rkrueger Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 I've had my Grizzly G0771 delivered to me a couple months ago, and I've been very excited about putting it to use, but I'm just now able to start putting it together. I have it sitting on a mobile base currently. The very first step is to attach the extension wings to each side of the main cabinet table, and make sure they are level with each other. I think I have it pretty darn close to co-planar level. I had to loosen a couple bolts, take a soft mallet and bang on a few corners to get it to where when I run my finger over the where the edges meet, I don't feel a ridge. Then I took an old Stanley bubble level run across each side where the extensions join the table. It looks pretty level, one side may be the slightest touch higher, but it's hard for me to really gauge it when using the bubble as a guide. And since it's on mobile station, I can't say exactly how level the cabinet itself is.Being that this is my first semi-serious table saw, I want to make sure that I set it up as perfect as I can get it from the get-go. My bubble level is cheap, old, and probably been dropped a couple of times, so I'm not sure how much I can trust it, plus the bubble measurement is just an approximate eyeball measurement.What should I use, or what else should I be doing to ensure I got these extension wings as co-planar as possible to the cabinet table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Do you have a jointer or a strip of plywood with the factory edge in tact? You need a straight edge and not so much a level. A level can be a straight edge, but it sounds like yours sucks. Level doesn't matter. Straight/flat matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Run diagonals. This is the best way to establish a plane without using a level. The problem tends to be that this requires a longer straight edge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Do you have a jointer or a strip of plywood with the factory edge in tact? You need a straight edge and not so much a level. A level can be a straight edge, but it sounds like yours sucks. Level doesn't matter. Straight/flat matters. I use a 48" precision steel straight edge. They can be pricey, but it takes the guess work out of tool set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 I use a 48" precision steel straight edge. They can be pricey, but it takes the guess work out of tool set up.haha yeah, course that would be perfect for his situation, but I did t think telling the guy to go spend $350 on a starrett straight edge after he just bought a $700 saw was the best advice. Plus, table saw wings don't have to be perfect. If he has a jointer then he can make a pretty reliable 2-3' wood straight edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkrueger Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 No jointer yet, unfortunately. That's on the short-list. I have all kinds of techniques for jointing with a table-saw jig, but I need my table saw up and running first No strips of plywood. I just moved and took no materials with me, but getting some plywood and cutting a strip would be fairly easy. I'm not opposed to buying a good dedicated straight edge, but $350 would be a bit much at this stage of my game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 No jointer yet, unfortunately. That's on the short-list. I have all kinds of techniques for jointing with a table-saw jig, but I need my table saw up and running first No strips of plywood. I just moved and took no materials with me, but getting some plywood and cutting a strip would be fairly easy. I'm not opposed to buying a good dedicated straight edge, but $350 would be a bit much at this stage of my game.get the Lee valley aluminum straight edge then. That is what I have. I have some starretts too, but the Lee valley ones are good. I have the 38" and it's affordable. The 50" is a bit more money. Go check out the 38" or 50" because you will absolutely need them to calibrate your jointer when you get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4square Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Tilt your level on it's edge. It should be straight enough on edge to accomplish the task. Then do what C Shaffer said go diagonal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Don't recall saying anything about Starrett. Mine is a Pinnacle, got it on a close out for around $75.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 I have the Veritas 38" I bought to set up my jointer. I thought it would be a one time use tool but find it handy quiet often. Paid somewhere around $50 for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) get the Lee valley aluminum straight edge then. That is what I have. I have some starretts too, but the Lee valley ones are good. I have the 38" and it's affordable. The 50" is a bit more money. Go check out the 38" or 50" because you will absolutely need them to calibrate your jointer when you get it. agreed. The 50" one is a great value you will be thrilled to have once set up time on a tool comes. Edited September 27, 2015 by Brendon_t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisG-Canada Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 I have the 38" aluminum from Lee Valley and it's great. If I was buying again I probably would have gone for the 50". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted September 27, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 The wings don't need to be level or coplanar or any of that. The main table where your blade protrudes is the only critical part. As long as your wings are flush with or below the main table, it's irrelevant. The wings are there only for support of large workpieces, not for reference. A decent straight edge will help confirm this...but it's not necessary. Set it up by eye and finger, set your blade to perfect 90* with a square, and do some test cuts with wide stock. If your cuts are square, your table is fine. It's not a jointer...good enough is good enough. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 I have the 50" lee valley as well. I used it for the table saw set up and for setting up most of the other machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 The wings don't need to be level or coplanar or any of that. The main table where your blade protrudes is the only critical part. As long as your wings are flush or below the main table, it's irrelevant. The wings are there only for support of large workpieces, not for reference. A decent straight edge will help confirm this...but it's not necessary. Set it up by eye and finger, set your blade to perfect 90* with a square, and do some test cuts with wide stock. If your cuts are square, your table is fine. It's not a jointer...good enough is good enough.coming from someone with a big bench you can assemble on, yes. For someone who uses their table for assembly, that thing needs to have wings flat and in plane with the table surface. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted September 27, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 I usually assemble on my outfeed table...which isn't dead flat. Another case of woodworker over-engineering over-thinking syndrome...you don't need a dead flat surface to assemble on. If your joinery is square and you clamp properly and check for square during your glue-up...a torsion box or slab of granite is not necessary. Very cool and nice to have, but not necessary. Slight inconsistencies post-glue-up can usually be remedied with a few swipes of a hand plane.I'm not saying you shouldn't set up your table saw to be as flat as possible...all I'm saying is that as long as the wings are not any higher in any area than the main table, it's not that important. You don't need feeler gauges to install a table saw wing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Cheap technique for checking flatness across the diagonals, as suggested by C Shaffer: Obtain two small objects of the same thickness. Could be identical drill bits, bolts, or chunks of hard wood, as long as they are the same. Place one on each of two diagonally opposite corners. Stretch a string (or piano wire, even better) taut across the two spacers, then measure from string to surface in several places. Repeat on the other corners. If measurements are the same, it is flat. But like Eric said, the extension wings don't have to be all that flat, they just support larger stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Consider buying an appropriate length of aluminum angle to use as a straight enough edge. The longer you need the extrusion to be, the wider the wings need to be to make it stiff enough, but you can judge this by eyeball in the big box store. Then wtnhighlander's suggestion can be used to fine tune if you really need it, but I think there is a point of straight enough and flat enough. To get the string taught what I do is drape it over the drill bits and hang weights from the dangling end. Then I don't have to find something to tie it too. The whole thing can then be easily moved to do the opposite diagonal. By the way, you can also use a length of angle extrusion to draw a straight line down the length of dowel or tubing (as long as the tube has a diameter greater than the wing dimension. Not an everyday need, but ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 call me crazy, I don't mind, wife does all the time, when I set up my table saw I used two pieces of angle iron, and C clamps, Took the guess work right out for me, I did this before I put the fence system on and was able to clamp to the table proper, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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