Table saw mechanism lube

[Tom Henderson2]

I'm in the process of a complete teardown & rebuild of my Dad's old mid-sixties vintage craftsman contractor saw. Someday I hope to own a nice cabinet saw but for the time being, this is what I've got.

It is a model 113.29901 for those that follow such things.

Here is how I plan to lubricate it when it goes back together; If anybody has any thoughts about how to do it better, I'd love to hear about it.

I also know there are a lot of different opinions. So maybe we'll all learn something.

The arbor housing bearing (the pivot-point for raising/lowering the blade) is pretty well contained. So I'll spray the axle (which is pressed into the main casting) with moly dry-film lube, and very sparingly apply some moly disulfide grease to the inside diameter of the bearing.

The lift-screw shaft is also pretty well isolated/contained, away from a lot of sawdust. So I'll probably use either lubriplate or moly disulfide grease, very sparingly.

I know most books and articles suggest staying away from grease since it tends to be a sawdust magnet. But in these two applications, I don't think they will get a lot of squeeze-out, and they are pretty well isolated from direct dust contact. So I'm hoping it will work.

The lift-screw and tilt-screw threads and gear teeth will get lubed with paste wax. Dry film lube won't survive the scraping that the threads see, and wax seems to be the favorite for exposed mechanisms.

The trunnions will get spray moly dry-film lube. If/when it wears or chips off, I'll lube it with wax. Hopefully the DFL will hang in there for a while; it is usually pretty good in a sliding application.

So that's the plan. If anybody has a better way, or thinks any of the choices I've made are particularly poor, I hope you'll chime in.

Thanks!

-Tom H.

[Jerry Henderson]

Tom

Thanks for the info I also have the same saw. I bought it from my uncle that was a carpenter/cabinetmaker for many years. It is now in bad need of a total cleanup, repaint and setup. I want a new Ridgid but this will do for who knows how long. Thanks again.

Jerry


I'm in the process of a complete teardown & rebuild of my Dad's old mid-sixties vintage craftsman contractor saw. Someday I hope to own a nice cabinet saw but for the time being, this is what I've got.

It is a model 113.29901 for those that follow such things.

Here is how I plan to lubricate it when it goes back together; If anybody has any thoughts about how to do it better, I'd love to hear about it.

I also know there are a lot of different opinions. So maybe we'll all learn something.

The arbor housing bearing (the pivot-point for raising/lowering the blade) is pretty well contained. So I'll spray the axle (which is pressed into the main casting) with moly dry-film lube, and very sparingly apply some moly disulfide grease to the inside diameter of the bearing.

The lift-screw shaft is also pretty well isolated/contained, away from a lot of sawdust. So I'll probably use either lubriplate or moly disulfide grease, very sparingly.

I know most books and articles suggest staying away from grease since it tends to be a sawdust magnet. But in these two applications, I don't think they will get a lot of squeeze-out, and they are pretty well isolated from direct dust contact. So I'm hoping it will work.

The lift-screw and tilt-screw threads and gear teeth will get lubed with paste wax. Dry film lube won't survive the scraping that the threads see, and wax seems to be the favorite for exposed mechanisms.

The trunnions will get spray moly dry-film lube. If/when it wears or chips off, I'll lube it with wax. Hopefully the DFL will hang in there for a while; it is usually pretty good in a sliding application.

So that's the plan. If anybody has a better way, or thinks any of the choices I've made are particularly poor, I hope you'll chime in.

Thanks!

-Tom H.

[Walt Stevens]

When I got my new Grizzly 1023SL, I stripped all lubricant off the trunions and rep[laced it with Johnsons's past wax (that I also used for the exposed cast iron surfaces). The wax doesn't pick up much sawdust, so everything stays cleaner. I believe this is consistent with the advice from Kelly Mehler in "The Table Saw book".

[scott spencer]

Tom

Thanks for the info I also have the same saw. I bought it from my uncle that was a carpenter/cabinetmaker for many years. It is now in bad need of a total cleanup, repaint and setup. I want a new Ridgid but this will do for who knows how long. Thanks again.

