On tablesaw fences that don't always lock parallel to the blade, checking and rechecking the measurement sure gets aggravating. But if you don't check the fence, the workpiece may bind and kick back halfway into a cut. With this rip-fence gauge, you can align the fence in seconds. Build the block for the miter slot and the bar out of hardwood to the dimensions shown. Make the metal rub out of brass so that your thumbscrew doesn't dent the bar. (For brass, check your local hobby shop.) For measuring from the fence to the blade, the adhesive-backed measuring tape should read from right to left.

To use the gauge, set the fence where you want it and place the block in the miter slot. Put the measuring bar in front of the sawblade and extend it out until it touches the fence. Now, tighten the thumbscrew. Place the gauge in the miter slot at the back of the table, check the measurement to the fence, and repeat the procedure on the front of the table. Adjust the fence until it reads exactly the same distance at both the front and the back of the table.

—Dwight L. Pierson, Rochester, Minn.