Table Saw Noise 22124

[Tony Milazzo]

Trying to set up a wood shop and have gotten a new Dewalt 735 planer, a used Geetech 8” jointer in nice shape ($400 on CL). This forum has been a great help and I'm learning a lot. I decided to go with the Ridgid 4512 new when my local Home Depot said they would take a 25% off Harbor Freight coupon I had. Got the saw home and spent parts of the next day or two setting it up. When it came to aligning the blade I realized I didn’t have enough play in the trunions to get it square and also found out it had the blade alignment problems many have been plagued with. I’ve decided to return it and not exchange it for one of the other 2 Home Depot has in stock because one of them has the same date code as mine (EM1341) and the other was EM1309 which I’m guessing would be older and still have the original problem trunion (not stamped with II). So now I’m searching craigslist for a table saw and came across a Craftsman 22124 with mobile base that appears to be in good shape, the guy is asking $575. The saw seems to fit the bill budget wise if I could get for around $400-$450 but there’s a problem. When I went to look at it everything seemed aligned well but the saw made a noise when running almost like the blade dinging on something. We took the blade off and ran it and it still seemed to make noise. There didn’t seem to be play in the arbor and the guy also said it didn’t sound normal. I told him I would do some research and he said he’d do the same. I couldn’t find much explaining how to tell if arbor or motor bearings are bad or other places to check for problems. Later he let me know he ordered some arbor bearings for it and would let me know if that fixed it. Just curious if anyone here has any idea what it might be (sorry I can’t give a better description of the noise)? As a side note he upgraded to a Unisaw which is why he’s selling it, it’s wired to 220, and has the original blade guard/splitter and miter gauge. Also curious what the value on this saw would be as compared to some others I’ve seen here on CL (old 1945 Unisaw $550 with jointech fence, Dewalt DW746 $800) Sorry for the length any input would be appreciated.

[Cary Falk]

The craftsman zip code saw was a very good saw and if it being sold with the original Biesemeyer fence even better. I believe it had cabinet mounted trunnions. It had a lot of fans. The Unisaw is a full blown cabinet saw. I am not familiar with the jointec fence but it is probably not as nice as the Beisemeyer. The Unisaw being a 1945 has an oval opening and a 1 or 1.5 hp bullet motor. You can not put a 3hp motor in it without cutting the cabinet. If the goose egg motor cover is not there you are going to have to find a way to cover it for dust reasons. I think all of the saws you listed are overpriced and the DeWalt unbeliveably overpriced. I would probably pick the Uni or the Craftsman depending on the best condition and price.

Did you run the Craftsman without the belt to see if the noise is coming from the motor or the saw? I can't imagine it would be too hard of a problem to solve.

[Tony Milazzo]

I didn't get into removing the belt although in hindsight I wish I had. It does have the Biesemeyer fence whihc seemed really nice and smooth. What do you think would be a fair price to offer with the noise still there?

[Myk Rian]

I have a similar Steel City saw. Love it.
I'm wondering if the belt might have a loose wrap on it, slapping the underside.

[Matt Day]

Try to wait for a better deal to come along. I agree those prices are high, at Least compared to my experiences in OH, UT, and VA.

[Tony Milazzo]

Any idea what a good offer price might be on the craftsman? I guess both an offer with the noise and an offer with it fixed. My thoughts are it could be arbor bearings, belt, maybe a motor problem? Also I thought I might have read something about adjustment wheels leading to a noise but never pinned down what that meant?

[Cary Falk]

I think $400-450 is probably fair if it is working. It looks like most of the parts are still available. If the noise doesn't go away then I would probably offer $100 less. It is hard to say without hearing the noise in person. I think if the noise is not gone I would pull the top and take a look before purchasing.

[scott spencer]

It's likely a belt issue. Check that it's on the pulleys correctly, and check the pulley alignment. A new belt isn't a tough job on those. I'd think it'd be worth $500ish in nice shape with the noise corrected. I loved my 22124....it ran great on 220v with good thin kerf blades.

[Joe Kaufman]

If you run it w/o the belt and the noise is in the motor, check the plastic fan. The fan can distort or crack and contact the shroud. It's easy to get to the fan w/o pulling the motor.

[Greg Peterson]

If you run it w/o the belt and the noise is in the motor, check the plastic fan. The fan can distort or crack and contact the shroud. It's easy to get to the fan w/o pulling the motor.

This was my thought too. Before going through the bother of replacing the arbor bearings, run the motor. There aren't many moving parts when it comes to a table saw.

[Tony Milazzo]

So the guy called me today. Said he figured out the problem, the nut had fallen off the back of the arbor. That was allowing it to vibrate and causing the noise. I went down and checked it out and it was like night and day. Smooth and quiet, passed the nickel test. I offered $450 and we settled at $500. Maybe more than I wanted to pay for it but time was an issue and I could easily spend that $50 in time and gas running around looking at craigslist saws, plus it just seems like the best option I've seen out there. Thanks to everyone for all the help.

[scott spencer]

So the guy called me today. Said he figured out the problem, the nut had fallen off the back of the arbor. That was allowing it to vibrate and causing the noise. I went down and checked it out and it was like night and day. Smooth and quiet, passed the nickel test. I offered $450 and we settled at $500. Maybe more than I wanted to pay for it but time was an issue and I could easily spend that $50 in time and gas running around looking at craigslist saws, plus it just seems like the best option I've seen out there. Thanks to everyone for all the help.

Congrats. I loved my 22124 and think $500 is a very fair price. It might not be a Unisaw, but it has it's virtues too. Enjoy.