A-Line-It = Game Changer

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

I recently invested in the A-Line-It Dial Indicator system and it's a straight up game changer. I bought it to help get a new table saw dialed in and calibrated. It has made assigning the fence to the miter track a breeze and in installing new knives in my jointer I'm within 1/1000" of perfectly coplaner with the outfeed table. There are other functions in the kit that I have yet to test but I can't believe the results I get with this thing. 

Anyone who is even moderately skilled at setting up machines in their shop should check this out. 

I had bought a cheap dial indicator a ways back, and I could never get dependable, repeatable results with it. To be fair though I had poor technique and would end up chasing the needle with the dial. 

The miter bar has spring loaded and adjustable tension balls to take out any slop.

They include a DVD which takes you through using the product. It lists Drill Press Chuck run-out, drill press squaring, table saw arbor shaft run-out, arbor flange and blade run-out, table saw alignment, rip fence alignment, jointer depth of cut and jointer knife position (setup) as the main uses.

I got mine off Amazon but I believe that Woodcraft also sells it. 

[Chet]

If you don't mind me asking, how much was it.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

17 minutes ago, Chet said:

If you don't mind me asking, how much was it.

There are two choices. The set I got was, I believe, somewhere around $130. There's also a basic setup with less bells and whistles and I think that is around $70.

[..Kev]

What makes it any better than a mag switch gauge for a fraction of the price?

I'm a fan of their tools but, they really put out some clunkers sometimes so, forgive my skepticism

[Tom King]

I bought one near the end of a year when I needed to spend some money to drop a bar on the tax chart.  I also bought the Master Plate that replaces the saw blade on the arbor.  It is an impressive package, but I've never used it on anything but the table saws.  I set my Unisaw dead on, and after moving it a couple of times, once in the front end loader a quarter mile, it was still dead on.  That speaks more for my tractor driving skills than using the aligning kit though.  It lives in my Setup toolbox, which has some other interesting things in it.

I don't know what it's better, or worse than.   I had to make a quick decision.

I have used those different feeler tips for something else, but don't remember what it was.

For a jointer, I just use a strip of wood.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

22 minutes ago, ..Kev said:

What makes it any better than a mag switch gauge for a fraction of the price?

I'm a fan of their tools but, they really put out some clunkers sometimes so, forgive my skepticism

I don't know, can't speak to the other product you mentioned. 

As I said, I have a cheap dial indicator that doesn't get much use, due in part to me not being super proficient with it. So I have used a starrett combination square for most of my machine calibration and adjustment. But with this new set up, I'm perfectly dialed in on my jointer. That tiny bit of snipe I always lived with is gone and my new table saw seems to be dialed in perfectly (fence to miter track). I'm sure there are other products out there that are great to, but for a hobbiest who is decent, but never great at these very fine adjustments, it's helped me to achieve accuracy that I've never been able to get to in the past.

[gee-dub]

When we find what works for us, that is the best tool for us to use.  Congrats on the joy that comes from spending a little time dialing in your machines.  I almost find it physically painful to read threads about bandsaw drift, planer snipe and poor cut quality on the tablesaw.  The time spent to align your machines will pay dividends every time you use them.  Enjoy.

Over the years I have landed on a couple of shop cobbled gizmos: