General 350 Knobs Falling Off?

[Hans Braul]

Every once in a while the knobs that secure the blade raise and miter cranks for my Genral 350 fall off (they back off from vibration). No big deal except it's an annoyance and somewhat alarming when I'm in the middle of something. Anyone else experienced this? Any solutions?

[Fred LeBail]

I think that what you discribe is pretty much normal. At least on my General . If I tighten them down,in about 20 seconds I want to raise or lower the blade and I have to loosen them. So, most times they sit in the workbench until they get in the way....Then the cycle starts again.

[Jeff Hallam]

I have the 650 model and haven't had this problem. Is there really noticeable vibraton? It should run pretty smooth, perhaps there is some issue causing the excess vibes.

[Rod Sheridan]

My 650 does it about once every two years, probably due to the fact that I never use them.

Regards, Rod.

[Rick Fisher]

Would loc-tite work?

[Rod Sheridan]

I don't know, however a bit of open gear lubricant was stiff enough to solve the problem for me.........Rod.

[Chip Lindley]

Use a dab of pipe thread compound on the knob threads. It is not *semi-perminent* as LocTite is. It will take up the slack in the threads and solve your problem.

If you have enough vibration to cause this, time to find the source. Power Twist belts work wonders. OR you could have unbalanced or misaligned pulleys.