I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.

bdeditch wrote:
I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.

Chances are that what you call a roller is actually a washer.

Many miter gauges have these washers attached to the miter bar to allow
it to work in a T-slot. Yes, it will work fine if you remove the
washer. Then you can use the gauge in a straight slot.

And yes, some (not all) Craftsman miter bars are not "standard" size.
If you have a strange size, you may or may not be able to buy T-track
for it. How's about posting the bar dimensions here?

A little more info would be good.

"bdeditch" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.

Easiest way to find out is to just try it in a piece of track. I have a
Craftsman saw/gauge also and heard similar reports about it being a
non-standard size. Turns out it works fine in a a 3/8" x 3/4" track
(without the roller/washer) that I put in my router table.

Cheers!
Dukestser

On 30 Jan 2006 04:35:40 -0800, "bdeditch" wrote:

I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.

Actually, it's a wee bit narrower. A Craftsman miter gauge will work
on virtually anyone's machinery, but a Delta (for example) won't fit
into a Craftsman slot. I have an article on my website with actual
dimensions of Craftsman vs practically everyone else's miter slots.

And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

"LRod" wrote in message
...
And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

I like the miter slot ONLY for BenchDog Feather boards. And rather than
make or buy a sled, simply use a 12" square piece of 3/4" plywood to push
the work through. Let it ride along the fence.

That is fine for a simple 1/4 bead on a 2 " piece, but I plan to do
Rail and stiles and you need to be able to hold the work firmly.
Leon wrote:
"LRod" wrote in message
...
And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

I like the miter slot ONLY for BenchDog Feather boards. And rather than
make or buy a sled, simply use a 12" square piece of 3/4" plywood to push
the work through. Let it ride along the fence.

On 30 Jan 2006 12:41:30 -0800, "bdeditch" wrote:

That is fine for a simple 1/4 bead on a 2 " piece, but I plan to do
Rail and stiles and you need to be able to hold the work firmly.
Leon wrote:
"LRod" wrote in message
...
And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

I like the miter slot ONLY for BenchDog Feather boards. And rather than
make or buy a sled, simply use a 12" square piece of 3/4" plywood to push
the work through. Let it ride along the fence.

a sled with a backer board and some hold down clamps works great for
rail and stile bits and raising panels also. i put 2 slots in my table
when it was built thinking they would be handy. i have never used them
for anything!!! check out pat warners site. lots of good info there
for jigs and sleds for nearly anything you can think of.
http://www.patwarner.com/

skeez

On 30 Jan 2006 12:41:30 -0800, "bdeditch" wrote:

That is fine for a simple 1/4 bead on a 2 " piece, but I plan to do
Rail and stiles and you need to be able to hold the work firmly.

And a sled will work just fine for that. Still no need for a miter
slot. Check out all the rail and stile work done by Bob Rosendahl on
"The Router Workshop". Also check out the rail and stile work Norm
does with his Eagle America sled.

No router table of mine will ever have a miter slot. For one thing, I
will never have issues with parallelism. And then there's the table
weakening issue I mentioned before.


Leon wrote:
"LRod" wrote in message
...
And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

I like the miter slot ONLY for BenchDog Feather boards. And rather than
make or buy a sled, simply use a 12" square piece of 3/4" plywood to push
the work through. Let it ride along the fence.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Dukes909 wrote:
"bdeditch" wrote in message
ups.com...

I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.


Easiest way to find out is to just try it in a piece of track. I have a
Craftsman saw/gauge also and heard similar reports about it being a
non-standard size. Turns out it works fine in a a 3/8" x 3/4" track
(without the roller/washer) that I put in my router table.

Cheers!
Dukestser


I do have a miter track in my router table. I believe I bought it from
Woodhaven. The
shape of the extrusion is such that its width can be adjusted somewhat
by how much the mounting screws are tightened. The miter gauge from my
Craftsman saw fits quite well. I have the gauge with the clamp
attachment; this can be handy for routing the ends of narrow pieces.
(Although others have pointed out that a sled not only does this job but
is likely to be easier to use with a backer board.)
John

You Have a good Point LRod. I am going to take that in to
consideration, Now I guess I better build one.
LRod wrote:
On 30 Jan 2006 12:41:30 -0800, "bdeditch" wrote:

That is fine for a simple 1/4 bead on a 2 " piece, but I plan to do
Rail and stiles and you need to be able to hold the work firmly.

And a sled will work just fine for that. Still no need for a miter
slot. Check out all the rail and stile work done by Bob Rosendahl on
"The Router Workshop". Also check out the rail and stile work Norm
does with his Eagle America sled.

No router table of mine will ever have a miter slot. For one thing, I
will never have issues with parallelism. And then there's the table
weakening issue I mentioned before.


Leon wrote:
"LRod" wrote in message
...
And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

I like the miter slot ONLY for BenchDog Feather boards. And rather than
make or buy a sled, simply use a 12" square piece of 3/4" plywood to push
the work through. Let it ride along the fence.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Freud includes a nice CD with their cabinet sets that not only shows you how
to set up the bits but how to build a sled for routing the rail ends (plays
on Windows media player I think). I agree you don't need a miter slot on
your router table but if you must, Benchdog offers the 'TiterMiter' that
gives you both an adjustable width miter track and T-track.

"LRod" wrote in message
...
On 30 Jan 2006 04:35:40 -0800, "bdeditch" wrote:

I am making a Router Table and wanted to use the miter gauge from the
craftsman table saw. I notice it has a small roller on the very front
of it. Is it advisable to take this off each time I would want to use
in on the router table, or is there a place I can buy a Track that
would match this gauge. I heard the craftsman gauge is a wee bit wider
that most other mither gauges.

Actually, it's a wee bit narrower. A Craftsman miter gauge will work
on virtually anyone's machinery, but a Delta (for example) won't fit
into a Craftsman slot. I have an article on my website with actual
dimensions of Craftsman vs practically everyone else's miter slots.

And, no, the washer on the end won't help matters. More to the point,
why put a slot on your router table in the first place? It weakens the
table, and only about 7% of your router table work needs a square
guide anyway. Just build a sled that runs against the fence. Look at
Eagle America's for an example.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.