What's up with my TS?

[Michael Barry]

Do any of you folks know how I would go about repairing my table saw. When I try to remove the arbor nut the whole arbor spins. Can't get the blade off.

[Steve Clardy]

Does it have a couple of flat places on the arbor, between blade and bearing housing?

[Doug Shepard]

Tighten the belts?

[Kev Coleman]

i had that problem when my arbor washer got flattened out too much. the threads on the arbor were not deep enough onto the arbor so the nut would bottom out on the arbor and not tighen up against the saw blade. not only couldnt I tighten up the saw blade enough, I tightened up the nut so much it was difficult to get off. I had to hold the belt tight with one hand to keep the arbor from spinning and then got the nut off. I fixed my problem by adding another washer to the arbor.

[Mike Canaris]

The threads are gummed up..you have to take a small brass brush or a tough toothbrush and spray some wd-40 on it and scrub it....

Mine did that ..but the arbor has a keyway on it where I can insert a wrench to hold it...and another on the arbor nut...(General 350)

[Larry Cooke]

Be sure you know whether you have left or right hand threads. A right tilt saw will have left hand threads I believe. Something else to think about...

You can verify this by looking carefully at the exposed threads.

Larry

[Jim O'Dell]

Do any of you folks know how I would go about repairing my table saw. When I try to remove the arbor nut the whole arbor spins. Can't get the blade off.

Michael, do you mean that the blade turns with the arbor nut, and therefore you can't hold the blade and/or arbor to loosen the arbor nut? Or is the blade freewheeling on the arbor, and the arbor nut won't loosen, as I believe Kev read your note to be. Could be taken either way. If you are having trouble holding the blade to loosen the arbor nut, go to a local Woodcraft or Lowes and get one of the Blade-loc units. Bright orange plastic piece that sits over the blade and allows you to hold it while loosening the arbor nut. About 15.00. It holds the blade while you loosen the arbor nut. Saves your knuckles, and keeps you from wedging a piece of wood between the blade and trunion, and flexing, possibly bending, the blade in the process. If the blade is spinning on the arbor with the arbor stationary and the nut won't loosen. you are going to have to somehow hold the arbor while turning the nut. Difficult to do with a blade on the arbor! You might post what kind of table saw you have. That might help in getting you a "best" answer for your particular situation. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. Jim

[Michael Barry]

Well, I got it off. What was happening was that when I turned the arbor nut the arbor was turning with it and the blade was just spinning on the arbor. I sprayed some WD40 on the threads and the nut, then held the belt while turning the nut. It came right off.
The washer Doesn't look like it's flattened at all, however the belt looks a bit worn. Could it be the belt?
Thank you gentle men for your advice.

[Jim O'Dell]

I'd get another washer to be safe. Make sure it fits the arbor properly. You don't want something with too big a hole that could cause a vibration problem because it was slightly out of balance. If you are using a thin kerf blade, maybe one of the blade stiffeners would be perfect for the job. Jim.

[Michael Barry]

Thanks Jim, I'll do that. It wasn't a thin kerf blade and I routinely use a blade stiffener. This hasn't happened before and I was worried it was something serious.