Craftsman 22124

[Jay Radke]

Hi,

I just joined this group yesterday, after getting my craftsman 22124 last Friday. I was wondering if any of the other owners out there can share their insider knowledge on setup of this saw. Some of the questions that I have are the following. Did you use just WD-40 to clean the saw as recommended in the manual? Also what type of wax did you use for the cast iron table?? Has anyone installed PALS on this unit??? Any other helpfull hints would be well appreciated.

Thanks,
jay

[Chuck Lenz]

Johnson's or Minwax paste floor wax works good.

[scott spencer]

WD-40 or mineral spirits works well for cleanup. As Chuck mentioned, Johnsons or Minwax are as good as any, and are easy to find. My preference is to use a light coat of Boeshield T9 allowed to dry completely, then follow it with a coat or two of wax....gives me 6-7 months of rust protection in an unheated/uncooled garage in a northeast climate...YMMV.

No need for PALS....they won't even work with these trunnions. You've got cabinet mounted trunnions which are easy to align by themselves. Just be sure to loosen the table top and not the trunnions if you need to align it. The stock Leitz blade is pretty good IMHO, but there are better if you're fussy....I've had really good results on my 22124 with the Freud LU88R010 (http://www0.epinions.com/content_226312687236) 60T, Forrest WWII 30T (http://www0.epinions.com/content_384567447172) and 40T (http://www0.epinions.com/content_145552674436) TK's, Ridge Carbide TS2000TK (http://www.holbren.com/product.php?productid=119&cat=0&page=1)(use Holbren "SMC10" for 10%), and the Infinity Combomax TK (http://www0.epinions.com/content_380232306308). At the very least I'd add a decent 24T TK ripper like a Leitz/Irwin 24T FTG TK ripper (http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB4&Number=3179690&Forum=f4&Words=&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=3142909&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=33376&daterange=1&newerval=1&newertype=m&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post3179690) (aka HO Schumacher), Infinity 010-124 (http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1195), DeWalt DW7124PT (http://www.amazon.com/DeWalt-DW7124PT-10-Inch-Ripping-8-Inch/dp/B000HCVN5C/ref=sr_1_1/103-0666017-4028638?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1187288947&sr=8-1), or Frued LU87R010 (http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU87R010-10-Inch-Ripping-PermaShield/dp/B0000225UH/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0666017-4028638?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1187288981&sr=1-1).

[Alex Berkovsky]

Jay,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new saw. You may want to consider replacing the stock blade guard with an aftermarket such as a Shark Guard (http://www.leestyron.com/sharkcrman.php).

A question to all the 22124 owners out there... do you have a problem with saw dust collecting in the cabinet around the power cord are? If so, how are you dealing with it?

[glenn bradley]

Hi Jay,

Along with Scott and some others I have tricked out my zip code saw pretty well. As to assembly hint and tips. Before you put your wings or fence on; be sure the top is positioned. It can be adjusted as per Scott's post.

What you are looking for is blade position in the throat when at 90* AND at 45*. Should be fine right out of the cage but, just in case . . . it is not something you want to setup after assembly.

To get your extension wings level it can be necessary to shim along the bolt line. I used the metallic tape used for HVAC but brass or cut up beer cans will work ;-). Use shims of a good length as opposed to little squares. It is surprising how soft cast iron is and you can actually introduce warp by shimming carelessly.

In a nutshell, I did this:

Confirmed top position to blade (throat clearance and parallel between blade and miter slot).
Leveled cabinet and top to mother earth.
Leveled wings and attached fence rails with front rail a little loose.
Adjust for fence clearance and 90* to top (there's a hardboard template in the box with the fence).
Adjust fence parallel to miter slot.
Rock and Roll.

Other fun stuff to do:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=52556&d=1166223783
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=55575&d=1169337075
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=44502
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=59692&d=1173332187
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=50581

And a peek at Scott's:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63567

[scott spencer]

...A question to all the 22124 owners out there... do you have a problem with saw dust collecting in the cabinet around the power cord are? If so, how are you dealing with it?

