How to adjust dewalt 745 fence parallel to blade

[LuptonM]

Hi all,

After much deliberation I decided to get a dewalt 745 as my first table saw.

I having trouble getting the fence parallel to the blade. In the manual it suggest just moving the fence to the blade and using that as the setting.

The way I am testing how parallel the blade is to the fence is by using a sheet of mdf with one straight side and measuring the variance of the width of the offcut. It seems to be quite a lot out say 0.2-0.5mm. What sort of accuracy can I be shooting for with a saw like this?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Setting up a TS has to be done methodically. I cover it in detail in my TS DVD but here is the process in outline:

1 Ensure that the blade and mitre slots are parallel. Either the trunnions or the table top will be adjustable.
2 Ensure that the fence rail is parallel to the front of the table. Either it will be fixed on identical studs or it will be mounted on elongated holes. The studs should not need adjustment if they are identical.
3 Ensure that the fence is is parallel to the miter slots. I do this by mounting a DTI on a simple sled that runs in the mitre slot, and run it up and down. I can see the variance. I would say that 0.5mm is not acceptable, 0.2mm is; it's only two hairs. The adjustment is usually in the bolts that hold the fence extrusion to the clamping head.

A good fence will be adjustable in all three axes; tilt, roll and yaw.

HTH

S

 

[Nelsun]

The wood whisperer on YouTube has a good video on TS setup. Admittedly it's a fancy pants TS but the methodology is the same. I followed it when I had a 745 (long since gone) and got ok results, but it's a contractor saw... all be it one of the better ones.
Getting the blade and mitre slots squared up is a good starting point then working on the fence is the way to go if my failing memory serves...