Having issues with the tilt mechanism on my sliding table saw

[Bobby Robbinett]

Ok so we just got a used Griggio SC3200b slider and are having some issues with the tilt mechanism. The blade will not go to 90 degrees. Once you get about 1/2 way or so up from the 45 degree position the hand wheel or worm gear slips and the blade carriage won’t go any further towards 90. I can pick up on the blade carriage while turning the hand wheel and get it there but if I let go it goes right back to where it was. Again, it adjust for a few turns before it slips and won’t go any higher even though the hand wheel is still being turned. Right now I have a bottle jack and a 2x4 holding the blade carriage up where the blade is dead on square. Do you guys know if there is any adjustment on these saws for getting the worm gear and shaft to mesh better? Could there be a set screw loose on the shaft? Any ideas or suggestions on what I can do to fix it? These sliders I believe were sold under many different names but the design is always the same. Any help you guys could give me would be much appreciated.

[Erik Loza]

The design on any of these is pretty straightforward: It's a U-joint, a pinion gear, then the shaft, which is usually an acme thread. Interestingly, most shops never tilt their blades. Strictly for sizing panels. Common issues would be the combination of sawdust and grease or lube basically turning into epoxy on the acme threads. Or rust. If you can get partial travel, that suggests it's an issue with the acme threads and not the pinion gear. Can you feel anything weird on it with your fingers? I assume you got in there with a headlamp or flashlight. Also, possible the seller blocked up the saw unit with a piece of wood or something for transport? The Italians use zip ties for shipping and it will drive you nuts if you don't know what you are looking for. Hope this helps.

Erik

[Bobby Robbinett]

The design on any of these is pretty straightforward: It's a U-joint, a pinion gear, then the shaft, which is usually an acme thread. Interestingly, most shops never tilt their blades. Strictly for sizing panels. Common issues would be the combination of sawdust and grease or lube basically turning into epoxy on the acme threads. Or rust. If you can get partial travel, that suggests it's an issue with the acme threads and not the pinion gear. Can you feel anything weird on it with your fingers? I assume you got in there with a headlamp or flashlight. Also, possible the seller blocked up the saw unit with a piece of wood or something for transport? The Italians use zip ties for shipping and it will drive you nuts if you don't know what you are looking for. Hope this helps.

Erik

Definitely not blocked up or zip ties because I picked it up at the guys shop and even had to disconnect it. The tilt works for a little bit then it starts slipping at around 25 degrees from 90 and the half moon no longer moves. I cleaned and lubed the worm gear and it has no saw dust. The motor/blade carriage is able to be picked up by hand and brought up to 90 but it won’t stay it falls right back down to 25 degrees below 90. Right now I have it supported by a bottle jack. You are right though in that I never will tilt the blade so while technically I can leave it like it is and it will be functional it still drives my ocd crazy to not have it working like it should.

[Jim Becker]

Any chance this might be why the saw was offered for sale? Very strange that it holds for a short while and then slips "that far"...

[Wes Grass]

Sounds like teeth broken out of the sector. Or severely worn.

[Mike Wilkins]

Had a similar issue with my Laguna slider a few years back. Poking around inside the cabinet found a build up of sawdust and gear lube fouling things up. Clean up with a narrow nozzle on the vacuum and the use of a brass brush cleaned the gears and we lived happily ever after. I now make myself remember to do a thorough interior clean up yearly. The hard part is seeing inside the cabinet-used 2 sources of light to light my way.

[Bobby Robbinett]

Do you guys have any idea if replacement worm gears and shafts are available for Griggio SC3200b sliders and how hard they are to remove and reinstall?