I am a new member to the community. I retired 2 years ago after major back surgery and have renewed my interest in woodworking. It began with woodturning, evolved into creating a garage workshop to use a lathe, and has recently expanded to making boxes for jigs so that I can practice and develop my joinery skill. I inherited a 1960's era Craftsman 10" contractor's table saw and radial arm saw which I have brought both back to life. Restored would be an overstatement.
I use the table saw almost everyday I'm in the workshop. I've made minor upgrades to the table saw, installing a new paddle on/off switch, replacing the V belt with a link belt, making a scarifical fence for the original aluminum fence, installed microjig splitters on zero clearnace inserts, and purchased an Incra V120 miter guage with extension and flip stopper.
The table saw still has a lot of vibration when cutting (to date 70% crosscut and 30% ripping) and the aluminum fence system does not maintain a parallel position to the miter slot without measuring the distance at the front and back of the blade. I've cleaned the cabinet as best I can. I would need physical assistance to remove the table from the cabinet to adjust the trununs if required.
I plan on upgradeing the fence system with a Shop Fox system (w1410) which would require drilling holes into the table sides to mount the fence brackets.
My questions for response are several:
1.) Even though I've spent alot of hours bringing the table saw back to life, if I pursue making more refined boxes, would it be necessary to consider purchasing a new table saw?
2.) Does anyone have specific recommendations to reduce table vibration?
3.) Is there another aftermarket fence system which could be attached to this age table saw for more precise cutting?
Mark Mrsa