tablesaw blade not parrellel to miter slot

[cody michael]

my tablesaw has been haveing trouble cutting thicker wood. even soft wood like 2x4's i compared the blade to the miter slots and it does not line up. is there an adjustment for this

i Have a delta contractor saw series 2000 model 62-044

i found a manual for a similar saw online and all it said was it is adjusted at factory :(

any idea where to look to find adjustment what it looks like?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Cody,

Typically there is an adjustment and it should be covered in the owner/operator's manual.

[Joseph Tarantino]

is this it?

http://www.insidewoodworking.com/table_saws.html

if yes, somewhere, depending on the saw;s configuration, there is an adjustment to permit aligning the blade with the saw's miter slot. that is the first adjustment that is made to every table saw. next, align the fence to the same miter slot. then, align th esplitter or riving knife so that it sIts directly behind the blade to prevent kickbacks. then, check the arborr pulley and the motor pulley to make them coplanar.

if you know the model number of your saw, you can look here for the owners manual:

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/

if the space betwen the blade and the fence is narrower after the blade than it is before the blade, that is a text book scenario for kickack.

[cody michael]

yeah it looks just like that one. yes it is closer at end of cut. no kickback yet but saw keeps stalling when it shouldn't i'll have to look up model number 62-044

i found a manual for a similar saw online and all it said was it is adjusted at factory :(

any idea where to look to find adjustment what it looks like?

[Howard Acheson]

Here is the low tech, low cost way to align a tablesaw that I learned maybe forty years ago and use to teach to my students.

Make 3/4 x 3/4 x 12" hardwood stick. Drill a hole somewhat centered in one end and insert a brass #8 x 1" round head fine thread machine screw about half way. UNPLUG THE SAW. Raise the blade completely up. Clamp this board in your miter gauge (if you determine that there is some slop in your slot to miter gauge, use a playing card to take up the slop) so the screw head just about touches the blade at the front. Now rotate the blade by hand and determine which tooth is the closest. Adjust the screw in or out until it just touches this tooth. Mark this tooth. Rotate the blade so the tooth is now at the back of the table and move the miter gauge/stick assembly to the back and see if it touches the marked tooth to the same extent. If it doesn't, adjust the trunnion (if a contractor saw) or the tabletop (if a cabinet saw) until it does.

For a contractor saw, first use a small c-clamp on the rear trunnion and cradle to keep the assembly from moving. Then loosen the two rear trunnion bolts and one front trunnion bolt. Slightly loosen the other front trunnion bolt and use a stick to tap the trunnion until the blade and screw lightly touch. The blade does not move directly around the center so you will need to repeatedly go back to the front of the blade, readjust the screw, and then again measure the back. Be sure to check after tightening the trunnion as the trunnion frequently moves when being tightened.

For cabinet saws, loosen the bolts that hold the tabletop and tap one corner until things come into alignment.

The same adjustment gauge can be used to set the fence parallel to the miter slot. Slide the miter gauge to the front of the table and move the fence over to the screw head and insert a playing card between the screw head and the fence just so you can move the card as it touches both the fence and the screw head. Now move the miter gauge to the back of the table and see if you have the same feel when you insert the card. I like my fence absolutely parallel--if you want to have a slight opening to the fence, you can easily estimate the opening by adding a thickness of paper to the card.

I always show my students with a dial gauge that their adjustments are within .001 - .002.

You can also use the same gauge to measure blade runout by using a $5.00 feeler gauge.

Finally, after you are satisfied with the above adjustments, check the position of the splitter to make sure it is exactly in line with the blade.

Bottom line, there is no need to spend more than the $0.05 for the brass screw.

[Tony Bilello]

my tablesaw has been haveing trouble cutting thicker wood. even soft wood like 2x4's i compared the blade to the miter slots and it does not line up. is there an adjustment for this

i Have a delta contractor saw series 2000 model 62-044

i found a manual for a similar saw online and all it said was it is adjusted at factory :(

any idea where to look to find adjustment what it looks like?

I had the exact problem a while back and these guys on here got me fixed up quickly. I never did get the 'pals' that were suggested. but everything is "A" OK now.
Be sure to read the entire thread. It was a piece of cake.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=109632 (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=109632)

[Stephen Edwards]

I used Howard's method before I got a dial indicator. The 5 cent alignment tool worked fine for me. Now, when I tune my saw I do use the DI, but it seems to take longer than using the stick and the screw! Both method's achieved good results.

[keith jensen]

The 62-044 is the motor part number. I have a 36-454 delta contractor's 2000 series which is probably very similar to yours. The method posted above are how you align the blade tilted at 90 degrees. Loosen 3 of the 4 trunnion bolts and tap it over. The 90 degree setting was straight forward.

Make sure you also check the blade when tilted at 45 degrees. I found a lot of sag which really caused my bevel cuts to be terrible. This fix is a little more difficult and requires shims between the table and trunnions. You can also adjust the tie bars to make sure they are parallel. I'm in the process of permanently fixing all of this by replacing it with a late 60's era PM66.
Keith

[cody michael]

update.

i adjusted it and it was about 3/64 closer to fence at the back (away from user) of saw. i adjusted so it is now a very very small barely detectable (using the stick and screw) away from the fence toward the back. it wasn't hard just hard to get at some screws.

[Myk Rian]

Did you align it to the miter slot first? That is a "Must do first" job.
Then, adjust the fence to align it with the blade.

[cody michael]

yes i aligned it to the miter slot. i haven't did the fence yet