Unisaw motor door latch

[jeff vanek]

i bought a used unisaw today, model 36-816, the door latch on the motor door appears to be broken. when i look up the part number, http://www.ereplacementparts.com/latch-wbush-nut-p-84307.html i am missing the bushing. is the bushing made of rubber? can someone post a picture of their motor door and how this works, even if i had the bushing i'd still be confused.

[Harvey Pascoe]

It is a tapered rubber cone attached to a cam latch via a bolt running down the center of it and mine do not work very well - door doesn't stay shut. Since I now have the saw apart for overhaul I got a better look at these things. Something I did not notice before that the fit of the latch is adjustable by turning the cam latch bolt that will tighten it up. I don't have a camera handy so I can't give you a picture, but a shaft attached to the cam-handle runs thru the rubber cone and is secured with a nut and washer on the other end. When you actuate the cam lever, it squashes the rubber and is supposed to make a snug fit in the cabinet hole. Very simple.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Harvey's correct....to clarify a bit:

The handle is on the outside of the door [of course]. The shaft runs thru the door and then thru the bushing to the nut. When you close the door, the nut and bushing go thru the hole in the cabinet. When you drop the handle, the bushing catches on the inside of the cabinet, and the handle's cam action draws the door tight. You need to dink around a bit to get the nut adjusted for the proper spacing/tension when you drop the handle. The bushing is about 7/16" OD and about 5/16" tall [deep?]. I don't think there is anything magical about it - you could find something comparable at a hardware store and monkey around....you could even use 2 or three shorter bushings to make a stack @ 5/16". It is not soft, but it is "smush-able" when you engage the cam.

Harvey said: "Very simple". I would have said "Very Mickey-Mouse"....but I have muddled thru for over a dozen years. It's not that big a deal to me, because I generally have to open the door only for one of two reasons: [1] I dropped the arbor nut, or [2] I dropped the arbor washer. Never have dropped both during the same blade change, but there is always tomorrow. :D

Just one of Delta's occasional instances where you scratch your head and say......"OK - which was it - Either you guys were given 5 minutes max to design this part, or you were given 20 cents max for part costs." Same engineering team that brought you the cheesy plastic quill lock handle on their standard floor drill press - I replaced that sucker with 5" vise-grips when it broke. They just somehow have a knack for driving it off the rails on small handles.............

FWIW - I got some inexpensive adhesive-backed foam weatherstripping - low density foam - and put it around the cabinet opening to provide [1] a better seal against dust falling out around the door, and reduce random air infiltration to promote dust evac, and [2] for rattle-protection when the door closes against the cabinet.

[jeff vanek]

ok......i will see if i can rig something up!!