Table Saw lockdown clamp is too tight

[Jeff Atnip]

I have had my Sears Craftsman 21829 table saw now for several months and I have been very pleased with it. However, the fence lockdown clamp is giving me problems. It used to be very smooth and it locked down with a smooth easy click. Now for some reason it only wants to go down halfway without the click. It is still usable, but the handle stops at the straight out position instead of down. I could push it further, but I am afraid I would break something. It was a gradual thing, it got tighter and tighter over the course of a few days.

I have taken it apart and lubricated it with graphite, but that did not help. I have loosened the screw at the far end of the fence, also with no good results.

Any ideas? Thank you.

[Bob Knodel]

I have had my Sears Craftsman 21829 table saw now for several months and I have been very pleased with it. However, the fence lockdown clamp is giving me problems. It used to be very smooth and it locked down with a smooth easy click. Now for some reason it only wants to go down halfway without the click. It is still usable, but the handle stops at the straight out position instead of down. I could push it further, but I am afraid I would break something. It was a gradual thing, it got tighter and tighter over the course of a few days.

I have taken it apart and lubricated it with graphite, but that did not help. I have loosened the screw at the far end of the fence, also with no good results.

Any ideas? Thank you.

The fence for my Jet TS did the same thing to me. I took the think apart and filed the rocker down just a bit. It did the trick and now works like a charm.

[Jeff Atnip]

Thanks, I may have to do that, although I would still like to know what is the root of the problem.

[Jerry Pittman]

Bob,
The Craftsman 21829 is a Craftsman clone of a popular Ryobi saw used, and loved, by many for years. It has its own forum that is very helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. It is a dedicated forum to the Ryobi BT3000 and 3100 saws but has numerous interesting and informative boards as well. Here's the link: www.bt3central.com (http://www.bt3central.com). Check it out; I think you'll find it helpful and enjoyable.
HTH,
Jerry

[Jeff Atnip]

Yes, thank you. I found the BT forum a while ago and found one other person who had a similar fence problem. He fixed it with a lubricant. I've tried the same thing, but it didn't help. But now that you mention it, I will go there and try to look some more.

[Fred Haydon]

Jeff,

Forgive me here as I'm unfamiliar with this fence. But it seems to me that if the lockdown fence worked fine for months and then gradually tightened itself up to where it is now, then something has changed. I would take a look at the thru-bolt that the handle pivots on, or any other pivot points for that matter, and see if a bolt is rotating and the nut is bound up (or the reverse) and causing a bind or pinch condition.

If this condition existed from the beginning, then you might look at filing or grinding to relieve the bind, but it WAS working fine. Continue on in your investigation and keep us posted. Others always seem to benefit down the road.

Cheers,
Fred

[john bateman]

I own the Ryobi version of that saw. The handle is only supposed to go slightly below horizontal for it to lock the movement of the fence. It doesn't click. The way you've been using it previously is actually wrong.

Having said that, there is an adjustment screw at the other end of the fence to adjust the clamping pressure. It's also possible you never had the clamping mechanism at that end seated properly in the rear fence rail. Maybe you do now, and it has started to work correctly.