Micro adjusting your fence position, Zeroing the fence to your cutter – INCRA LS Positioner User Manual

Page 13

INCRA LS Positioner Owner’s Manual

Micro Adjusting your Fence

Position

The micro adjust feature of your LS Positioner allows for
precise positioning of the fence to any location between
the

” or 1mm incremental spacing of the lead screw.

You’ll find this feature extremely handy the next time
you need to widen a mortise by a hair for a great fitting
mortise and tenon joint. Use the micro adjuster for a
flawless fit when cutting grooves to accept inlay strips or
to loosen up a tight fitting tongue and groove joint. You’ll
find it especially useful for setup operations like “zeroing”
to your cutter, or “centering” for joinery. Here’s a step-by-
step look at operating your LS Positioner’s micro adjuster.
See

Fig. 29 as you follow the steps.

Set Carriage Clamp to Micro Adjust

Position

Lower the carriage clamp to completely unclamp the
carriage, then raise the carriage clamp to the center
position. This center position for the carriage clamp
softens the clamping pressure on the carriage to per-
mit movement during micro adjusting.

Micro Adjust the Fence Position

Rotate the red micro adjust knob located at the

forward end of the carriage. Turn the knob clockwise
to move the fence toward the cutter, or counterclock-
wise to move the fence away from the cutter. Ball
bearing engaged detents on the knob provide an
audible click for each

1000

” (1/20mm for metric

version) of fence movement.

lock the Carriage Clamp

Pull the carriage clamp up to lock the carriage

in place. Gauging the distance moved when micro
adjusting is easy. A full turn of the knob equals

”

(1mm for metric version.) For smaller adjustments,
the black dial is marked in

1000

” (1/40mm) increments.

After micro adjusting, you can re-zero the dial to the
pointer by rotating the dial (not the red knob) with
your fingers. See

Fig. 30.

Zeroing the Fence to Your Cutter

In order to ensure accurate cutting results from any
fence for general purpose routing, the fence must first
be “zeroed” to the cutter,

Fig. 31. To zero your fence,

unlock the carriage clamp and slide the fence up to
the edge of the cutter. Sight down the length of the
fence to check for a gap between the fence and the
cutter. Fine-tune any remaining distance by micro
adjusting the fence position. When the gap of light
disappears, the cutter will be “zero” distance from
the fence. Check to make sure that the router bit is
safely centered in the opening in the fence. Return the
carriage clamp to the locked position, then slide the
measuring scale to read 0” under the hairline cursor.

For a truly precise “zeroed” setup, follow

the instructions above, then move the

fence to a scale reading of ¼” and make a

test cut on a piece of scrap stock. (Make sure

the scrap stock has a straight and square fence

bearing edge.) Use a pair of machinist calipers to

measure the distance between the groove and the

edge of the board. If it does not measure exactly

.250”, just use the micro adjuster to accurately fine-

tune the remaining distance.

FIg. 29

Micro adjusting

Fourth: Pull
carriage clamp
up to “locked”
position

Third: Turn
micro adjust
knob to fine-
tune fence
position

First: Push
carriage
clamp down
to “unlock”

Second: Pull carriage clamp up to
center “micro adjust” position

FIg. 30

Re-zeroing the micro adjust dial

After micro adjusting, rotate the
dial (not the knob) to align the
zero with the pointer

Micro adjust knob

Micro adjust dial

Pointer

FIg. 31

Zeroing the fence to your cutter

First: “Unlock”
carriage clamp and
slide fence up to
cutter

Second: Raise carriage
clamp to “micro adjust”
position and rotate
micro adjust knob until
gap between fence and
cutter disappears

Third: Lock carriage
clamp

Fourth: Slide
stainless steel
primary scale to
read 0” under the
hairline cursor