Please help - PM66 tilt crank stuck

[Jim Harmon]

Well, actually not all the way stuck but very difficult to turn. My right shoulder is still recovering from tilting the blade last week! Is there an adjustment or secret to keeping this operating smoothly?

This saw is only a few years old and it's always been much more difficult to turn than my Unisaw's crank. Like an idiot I did try to remedy this in the past with some lithium grease - never do that! What a mess. I spent more than an hour cleaning that out of all the teeth, etc. Don't know what I was thinking...

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Jim

P.S. I am a long time reader but first time poster. I love the Sawmill Creek forums!

[Doug Shepard]

Did you double check the center locking knob to make sure it's free?

[Jim Harmon]

Did you double check the center locking knob to make sure it's free?

Thanks for the speedy reply! Good question.

Yes, my center locking knob is fully free while I'm having all this trouble - I made sure of that.

I guess mostly I'm wondering what the typical experience is with these - are they typically pretty hard to move?

Jim

[Steve Kohn]

My PM66 was made in 2000. I bought it used. The tilt mechanism does not require excessive force to move.

[Jeff Boult]

There is an adjustment that can allow for easier turning of the crank. Check your owner's manual. If you don't still have, it is available on the PM site. Good illustration and easy to do (with a little body ballet). Also check to make sure that your rise/fall mec isn't full of pitch and sawdust.

[Joe Jensen]

Thanks for the speedy reply! Good question.

Yes, my center locking knob is fully free while I'm having all this trouble - I made sure of that.

I guess mostly I'm wondering what the typical experience is with these - are they typically pretty hard to move?

Jim

I had a PM66 for 15 years. Always very easy to move. Even easier to tilt than to change the blade height.

[Jim Becker]

My previous saw...a Jet cabinet saw...had the same issue...it was very tight at the 90º and 45º extremities.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Jim,

I used teflon spray for motor cycle chains. It lubes well and it designed to prevent dirt build up. Since you cleaned the grease off did the gears rust? Paste wax works well also. You should be able to spray the worm gear through the slot it the front of the saw that the tilt indicator stick through.

[Al Willits]

Had the locking hub embarrassment a bit ago, but after finding out about that, it still was a bit rough to turn, seems the gears had some sort of grease/oil on them from the factory, and collected sawdust, I used brake clean on them and then blew out with a air hose.
Put a touch of white lithium grease on the gears and they've work fine since.
Al

[Jim Harmon]

You know, it's hard to tell whether it's just adjusted tightly or perhaps it's always been gummed up with factory something or other. I did get in there with a small scraper thing and tooth brush, rags, etc. to clean out the mess I made with the Li grease but I never got to the point where I could say it was sparkling clean, that's for sure! It's very hard to access - just a bit from the front and then through the motor opening on the side.

Let me see if I can find the manual for an adjustment that I can perhaps do and I'll try the silicon stuff. Maybe I should even call PM customer service. My shoulder cannot take much more of this. I'll report back what the deal is.

Thanks for all the replies! Awesome :)
Jim

[RANDY PAULK]

Jim, I had a similar problem with mine a few months back. Like yours, mine had always been difficult, since I purchased it five or six years ago. I finally removed the top and had to align or re-align the gear mechanisms. I also found small burrs on some of the gears, which i filed off. That cured the problem and my saw has worked very easily since. I used paste wax on the gears when I re-installed them. It took about three hours to fix.

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

Jim,

I have a grizzly cabinet saw that worked great . Then one day it seemed to be binding on the up and down wheel. I tried to clean through the saw slot and the indicator slot and finally took the top off and really cleaned the sawdust and gunk out of it ( I guess from the factory). It has worked ok since then. It was easier than I thought to take the top off and realign the saw afterwords.

Roger

[Dar Lounsbury]

Make sure that the part the center locking knob tightens does really release when loosened. Sort of like a router collet, you can loosen the nut but the bit sometimes stick.

I would tap lightly on the center knob, while loosened, and see if it improves.

Good luck

[Ted Miller]

Check to see if you have any scratches or gouges in the trunions, this will cause very tight and difficult to move...