I am talking about the saw. The operation seems to be such that it is
repeatable enough for anybody to place the needle between the graduations
say by quarters. From anywhere to anywhere. Again and again. This must be
agreed. Then it takes no skil. Anyone with sight could do it. Many
operators don't know an inch from a parsec. That is why I ask this post.
It is a function of the saw. It is the limit of the machines
discrimination. Out of ten people, depending on what they know about an
inch, you may or may not be able to get agreement on where the saw is set.
But it is set, I'm saying +/- a quarter of a 1/16th. Anybody (everybody)
who knows anything about the inch would clearly see it, and there would be
no discussion about it. The machine itself gives you the impression that it
has sucessfully found that position again - it's repeatability. What is it
that makes it not be be tryuly as accurate as it seems to be set. Out of
ten answers the guys at the Bereau of measurements would throw out 11 of 12
jurors. Then the answer could be found. If I found out what the answer was
I would feel confident about getting my sizes cut, because I could with
authority interupt the guy with a new fascination of the inch, and look, and
place the m/c where it should be. Hey, look what I see. If he doesn't see
it, he's blind, or the inch is his enemy. Depending on the employee, you
may need to insist on looking at every setting with the intention of getting
it right. Better. Setting them all yourself. Best. Neccessary, no.
Probably in most cases. Pretty embarassing. Is it the machine or is it the
line. Words are our friends. But I don't see the sign that says "You are
responsible for paying us $1 a cut to offset the cost of us paying our
employee for deliberately ****ing up your piece"

I actually took a course in CAD/CAM called dimentional metrology, with an
oficial 350 page text. Bring me the keeper of the inch.

At the manufacturer of the saw, if they have the right engineer, they know
what you can see, and know what number it is I'm looking for, and anybody
else with any knowledge of math could analyze the data and tell me the
deviations to the statistics. One could explain the data in x consonants
and y vowels to another, who would go away wondering which suppliers parts
went into making the machine.

Now the saw itself is a pretty decent tool. I would put it against a table
saw in many places. Lots of cuts you can live with the size you get. I
don't have a helper. but I do have a table saw.

There may be abuse, and you have to be sure the wood is right, its laying
flat, etc. There is a certain amount of risk. I'd rather play in traffic,
etc. But what is likely?