Factory Blade Location for a Sears Zip Code (22124) Saw

[Jim Brad]

I just picked up this 12 year old saw from a fellow who was upgrading. I'm carefully cleaning and reassembling the saw now and had a issue that even the Great Google could not answer...

While setting the blade alignment to the miter slots, and also while setting the front Biesemeyer rail, it occurred to me that the previous owners could have adjusted this tool over time and that I might not be starting with a factory alignment. The notch on the Biesemeyer rail is offset to the right of the blade path by about 1/8" and the holes drilled in the saw do not allow the rail to be moved (without enlarging or moving holes, which I am sure the Sears folks did not intend).

So, before I start from a bad alignment, does anyone know what the approximate blade alignment distance (relative to the miter slots) is for one of these saws?

The saw model number is: 152.221240

Thanks in advance.

Jim

[Bill Dufour]

I do not understand the question? Oakton va.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Many folks use blade stabilizers and these will shift the blade about 1/8" to the right.
Bill D

[glenn bradley]

When aligning a tabletop I initially start with the blade to the extreme left to allow us much room as possible for my hand. I then adjust the table to the miter slot. I make my own zero clearance inserts so I don’t care if this aligns with the factory insert.

[Art Mann]

I don't understand about the notch on the fence rail. I have not used a saw that had such a thing. Does it have an obvious purpose? Without an understanding of that, I will say that if the arbor shaft is exactly perpendicular to the miter slots, that is all that matters. At that point, align the fence with the miter slot and you are done. Well, that isn't exactly true. There is still a possibility of the saw being out of alignment with the miter slot during a miter cut but I wouldn't worry about that until it becomes an obvious problem. Then you might have to do some shimming.

[mike holden]

If you have a biesemeyer fence on your Craftsman saw, then you should NOT expect holes to line up. Biesemeyer is owned or was owned by Delta (who is now owned by ?)
In any case, the alignment on YOUR saw is what is important.
Align the blade with the miter slot, adjust the holes in the fence rails as you wish and align the fence to the miter slot.
Again, the combination of a craftsman saw and a biesemeyer fence is NOT a factory combination, but it IS a good one. A rat tail file sounds like the solution to your concerns.
Mike

[Jim Brad]

If my research is right, the 22124 was a Craftsman-branded Steel City saw that came shipped with a Biesemeyer fence (as an option from the factory). But I get your larger point.

For those who did not understand my [poorly worded] question; I'm looking for where the factory intended the saw blade to line up within the throat. That way, I can start from zero and adjust to the miter slots without putting it too far out of center with eventual new insert plates. And, the Biesemeyers have a notch cut into the top of their front rail that roughly aligns the blade path with the fence tube that has the measuring tape on it. Fine adjustment was done by moving the hairline cursor on the fence body.

I can always get an original insert plate for this saw and center the blade in that before fine-tuning, I guess.

Thanks, all, for the replies.

-Jim

[Dick Brown]

I wouldn't worry about the notch in the angle iron rail support. If it bothers you that it is not perfectly in line with the blade, your trunions may have enough adjusting room to bring it all in line. The tape cursor should have enough room in the adjusting slots to make it zero out where it should. As stated above, you could enlarge the mounting holes to make the notch line up but I would consider that only cosmetic as it would be totally unrelated to the actual usefulness of the saw.

[Lee Schierer]

The notch in the Beismeyer fence was to zero the scale to the blade. The little window on the fence with the scribe line is also adjustable so it shouldn't make any difference. The important thing is that your blade is aligned with the miter slot and the fence should also be aligned to the miter slot. I never rely on the scale on the fence cross bar for accurate measurements.