Lots of people in the newsgroup have requested that I post a "FAQ" of sorts on TS-Aligner. I've tried to present the information in an un-biased, factual sort of way. Since I am the inventor of the tool and I'm directly involved in it's sale, it would not be reasonable to believe that I could be completely impartial. However, I've attempted to present this information in a form that was not a sales pitch. There are no prices or part numbers and there is no invitation to order. There have been a few people in the newsgroup that have purchased a TS-Aligner. I think it would be to everyone's benifit for them to post their impressions of the tool if they so desire. TS-Aligner Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is TS-Aligner? TS-Aligner is a precision measurement instrument designed specifically for use with woodworking machinery. It consists of a dial indicator that is mounted in a fixture that sits on a machine surface. The fixture uses three nylon tipped points to provide a stable and smoothly gliding reference of the machine surface. It also uses three bearings (instead of a bar) to accurately reference any miter slot on the table surface. The three bearing design allows for a play free fit in all miter gauge slots between 5/8" and almost 7/8" and the larger industrial 1.5" slots. The dial indicator is mounted on a 3/8" diameter stainless steel rod. This rod can be adjusted allowing the dial indicator to be moved horizontally. The rod is mounted in a block that can be moved vertically along two 1/4" stainless steel rods. This allows the dial indicator to be raised and lowered very accurately. The vertical motion is calibrated to be perfectly square with the table surface by adjusting the three nylon tipped points. 2. What is TS-Aligner made of? TS-Aligner is mostly made from 6061 T6 aluminum tooling plate. This particular alloy of aluminum was chosen because of it's dimensional stability and ease of machining. All important surfaces are machined square and flat. A durable, scratch resistant finish is applied by anodizing the individual parts before assembly. As already mentioned, the rods are all 303 stainless steel. This alloy was chosen because of it's machinability, anti-rust, and anti-magnetic properties. The two vertical rods are precision ground and polished to within +0.0000", - 0.0002". The dial indicator used with TS-Aligner conforms to AGD type 2 standards with 0.001" graduations and a 1/4" lug back. 3. What inspired TS-Aligner? The original concept was developed after hundreds of frustrating hours of trial and error woodworking. It was pretty clear that woodworking machines were generally designed well enough to do precision work but lacked the ability to make precise adjustments. While several products were available to woodworkers that claimed to resolve this problem, a detailed investigation revealed that these claims were largely overstated. They all seemed to be designed to fit within a particular price point rather than to solve the problem. They suffered from the use of inadequate materials (injection molded plastics) and invalid measurement principals. In the spring of 1991, with the assistance of a machine consulting firm, standard machine shop measurement principals were translated for use in the woodshop by the use of a measurement fixture. This fixture later became known as TS-Aligner (because it was most useful on the Table Saw). The design was reviewed by several woodworkers, a mechanical engineer, several machinists, and even the president of an extremely large woodworking mail order company. 4. What kind of precision can TS-Aligner deliver? TS-Aligner can make linear surface measurements to within 0.001". It can follow a miter slot with no measureable play. It can resolve the squareness of an object to within +/-0.001". It can resolve angles to better than 1/10 degree by itself, and to within 1/60 degree when used with standard machinist's angle blocks. 5. What machines can TS-Aligner be used with? Table saw: Virtually all adjustments including: - Blade heel (alignment to the miter slots) - Fence alignment - Miter gauge squareness and angles - Blade squareness and tilt angles - Blade height Band saw: - Table squareness - Fence alignment Jointer: - Fence squareness/angles - Knife/cutterhead alignment Shaper/Router table - Cutter height - Fence offset Drill Press - Check spindle/chuck runout Stationary Disc-Belt sander* - Table squareness Any other machine requiring precision adjustment that includes a table surface with enough room for TS-Aligner *The Disc-Belt sander is not generally considered accurate enough to make this application very practical TS-Aligner can also be used as: - A squareness standard (check the accuracy of squares) - A diagnostic tool (measure runout, warp, flatness, play, etc.) 6. Who needs TS-Aligner? TS-Aligner will be most useful to the woodworker that requires accurate machine setups in a minimum amount of time. TS-Aligner does not perform any functions that are impossible without it. Rather, it eliminates the wasted time and materials generally associated with the trial and error setup methods. Those who have extra time and patience, and extra wood to waste will find TS-Aligner an unnecessary expense. Also, those whose woodworking does not require tight joints and accurate cuts will generally use TS-Aligner only