Replies

1. 
   RevTed | Feb 23, 2008 06:32am | #1

   You may find your answer over on the Breaktime forum. I've seen many posts about the Bosch there.

    

   T

2. 
   andyfew322 | Feb 23, 2008 06:49am | #2

   sometimes you can take a centerpunch and punch along the rail and it will create a ring around the punch

    

   Ductape can fix EVERYTHING!!!

3. 
   webby | Feb 23, 2008 07:15pm | #3

   I also have the bosch 4000 and my mitre slide is looser than I want. I think it is the difference in the grade of saw. The Bosch is good but it is not equipped with the precision of some of the larger saws. I just remember to keep the bar to one side of the slot or the other.

   Webby 

    

   
   

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   Edited 2/23/2008 11:16 am ET by webby

1. 
   Henley | Feb 23, 2008 10:18pm | #4

   There are plenty of portable saws with proper fitting miters.
   I think Bosch dropped the ball on this one.
   Your term lower grade shouldn't apply to one of the most expensive contractors saws on the market. They messed up. Yeah, but holding it to one side isn't what I want to look forward to for years to come.

1. 
   webby | Feb 24, 2008 02:40am | #10

   Sorry, I just meant that the mitre slot on a bosch 4000 is probably a mitre slot in the most basic sense. It is not a t slot for one and  two, the mitre gauge that came with the saw is basic at best,  hence the comment that it is good but it should not be expected to have the level of detail that a cabinet saw has. It is a good saw and I use it right now due to budget, and space. Knowing I needed a portable saw it was the only one I would consider due to the dado capacity and the generally well accepted level of Bosch quality.

   Yes most  aftermarket mitre gauges due provide lateral adjustability. I should have offered this suggestion in my reply. However I was responding to the initial comment letting the poster know that I too experienced the same.

   Regards,

   Webby 

   P.S. After buying the saw I also performed a conversion of the saws blade gaurd into a riving knife. The instructions are on http://www.garymkatz.com  (click on resources and articles then on tool reveiws). The riving knife performs very well. I am not advocating changing the gaurd, merely offering the suggestion to make a clumsy gaurd into something safer since many might not use the gaurd any way. It has made my use of the saw much safer when ripping thin peices or small moldings.

    

   Edited 2/23/2008 6:46 pm ET by webby

   Edited 2/23/2008 6:47 pm ET by webby

   Edited 2/23/2008 6:59 pm ET by webby

1. 
   webby | Feb 24, 2008 03:02am | #12

   Maybe its just me but the mitre gauge slop doesn't bother me all that much.

   What is a bummer is the flimsy at best zero clearance insert. it flexes so musch making certain cuts is dangerous. Specifically of the peice is small and most of its surface bears on the insert when going thru the blade.Webby 

    

2. 
   Henley | Feb 24, 2008 05:20am | #13

   Oh I wasn't being defencive about the saw, it is what it is. Just felt we should expect more from the manufacturer.
   It's funny I was looking at my (still in the plastic) guard thinking how I could use a Riving knife...

1. 
   webby | Feb 24, 2008 05:44am | #14

   No problem.

   I hope you have good luck with the Bosch. Mine was right on out of the box. Except for the measure on the fence rail, I never could get that to work I measure from the blade anyway. I was excited I got mine about two years ago for 386.00 and free shipping from amazon. I wish I could have gotten the new gravity stand mine just has the red stand. I am still using the oem blade, and use the freud sd 208 dado.

   The riving knife takes a few minutes to make but it is well worth it. It is kind of scary to be ripping thin strips and watching them close up around the back of the blade, much safer with the riving knife.

   It was kind of scary tearing into my brand new blade gaurd but I wouldn't have used it anyway. I figured what the heck I could always order another.

   Yeah, I wish my miter guage was tighter, I havent tried the uhmw strips, I figured I would just get a better miter gauge. I did make an L shaped extension fence to increase the width of the face of my gauge. it has a slot in the top that slides on a bolt that threads into the hole in the top of the gauge. It was a quickie type deal for a project. I need to build a sturdier one. I also built a tall auxiliary fence that slips over the t/saw fence with which I can bury a dado blade.

   Also somewhere on breaktime I saw a photo of a guys Bosch Tsaw with a router table built in, I sort of built a copy. With the table extended all the way to the right, I cut some support peices to the right thickness, they lay in the aluminum sliding arms and support a lightweight router table top made from 1/2 inch mdf, with a recessed rousseu router plate and a pc 690. I made a router fence that clamps to the Tsaws fence and has a port for dust collection.

   Webby 

    

   Edited 2/23/2008 9:52 pm ET by webby

   Edited 2/23/2008 9:54 pm ET by webby

4. 
   rsaunders | Feb 23, 2008 10:26pm | #5

   How wide is the gap between the slot and the bar?

1. 
   Henley | Feb 23, 2008 10:34pm | #6

   just shy of a 1/16

1. 
   Jimurock | Feb 23, 2008 10:42pm | #7

   Most aftermarket miters are adjustable side to side by means of screws.  You might be able to rig up something like that.

