Walker Turner Cabinet Saw Blade Alignment Help

[Shawn Burgess]

Hey Guys,
I noticed there is quite a bit of Walker Turner posts in this forum so I thought I would see if there is anyone that may be able to offer some assistance with blade alignment on my Cabinet Saw.

I bought a rebuilt Walker Turner Cabinet Saw TA1180B (16-241) about 5 years ago. I noticed right away that the blade alignment was out about 1/16" of an inch so I could not use the miter slots. This was not a huge deal as I still had my old trusty craftsman table saw with a sled. I installed a VerySuperCoolTools fence and aligned it to the blade. Has worked great since.

I am now wanting to get rid of my Craftsman and only have the WT so I am trying to figure out how to adjust the blade alignment but I do not see any way to do it. It appears that it is not adjustable by loosening the 4 bolts that attach the trunnion assembly to the table. There are tabs that lock into grooves in the table (see pic) that keep it from having any adjustment.

Trunion Tabs on WT saw.jpg

In the Instructions Sheet it says to "move the motor in the direction indicated" to align the blade. Moving the motor will not make any difference as this is a Belt Drive unit. And I do not see any way to adjust (side to side) the pivoting/sliding bracket that the pulleys/arbor is connected to. There are smooth sliding surfaces (front and back) between the sliding bracket and the trunnion that allows the sliding bracket to rotate the blade up and down. If I try to move the sliding bracket away from the mated surfaces of the trunnion there will be slop. The sliding surfaces on the sliding bracket are integrated (one piece). The front (pivot point) of the sliding bracket is bolted to the trunnion. In the back of the sliding bracket the sliding surface is on both sides. This two sided sliding surface slides between two sliding surfaces on the trunnion. Picture a disc brake assembly on a car, where the disc slides between two pads that are connected to the caliper. In this example one side moves in and out when you press on the brakes. On the trunnion, one side has a Guide Segment Adjustable Gib that is a separate piece of steel that rides between the sliding bracket and the trunnion. This Gib has 2 locking screws, that connect it to the trunnion that allow you to adjust (in and out) the pressure between the two sliding surfaces to take out any slop. I had thought that maybe this is where to make the adjustment but it is only to take out any slop in the arbor assembly.

In this pic you will see a trunnion assembly with the sliding bracket attached. I have notated it to hopefully make it easier to understand. This is not my assembly but it is one from the same model as mine. This is the best image I could find to help visualize what I am talking about.

trunnion assembly.JPG

I know this post is probably very confusing to follow. I apologize. It is difficult to explain.

Anyway, I appreciate any guidance or assistance,
Shawn​

[Doug Garson]

Can you file the slots and/or the tabs until you can get the correct alignment?

[Cameron Wood]

I would remove the bolts and trunnions entirely and assess, then grind off the tabs if that will do the job.

[Bill Dufour]

I would consider drilling the bolt holes out a tad larger or filing them in the direction they need to go so they are oval. I would neck down the bolts, in a lathe, between the head and where they touch the underside of the table. Reducing the bolt diameter down to the minor diameter has no real effect on bolt strength. I did both on my tablesaw then realized it was touching a cabinet on the side and could not move that last fraction of an inch.
Bill D
Bill D

[Doug Garson]

You say you bought it as a rebuilt unit. I wonder if part of the rebuild was replacing the trunnions? Hard to imagine it shipped from the factory originally that far out of alignment. Maybe the normal factory assembly includes grinding the tabs to get the correct alignment and whoever rebuilt it skipped that step.

[Andrew Hughes]

It looks a lot like the way my Davis and wells saw is built.
Everything hangs off the underside of the table. I have two bolts on the front ways that are part of the tilt ways and on the back getting to them is fairly difficult but not impossible. I loosened three and pivot the whole assembly.
My was doesn’t have the tabs but I don’t see why I would prevent you from moving the whole assembly. Could the tabs be there to Aline the tilt mechanism?
Good Luck

[Shawn Burgess]

Can you file the slots and/or the tabs until you can get the correct alignment?

Yes I can do that. I was hoping to figure out the correct way from the factory to make the adjustment but I have not been able to find that info. Plus I was hoping I would not have to tear the whole thing down just to make a slight adjustment. But looks like that may be in my future.

Thanks for the help.

[Shawn Burgess]

I would remove the bolts and trunnions entirely and assess, then grind off the tabs if that will do the job.

Unfortunately that looks like my only option at this point.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Shawn Burgess]

I would consider drilling the bolt holes out a tad larger or filing them in the direction they need to go so they are oval. I would neck down the bolts, in a lathe, between the head and where they touch the underside of the table. Reducing the bolt diameter down to the minor diameter has no real effect on bolt strength. I did both on my tablesaw then realized it was touching a cabinet on the side and could not move that last fraction of an inch.
Bill D
Bill D

Yeah someone else had mentioned drilling the holes out as well. I guess once I have it apart I will grind the tabs and drill the holes just in case. I do not have a lathe so cannot do that part. Hopefully won't need to though.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Shawn Burgess]

You say you bought it as a rebuilt unit. I wonder if part of the rebuild was replacing the trunnions? Hard to imagine it shipped from the factory originally that far out of alignment. Maybe the normal factory assembly includes grinding the tabs to get the correct alignment and whoever rebuilt it skipped that step.

Doug,
I agree. I cannot believe that this saw has been in the wild for almost 75 years with the blade that far out. I had emailed the guy who rebuilt it but he was no help other that suggesting to grind the tabs. I am not sure if he replaced the trunnions though.

Anyway, thanks for jumping.

[Shawn Burgess]

It looks a lot like the way my Davis and wells saw is built.
I don’t see why I would prevent you from moving the whole assembly. Could the tabs be there to Aline the tilt mechanism?
Good Luck

I am not sure why the tabs are there. I assume they are there to keep the tilt mechanism aligned, but there is absolutely NO movement with those tabs. With the bolts completely loose I get ZERO movement on my dial indicator when I try to tap/move the trunnion assembly. They will need to be removed in order to make any adjustment.

Thanks for the input.

[Andrew Hughes]

I am not sure why the tabs are there. I assume they are there to keep the tilt mechanism aligned, but there is absolutely NO movement with those tabs. With the bolts completely loose I get ZERO movement on my dial indicator when I try to tap/move the trunnion assembly. They will need to be removed in order to make any adjustment.

Thanks for the input.

I can see your point. Your saying the bolts are screwed into a tops casting?

[Shawn Burgess]

Update: OK so I started my day with a list of things to check before I decide to tear it all down and start grinding. There was a post in another forum that I found yesterday where someone with the same saw found that the pivot bolt in the front where the sliding bracket bolts to the trunnion was not tight. After he tightened that bolt it was aligned. I check that bolt and it was not tight either. I tightened the best I could by myself (not easy to do without someone else to assist) and I was able to get it down to .013" difference from front to rear. I am not sure what is considered acceptable, but that is pretty close. I think I may be able to get even closer once I can tighten it all the way.

I want to Thank everyone who jumped in to help. Much appreciated!