Delta Band Saw Upper Guide Question

[Ben Martin]

I bought a used Delta 28-203 a couple months back and am getting it running, but when I installed the riser block kit I bought for it, I noticed something strange with the upper blade guide. My saw was made in 1995 but appears to have the upper guide from an older model that was equipped with the hex shaft. You can see in the picture where the round shaft goes into the hex portion of the upper guide, can anyone verify if this is correct?

Also, the set screw that is sitting in the picture is the screw that tightens the shaft for the guide when you adjust it up and down. I think this might be from the same older model also because I would expect that the set screw would be rounded on the end to fit in the round on the shaft. When you tighten the blade guard it doesn't consistently lock in the same place side to side...

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ben

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/IMG_2165.jpg

[Jerome Hanby]

Reportedly the round shafts will work fine with the older hex mounts. But, Iturra sells a hex shaft to work with the riser kit.

I thought my round shaft had a flat milled into it. I haven't installed it yet, so i may be mistaken..

I'd be tempted to buy the hex shaft from Iturra.

[Myk Rian]

The hex guide is correct. The lock screw should have a handle on it, like the table angle locks.

[Ben Martin]

Reportedly the round shafts will work fine with the older hex mounts. But, Iturra sells a hex shaft to work with the riser kit.

I thought my round shaft had a flat milled into it. I haven't installed it yet, so i may be mistaken..

I'd be tempted to buy the hex shaft from Iturra.


But the upper casting has a round machined into it, I would expect that the older models had a hex machined into them? I was thinking of replacing it with a hex shaft but stopped when I thought about the upper casting...

[Ben Martin]

The hex guide is correct. The lock screw should have a handle on it, like the table angle locks.

Bummer, the one that is in the picture is what came with mine. I bet that is probably still the same part in use today though, hopefully won't be difficult to find...

[Richard Bell CA]

Ben:

This is what my lock screw looks like - it came with the riser block kit. It has the rounded end, and has a handle as Mik stated. My saw is older and originally had the hex shaft, but the round works fine in the hex openings. You should be able to round the end of a bolt to allow it to properly center.

124598

[Myk Rian]

Bummer, the one that is in the picture is what came with mine. I bet that is probably still the same part in use today though, hopefully won't be difficult to find...
Yes, it is the correct shaft. Mine is also round.

[Ben Martin]

Ben:

This is what my lock screw looks like - it came with the riser block kit. It has the rounded end, and has a handle as Mik stated. My saw is older and originally had the hex shaft, but the round works fine in the hex openings. You should be able to round the end of a bolt to allow it to properly center.

124598

THANKS!!

As they say a picture is worth a thousand words!

I will do some research and try to come up with the P/N of the lock handle; the threads on my set screw are a bit burgered up anyways so it needs to be replace and you can't quite torque it down enough without a pair of pliers.

BTW, no lock screw came with my riser block kit, must have been a cost savings... :rolleyes:

[Matt Meiser]

Yours is like mine--hex guide, round casting.

[george wilson]

The round shaft will go into the hexagonal opening,but the hexagonal shaft will not go into the round opening. I was at Lowe's this afternoon,and took note of how small the round guide bar is. It looks like they made the round bar the size that the hex would be if you machined it round.

What they did,I think,is just use the same size hole they used to use,and which they subsequently broached hexagonal.

I also noted how the groove is shaped. It would indeed be better if the end of the thumbscrew was shaped to fit into the groove,and not left like shown. That would make the guide line up more consistently.

I would not attempt to reshape the end of the thumb screw by hand. It needs to be put into a lathe and turned nice and true,or it will give inconsistent results.

With the shortness of the screw,and that big thumbpiece on it,it could be problematic to chuck it up to turn without a special jig to hold it on center.

[Myk Rian]

BTW, no lock screw came with my riser block kit, must have been a cost savings... :rolleyes:
None came with mine either. The one already on the saw works. It seems like the former owner lost, or broke the original and replaced it with the thumb screw. This should be the one.
PART # 36 - 426023270003 GUIDE LOCK KNOB
http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/Products/DocumentViewPDF.aspx?productid=43242&typeId=10127&documentId=29569

[george wilson]

My older saw has the same all metal thumbscrew as shown above.

[Myk Rian]

OK. They made an improvement then. :)

[george wilson]

I don't think so,Myk. I'd much rather have the forged all steel thumb screw than some plastic handle added onto a steel screw. It would be prone to cracking eventually. The all steel one never will,and tightens quite well enough to keep the guide where I set it.

You can probably bet that any such "improvements" were a cost cutting measure.

[Myk Rian]

I don't think so,Myk. I'd much rather have the forged all steel thumb screw than some plastic handle added onto a steel screw. It would be prone to cracking eventually. The all steel one never will,and tightens quite well enough to keep the guide where I set it.

You can probably bet that any such "improvements" were a cost cutting measure.
OK. They improved on it, then cheapened it. Mine has a metal handle.

[glenn bradley]

Older saws like my dad's have the hex shaft. Dad's Carter guides came with the hex format to fit his older saw.

[Richard Bell CA]

The handle shown in the photo I posted is heavy die cast aluminum with a steel stud - weighs over 1/4 pound. I installed it along with the riser block 15 years ago. For my purposes it an improvement, and was more expensive to produce than a thumbscrew. I don't know what they are currently offering.

[Myk Rian]

Mine is like Richards'. Just a little bit of roundover on the end to fit in the slot. Should be able to do it with a file.

[Jim Larson]

I had the same problem, and decided to make a new lock bolt for the upper casting. I got a bolt that fit the threads and chucked it in a lathe and turned the end and about one thread back making the end fit exactly into the groove in the new round rod. Now when the bolt is tightened it brings the rod back to the same position. I then made an nice large knob for this bolt and works fine. The trick is the end of the bolt has to fill and match the groove in the rod.

[george wilson]

The new handle looked like plastic,Myk. Since it is aluminum,it must be considered an improvement,then. And,one of the very few improvements I have noticed. For instance,the open sided column is not as strong as the original,and the round,smaller guide bar is certainly not.

The 2 improvements I have noticed are the hinged doors,and your handle. Bear in mind,I don't own a new saw,so I wrongly assumed that the black handle fell in line with the other cheapenings of this saw.

[Chip Lindley]

Included are pix (2 on Right) of the hex shaft and thumbscrew on my old Delta/Milwaukee 28-205 with slow speed gearbox. The thumbscrew bears against a flat on the hex bar. The upper blade guide casting has the hex hole molded into it. The upper CI casting also has a hex hole broached in it .(hard to see)

The Delta 28-243 was new in 1991. Notice the 90 deg. "V" milled into the round guide bar. (2 pix on Left) The upper guide casting still has the hex hole but the guide bar slides in a round hole of the upper casting. The end of the lock knob is not really chamfered to 45 deg. to fit in the "V" of the guide bar, but slightly rounded!

[george wilson]

I like that handle a lot more. It has the classic Delta style to it.