Delta Contractor Saw Blade Elevation Problems

[John Messinger]

The screw that elevates the blade on my Delta contractor saw binds like crazy. If I lubricate it with silicone spray it works great for about 2 or 3 blade height changes then it gets very difficult to adjust. It seems that the blade throws dust and pitch right into the guts of the adjustment screw.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it?

[Mike Circo]

First, (sorry if this seems basic) You know that the triangular knob in the middle of the wheel tightens down to lock the adjustment in place. IF that is too tight, you may not be able to easily move the blade (by design)

Okay, with that out of the way... I'd suggest not using a silicon spray inside the saw. Any wet lube in there will attract dust like a magnet and pack it in like paste. Clean off all the old oil an sawdust, use an old toothbrush if necessary. Then get a can of "dry lube", there are various brands. Work it in a bit and you should be good.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Use wax or graphite for lube. Also, make sure the screw isn't bent. My old Delta contractor's saw had a bent screw, it gave me no end of problems.

[John Messinger]

Thank you, I will check this out. The pinion screw doesn't seem bent but I have not checked it out carefully. The pinion seems relatively clean, but I have not checked the rack gear.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on a good scrubbing with a brush and using a dry lube product. I do a final scrub with denatured alcohol, naphtha or other rapid drying agent after cleaning. I use a dry teflon spray. Lowe's has this (http://www.lowes.com/pd_213197-39963-D00110101_0__?zipCode=92557&firstReferURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowes.com%2Fpd_2131 97-39963-D00110101_0__%3FproductId%3D1059839%26Ntt%3Dteflon %26pl%3D1%26currentURL%3D%252Fpl__0__s%253FNtt%253 Dteflon&catalogId=10051&productId=1059839&pl=1&findStoreErrorURL=StoreLocatorDisplayView&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce. storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%406bd0ed9c%2C+ com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStore Bean%4068946cd2%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator .beans.LocatorStoreBean%4047fbecd9%2C+com.lowes.co mmerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4044ade cc2%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.Locat orStoreBean%4039ed6cca%5D&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dteflon&Ntt=teflon&URL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&langId=-1&storeId=10151) for about 5 bucks and I am still on the first can after a couple years.

The nature of your material will influence how long the clean up lasts. Long rips in damp construction lumber causes quite a mess so clean-ups will be more frequent. Two or three times is more often than frequent; I think your lube is attracting spoil and a dry agent should help you out. If not, please post again and we can all take another whack at it.

[John Messinger]

I cleaned up the rack gear and pinion with a wire brush today and lubed it with graphite. Helped a little bit. Then I noticed a lock nut on the pinion gear axel and loosened it, which helped a lot. It did introduce some slop on the elevation.