Need help with tablesaw, please.

[Rob Hermann]

I lurk here often and pick up lots of valuable information so first off, thanks to all of you. Here is my current problem. I have a TS3650 that I have had for several years and had no problems. As of late all my cuts were chattering and burning. I figured the blade was getting dull. I just got a brand new WWII blade and put it on and got the same result. I went ahead and did a full tune-up. Cleaned and lubed everything, removed and realigned the fence, it was out, adjusted to blade parallel to miter slot, both fence and blade are accurate to about .002 now. After all this, no more burning and it feels better but, wood still chatters and bounces when trying to cut resulting in a rough cut. I checked that there was no play or movement in the arbor bearings and that it is running true. Now I'm stumped. I don't know what else to check or adjust. Any thoughts? Any help or suggestion would be appreciated. And, just for the record, the saw used to cut 1 inch oak like butter in the past so all I do know is something changed. Thanks again.

[Andrew Hughes]

Has the wood been jointed or planed flat,Or maybe it's thin?How about the throat plate,Is that correct.Thats all I got .

[Frederick Skelly]

It sounds like youve checked all the usual tablesaw maladies and Im struggling to thing of something that might help you.

Can you describe what YOU mean by "chatter"? Tell us a bit more about what you are seeing.

By "running true" do you mean that you have confirmed the blade is staying perfectly vertical during the cut? I mean, there's no wobble, right? (Its conceivable that a w)obble could be caused by other things than bearings - a damaged blade comes to mind but I know youve already swapped that out. Might still worth a look at the spinning blade though.)

Fred

[Lee Schierer]

You didn't say what you were cutting that was chattering. How high did you have the blade raised? Is teh blade installed backwards? Sometimes thin stock will chatter as it is cut. Thin plywood will also chatter when being cut if it has a slight bow in it. It could also be some saw dust under your throat plate is causing it to set crooked.

Have you checked your drive belt tension. A loose belt will make cuts seem slow.

[Rob Hermann]

Well, by Chattering and mean as soon as the board gets to the blade, it wants to bounce up and down and seems to fight being cut. This was on 3/4" stock. It cut OK through 3/4 ply and even very thin luann boards. I tried an old 2x4 chunk too and it bounced badly, just like the oak. I tried the blade at several different heights too, no change. I'm really glad I didn't miss something obvious to adjust though. I guess I can start over and recheck all of it again. I do appreciate the help though. Thank you guys.

[Brian Tymchak]

Well, by Chattering and mean as soon as the board gets to the blade, it wants to bounce up and down and seems to fight being cut. This was on 3/4" stock. It cut OK through 3/4 ply and even very thin luann boards. I tried an old 2x4 chunk too and it bounced badly, just like the oak. I tried the blade at several different heights too, no change. I'm really glad I didn't miss something obvious to adjust though. I guess I can start over and recheck all of it again. I do appreciate the help though. Thank you guys.

Hmm. shot in the dark - old blade was dull and the new blade is a plywood blade, or maybe a miter saw blade with a low or negative hook angle? Never tried cutting hardwood with a plywood blade. Not sure how that would go.

[Rob Hermann]

Both blades are the WWII general purpose 40 tooth. The new one has the rakers for flat bottom cuts for boxjoints and spline work. I used the original one for about everything except acrylic. See, that is my problem. I KNOW this set up used to work well. I must have missed something or gotten something off somehow. I think tonight I'll pull the plug, start over completely and reset everything then check it again in the morning and see if it works right then. Strange that the thin stock is rock steady and the thicker and or harder stock chatters. Thanks.

[Vince Shriver]

Could it be the bearing?

[Lee Schierer]

With the power off and blade lowered, slide a piece of wood over the throat plate like you were going to make a cut. Use feeler gauges to see how much clearance there is under the board to the top of the throat plate. There should be none!

Check your board to make sure it is flat. A bowed board won't lie flat on the table. If it rocks at all on your table that could be the cause of chattering.

I know WWII blades are good blades, but a combination blade always gives you a compromise in performance as compared to either a dedicated rip or crosscut blade. In my opinion a 40 tooth blade is border line for good cross cuts. I prefer 60 tooth blades for a finer cut when cross cutting.

[Rob Hermann]

Well, it works. I think Lee may have hit the nail on the head because the throat plate is the only thing I adjusted last night that wasn't quite right. I went back over everything, put it back together and lifted the throat plate just a smidge and everything worked smooth as glass again. Success! Thanks again for all the input. Much appreciated. I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!

[keith micinski]

For future reference, when diagnosing a problem, the best way to figure out what's wrong is to take a step by step process and eliminate one thing at a time. All doing everything at once shows is that it could be one of 8 things wrong.

[glenn bradley]

Good call Lee. Unsupported material or thin material that was not resting flat were my guesses reading through. Glad you nailed it Rob. There is nothing like a board passing through the saw like butter . . . unless maybe its that 'slick' sound from a hand plane . . . or that "tick" from a well swung drive on the golf course . . . or . . . well I guess there's a lot of nice things out there.