On 10/2/2013 3:21 PM, Leon wrote:
On 10/2/2013 10:41 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, October 2, 2013 11:31:30 AM UTC-4, DJ Delorie wrote:
For most people, words are simply a way of *relating* to ideas, not

*defining* them. As long as the right idea is communicated,

communication has happened successfully.



Perhaps they mean "[...] the cut made by your blade by moving the sled

along the miter slot" but abbreviate it to "[...] the blade" because

everyone's blade is true enough that it doesn't matter?


I only wish that were true. There is a common misconception that is
quite wide spread (in my encounters w/ folks discussing alignment)
that the 5-cut method aligns the fence with the blade to 90 degrees.

A common criticism that I receive from folks when I discuss using a
dial indicator and a square to align a sled fence to 90 (see link
below for an example in the comments) is that the 5-cut method is
superior BECAUSE it aligns the fence to the blade while the dial
indicator only aligns the fence to the miter track. While their logic
is flawed as discussed in my original post, it is also flawed in other
ways as well. Assuming they are correct, they would still need to
have a blade aligned with the miter track regardless.


See he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTlpY_chcio

Alignment method is at 5:30. See first comment.


I see two things that can introduce error.

1. If you square is not square.

2. And what ever threw your fence out between squaring it and locking
it in place.

Food for thought for your next sled, In-Line Industries makes a cross
cut sled called the Dubby. I have been using both a left and right hand
for 14+ years with great results.

FWIW Rockler has attempted to copy the design but falls short.

I think if one was spartan enough he could duplicate the Dubby and save
a couple hundred dollars.

The Dubby sled fence adjusts a lot like your fence did for squaring
purposes. The Dubby fences adjusts so that you can have an infinite
number of miter angles. The Dubby also has a fixed back stop with an
adjustment screw to square and insure the fence returns square after
cutting an angle.

Additionally the Dubby sled is extremely accurate at setting angles, it
has a stainless steel angle gauge that runs along the edge of the sled
to align with the front of the fence. The fence moves an average of
1/4" between each degree marker so setting the fence to a specific
degree mark is going to get you dead close to perfect with out effort.




And you forgot to mention that the stainless angle gauge can be reset
to zero it out after making a dead on square cut and getting the stop set.

--
Jeff