Jameel Abraham
07-29-2007, 5:13 PM
Everytime I start up my 2002 Delta Unisaw, I get this loud metal-on-metal thunk that drives me crazy. It even causes the blade to jump to the side momentarily, albeit minutely.
I took a peek at the motor itself while starting the saw and I'm pretty sure I've tracked it down to the height adjustment screw and it's engagement with the rack that's mounted to the motor mount. There's just enough play in the gear teeth that when the motor is started the torque bangs the rack teeth against the screw teeth and the thunk happens. I've tried turning the height adjustment wheel so I end on both raising and lowering, and tightening down the nut at the center of the handle. No luck with that.
I further tested my theory by removing the cabinet cover and holding the motor rigidly (effectively removing the slop in the worm gear) by either pushing on the motor or pulling on the motor while I started the saw. This eliminated the thunk. I further tested this by completely raisng the blade, which also removes any slop in the worm gear since the arbor bracket seats tightly to the worm gear when the blade is completely raised. This also eliminated the thunk.
The manual does not mention any adjustments to this mechanism. And I can't see any way to eliminate it. I've been living with this for about 4 years now and am getting really sick of it.
I hope somebody here can shed some light.
I took a peek at the motor itself while starting the saw and I'm pretty sure I've tracked it down to the height adjustment screw and it's engagement with the rack that's mounted to the motor mount. There's just enough play in the gear teeth that when the motor is started the torque bangs the rack teeth against the screw teeth and the thunk happens. I've tried turning the height adjustment wheel so I end on both raising and lowering, and tightening down the nut at the center of the handle. No luck with that.
I further tested my theory by removing the cabinet cover and holding the motor rigidly (effectively removing the slop in the worm gear) by either pushing on the motor or pulling on the motor while I started the saw. This eliminated the thunk. I further tested this by completely raisng the blade, which also removes any slop in the worm gear since the arbor bracket seats tightly to the worm gear when the blade is completely raised. This also eliminated the thunk.
The manual does not mention any adjustments to this mechanism. And I can't see any way to eliminate it. I've been living with this for about 4 years now and am getting really sick of it.
I hope somebody here can shed some light.