to align the blade and fence to ensure a safely running saw. 7. Are there accessories for TS-Aligner? Yes, the following accessories are available seperately: - Machinist's angle blocks These are ground from hardened tool steel to extremely tight tolerances. They allow angles to be set to within 1/60 degree. - Precision squares These squares are different from most squares. They are made from a solid piece of 1/4" thick hardened steel. This leaves plenty of room for the stylus of the dial indicator and also allows them to lay flat on the table surface when aligning the miter gauge. - The TS-Aligner video Intended to fully demonstrate TS-Aligner prior to making a purchase decision. - RS-Aligner This is a fixture that adapts TS-Aligner for use with a radial arm saw. Gage blocks are available separately. They allow RS-Aligner to be used to set accurate arm angles on the radial arm saw. - The Long Reach Gage A test indicator mounted on a long 1/4" stainless steel rod with a fixture clamp that attaches it to TS-Aligner. It's primary use is for diagnosing machine problems by making remote measurements (arbor runout, flange flatness, slot parallelness, etc.). Includes manual. - The Poor Man's Angle Set A trigonometric alternative to angle blocks for measuring angled surfaces on a machine. Comes standard with TS-Aligner. 8. Where is TS-Aligner manufactured? TS-Aligner is manufactured near Boise, Idaho by Ed Bennett. Raw materials (stainless steel, aluminum) are purchased from a Boise supplier. Anodizing is performed by a Boise plating company. Hardware is purchased locally or from a New York or California distributor. Dial indicators are purchased from a California distributor. Bearings are purchased from a Boise distributor. 9. What is the Edward J. Bennett Company? Edward J. Bennett Company was formed in March 1990 and is a sole proprietorship owned and operated by Ed Bennett. In addition to manufacturing TS-Aligner, the company provides custom woodworking services for the Boise metropolitan area. There are no employees. All vital services (phone answering, mail and shipping, etc.) are contracted with local Boise businesses. All of the marketing and manufacturing of TS-Aligner is performed by Ed Bennett. 10. How can more information be obtained? Literature requests can be sent via email (ejb@primenet.com), snail-mail: (Edward J. Bennett Company, 10378 Fairview #139, Boise, ID 83704), or by phone (1-800-333-4994). Email versions of the literature are available. The files must first be "un-zipped" (PKUNZIP) and then viewed using any utility that can display JPEG files. ========================== Recent Addition ========================== TS-Aligner Jr. This is a "HomeShop" version of TS-Aligner. It is designed to perform all of the functions of TS-Aligner and work with all of the TS-Aligner accessories. It incorporates the same "three bearing" guide system that TS-Aligner uses to follow a miter slot without play. An exclusive feature called the "Angle Attachment Gage" is used to resolve vertical angles to a theoritical limit of 0.057 degrees (as compared to TS-Aligner's 0.017 degree accuracy). Priced at less than 1/3 the cost of TS-Aligner. Frequently Asked Questions for TS-Aligner Jr. 1. What are the real differences between the Jr. and the Sr.? The TS-Aligner was designed specifically for industrial use to provide very accurate and efficient setup of machinery. My goal in designing the Jr. version was to provide those same functions to the home shop woodworker at the lowest price possible without sacrificing quality. Naturally, some compromises had to be made. One of the most expensive elements of the Sr. model is the vertical motion of the dial indicator. It must be smooth and accurate (to within 0.001"). So, there is no vertical motion on the Jr. Instead, a fixed point that is one inch below the dial indicator stylus provides a reference for all vertical angle measurements. This reduces the potential accuracy of angle measurements but still provides a lot more accuracy than the scales on most machinery and that of all other homeshop angle jigs. The Sr. is designed to reduce setup time to a minimum because time is money in an industrial environment. However, in the homeshop this is less of a requirement. So, it takes more time to switch the Jr. from one measurement operation to another. These design changes helped to reduce cost significantly as well. Another compromise was made in materials. There is no stainless steel in the Jr., all the parts are machined from aluminum extrusions. This reduces the complexity and time required for all machining operations. In addition, the dial indicator is a low cost model that still performs accurately but is not up to the rigors of industrial use. Finally, the Sr. comes with a custom molded case with a die cut foam insert that has special places for all the components. It also includes the 6.5" square. The Jr. comes packaged with a stock plastic case and does not include any accessories. 2. What should be considered when trying to decide between the Jr. and the Sr.? In deciding between the two, the factors to keep in mind are: 1. Vertical angle measurement accuracy 2. Speed and efficiency 3. Durability (of the dial indicator) Of course, #3 would not be a factor if you purchased your Jr. without a dial indicator and used your own dial indicator.