Carriage won’t stay locked onto sliding table

[Bobby Robbinett]

Hey guys, hoping to get some help on this one. The carriage on a Griggio slider will not stay on the mounting bar very well and shifts in place with even just a little bit of pressure. Not the sliding table but rather the carriage or wagon or what ever it’s called. The carriage fits onto the sliding table by way of a partially round bar that goes down the length of the sliding table on its outside edge and attaches with a piece of foam on the bottom and just a small lever that you rotate to apply pressure to the bottom in order to make it all stay put. The problem is my foam pad on the under side of the carriage is worn and the rotating knob that is supposed to lock it down doesn’t have enough holding power to keep it all in place. I don’t know if it’s the foam being worn or perhaps the mounting bar has worn over time.

What could I do about this? I am considering everything from Epoxy, to JB Weld to actually welding it on there. I only use this saw strictly for panel processing so I never change any thing as far as the carriage position or removing the fence. Only thing is I don’t know how I could epoxy or weld it on there because it has that rubber pad at the point of contact and thus no direct metal to metal for any place to glue or adhere or weld it on.

Any ideas on what I can do?

[Jim Becker]

Please clarify...are you saying that the wagon lock isn't staying, um...locked?

[Kevin Jenness]

Post a picture.

[Greg Quenneville]

Are you talking about the outrigger table that the crosscut fence rides on, and that supports the sheet goods?

[Bobby Robbinett]

Please clarify...are you saying that the wagon lock isn't staying, um...locked?

Yes, the carriage that the fence mounts to won’t stay attached to the sliding table. It only has a eccentric locking knob that is supposed to hold the carriage to the sliding table. The bar that the carriage used to mount onto the sliding table must be worn because they wont stay locked together.

[Bobby Robbinett]

Are you talking about the outrigger table that the crosscut fence rides on, and that supports the sheet goods?

Yes I am referring to the outrigger table that the crosscut fence rides on. The outrigger table won’t stay locked onto the sliding table. It only takes a very small amount of force to move it off from the sliding table.

[Greg Quenneville]

Ok, can you check that the eccentric locking device is turning all the way when you tighten the handle? It would be odd for there to be meaningful wear on the slider mounting rail or the eccentric locking stud.

If there is free and full rotation of the eccentric then you are going to have to remove the slack by shimming the mounting block. You mentioned that it has a rubber or foam insert there. Can you do something to make that thicker so that the eccentric can get a grip on the rail?

Also…I don’t think you can weld onto the rail without distorting the slider.

[Bobby Robbinett]

Ok, can you check that the eccentric locking device is turning all the way when you tighten the handle? It would be odd for there to be meaningful wear on the slider mounting rail or the eccentric locking stud.

If there is free and full rotation of the eccentric then you are going to have to remove the slack by shimming the mounting block. You mentioned that it has a rubber or foam insert there. Can you do something to make that thicker so that the eccentric can get a grip on the rail?

Also…I don’t think you can weld onto the rail without distorting the slider.

The previous owner told me that he sanded the rust off the rail using 80g sandpaper and WD40 so that probably didn’t help. I installed a rubber sleeve of heat shrink tubing on the eccentric locking knob last night. I am going to try it today and see if that helped. I tried wedging some various forms of plastic shims on top of the knob yesterday without much success. I guess that if the heat shrink tubing doesn’t work I will try a more substantial shim in between the rail and the eccentric locking knob.

I am tempted to chisel out the rubber mounting pad on the under side of the carriage and using construction adhesive to make it stay. LoL.

[Greg Quenneville]

Ah, the old 80grit overhaul. If he removed very much material from top of the rail then the outrigger likely doesn’t sit flush with the sliding table. You would then have to shim or otherwise fix that. Then the eccentric clamping action would probably work again.

Best of luck with it…

[Bobby Robbinett]

Ah, the old 80grit overhaul. If he removed very much material from top of the rail then the outrigger likely doesn’t sit flush with the sliding table. You would then have to shim or otherwise fix that. Then the eccentric clamping action would probably work again.