   Jim

2. 
   rsaunders | Feb 23, 2008 10:50pm | #8

   Lee Valley sells a UHMW tape that can be easily cut with a knife or scissors. A strip on each side of the slot would probably fix you right up. I use it a lot on jigs and fixtures. The adhesive holds very well and the stuff is very slippery.

1. 
   Henley | Feb 23, 2008 10:53pm | #9

   That's the ticket!
   Thanks all, I'm happy again.

5. 
   hammer1 | Feb 24, 2008 02:51am | #11

   In many cases, you can fix the slop. Lay the miter bar on something solid. Strike near the edge with a hammer in several places. This will mushroom the edge of the bar out a little bit. Take a mill file and fit the bar to the miter way. Readjust the miter head to be square with the blade and adjust the pointer to the 90° mark.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

6. 
   BrianDerr | Feb 24, 2008 07:54am | #15

   Yeah, I've got the same saw, with the same issue. In the past, when cutting tenon shoulders, I was in the habit of pushing the gauge tight to one side of the slot. Now I cut shoulders with a handsaw and just use the TS to waste the cheeks. Tomorrow I plan on building a crosscut sled whose runners will fit perfectly in those oversized slots. I don't do that much crosscutting on the TS but maybe with the sled I will. Even on nice cabinet saws there's a tiny bit of play, isn't there? But nothing like this.

   Brian

1. 
   chaim | Feb 24, 2008 11:52pm | #16

   I also experience the same difficulties with the Bosch but I must say its a good saw!

   I did experience one problem but I took it in for servicing and they did an admiral job fixing the bugger. since then, no complaints except the miter gauge!

   A sled definitely does help though and I find that I use the miter gauge only when I cant be bothered to pull out the sled! I actually have several. one really large one for shelves and case parts, one smaller one for more nominal crosscuts and one for miters!

    

   ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !

1. 
   BrianDerr | Feb 25, 2008 06:36am | #20

   I really like my new sled. It's a pretty big one, and still a little tight, but I think soon I'll have a few like you. Feels like I have a whole new stationary power tool in the shop. With the sled in place, I don't hardly notice what brand of TS is under it.Brian

1. 
   chaim | Feb 25, 2008 10:35pm | #22

   It is great isn't it?

    I used to do my crosscutting on an old light weight dewalt radial arm saw. The thing just couldn't stay set up correctly and the radial and a table saw in a shop as small as mine just don't mix! 

   when I got the Bosch I knew that I would get rid of the arm saw. Crosscutting with a light weight (not to mention sloppy) miter gauge was not the way to go hence the cross cut jigs! there a really big step up in accuracy to!

   ChaimMake your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !

1. 
   BrianDerr | Feb 26, 2008 08:21am | #23

   And another thing: the crosscut sled saves space. I don't have to set up my 12" miter saw on a valuable work surface when the shop is crowded. What AM I going to do with my miter saw now? . . . Oh yeah, miter.Brian

2. 
   Henley | Feb 26, 2008 04:02pm | #24

   I know I should do a search but...
   How about a pick
   could save some time.

7. 
   jc21 | Feb 25, 2008 12:42am | #17

   "Any quick fixes?"

   Buy a Porter Cable 3812S ;0)  Seriously though, get an Incra V27 miter gauge........ should run about $50-60- the bar has contact points that can be adjusted to take out the slop. Fwiw the 3812S uses t-slots for the miter gauge.

1. 
   Henley | Feb 25, 2008 05:43am | #18

   I'll check out the incra jig but it's abit late for the porter cable.

2. 
   veggiefahmah123 | Feb 25, 2008 06:19am | #19

   I'm thinking about making a sled that runs in both slots. Make carefully my own runners, carefully fitted. That might also make it unnecessary to make some kind of infeed table jig.  Make the runners long enough, balance it front to back so it doesn't want to wobble. One of my arguments with my Bosch ts is how much space I got till the blade starts cutting. I like the guy's suggestion to make two or three sleds: one for crosscutting something wider than, like, 10", one for sheets, and one for miters. 

   Wonder if that would take care of my two biggest beefs with this otherwise wonderful table saw: distance from front of table to blade, and loose fitting miter gauge. 

   Although I've also found that I get pretty good miters by leaving the blade at 90, and using the miter gauge set at 45 with an attached piece of wood long and tall enough to back up the piece being cut, without being cut itself. 

   Hope I splained myself good

   always thinkin

   Edited 2/24/2008 10:27 pm ET by veggiefahmah123

   Edited 2/24/2008 10:27 pm ET by veggiefahmah123

1. 
   jc21 | Feb 25, 2008 07:00am | #21

   "distance from front of table to blade" ......... that's an issue with most jobsite saws. The Porter Cable uses t-slots; you can pull the miter gauge back past the table without it falling to the ground. Don't see why a sled of some sort wouldn't work well.