'70's model Craftsman Contractor Table Saw Problem

[Fayette Thornal]

This may have been covered in another post, but I can’t find anything on it. Over the years and for one reason or another the right side of my saw where the crank for angling the blade is, it has been pulled in and I want to fix it. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get the large dent out and reinforce that side of the saw? I can take photos if anyone is interested.

[glenn bradley]

Common problem when things get sticky / forced. The sheetmetal is the only thing providing resistance for the tilting mechanism and a screw is a powerful 'machine'. I have removed the ball fitting and shaft, applied a piece of 1/2" BB ply with a hole in the appropriate place and reassembled. The ply is held in place by several coarse thread 1/2" pan head screws applied from the outside (sheetmetal) into the ply. If I were to do it again I would apply some construction adhesive to the ply piece prior to assembly. The sheetmetal needs to be bent back into the basically correct shape prior to reassembly.

[Dell Littlefield]

I have the same problem and I haven't been able to come up with a reason why it is so hard to tilt this mechanism. In fact, once I cranked so hard, I broke the wheel. I crank a little, lift on the motor, crank some more, repeat, to get mine to tilt past 30 degrees. I considered using plywood as mentioned but since the side is not flat, I didn't think the plywood would help. I guess I should reconsider that option.

[Dick Brown]

Fixing the bent side is the easy part. As mentioned, plywood, angle iron, heavier steel plate, many other ways. The important thing is to address why it happened. I have worked over a fair number of these old gals as a hobby so speak with some experience. I would suggest that you take the motor off, turn the saw onto it's top so you can get at the guts, clean and lube with WD40 or??? all the threaded rods, bearings and parts they screw into, pivot points, trunions and check the tilt lock bolt in the front and the back bolt and spring that is supposed to steady things up. If after doing this and it still is hard to tilt, loosen the trunions and shift them until it frees up. Lube all the moving parts with something like spray on white lithium grease or any one of several non dust collecting lubes, set back up, put motor on, check and adjust your alignment and you should be good to go. Lots of work but worth it.