Cabinet saw; don't try this at home

[Rick Moyer]

I had some spare time so I decided to tune up the saw. I have a TS Aligner Jr. and set about to check allignments in order etc. When I got to the blade tilt part I had a hard time turning the tilt crank. I hardly ever make beveled cuts so I assumed the gears were gunked up. I proceded to lubricate the gears and tried to force the tilt crank thinking it needed to move thru the range to clean off the gear mechanism. It was apparently really clogged as I really had to crank on it to get it to move. I had gotten it to about 10 degrees when I saw a problem; and also remembered something at the same time. The problem was the right side of the case where the handle is was noticibly caved in. Not good. I also now could not raise the blade either. It was at this point that I remembered the plywood I had put on the rear of the saw to aide in dust collection. Pic. 1 shows the plywood after the fact. Pic 2 shows how badly I bent the saw's case structure.:mad:
I had been wanting to get a Grizzly 1023, but that's not in the cards yet. Fortunately I can still get the required part from Sears. I decided to get the P.A.L.S for this saw while I'm at it, so I guess I'll be keeping this for a while now. Hope this little experience will help someone else.

[scott spencer]

Yikes! :eek: At least the cast iron top still looks flat! ;)

(...looks like your link belt is backwards too...definitely good reason for a new saw! :D)

[Robert Meyer]

I had some spare time so I decided to tune up the saw. I have a TS Aligner Jr. and set about to check allignments in order etc. When I got to the blade tilt part I had a hard time turning the tilt crank. I hardly ever make beveled cuts so I assumed the gears were gunked up. I proceded to lubricate the gears and tried to force the tilt crank thinking it needed to move thru the range to clean off the gear mechanism. It was apparently really clogged as I really had to crank on it to get it to move. I had gotten it to about 10 degrees when I saw a problem; and also remembered something at the same time. The problem was the right side of the case where the handle is was noticibly caved in. Not good. I also now could not raise the blade either. It was at this point that I remembered the plywood I had put on the rear of the saw to aide in dust collection. Pic. 1 shows the plywood after the fact. Pic 2 shows how badly I bent the saw's case structure.:mad:
I had been wanting to get a Grizzly 1023, but that's not in the cards yet. Fortunately I can still get the required part from Sears. I decided to get the P.A.L.S for this saw while I'm at it, so I guess I'll be keeping this for a while now. Hope this little experience will help someone else.
I have been known to crank the blade over with my zero clearance insert (90degree) still in. No matter how much I cranked etc. Only had to buy a new blade fortunately.

[Rob Russell]

You're a good man, Charlie Brown!

All of us have done stupid things. You've the gumption to post about yours!

Trust me, I've done stuff that was just as bad. You definitely kick yourself in those moments!

[Matt Schroeder]

After reading another thread about somebody doing the same thing I decided to use cardboard for the cover on the rear of my contractor's saw. I could see myself cussing as I reached for the breaker bar, because I know this darn handwheel is supposed to turn...

[Rick Gibson]

I did almost the same thing, no cover on the saw but I had a workbench up against the back of the saw for outfeed support. When I saw the bench start to lift off the floor I knew something was wrong. No damage thankfully.

For dust control Dave at the saw shop (Canadian) has an item called the boot. Basically a cloth sock that slips over the motor and one end gets velcroed to the back edges of the saw opening. The other end has a drawstring that gets tightened around the cover for the belt drive. Been trying to get the wife to make me one for a while.

[Steve Campbell]

Rick I have what appears to be the same saw. If you cut a piece of plywood so it just fits inside the saw on the tilt handle side of the cabinet it will stiffen the whole tilting process up. I used 3/4 inch but 1/2 would probably be enough. Just drill a hole where the tilt rod goes in and drill a few holes for some wood screws to hold it tight against the cabinet side.

Try it. you Will like it.

