Craftsman TS Refurb

[Jim Rimmer]

I had previously posted about buying a new saw and was encouraged to tune-up/refurb the one I have and decided to take that route. I got the Incra 1000SE miter gage and installed it. But now I have a couple of questions:

1. I bought a used Delta T2 fence and got it this week. I plan to install it this weekend. Problem is my table is 20" deep and the fence is 30". Having not installed anything yet it looks like I'm 7 to 8" short on where the runner on the end of the fence needs to rest on the rear rail. I've looked at the fence and it doesn't seem practical to move the glide - it is installed on a boss on the bottom of the fence. Spacers that long don't seem practical either so i need some of the inventive, creative help I see on the Creek. (BTW, the saw is a Craftsman 2 HP direct drive. It's not exactly a contractor saw as the motor is inside because of the direct drive. Apparently this particluar model had a smaller table.)

2. What saw blades ( I assume 1 or 2 would be enough) do you recommend?

Appreciate the help.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jim, can you install a small plastic pad on the bottom of the fence in a location that would ride on the saw table?

The eternal blade question.......

I myself don't mind changing blades, so I have a few

- a 24 tooth rip blade

- a 60 or 80 tooth ATB blade for crosscutting

- a low cost 30 or 40 tooth blade for when the kid next door comes over with his prized piece of plywood he found in a ditch

- an 80 tooth TCG for melamine

I always purchase blades at industrial saw shops, superior blades, commercial prices, and they can sharpen them, replace teeth etc.

If you are going to get only one, purchase a 50 tooth combination blade. It won't do anything as well as a dedicated blade, however it may be fine for what you're doing.
regards, Rod.

[Myk Rian]

I use my Freud 40 tooth combo blade the most. After that is a 24 tooth rip blade.

As for the fence. I've seen where people have screwed a 2" non-pivoting wheel under the fence to ride on the rail. A spacer may be needed to get the height on it.

[Julian Wong]

Jim, Your saw sounds like it's a portable job site saw. The best thing you can do is to build a mobile table/cart around the saw and mount the fence to the table or cart if possible. This will give you increased cutting accuracy and you can definitely use the T2 fence too.

An alternative is to move the rear fence clamp foward towards you but it'll mean you'll have to drill holes in the fence bottom to screw the rear clamp into place.

As to blades, I would recomend all thin kerf blased. I don;t know how much you're hardwood you're going to run though the saw, but dedicated rip and dedicated crosscuts are best with a low powered saw. If you're lazy like me, I have a combo Freud 40T blade which does most of the cutting and I will change to dedicated rip pr crosscut balde when I have lots of rips or crosscuts to do at once. HTH

[glenn bradley]

The fence fix Rod recommends is how a Biesemeyer (and clones) work out of the box. Just a plastic pad that rides the table top a couple inches behind the blade.

I'm also with Rod on purpose specific blades vs. a combo blade for all cuts. I run an 80T Freud for crosscut and a 24T Freud for rip. I also run 40T WWII for rough work but this blade is not a requirement, it just saves wear and tear on the other blades when a task specific blade is not all that important.

A possible idea: http://www.woodmagazine.com/ideas/wood-shop-showcase/idea-shop-52/?page=11

-or-

http://www.woodstore.net/3intabupsawd.html

[Jim Rimmer]

Thanks for the tips on how a Bies fence works. That could solve my problem. And the advice on blades. I'll look at some of my catalogs and for some local sources.

Thanks. I knew I could count on the Creek for help.

[scott spencer]

Jim - Blade selection is very much proprietary to your saw and what you cut. A saw like yours will benefit from a good quality thin kerf blade that will put less strain on the motor because it removes less material...they're also quieter, make less dust, and waste less wood. Stay with high quality and you'll have no issues with it.

The philosophies about which direction to head range from task specific blades that will perform very well in a narrow operating range, to more of a "do-all" general purpose blade that will give good results in most applications but excel at none. Both philosophies have merit depending on the situation, your preference, budget, and cutting objectives. A decent purebred 60-80 tooth crosscut blade will certainly make cleaner crosscuts than a 30, 40 or 50 tooth general purpose blade of comparable quality. Inversely, a 24 tooth bulk ripper will certainly be more efficient at ripping thick material than the general purpose (GP) style blade. Consider both sides of the equation before making a decision. Taking the approach of using task specific blades requires owning at least two blades that each excel in a limited operating region, and are typically unacceptable for tasks outside of their intended scope. They also require blade changes for each different task for optimum results. Two task-specific blades (typically a 24T ripper and an 80T crosscutter) will generally stay sharp longer than a single general purpose blade because they share the work load, but cost more upfront and will also cost more to re-sharpen when the time comes.

A general purpose blade will neither rip as efficiently as a true rip blade nor crosscut as cleanly as a dedicated crosscut blade, but you may find that it’s more than acceptable at doing both tasks for most situations. A valid argument in favor of using one high quality general purpose blade is that the GP blade leaves a cleaner edge than the rip blade, crosscuts faster than a crosscut blade, and does so with the convenience and cost of using one blade. If you happen to do a lot of specialty cutting of fine veneered plywoods, veneers, melamine, MDF, plastics, etc., a blade made specifically for these materials is definitely recommended. If you tend to rip very thick dense materials regularly, then a dedicated ripping blade is a wise choice for you right from the start.

I've had good results from a number of good manufactures. Companies like Infinity, Forrest, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Freud, and Amana offer some very high quality premium industrial type blades. Freud also has some less expensive lines like the Diablo and TK/Avanti series that are good value...the DeWalt Precision Trim series is a pretty good bang for the buck on sale too.