HELP with Craftsman Contractor Saw

[Andy Haney]

Mine is a model no. 113.298032 bought over 20 years ago. I've got the books with diagrams and part numbers.

I Bit the bullet at the WW Show for PALS and an alignment kit. Finally got PALS installed and dial indicator on the saw today, and was able to get the same tooth to check out on opposite ends well within .001". However, spinning the blade reveals there is deflection(?) of as much as .01" as the blade goes around.

I think I've seen here on woodworking forums (maybe here) that this may result from a worn bearing. Please confirm this or review other potential causes. For the time being I'd like to repair this saw. Thanks in advance for your help.

Andy Haney
Ottawa, Kansas

[Chris Padilla]

Andy,

I believe that is called runout of the arbor. It could be a bad bearing or could have always been like that since day one although I'm not well versed in what the tolerance should be for your saw type for runout.

[Tyler Howell]

Andy,
I say Blast. When Woodcraft didn't have a zero clearance insert yesterday for my you know what POS saw. I decided to stop flogging this dead hoarse. You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. It is time to intensify my search for a real saw.:o
With a magnetic base on your dial gage you can check the movement on the arbor. Good Luck!:rolleyes:

[Tom Peterson]

Andy, I stopped putting money into my 10 year old crapsman last year. As soon as Uncle Sam gives me my money back that I loaned to him (tax refund) the cabinet saw is coming. For all of you who gave me input on your favorites and helped with the decision making, thanks load. I decided on a Unisaw. best of luck

[Andy Haney]

Thanks for the correction Chris. Couldn't think of runout. Duh.

I have no dispute with your evaluation of Craftsman tools Tom. However, this is the saw I have, and I'm trying to make it work as well as possible. I'm not willing to put 220 volt into the undersized garage I'm sharing with my wife's car, and look forward to the time I can have a "real" shop with "real" tools.

I have received some good troubleshooting info and intend to check those things out in daylight tomorrow. I will appreciate any further good information that will help me get the saw properly tuned.

Andy Haney

[Bruce Page]

Andy, have your cuts up to now been acceptable? You could simply have a warped blade. Try a different blade and see if the .010 runout disappears. If it does then your problem is solved - you will need to re-align your blade once again though. If you get a similar runout then it is probably bad bearings or it could be a bent arbor shaft.

[John Christiansen]

I have to agree with Bruce.

If same tooth measurment is good then it's not likely bearing runout.

What you describe says warped blade to me.

[Dave Bartley]

I fought the same thing with my 1960 Rockwell saw. Just by chance I decided to check it with a blade stabilizer installed. Did the trick for me.

[Tom Hintz]

Andy,
While numbers you are coming up with are not severe, it is nice to get the saw as close as possible. Whether it says Craftsman on it or not has nothing to do with it.
I have a few stories about alignments in the Tips & Tricks section (tablesaw heading) of my site that might be of help also.
I would start at the arbor washer itself and carefully measure for runout, then work your way back out to the installed blade. Also, checking it with another blade is a good idea just to quantify the first measurements.
If your cuts have been good so far, you are close, but check anyway to see if you can tweak it a little closer for both your safety and peace of mind.
After that, cut lots of stuff and make cool things!

http://www.newwoodworker.com/tipstrksdir.html

[Lee Schierer]

ten thousandths run out is a bit high. Change blades and see if you get the same amount of run out. Also check the flange on the arbor and make sure there isn't some debris on it. Check the run out of the flange itself and see how bad it is. Also see if the arbor shaft is running out.

[Andy Haney]

Thanks for the feedback. I just completed the adjustment, and the saw cuts well. The blade checks out within .002" front to back, and varies no more than .004" throughout the turn. This was accomplished mostly by cleaning up around the arbor flange.

That was so simple that I may have to arrange for counseling because I didn't think of that myself. I appreciate your patience and ideas.

Andy Haney
Ottawa, Kansas