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Post by occamsrazor on Jun 15, 2019 13:23:10 GMT -5
Hi everyone, as the title says, how flat is your Erika table top? When I put a straight edge across the table and along the table, the centre is dished i.e. bows down from the dovetail edge to the cutting edge. I don’t know whether it was like that originally and never noticed or that I put something heavy on it in the past.
Absent of replacing the aluminium table halves, how could I ‘gently’ straighten it? The left side is dipping down by 1mm and the right side more like 2mm in the middle.
Cheers for any ideas.
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Post by bicycleclip on Jun 15, 2019 15:30:39 GMT -5
Hi everyone, as the title says, how flat is your Erika table top? When I put a straight edge across the table and along the table, the centre is dished i.e. bows down from the dovetail edge to the cutting edge. I don’t know whether it was like that originally and never noticed or that I put something heavy on it in the past. Absent of replacing the aluminium table halves, how could I ‘gently’ straighten it? The left side is dipping down by 1mm and the right side more like 2mm in the middle. Cheers for any ideas. OR Is this a brand new or second-hand Erika? Mine, an Erika 85 which I bought second hand and which has been abused ever since (even by stacking things on top) is as flat as anything. I’ve checked it with a straightedge and with a dial gauge, a Oneway ‘Multi-gauge’ with a machined reference edge. With Mafell you are paying for precision and versatility. Where are you based?
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Post by occamsrazor on Jun 15, 2019 15:52:44 GMT -5
It was bought brand new from D&M Tools about 18 months ago. I’ve never noticed any problems in the past when using it and getting acceptable results. It was only when I was setting up the fence extension for rip cuts that I saw it wasn’t lying dead flat along the table. I had actually hoped that the fence was out of true but it is perfectly straight.
I’m based in London (UK that is) and it probably won’t be a problem getting it checked out by NMA/Mafell. Unfortunately though, I’m in the middle of a project so can’t be without the saw for any length of time right now. I think I’ll give NMA a call on Monday and get their initial thoughts on this.
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Post by Knight Woodworks on Jun 16, 2019 16:00:50 GMT -5
occamsrazor,
Sorry to hear about your Erika's issue. For comparison, my Ericka 70 Ec table dips app 0.26 mm when referenced from the operators left to right. If I measure the discrepancy with the extension/router table at the far right end of the 1000 mm supporting rails, the extension is apx 0.45 mm lower than the table itself. The discrepancy from front to back is negligible.
No idea how you would straighten it. Hope you get it sorted out.
John
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Post by antihero on Jun 16, 2019 22:00:36 GMT -5
Mine isn't flat either. The left half of the table is concave (around 0.5mm lower in the middle if I remember correctly) and the right half is relatively flat except for the last few centimeters on the inside side where it drops off a bit... because of this the inside edge of the right half is maybe 0.3mm lower than the left half which causes some problems when trying to rip narrow pieces. I actually glued a teflon tape on that lower edge to counter this.
Also I have a common Erika problem where the sliding motion runs parallel to the table, but the sawblade itself is not parallel to the table and there is no way to correct this as far as I know.
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Post by jonathan on Jun 17, 2019 10:30:45 GMT -5
Same problem here, the table dips noticeably in the middle on my 85 as well. The blade isnt at 90° either
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Post by occamsrazor on Jun 17, 2019 14:04:17 GMT -5
Thanks for replying, everyone. I don’t know whether this actually affects cut accuracy enough to be an issue so I’m gonna have to set aside an hour or two playing around with cuts at different angles and making polygons to see how tight the joints really are.
I didn’t get the chance to call NMA today as was flat out but will try later this week and hear what they might have to say on the matter. Might ask them if they know roughly how much a new table top will cost in case it comes to that. The old table top can then be turned into the world’s most expensive infeed/outfeed/side extension...
In terms of a fix to level out the table, I thought about placing a 4x2 timber across the table length (or width) with wooden blocks both ends to lift the 4x2 above the table. Then get a slim clamp or two (e.g. Mafell guide rail clamps), hook it under the table edge (blade side) and over the 4x2 and tighten clamp to squeeze the table edge upwards. My only fear is that the table top gets turned into a corrugated sheet!
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Post by bicycleclip on Jun 17, 2019 16:34:25 GMT -5
Also I have a common Erika problem where the sliding motion runs parallel to the table, but the sawblade itself is not parallel to the table and there is no way to correct this as far as I know. Hi antihero, You can adjust the mounting screws to change the angle of the sliding motion by leaving a difference between front and back sets. Having said that I found that the only critical thing I have to remind myself to do is to to use the clamping piece to secure the 1m fence extension to the slider, otherwise I find that changes in hand pressure distort the fence. I found it was this rather than the slider bar position that affected the squareness of my cuts.
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Post by matchesder on Jun 23, 2019 5:16:34 GMT -5
... Also I have a common Erika problem where the sliding motion runs parallel to the table, but the sawblade itself is not parallel to the table and there is no way to correct this as far as I know. Hi antihero,
this is by design of the saw type. The Festool Precisios are built like this as well. If you pull the blade through the stock, the up comming teeth are won't hurt the material on the left side of the blade.
Yes, it is not ment to be adjustable, althogh I wish you could. I shimmed the support of the rail to make it parallel to the blade. I think 1/2 mm was enough. If you do that, you more or less loose the pull funktion. With the fence aligned for right angle cuts with the sliding table it then isn't a right angle anymore when you pull the blade. You can use it of course, when the fence is attached directly to the table.
Regards Martin
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