Distance Between Blade and Miter Slot

Distance Between Blade and Miter Slot

On a table saw, is the distance between the center of the blade and the center of the miter slot standard on all or most saws? Thanks. – Jerry

Tim Inman: NO. Each brand – and sometimes each individual machine! – is different, although they are often close. Each jig you make is unique to the saw you make it for, darn it. Most are 3/4 inch slots, though.

Chris Marshall: Following up on Tim’s answer, here’s a case in point. I have two cabinet saws in the shop right now — a Craftsman and a Delta Unisaw. There’s close consistency between these two saws concerning miter slot placement, but they aren’t identical. The distance between Delta’s slots is 9-15/16 in. (5-1/2 in. from the left slot to the face of the arbor flange on the left and 4-7/16 in. from the flange to the right slot). On the Craftsman, the slots are an even 10 in. apart (5-1/2 in. from the left slot to the flange and 4-1/2 in. from the flange to the right slot). It’s only a 1/16 in. variation, but that can make all the difference when trying to retrofit crosscut sleds and other jigs from one saw to another.

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