squaring the fence to the guide (at lower cost)

[Novice-Newbie]

OK,

I have learned on this forum how to square the fence to the guide rail very accurately, quickly, and easily. Unfortunately it involved the use of a 18" by 10" square which goes for $160.  Thats a tad high for me.  Are there less expensive alternatives which are still accurate.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[tbellemare]

Use the holes in the tabletop.

You can see how I do it here. Some derivation of this method should fit your budget.

Tom

 

[score0matic]

That is a tough one.

here are a few options
1  measure over for square free

2 12 x12 speed square check and file to make dead on..$12.00  pretty easy to do

3 buy a dewalt square http://www.amazon.com/DeWALT-DWS5027-DEWALT-TrackSaw-T-Square/dp/B001J34IQ4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1252966312&sr=8-8  $26

4  build your own from an FS KS   $70  plus allot of work  

I am sure there are other options out but these work
Craig

 

[MarkF]

Frank Pellow has a great thread using the Black and Decker Workmate dogs ($8/pk of 4 on Amazon) in the MFT holes.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=5602.0

I use an 18", 45 degree acrylic drafting trangle elevated 1/2" above the table with a scrap of 1/2" plywood to make contact with the sawguide and the miter rail.  The longest one I have found is here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-triangles/

 

[Jay Evans]

For around $20 US you can buy a Starrett brand Framing Square, which is a very handy thing to have if you are doing this type of work.  Starrett brand is excellent quality and should be very precise for a framing square.  Woodcraft sells them, just do a Google search.
Jay

 

[CharlesWilson]

I use a reasonably large rectangle of 3/4" MDF that has one corner precisely cut to 90 degrees (marked of course so I know which corner is 'true').

 

[ForumMFG]

This square is thick enough to bridge the gap between the table and the guide rail whenever the guide rail is resting on top of the fence.

This is the square I have and I use it for this application as well as many others because I can take advantage of how thick it is.  This is actually the square Festool used at the training class to demo how to square up the fence on the MFT/3

 

[MarkF]

Impressive that Woodpeckers guarantee an aluminum square. 

 

[ForumMFG]

I think the company that makes them guarantee them?  Pinnacle makes those squares and they are out of Cleveland Ohio.  Woodcraft tried to tell me that they only make those squares for Woodcraft stores but woodpeckers sells them also but they are red instead of black..

 

[score0matic]

I think the company that makes them guarantee them?  Pinnacle makes those squares and they are out of Cleveland Ohio.  Woodcraft tried to tell me that they only make those squares for Woodcraft stores but woodpeckers sells them also but they are red instead of black..

Dave

did you know that Pinnicle makes a router top for the MFT here is the old thread  http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2462.0;all

Craig

 

[ForumMFG]

No I didn't, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Actually, you should never use a square for calibrating a fence or tool of any type, as the method is not very accurate and relies on the assumed accuracy of the square. If you want to check the square on the fence-to-rail, then you should use the 4-cut method. This is described in detail with pictures and calculator in the Kapex manual. http://www.waterfront-woods.com/festool/

This method takes the actual error of the rail-to-fence square, and multiplies it (compounds it) by 4 to make it easier to see and measure. It is a very simple method and does not rely on any external reference.

 

[ForumMFG]

Can't you just check your square before you set it up? 

 

[johnsonri]

Actually, you should never use a square for calibrating a fence or tool of any type, as the method is not very accurate and relies on the assumed accuracy of the square.

Rick, your statement seems pretty extreme. It seems to me that the accuracy acheived using a square can be as accurate as the square.

When you start out with "You should never..." I'm expecting a finish like ... "put your hand in the path of a moving saw blade".

I think that if your square is square, then you are squared away. It been that way for me. 

Rey

 

[wnagle]

I'm with you on this one Rick.  Even if my square is dead on I get a much more accurate result using the 4 cut method. I set my kapex, MFT/3, and crosscut sleds with this method.

 

[mastercabman]

Talking about squares,How accurate are those T square for drywall hanging?

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Rick, your statement seems pretty extreme. It seems to me that the accuracy acheived using a square can be as accurate as the square.

While my statement may seem extreme, if you are going out and buying a $100 square (as someone stated earlier) to square your tools, then it is not extreme. The method I mention is more accurate than the $100 square, and from that perspective, it is not extreme.

If you don't need accuracies greater than plus or minus 1 degree, then a framing square and eye-balling are sufficient. But on something as long as a TS guide rail, even that $100 square coupled with "eye-balling" will not give you very accurate results.

I may use a square to check the square of a workpiece, but I will never use a square to calibrate the tool that I use to create that workpiece.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Talking about squares,How accurate are those T square for drywall hanging?

Nope, those thing aren't very accurate. Great tools for drywall or floor or roof sheeting, not much use beyond that.

 

[mastercabman]

Talking about squares,How accurate are those T square for drywall hanging?

Nope, those thing aren't very accurate. Great tools for drywall or floor or roof sheeting, not much use beyond that.

That's what i was thinking!    I was working on a project and i had one of those moment,"why do i feel this is not square?"I use everything that i have to check for squareness and then use one of those T square and ...and...well i went home!

 

[bonesbr549]

Here's what I use.  I picked them up at woodcraft for 39 bucks they have been really handy and I keep them in my wooden case.  They are good to .00015 wich is good enough for a medium that moves on its own.  

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020413/21000/3-Piece-Engineer-s-Square-Set-with-Case.aspx