# Powermatic 64A Blade not parallel to miter slot



## Frankengruvin (Jul 18, 2012)

Hey everyone I just joined this forum tonight and here' why. I have a Powermatic 64A that I bought earlier this year and I have realized that the blade is not parallel to the miter slot. I can't see a way to adjust this thing. I can use the set screws on the fence but there just doesn't seem to be a way to adjust the actual blade, but there must be right? I mean, no one would make a saw where you can't do that, because you have to be able to do that right? I'm sort of desperately sarcastic here. I really hope there is something simple I'm missing because this was expensive. Cheaper than the rest of their saws, but still expensive, and I can't afford to be spending good money on tools that don't perform their most fundamental function, in this case, making good rip cuts of a consistent width.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

You'll need to slightly loosen the 4 bolts that hold the trunnion brackets to the table, then rotate the whole carriage to get the blade to lineup parallel with the saw's miter slots. Once you get that as close as possible (within a few thousandths of an inch), then you can fine tune the fence to parallel with the blade. A tedious, but doable process. You need to use "persuasion" with a piece of wood and a mallet, and usually numerous attempts...trial and error. A combo square can help get you very close.




























A set of "PALS" can help with the fine tuning, and they help hold the alignment better. (~ $20)









Get a good blade, and you'll be in good shape.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

knotscott said:


> A set of "PALS" can help with the fine tuning, and they help hold the alignment better. (~ $20)


+1 I have a 64A and love it. Haven't had this problem to the extent you have but I intend to add PALS for fine tuning. Friend of mine has done this and couldn't be happier.


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

If you don't have a copy of the manual, go here: http://content.powermatic.com/manuals/1791228K_man.pdf

It's a great place to start. Contractor saws get moved around and knocked out of alignment. The manual and steps described above will get you back on track.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

wericha said:


> If you don't have a copy of the manual, go here: http://content.powermatic.com/manuals/1791228K_man.pdf
> 
> It's a great place to start. Contractor saws get moved around and knocked out of alignment. The manual and steps described above will get you back on track.


It's nice of you to post the manual, but it appears that the manual has a comment that pertains to cabinet saws with cabinet mounted trunnions, and not to contractor saws with table mounted trunnions....an error on their part. 

"Aligning Miter Slot to Blade 
1. If the blade is not aligned with the miter slot 
in the table, loosen the screws on the 
trunnion brackets (#17 and #54 - see page 
34) and _*bump the table as needed with a 
rubber mallet, until the miter slot and blade 
are aligned.* _
2. Re-tighten screws securely when finished."​
It should instruct him to bump the trunnion brackets into alignment, not the table.


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

Bumping the table instead of the trunnion may have been specified because it would allow for less movement of the trunnion. Either way would work, but tapping the trunnion could easily result in greater movement.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*there are 2 differnt systems*

The cabinet saw have the table mounted to the cabinet.
The contractor saws have the trunnions mounted to the table.
If you loosened the table on a contractor saw and bumped it, the whole shebang would move leaving the blade still in the same relationship are before a "bump" 
The cabinet saw has the trunnions mounted to the cabinet and the table mounted to the cabinet using different bolts so they are independent of one another. So if you loosen the table bolts and bump the table it will move independently of the blade/trunnions. To access the trunnion bolts on a contractor saw you basically have to lay underneath it and constantly check back and forth to see if your movement results in the desired parallelism to the slot OR have a helper underneath the saw breathing in the dust and squinting to keep the sawdust out of his or her eyes......:laughing:


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## Frankengruvin (Jul 18, 2012)

*thanks for the help*

First of all everybody, thanks for the help. I attempted to get an answer to this question late last night checking this forum, the Wood Talk Online Forum, and emailing Marc Spagnuolo. I got answers from all three. I actually have the manual, but in my internet addled young brain I didn't think about actually reading it last night. I just had the memory of the previous night's unsuccessful tinkering in my mind and turned to the WWW first. As it turns out it my have given me bad info. Even the vaunted Wood Whisperer himself sent me page 19 of the manual in a PDF which apparently mistook my saw for a cabinet saw. I wish it were a cabinet saw. Actually, I wish I had sprung for the Sawstop but that's a regret I don't want to go into here. (I'll use the proper safety measures.) I'm going into the garage right now to try my hand at this "bump 'n' measure" method and I'll try to remember to post on here how it worked out.


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