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Is 5-thou on a 10" TS blade OK or too high

1K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Wood_Scraps 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My 10" TS blade on my Delta contractor saw is out a little more than 5-thou.

I checked it 2 ways -
- moving my calipers toward the same tooth at the front and rear of the saw
- feeler gauge (same tooth, front and rear….)

Is this an acceptable variance?
Or should I adjust my saw?
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
First thing to do is check runout on the arbor without the blade. If it is good, then the blade is out. The arbor being out just a thousandth would result in the tip of the blade being 5 thousandth out, assuming the blade is true. Even a brand new blade can have runouts > zero. Usually only a saw with large bearings and a good reputation for quality can test with zero runout. Then a good blade warranted to be zero runout ($$$) will give you a saw capable of doing fine work.

I would not consider a contractor saw being able to make precise (zero runout) cuts as they were not designed to do such fine work.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
I would check it a second time with different saw blade. While I think it should be a little closer, I would probably try to use it as is and see how things go. There's a lot of nice made with contractor saws and i would guess a few of them are that far off.
 
#5 ·
I'm going to look at it from the saws point of view. Is it the saw out that much, or is it you mis-measured the outage that much?

Talk to us about what the cuts look like, as a general rule they are much easier to measure correctly than a spinning arbor.

There are several cut exercises that allow you to look at the results to see if it really is the saw, or how it was measured, plus the measuremnt you are making is moot, if the saw is making perfect cuts.

The only measurement I would make is easy to do, it's from the miter gauge slot, to the blade, First pick a tooth pointing toward the left side of your saw, mark it so you know which tooth. Measure both the front of the blade then roll the blade by hand back and measure again once that tooth is at the back of the saw table. Are the 2 measurements identical? Same for to the fence.

Video for checking a blade for square in your TS.

Do that FIRST then Google different cuts to make to check your saws accuracy. Make as many as you can find, is it cutting as expected?
 
#6 ·
The only measurement I would make is easy to do, it s from the miter gauge slot, to the blade, First pick a tooth pointing toward the left side of your saw, mark it so you know which tooth. Measure both the front of the blade then roll the blade by hand back and measure again once that tooth is at the back of the saw table. Are the 2 measurements identical? Same for to the fence.

- therealSteveN
I would check more places than just 2 measurements. Going around the complete 360° revolution would give a more complete check. 1st take a readout from the saw plate; then from the teeth. The 1st will tell you if the arbor is true and if it is true, then the 2nd will tell you if the blade is warped. There is a plate you can buy that replaces the blade for measuring runout of the arbor. It is available at one of the woodworking suppliers; I don't remember which.
 
#7 ·
The only measurement I would make is easy to do, it s from the miter gauge slot, to the blade, First pick a tooth pointing toward the left side of your saw, mark it so you know which tooth. Measure both the front of the blade then roll the blade by hand back and measure again once that tooth is at the back of the saw table. Are the 2 measurements identical? Same for to the fence.

- therealSteveN
I would check more places than just 2 measurements. Going around the complete 360° revolution would give a more complete check. 1st take a readout from the saw plate; then from the teeth. The 1st will tell you if the arbor is true and if it is true, then the 2nd will tell you if the teeth are correctly set. There is a plate you can buy that replaces the blade for measuring runout of the arbor. It is available at one of the woodworking suppliers; I don't remember which.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Is the saw blade in question newly installed and checked or used several times then checked ?
I would want to make sure everything is clean, tight and flush with the blade installed.
Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and forget the simple things lol..

I use my magnetic base along with a plunge indicator for checking things that I feel maybe running out a bit to far for my liking.

Being a 10" blade. I agree with marking and checking it in at least 4 quadrants. Even if its a new blade. A New blade is not always quality these days..

A magnetic base and indicator works great when checking a shaft or blade tips as well for runout.
I'm sure you already know that your .005 out will be more like .01 after a cut with a warped blade.

I hope you get it sorted out.
 
#9 ·
A lot are treating this like a runout question. But my impression is that you're saying the blade is toed .005" out of perfect square. Frequently I've seen that anything under .01" in this regard is not a big deal. Again, I'm not talking about runout though. Just the orientation of the blade in regards to being square.

I have the same saw (assuming you mean the 725 T2). Adjusting the blade's squareness is not that difficult. Just remove a couple of screws for the dust cloth and then loosen two set screws to make the motor adjustment.

I think my saw was around the same out of the box. I'm OCD and went through the trouble of getting it perfectly square. Measured with a dial indicator via a custom built miter gauge with zero slop. As someone else suggested, how you're measuring matters. Especially when you're dealing with thousandths of an inch. For this reason, I don't think calipers are reliable enough in this application. A dial indicator is really what's needed.

As for runout, my 725 T2 has around .0015 of runout. I measured this with a dial indicator and a brand new Ridge Carbide blade. Granted, this is a mass produced saw. So I wouldn't necessarily conclude yours will be comparable without testing it yourself.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
find a known flat and put the blade on it. Press around the rim to see if it rocks. Check both sides. No rocking, either side, blade is flat. A nice granite flat also doubles as a base for "scarey sharp". Pane of glass works ok too. 9×12x2 < $50 @ Grizzly

Single tooth check doesn't reveal all teeth at once. tooth you check can be ok, but some other single tooth could be out too.
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
My 10" TS blade on my Delta contractor saw is out a little more than 5-thou…..

Out relative to what?
Not square with the slot?
Runout of blade?
in relation to the fence?

I don t see how anyone can give you answer when we don t know exactly what the problem is.

- Kudzupatch
Read his post again. He measuring alignment of the blade from front to rear of table to the miter slot. At least that's what I'm getting from the technique he's using same blade tooth.
 
#13 ·
My 10" TS blade on my Delta contractor saw is out a little more than 5-thou…..

Out relative to what?
Not square with the slot?
Runout of blade?
in relation to the fence?

I don t see how anyone can give you answer when we don t know exactly what the problem is.

- Kudzupatch

Read his post again. He measuring alignment of the blade from front to rear of table to the miter slot. At least that s what I m getting from the technique he s using same blade tooth.

- WhyMe
Agreed. But a lot of guys seemed to think he was measuring runout.
 
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