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

Craftsman until recently insisted on using a 5/8 inch wide miter slot on their saws, just to make life difficult. I went to the huge MSC catalog, mscdirect.com, and found a few things that will probably work: 1018 Steel cold finished rectangles are available in 36' and 72' lengths 5/8' wide and 1/4', 5/16', and 3/8' thick. Make your own jigs & hold-downs. Excellent for attaching feather boards, hold-downs, and special jigs to your table saw, router table, disc sander, or any other tool with a standard 3/4' wide x 3/8' deep miter gauge slot. The bars pull up tight in the slot as you tighten the knobs. These square-slot Bars fit both square and t-shaped miter gauge. Craftsman/Atlas model 101.02143, 8' tilt arbor bench saw. Arbor-5/8', 16'W x 20'D cast iron top, 3/4' x 3/8' miter gauge slots, Sears blue paint color. Complete with original miter gauge, guard, throat plate, fence, fence micro adjustment and BOTH dust doors. 28-tooth elevation rack.

Craftsman Table Saw Miter Slot Size

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.

Craftsman Table Saw Miter Slot Sizes

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.

If you're planning on making a sliding jig or fixture for your woodworking shop, the INCRA Miter Slider is exactly what you need. These inexpensive aluminum runners adjust for PERFECT sliding action in any standard (or near standard) 3/4' by 3/8' miter gauge slot with just a twist of the wrist. They lock firmly in place with another twist of the wrist. Won't warp, shrink or swell like wooden runners. Includes plans for a wide variety of shop-made jigs and fixtures. Anodized aluminum for durability and beauty. Available in 18' and 24' lengths.

• Adjusts for perfect sliding action in any standard miter gauge slot with just a twist of the wrist
• Locks securely in any standard miter gauge slot with another twist of the wrist
• Includes threaded mounting holes and hardware for easy attachment to any application
• Includes plans for a wide variety of shop-made jigs and fixtures
• All mounting hardware included