Help! I have a Delta contractors saw (model 36-465) with a outfeed table (home made). I needed to make a 45 deg. cut so I started to tilt the blade (RH Tilt) until the motor (which hangs out the back) hit one of the support arms for the outfeed table. This some how threw my saw out of alignment, quite badly. I loosened the trunions and went about re-aligning the blade to the LH miter slot. It all seems pretty simple but…. some how I can not get the blade back to the original position within the insert plate. I can get the blade in good alignment (+/- 0.001) with the miter slot. I can get the front of the blade to the center of the insert plate slot but the back of the blade will not move over (to the left) and is aboth 1/16″ out of alignment. Do I have to loosen the tie bars? The blade must be in the center of the insert plate slot other wise it will hit the insert plate when tilted. What is going on?
Lynn Kram
Replies
What often happens when the motor of a contractor saw hits an outfeed table like that is the big bars ("tie bars") that run between the two trunnions get out of square -- instead of forming a rectangle, they will moph to a parallelogram. It's nasty.
I have a link on my other computer, IIRC, that describes how to get things back in line. My saw had a similar problem, but I had a repair guy fix it. If nobody comes along who's got the info, I'll try and find that link for you.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ikram,
Not long after I got my Delta Contractor Saw, I tried to align the blade, and ran into the same problem -- the whole darned setup had moved. I am not a "hardware person" and I was really upset. My contractor saw had that 45 degree sheet of metal underneath to let the sawdust fall out the back on the bottom. That made it impossible to lie underneath and get at the trunnion bolts. I took the piece of sheet metal out of there. That was a step in the right direction, but it didn't actually solve the problem of getting the whole setup back where it was originally.
I had tried loosening three bolts but keeping the fourth snug. That didn't let me move the trunnion sideways, so I finally loosened all four bolts. Then by experimenting, I found I could move the whole trunnion around. I found that I needed to move the thing back to the left (when seen by standing in front of the saw). By putting the wedge in a strategic place between the side of the saw and the trunnion (or whatever it is called, I could tap it and the wedge action moved it in the desired direction. WHOOPEE!!!! A modicum of success.
Then I realized the process went a lot better if I had another person to help. With the four bolts loose, I grabbed from the back, and a friend from the front (and underneath, of course. That together with the wedge, got it back pretty close to where it was initially.
I have the A-line It system, which is helpful, once you get it close to where it is supposed to be.
The only good part of what I went through was that I lost a few pounds and learned a few new words. I wish I had bought a cabinet saw. However, the contractor saw does just about everything that I, as a hobbyist, need it to do.
I wish I could tell you more. Ask Forestgirl to try to find that reference she knows about. I tried using the writeup in Jim Tolpin's "Table Saw Magic" but didn't find it to be any help. I also found a number of errors in the writeups on different jigs in that book. I called the publisher who said that another edition was planned which would correct the errors, which were known. The new edition is out, but I can't see paying for that book all over again.
I can assure you that the more you play with the your saw in terms of trying to get it aligned and in the right position, the faster and easier it will get in the future. Hope that helps, or at least that it provides some comfort.
Good luck. Let us know how it works out. I will continue to monitor this thread because I am as interested as you in learning how to do this well, and correctly, and efficiently, and without sweating so much.
"A fellow sufferer of the CS affliction",
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
I sent you a pdf of Delta's alignment proceedure.
Padauker,
would you send me the pdf of the Delta alignment procedure too?
Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I'd be happy to send the instructions, but I need an email address...
Here is the Delta FAQ:
http://www.deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=100
Click on "Contractor Style Saw" for the document. There is a lot of other useful stuff on the site.
Alan,
Very helpful. I have bookmarked the page on my computer. Thank you very much.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
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