unisaw tilt shaft

[mark downing]

In checking the 45-degree bevel on my Unisaw 36-R31X I discovered the tilt shaft has a worn worm that restricts full tilt to only 44-degrees. A replacement shaft through 'renovoparts' is listed at $223 before tax and shipping, yikes.

It appears I'll have to dismantle much of the saw to replace the shaft. Has anyone tried this? What complications should I expect? Any idea where else to look for this part?

Thanks

[Mike Kees]

How old is that saw ? I have no idea how the different model numbers fit age wise. I have worked on ,bought and sold quite a few Unisaws. Post a picture of the saw . Also a part number for the shaft. There are tons of old Unisaws around and parts are on the Auction site all the time. I quite possibly have what you need at my shop right now as I have parted out a couple saws. Are you looking for the worm gear that fits on the shaft that has the set screw in it ?

[Matt Day]

Are you sure the stop nut isn’t prohibiting it moving further?

[mark downing]

Mike, the saw is a right tilt 2004 X5. The part number is 422-04-406-5001 identified as "tilt shaft w/worm incl". I just left the shop without a picture.

I may be going about this incorrectly. All of the threads on this worm shaft appear in fine shape except the first one. It appears to be worn down to a taper. I assume that taper is causing it to not engage fully with the teeth on the front bracket which disallows the tilt travel of a full 45 degrees.
To complicate things, I looked at the teeth on the elevating shaft. The first thread on that worm appears worn and tapered also. This leads me to think both shaft's first-tooth patterns are by design.
Sorry if this is so confusing.

[Michael Schuch]

Are you sure the stop nut isn’t prohibiting it moving further?

Yes, there should be a screw stop that allows you to adjust the max travel to an exact 45 degrees. It sounds like there is a very good chance that the stop is adjusted out a bit too far.

While you are down there looking for the stop I would recommend smearing some Johnsons paste wax on the worm gear and teeth. For me paste wax does a nice job allowing the gears to mesh easier without picking up a lot of saw dust like grease generally will.

[mark downing]

Yes. The stop nut is almost 1/8" away from the stop post. I am assuming the tilt travel is restricted due to the poor teeth meshing on the shaft. Am I way off base?

[Bill Dufour]

I assume that first thread is a Higbee. Not super critical thread form. I would build it up with braze or even JB Weld and file it. Can the
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

I assume you meant it is the screw that is too short not the worm gear itself?

[mark downing]

Sorry Bill much of this is Greek to me. I'll look up Higbee and provide a few photos of the screw/worm gear.

[Andrew Seemann]

It would take a lot of blade tilting to wear out the tilt worm gear on a 2004 saw. Even my old '68 Unisaw from a commercial shop didn't have much wear on the blade tilt worm gear. It sounds like there is an adjustment or blockage issue. There isn't something restricting the motor moving, like a cord or something else?