Steve

[Rick Moyer]

Scott- Yes the top is still good. at least as good as it was anyway. I think I decided to take a pic after partially starting to disassemble and so just threw the link belt back on for the pic. Probably wasn't worried about direction at that point.
Matt- Cardboard may be the way to go next time around.
Steve- Thanks for the tip. I may do that. Wasn't a problem prior to the ply panel but isn't a bad idea.

[Keith Beck]

Rick,

Rest easy, you're not alone. I did the same thing when I still had a contractor's saw. Luckily I made my cover out of leftover paneling, so it gave way before the saw did.

Keith

[Bob Wingard]

psssst .. .. .. turn your link-belt around .. .. I think it's running in the wrong direction .. .. ..

[Tom Henderson2]

(...looks like your link belt is backwards too...definitely good reason for a new saw! :D)

Are you sure? Looks OK to me..... and matches the little arrows on the links.

At first it looks wrong, but this way the little tabs lay back smoothly as they roll over the pulley.

-Tom H.
Ventura, CA

[scott spencer]

Are you sure? Looks OK to me..... and matches the little arrows on the links.

At first it looks wrong, but this way the little tabs lay back smoothly as they roll over the pulley.

-Tom H.
Ventura, CA

Well, I can't say as though I'm positive but it's different from the one in this pic...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/sawparts/contractorTSmotor.jpg

...it's a small issue at best...just gets a little louder if backwards.

[Roy Hatch]

Rick, I notice you are using a link belt. A few months ago I had vacuumed the shop and inadvertently lift the power cable of the vac draped over the link belt. You can guess what happened. I noticed a different sound the next time in powered up the saw, but was fortunate to discover my error before wearing clear through the cable. I got far enough to see the 2 shiny wires within, but I didn't short anything. A bit of electrical tape and it's okay.

Not sure where this fits on my list of "dumb things", but it's not one that I want to try again.

Roy

[Bob Wingard]

I'm not positive .. .. and I'm not sure how much it really matters, but I read somewhere that he arrows should point in the direction of travel.

[Rick Moyer]

I'm not positive .. .. and I'm not sure how much it really matters, but I read somewhere that he arrows should point in the direction of travel.

Bob, re-read my post above. The link belt was just thrown back on for the pic after I had taken it off to disassemble the saw. I didn't bother to line it up or install it correctly just to snap a photo.

[Bob Wingard]

Can't "re-read" it .. .. .. I overlooked it the first time around .. .. .. sorry .. .. .. my fault !! !! !!

[Tom Henderson2]

I'm not positive .. .. and I'm not sure how much it really matters, but I read somewhere that he arrows should point in the direction of travel.

That is correct. And the arrows are tiny little buggers, printed on the links. Gotta look closely to see them.

When those arrows point in the direction of travel, the large "V" shapes visible on the outside of the belt have their open side towards the direction of travel, with the tabs trailing behind as shown in the photo below. (Sorry about the poor quality; getting a good closeup of a shiny surface like that isn't easy but it is the best I could do)

The belt is correctly installed as shown in the original photo.

-Tom H.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2265551797_844546e98e_b.jpg

[Bob Wingard]

YUP !! !! As usual .. .. I'm wrong !! !! I wuz working from memory instead of going down & looking at mine to be sure .. .. my apologies .. ..

[scott spencer]

That is correct. And the arrows are tiny little buggers, printed on the links. Gotta look closely to see them.

When those arrows point in the direction of travel, the large "V" shapes visible on the outside of the belt have their open side towards the direction of travel, with the tabs trailing behind as shown in the photo below. (Sorry about the poor quality; getting a good closeup of a shiny surface like that isn't easy but it is the best I could do)

The belt is correctly installed as shown in the original photo.

-Tom H.




Thanks for clarifying Tom. Sorry to drudge this up over nothing Rick, but I did learn something... I'd never noticed the arrow markings before...I guess I'd always assumed that people were talking about the arrow shape that "V" of the links create. That means that the link belt that I though I had originally installed backwards on my GI contractor saw was correct until I "fixed" it! :eek: :rolleyes: