collinb Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 A two-section cursor for the table saw fence. One part would be fixed, indexing from the outside of the blade. The other would be adjustable based on the kerf width. Why? There are times I want to cut a specific width and other times when I'd like to cut to a certain depth. One cursor for two needs. Again, I hope I'm not overthinking things. But to me it seems practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tpt life Posted January 12, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 Needs to be adjustable. Not all blades are equal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 The cursor gets you close enough for many if not most cuts ( if it's calibrated). An accurate ruler is what I use for critical cuts and other side of the blade settings. Woodpeckers Paolini pocket rule is literally in my pocket every day. It even has a scale up the end for blade height setting. A Veritas hook rule was my go to before the Paolini came out. Of the pricey Woodpeckers one time tools the Paolini rule has given me the best bang for the buck. Days after it arrived I called to see if I could get a metric version. The lady said they always run a few extra of the one time tools but they usually sell pretty quickly. So if you miss the arbitrary deadline you can sometimes still get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 I agree the Paolini rule is awesome i grabbed one on the last run and wish i had grabbed 2. I also like the big woodpeckers rulers my only gripe is the graduations are backwards for use on a tablesaw. Fence is almost always right of the blade and the rulers are graduated so both sides start from the wrong end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 3 hours ago, wdwerker said: ...Paolini pocket rule is literally in my pocket every day... Steve I took your advice last year and the Paolini rule has become my go to and like you always in my apron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 It’s your saw do what you want. I don’t use the curser for any cuts that matter, I think it is safer to use a rule I trust and even more important to be consistent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 I just measure every important cut from the fence to the blade (depending on my mark) - am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 You cant make repetitive cuts on the left side of the blade anyways so having the cursor for it isn't really practical. If you have a stack of wood that was all identical width them it would work, otherwise it does not. I can't remember ever being in a situation where I would have needed that. Just measure to the left side of the blade for the rare times you need to make those cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 Stop rips are really common in notching vinyl shake siding. I have performed a cut on each side of the blade tens of thousands of times. Always used a tape. Never indexed on a rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 On my saw there's a cursor on each side of the fence and two separate tapes for the different sides. Never used the one for the other side though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 26 minutes ago, krtwood said: On my saw there's a cursor on each side of the fence and two separate tapes for the different sides. Never used the one for the other side though. This is the same as my saw and I too have never used the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Here too. Every T-square or aftermarket fence I’ve had has had a cursor on both sides of the fence for this purpose. Your idea for your particular fence sounds fixed but, workable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Maybe I'm misunderstanding Collins idea. I think he means that he would leave the fence on the right side but have 2 lines on the cursor representing the right side of the blade and one representing the left side of the blade. I don't think he means putting the fence on the left side of the blade and using the other cursor and tape. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 That is also the way I understood it Shane. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Dito Shane. I think my complaint about woodpeckers big ruler might have caused some confusion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Ah, got it now. You could take a piece of acrylic and cut a groove in it with the blade in question and then reference either side of the groove for your cursor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted January 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 On 1/12/2018 at 9:24 PM, shaneymack said: Maybe I'm misunderstanding Collins idea. I think he means that he would leave the fence on the right side but have 2 lines on the cursor representing the right side of the blade and one representing the left side of the blade. I don't think he means putting the fence on the left side of the blade and using the other cursor and tape. Exactly. The goal is to have a measure for determining the "waste" side to either the right or the left of the blade. This sounds like a useful solution: The cursor has two layers. A ) The bottom layer has a center-line that is set to the blade center point. The saw user fixes it permanently to that reference point. Where to place the marks on the top piece is most difficult. B ) The top has a matching center mark, accompanied by a mark at 3/64 and 5/64 on either side. (3/64 would be half of the blade width of 3/32, a common thin kerf blade. Likewise a rip blade such as the Freud 10" x 24T is 0.126", so meaninglessly > than 4/32 or 1/8) With this I may get the precision desired, and without guessing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Woodpeckers ears must have been burning ! They just announced the 6", 8" and 12" Paolini Pocket Rules are available again in Aluminum and Stainless. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 On 1/16/2018 at 9:40 AM, wdwerker said: Woodpeckers ears must have been burning ! They just announced the 6", 8" and 12" Paolini Pocket Rules are available again in Aluminum and Stainless. Yep and I am going to order a 6" stainless back up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Even though it seems obvious when presented here, I think this would probably wind up being one more thing for me screw up/get backwards at just the wrong moment! I can't be the only guy to carefully measure 25 3/4", go back to my table saw and carefully get my fence set, and cut a nice and square piece at precisely 24 3/4" in length! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) On 1/15/2018 at 10:43 AM, collinb said: Exactly. The goal is to have a measure for determining the "waste" side to either the right or the left of the blade. This sounds like a useful solution: The cursor has two layers. A ) The bottom layer has a center-line that is set to the blade center point. The saw user fixes it permanently to that reference point. Where to place the marks on the top piece is most difficult. B ) The top has a matching center mark, accompanied by a mark at 3/64 and 5/64 on either side. (3/64 would be half of the blade width of 3/32, a common thin kerf blade. Likewise a rip blade such as the Freud 10" x 24T is 0.126", so meaninglessly > than 4/32 or 1/8) With this I may get the precision desired, and without guessing. I think I am also missing something... the blade centre (sorry for the spelling, another Canadian) is not a fixed location, the arbour flange is fixed and blade centerline varies with blade width. Edited January 18, 2018 by RJS missed word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 3 hours ago, Isaac said: Even though it seems obvious when presented here, I think this would probably wind up being one more thing for me screw up/get backwards at just the wrong moment! I can't be the only guy to carefully measure 25 3/4", go back to my table saw and carefully get my fence set, and cut a nice and square piece at precisely 24 3/4" in length! Yeah like needing 25 3/8" and cutting 23 5/8" my brain does that with out needing a physical device to confuse me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 Just now, Chestnut said: Yeah like needing 25 3/8" and cutting 23 5/8" my brain does that with out needing a physical device to confuse me. You ever notice how these kind of mistakes always seem to go in the direction of accidentally cutting a piece too short? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 minute ago, Isaac said: You ever notice how these kind of mistakes always seem to go in the direction of accidentally cutting a piece too short? It probably happens the other way but i never notice and just think i forgot to cut the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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