Squaring Fence and guide rail on MFT

[greg mann]

There is a simple cure to avoid re-squaring when re-installing the fence. Get it set up and square using the knob that slides in the rail near the far end of the fence. Now put a stop behind the knob. I think a nut and setscrew will work or a stop like those provided for the guiderals. I uses an 8020 nut with a 5/16 setscrew. Once that is locked in behind the knob the square setting should ALWAYS be reapeatable. If you need to do a miter just loosen the knob and slide the shebang forward. When you want to go back to square just slide the knob back to the stop. You just need to make sure there were no gaps in between the stop and the locking knob when you first did your square set up. The guiderail has permanent stops at each end and the fence now has fixed locators at each end. Unless I loosen the guiderail where it slides on the hinge bracket, and I haven't needed to do that in months, I never have a problem achieving square setups without even checking.

 

[EJB]

When I square the guide on the MFT I try to reference the Black rubber strip that was cut by the saw.  This is difficult to do easily since the majority of the fence is to the left of the guide.  I have read some references on squaring the fence (can't remember where right now) but the SOP they used was the left edge of the Aluminum guide and squared this to the fence.  In my case..using this method doesn't get me square enough..there is too much error.  Does anyone here have a method to square to the rubber cutting edge? 

My sledgehammer method: I have made an MDF piece machined parallel as well as possible and use it to extend the fence surface to the right of the guide and then I use a Starret Combination square with a 24" blade as a reference.  I then check square with a method similar to what John Lucas mentioned above.  I also use a redundant fixed stop in the far left grove of the MFT to reference the fence lock/stop.

Ed

 

[greg mann]

Ed,

With all due respect I think using the rubber strip is unnecessary. First, it has some give to it and you can only align by eye or feel to a spongy material. Second, and more to the point, there is no reason it shouldn't be absolutely parallel to the extrusion features of the guiderail. They were used, after all, to cut the strip in the first place. Third, the strip is subject to 'erosion' from the cutting process. Fourth, the saw will run parallel to the guide, not necessarily to a worn splinterguard.

You mentioned a redundant stop in the far left groove and I think you are right on the mark with this. That was the single most important improvement for me to improve repeatability and reproduceability for squareness, but I have never found any problem using the backside of the guiderail to square the guiderail to the fence.