Jerry

Hi Jerry - That Ridgid saw you'd like is a direct descendant of the older Craftsman saw. The 113.###### saws were made by Emerson, which began making the same basic saw under the Ridgid name in 1997. It's now manufactured by TTI, Ryobi's parent company but has very similar guts to the old Emerson Craftsman saws. The biggest differences are the fence, wings, belt style, and the Herculift....and color...

[Jerry Henderson]

Scott

Thanks for the info, the old saw is really a pretty good old saw. I guess I just have the bug :D. The fence is still reasonably accurate. It just needs some TLC. I will re-evaluate my "needs" when I get it cleaned up and painted. It has a hefty feel to all the controls but the 1 H.P. motor is lacking somewhat. I was going to put a Vega U-26 fence on it but they went up to $300.00 from $219.00 this week. That, a new blade, what I paid for it and some paint, etc. would buy a new TS3660 from Ridgid or I could hold out for the new Granite topped R4511 Hybrid for $600.00. Too many options for my simple mind. :confused:

Jerry



Hi Jerry - That Ridgid saw you'd like is a direct descendant of the older Craftsman saw. The 113.###### saws were made by Emerson, which began making the same basic saw under the Ridgid name in 1997. It's now manufactured by TTI, Ryobi's parent company but has very similar guts to the old Emerson Craftsman saws. The biggest differences are the fence, wings, belt style, and the Herculift....and color...

[glenn bradley]

I use a dry teflon spray which may be similar to your moly product.

[Chip Lindley]

Any dry lube is better than something greasy! Evidently your Craftsman TS is a keeper!

A brand new 1974 Craftsman TS was my first. I wish I had kinder things to say about it, but I struggled along with that saw far too long. The fence was a total POS, but worse were the "screws" which took 1000 turns of the cheap plastic crank, to raise or tilt the blade. Dust always seemed to get into the screw threads, which caused hard cranking regardless of what lube I used.

God Blessed me in the '80s when I found an old Rockwell contractors saw at an auction!! The rack and pinion raise/tilt made a true Believer of me! I completely rebuilt it and never looked Back! Even the old Jet-Lock fence of the Rockwell was light years ahead of the Craftsman. I have moved on now to a PM66 with Biesemeyer, but still hated to part with that old Rockwell, because it did everything I asked of it for 20 years!

Don't Even get me started on 70s Craftsman routers!! Sorry for the "TAOLG" (...thats GLOAT spelled backward) but I could not resist. Those two Craftsman power tools were THE negative experiences I have had during 35 years of woodworking!

But, Good Luck with lubing your 60's TS, and happy Cranking!

[Jerry Henderson]

Tom, I'm sorry we seem to have taken your thread over. Since posting above I've included the G1023SL in my wish list. I ran onto a Biesemeyer 36-B30 setup new in the box for under half price, talk about a HEAVY fence system this is it. I might put it on the old Craftsman (talk about a silk purse and sows ear) or get a better saw that might compliment each other.

I will wait untill after the Christmas season for sales, and to see if my wife looses her job due to the economy, God I hope not.

[Gary McKown]

Tom, are the trunnions aluminum (they are on my old 113.299040)? If so, I wonder if moly lube is a good idea? I just lube mine occasionally (can be accessed thru the throat opening or the rear, with a bit of difficulty). For this and just about everything else I use paraffin - dissolve some in naphtha, paint it on, and let dry to leave a thin film on the parts.

While the guts are accessible, I would make sure there is no play in the arbor bearings. Should be rock-solid both axially and radially. I had to replace mine after a million miles of use, including heavy steel sanding disks and thick dado stacks. At the time (6 years ago) Sears still sold the parts.

[Scott Myers]

An interesting approach to applying parafin, or any solvent soluble "dry lube" for that matter. I'll have to play around with that. The method has probably been around a long while, but I have never ran into it. Thanks Gary!