...only when I open it up and look! :D I just vacuum it out once or twice a year as needed.

[Ed Bamba]

Tilt the blade all the way to the left and see if it is too close to the insert. Mine was actually touching the insert and had to elongate the cabinet's mounting holes in order to get enough adjustment room. Do this prior to installing the fence components in case you need to remove the top. It makes it a lot easier to enlarge the holes with the top off.

Ed

[Jay Radke]

Thanks for all the help so far. I am sure I will have some more questions. I just got my moblie Jet base yesterday. Today I will be doing some cleaning on the saw.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for all the help so far. I am sure I will have some more questions. I just got my moblie Jet base yesterday. Today I will be doing some cleaning on the saw.
You may have seen this one already Jay. I'm not sure how it happened knowing how solid the saw is once set up correctly BUT, this sort of accident obviously can happen. Ounce of prevention and all that ;-)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63650&highlight=hybrid

[Jay Radke]

Glenn, thanks for the reference. I have space in the garage to do my work so having it on a mobile base is required for storage. But I will be sure the floor is clean before moving it!!:eek:

[Jay Radke]

What type of dado blades do you guys use?

[Jay Radke]

How much cleaning did you have to do underneath the table? Was there anything really cacked on the gears??

[Barry Anderson]

I need to clean the sawdust out of the base every couple of months. I've been wondering if waxing the chute would help out!?! I believe I will also mount my AC cord off of the dust chute to another part of the saw so it doesn't fill up as quickly.

Occassionally, the up/down gears jam with sawdust. A vacuum of that area fixes it up.

I've been thinking ... do you think that the 3hp motor on the Steel City hybrid would fit the Sears? They are both made by Orion and (to me) and look to be identical in their construction. I could really use a little more power.

Barry in WV

[scott spencer]

What type of dado blades do you guys use?

DW7670 (http://www.epinions.com/user-woody2)


How much cleaning did you have to do underneath the table? Was there anything really cacked on the gears??

Depends on usage, materials being cut, moisture, etc., but it can need a cleaning after a couple of big projects.


...I've been thinking ... do you think that the 3hp motor on the Steel City hybrid would fit the Sears? They are both made by Orion and (to me) and look to be identical in their construction. I could really use a little more power.

Barry in WV

The motor frame should fit, but that doesn't mean the structure will do well with the added weight, though I've wondered the same thing....you might be fine but I just dunno for certain. Good alignment and blade selection can go along way in optimizing the power you've got though...there's really been nothing I've struggled much with even up to full blade height with old wine vat white oak and 10/4" hard maple.

[Jay Radke]

The question was more in regards to cleaning out of the box, ie brand new. I know some stuff gets shipped from China with all kinds of red paste all over it. The 22124 didnt seem to have much when I took a quick look inside. Just wondering what others experinced. But thanks of the other suggestions and the answer to the dado blade question. Its great to get all these answers with having to reinvent the wheel so to speak.

[Jay Radke]

Last Sunday I was able to get a neighbor to help get the base of the crate and into my moblie base. I started to assemble the TS on Labor Day. Things were going quite well until I pulled the fence out of the box and attempted to put it on the table. It turns out that they didnt include either hardware pack for the fence, in either box. So I had to call Sears yesterday. To my surprise I went straight to a real person, an american at that. I mentioned the problem, he asked for the model number of the saw. Then asked for my address to send out the parts. I also gave him the part pack numbers from the manual. Hopefully they show up before the weekend.

While doing the belt installation, I noticed that there was some grease on the the worm drives for the blade height and tilt. Did anyone clean that off or leave it on. I could see the merits in both. As of yet I havent clean them, but I could see that after a few rips that sawdust would accumulate fast on that grease. Any advice is always appreciated.

So far everything seems to be in good alingment. That is by rough estimation. I plan on getting the TS-Aligner to the final alignments.