Performed periodic maintenance on my saw

[Lee Schierer]

Today I lowered the blade on my saw after making a cut and heard the raise lower squeeking so, I decided to do the periodic maintenance on my Craftsman saw. I do this every so often to keep it running smooth. I pulled the small plugs on the motor bearings and added a few drops of oil. Getting the plugs back in without dropping one is a bit of a trick. Then I checked the blade alignment and tilt stops. The alignment was fine, but the zero tilt stop wouldn't allow the saw to come back to a perfect 90 degrees to the table. I tried blowing out the saw dust, but apparently it is pretty tightly compacted and stuck. Getting to it would require removing the extension table and the dust collector chute which is more work than I wanted to under take. I determined that since I check the blade tilt with both my Tilt Box and square that the stop didn't have to be accurate. I was able to loosen the set screws through the front opening, back the nut off 1/2 turn and retightened the set screw. I lubed the raise lower gear and the acme threaded tilt screw. Checked the fence alignment and it was right on. I also blew out the motor with compressed air and removed accumulated sawdust in the bottom of the saw where it can't get out.

The saw is all set now for another good while.

[Bill Dufour]

I bought a rifle cleaning brush at a yard sale. Metal and plastic cleaning head on. a long stick with a nice handle. very nice for getting deep into stuff that needs cleaning. stands up to solvent if needed.
Regarding those motor plugs: first step is to vacuum the dust out at the bottom of the saw. Makes it much easier to find stuff you drop as you work on it.
Bill D

[Dave Roock]

Excellent advice from both of you. This is a great site for such helpful hints.