Best of luck with it…

I finally got it fixed. Added a sleeve of heat shrink tubing to the eccentric locking knob and all is well again. I used the really thick stuff meant for splices in service entrance cable.

Unfortunately I have one last issue that I may post in another thread. It has to do with the carriage staying flat and level through its plane of travel.

[Greg Quenneville]

Bobby if we are still talking about the outrigger then its probably the support arm that is sagging as it moves in its travel. The ones that I have seen ride on plastic wheels inside that telescoping arm housing. They might be on cam studs to allow adjusting for wear.

The other wear location in the telescoping support arm is the hinge casting where it mounts to the back of the saw's chassis. I don’t know your saw so cannot comment without pictures.

If its the sliding table (what some people term “wagon”, then that’s a whole 'nuther thing.

[Rod Sheridan]

I finally got it fixed. Added a sleeve of heat shrink tubing to the eccentric locking knob and all is well again. I used the really thick stuff meant for splices in service entrance cable.

Unfortunately I have one last issue that I may post in another thread. It has to do with the carriage staying flat and level through its plane of travel.

As agreed said below, could be wear or improper adjustments in the telescoping arm rollers,min addition to wear or lack of proper adjustment of the arm pivot pin.

These are pretty easy adjustments to make….Regards, Rod

[Bobby Robbinett]

Bobby if we are still talking about the outrigger then its probably the support arm that is sagging as it moves in its travel. The ones that I have seen ride on plastic wheels inside that telescoping arm housing. They might be on cam studs to allow adjusting for wear.

The other wear location in the telescoping support arm is the hinge casting where it mounts to the back of the saw's chassis. I don’t know your saw so cannot comment without pictures.

If its the sliding table (what some people term “wagon”, then that’s a whole 'nuther thing.

Thanks for the reply Greg. I have adjusted the support arm so that the wagon and sliding table are dead flat at full extension and close right when the wagon is next to the blade, but in the full retracted position the end of the wagon sags on the far outside end. If I adjust the pole on the end of the support arm then it throws it off at full extension and when the wagon is next to the blade. Which right now it is dead level and flat at full extension and when the wagon is even with the blade.

So I am assuming that something in the support arm needs adjusting but I can’t find any adjustment points other than the pole on the end which as I explained above can’t be changed without throwing it off at other positions,

[Bobby Robbinett]

As agreed said below, could be wear or improper adjustments in the telescoping arm rollers,min addition to wear or lack of proper adjustment of the arm pivot pin.

These are pretty easy adjustments to make….Regards, Rod

Rod, the pole on the support arm is adjustable yes, but right now the wagon is dead flat at full extension but says at full retraction which means if I adjust the pole on the support arm in one position it throws it off in the opposite position. Are there any ways to adjust the telescoping part of the support arm? Because I am not seeing any. The telescoping part has 4 bolts on each side of the suppprt arm with rollers inside. The bolts are tightened all the way up but I don’t know if they offer any adjustment to the telescoping part. That is what I am trying to figure out.

[Greg Quenneville]

So its worse with the outrigger at the halfway point on the slider’s travel? I mean when the telescoping support is at its shortest point 90° to the machine?

[Kevin Jenness]

I would adjust it so the table is parallel to the main table as it passes by the blade, that's where it counts. I would first check that the main narrow part of the wagon is level and make any adjustments there. There should be adjustments to the extension table at the hinge post where the support attaches to the machine base, the eccentrically mounted bearings in the telescoping support, and the vertical post at the end of that support.

[Greg Quenneville]

If I understand the situation correctly I think the adjustment needs to be done at the hinge casting. If its sagging in the middle the hinge axis could be canted out of vertical away from the machine, either through wear or bad adjustment.

[Michael Schuch]

Like the others I think you definitely need to post some pictures to get any kind of meaningful help with this.