General 350 Cleaning

[Hans Braul]

My General 350 tablesaw has about 30 years of use and the height adjustment is getting stiff. I need to clean it but short of disassembling the entire saw, I can't see how I could access the key parts. Does anyone have experience with this?

Many thanks
Hans

[Charles Robertson]

Hans, I have a Delta a bit older than your General. Pretty much the same though. About every other month I remove the plate and blade and using tooth brushes (bent and straight) brush out the rise and tilt threaded shafts. Access also through the clean out door. Apply paste wax (I use Johnson's because I have it) using the same brushes. Apply lightly, no build up. Clean off accumilated pitch at blade area with putty knife or chisel. Wax here also, helps to retard future accumilation. Apply oil at bushings and where you think it needs it. You should be able to do this with no disassembly, other than the blade. If you need longer handles, attach brushes to a dowel. I never throw away toothbrushes. You will think you have a new saw. Only it's better.
This works for me. Good luck, Al

[david brum]

I just did the same thing with my cabinet saw. I'm on about a 6 month schedule, or whenever I notice that the elevation feels stiff. It really does make a huge difference. Like Charles says, you shouldn't have to disassemble anything. I use a long handled, flat blade screwdriver to scrape the really compressed gunk off of the trunnion teeth, then compressed air to remove the residue, followed by the toothbrush. I lube the teeth with aerosol white lithium grease.

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out, but the trunnion is much easier to work on if I crank the bevel adjustment to 45 degrees first.