the spring, and when in use check the position of the height adjuster is firm before releasing the lock. Appreciate your help.