CMS Table saw setup- right side fence how to get parallel?

[Acrobat]

Hi, I understand the CMS saw module is not available currently in the US, but since it has been out in other countries for a while and the US has released the CMS with the router module, I thought I'd ask here to see if any advice is forthcoming....

I have a  from a great second hand-deal) CMS GE table and got the cms module for my TS55r saw, and then purchased the extra right side fence and right side table extension. My problem is how does one lock this fence square to the blade? If you are trimming close say 150mm wide or less, then you cannot seem to check the back of the blade to the fence and see if its parallel to each other and as such I am getting out of square cuts. Is there a simple way I am not getting to get this fence locked and set right? I have done all the obvious things and cleared the v grooves etc where it locks at the front and back but it's always locking out of true. Frustrating, I'm rather disappointed and a bit frustrated....I have double checked the fittings and still no luck. Please tell me there's a fix for this.

thanks

 

[cliffp]

I've got the set up you describe. I had considerable problems in getting it set up ok but got there in the end. There are a couple of threads below that relate to my (solved) problems. In short, there was a problem with the guard carrier not being aligned with the saw blade causing it to steer the wood away from the fence. The problem was particularly bad with the basic fence which is a bit flimsy. I never had any problems with the LA stopper. I read that to check the alignment of the saw blade and fence, you should identify a specific tooth to measure from (mark it with a felt tip pen), mark it when it is adjacent to the table top on one side and measure between it and the fence then rotate the blade so the same tooth is adjacent to the top on the other side and compare measurements. Obviously you want the blade to be raised as high as possible. I would have thought that if the blade was slightly non-parallel to the fence and you managed to prevent the wood from being steered away from the fence (by applying enough force to keep it in contact with the fence), the blade would simply make a slightly wider cut in the wood but you would still end up with a parallel cut. Once I had fixed the riving knife problem (I used a washer with the bolt that attaches the guard carrier and riving knife) the problem went away completely.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-problems/problem-with-ts55r-cms-module/

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/use-of-cms-and-ts55r-module/msg267441/#msg267441

 

[Acrobat]

Hmm i understand but how do you measure say 152mm as the back of the blade is blocked from measuring by the riving knife and the fence is too close to get a rule in to check. I can measure the front blade tip just not the back. I can measure the space from fence to riving knife but since it moves a little sideways and seems to have a bit of play even when tightened up onto the saw it doesnt match the front of the saw. I might try that washer trick and see if that helps tighten it up further, thanks.

 

[cliffp]

I can't remember the details of how I made the measurement as it was a while ago (beyond what I previously stated). Can you remove the guard carrier and push the riving knife out of the way? (I can revisit the measurement method tomorrow to check). The other thing you could do is cut a piece of wood that is very close to fitting between the tooth of the blade on one side and the fence, and use a feeler gauge to measure the remaining gap and repeat on the other side.

 

[Acrobat]

Yeah thats a good idea. I think I may use that block idea from now on, quite a simple and easy way to check. Now why didn't I think of that? Thanks for your help.

 

[cliffp]

I think I may have used something like a Starrett rule between the fence and the tooth, adjusting the fence so the ruler just fits. I then position it to measure the distance of the tooth from the fence on the other side with a feeler gauge to bridge the gap. Of course if the ruler doesn't fit I conduct the experiment the other way round!