HELP!! I used this Delta tenon jig with my old Craftsman cast iron saw with no problems but I’ve run into a real issue when I try to use it with my Unisaw.
I’m making a couple of folding step-stools with approximately 20 tenon in the crosspieces. I’m rolling along, making great progress WITHOUT making any stupid mistakes, and the time comes to cut the tenon cheeks. I dig out my trusty old Delta jig, blow the dust off it and sit the miter bar in the left table slot. I’m working with 3/4″ stock but I can get the vertical face of the jig no closer than 1″ to the blade! There is no way to move the miter bar, and no way (that I can see) to make any other adjustments that would fix the problem. I don’t want to add a spacer block to the vertical face but I can’t come up with any other solutions.
I’m fully prepared for someone to point out an obvious adjustment that will fix my problem. I’ve had a lot of experience slapping my forehead so you won’t hurt my feelings!
FWIW, the left miter slot is 5 9/16″ from the left side of my blade and the right miter slot is 4 1/4″ from the right side of my blade. I would have thought the separation would have been the same for both sides but Delta seems to have other ideas.
Edited 8/25/2009 3:31 pm ET by RonInOttawa
Replies
Ron,
Interesting, I had the same problem when I moved from a craftsman to a Grizzly 1023. Then I remembered way back when I got the tenoning jig (10 plus years ago) that I had to change the bar to get it to work on the craftsman. Then I had to take it apart and figure how I changed it and then unchange. Look at the bottom of your jig and see if there is a second set of holes for the miter slot bar offset about 1" from it's current location. As I recall, I had to take the whole thing apart as the screws go in from the top.
Hope this helps.
Paul/Mike/Jim/TinkerThe 182 version doesn't seem to have the capability to move the miter slot. The manual also doesn't mention changing the setup to accommodate either left or right hand saws. I suspect it predates the LH movement!Rather than drill and tap new holes for the miter gauge I chose to fit a piece of Baltic Birch to the face of the jig using the pre-drilled holes in the face. The entire cutting/fitting/drilling process took 10 minutes and the jig now works like a charm!Thanks for the input! I'm still puzzled why Delta chose to space the miter slots differently between the left/right sides. No good reason springs to mind. Perhaps a moment of whim and caprice on the part of the designer?Cheers,Ron
I bored new holes to fit my PM 66. Seems that all the saws have their miter slot in different places.
Yes, it seems that ISO is a foreign concept in woodworking machines. It's surprising that the miter slots are a uniform width -- even on the same slot. We don't want to go down that road... :-)
I think paulbny is right on track, I think I remember changing my Delta tenoning jig to fit my old contractor saw and then later changing it back for my cabinetsaw. If I remember correctly you have to split the base of the jig change holes and put it back together. Hope this helps.
Mike
I have the 34-183C, and had a similar problem switching to a SC, which has almost identical distances from the blade. The jig comes set up for right-hand saws, but can be disassembled and reset for LH. The manual, if you can find it, gives very detailed instructions. I managed to adjust mine so that it worked, though I can't remember which, left or right setting, finally did it. I wouldn't like to have attempted it without the manual.
Jim
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