Unisaw Newbie - Needs Help with blade tilt adjustment

[Joe A Faulkner]

I recently acquired an old UniSaw, and am having difficulty getting the blade tilt to register at 90 degrees to the table. I have determined that adjusting the tilt stop is not the issue. I think the problem is that the arbor arm or arbor bracket may be set at the wrong angle. I believe the bolt head on the arbor bracket is striking a "vien" or "web" on the underside of the table. When I try to return the blade from say 80 degrees to "square", I can hear a little metal on metal "clink" and if I put some torque on the crank, I can see and feel the top flex slightly.

Here's a picture that I pulled off of another site that illustrates the part I am talking about. So for those of you who have rebuilt these old UniSaws, have you run into this issue? I'm guessing that if I remove the top of my saw and adjust the arbor bracket I can probably eliminate this issue, but before going there, thought I'd seek out some practical advise from those experienced with these saws.

Appreciate any help or suggestions you can offer.

[Jerry Thompson]

Unplug the saw. Turn the blade crank until the blade stops at the supposed 90d stop. Take the insert out of the blade opening. Go to the left side of the saw and look down at the blade stop. I should be to your right. Once you have located it crank the blade back to the right. Use a flashlight and look at the stop and see if there is any build up on the stop and if so srape it off.
This is how I fixed the problem on mine. Let me know if this is the problem.

[Bob Vallaster]

Joe,
I looked at my vintage 70s machine with flashlight and mechanic's mirror: there is a web near the nut you call out above. It's close, but clearance seems adequate to let parts swing clear.
Try the same examination. A point of metal-to-metal contact should be apparent as a spot where one part has cleared away dust, barked the paint and possibly exposed bright metal. You could daub some plumbers putty or modeling clay on the suspicious nut or web, swing the mechanism through its arc and see if the putty is cut clean through.
If fiddling with the top is indicated, I would first try to use what free play is available between the holes in the cabinet and the four bolts that secure the top. That is, loosen the bolts and shuffle the top toward you; pushing the top the the rear will bring the above-mentioned web closer to the nut. Note 1: shuffling right or left will change the relationship of the arbor flange to the splitter mounting surface, but there's a procedure for that adjustment. Note 2: all this shuffling is sure to require realigning blade-to-miter-slot.
If taking the top off seems to be required, take note of shims at any of the four corners. Group and label them according to location and reinstall before you batten down the top again.
The 45/90 stop adjustment procedure is on page 9 of this manual: http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=5016

Bob V

[Joe A Faulkner]

Bob, thanks for checking this out on your saw and for the suggestion. I think it is quite possible the top got tweaked when I moved the saw from over a 100 miles away. I strapped it to a hand truck and loaded it into a mini-van. Hopefully some minor shifting of the table will do the trick. Of course the delicate part of the operation will be to get miter slot aligned with the blade, but I suppose this isn't a unique challenge. I'll need to read up on it a bit. Thanks also for the link. Not sure how much shop time I'll get over the holiday weekend, but hopefully I can make some progress.

Jerry, I've already determined that the blade stop is not making contact with the 90 degree stop bolt. I'm nearly 100% sure that the issue is that the bolt on the arbor bracket/arm is striking the underside of table as the trunnion approaches 87-88 degrees and is hitting a hard stop.