Replies

1. 
   John_D | May 15, 2006 02:38am | #1

   The thing that works for me is "screwing it off" while holding the wrench on the arbor to keep it from spinning.  Takes patience sometimes though.

   I'm following the advice from an earlier thread and either turning off the breaker for the TS, or physically unplugging.  There was at least one guy here who has seen a TS start itself up due to a faulty/dirty switch when it was supposedly sitting dormant.  That would be a nasty way to endanger yer digits...

   My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
1. 
   JMartinsky | May 15, 2006 04:11am | #2

   OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH. I had that happen. I bumped my TS and the damn thing turned on!!!!!! (Dirty switch) I always, and I mean always flip off the breaker when doing anything near the blade. In fact, I can see the breaker panel from the saw and I still hit the "ON" button several times just to make sure that it is dead. If you can unplug it, even better. A good habit that I developed on the job, is when unplugged, I drape the cord over my work area, so that it is a tad in my way. That way, if I'm not fighting with the cord a bit, it makes me find out why, sometimes it is because I didn't unplug it! I'm all for calculated risks, but I'm not too brave when it comes to these machines. Good advise, John.John

2. 
   BruceS | May 15, 2006 04:49am | #3

   One or two wrench arbor ??  That was one of the things I looked for when picking out my saw.  And chose the  two wrencher,  not something everybody thinks about but it is an important thing to consider.

   Not saying you did,  but many people overtighten arbor nuts and router collets to a point where they can't get them off or gaul the threads which compounds problems,  Just past snug is good,  I set my wrenches so that I can give them a squeeze with one hand, appx. 3" spread of wrenches at their ends and pull them together. 

   Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

3. 
   USANigel | May 15, 2006 05:58am | #4

   Some blades still have a burr on the inside of the hole and this causes sticking. take your dremmel tool with the 1/2" drum sander attachment and run around the hole a few times lightly. Test fit on the saw, repeat until its easy slide fit. This won't effect cutting line up.

4. 
   jako17 | May 15, 2006 06:02am | #5

   Do you mean that you can't remove the nut , the washer or the blade.Most of the replies assume it is the nut. Is that so?

1. 
   John_D | May 15, 2006 08:46am | #7

   Sounds to me like she's got the arbor nut off just fine, just finds it awkward pulling the blade off.  Any good blade will be tight on an unworn arbor, so sometimes you have to "screw" the thing off whilst keeping the arbor still with the arbor wrench.  Works for me.My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.

5. 
   HowardAcheson | May 15, 2006 06:06am | #6

   If you are having difficulty removing the arbor nut, you may be tightening it too much.  When I taught tablesaw use and safety, I would just hold the blade with my fingers and tighten the arbor nut.  When the blade slipped in my fingers, the blade was tight enough.  No need for it to be any tighter.  No need to jamb something into the teeth.  The rotation of the blade will ensure that it does not come loose.

   Also, tightening the blade too much will distort the blade causing degraded saw cuts and perhaps permanently damaging the blade.

   Howie.........
1. 
   Knotscott | May 15, 2006 02:27pm | #8

   Howard - I tighten my arbor nut the same way....glad to hear I'm not alone!

2. 
   forestgirl | May 15, 2006 06:37pm | #9

   "When the blade slipped in my fingers, the blade was tight enough.  No need for it to be any tighter.  No need to jamb something into the teeth."  Amen.  My hands aren't that strong anymore, so I use gardening gloves to get a bit better grip, but no longer jamb a stick in the teeth or any of that nonsense.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

6. 
   JohnWW | May 16, 2006 12:23am | #10

   It is probable that you have an arbor that is on the high side of being .625" in diameter and installed a blade that was on the small side of having a .625" hole.  With steel, just a few thousandths of interference can jam parts together so tightly that they feel like they're welded together.

   Since you are having this problem with all of your blades the arbor being too large is the most likely cause of the problem.  At this point the arbor is probably a bit chewed up from forcing the blades on and off so you need to clean up its surface. 

   This is how I would do it:  With the blade and arbor nut removed raise the arbor to its highest position and turn on the saw.  Now take a fine toothed file, 6 to 8 inches long, and very lightly touch it to the unthreaded portion of the arbor.  At this point you don't want to reduce the arbor's diameter you just want to get the shaft smooth.  If you want to be extra careful, grind the teeth off of the edge of the file so there is no chance that you will damage the face of the blade flange while working on the shaft.

   At this point, now that the arbor is smooth, the you should use a dial caliper or a micrometer to measure the diameter of the arbor.  Take your measurements at several points around the shaft to get a good measure of the diameter and whether or not the shaft is round.  If the shaft is way off on the diameter or quite a bit out of round you might want to replace it, hopefully at General's expense.

   You will probably find however, that the arbor is still round and just at, or a few thousandths over, .625".  In this case I would repeat the filing procedure with a light touch and frequent checking with the caliper to just bring the diameter down a thou or two until your blades just slide on lightly.  Before you try the Freud blade again you should lightly clean up the bore with a fine file to clean up any burrs it might also have.

   Hope this helps, Ask questions if my suggestions aren't clear. 

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine 

   
   

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   Edited 5/16/2006 10:25 am ET by JohnWW

1. 
   lindarw | May 16, 2006 12:26am | #11

   Thank you - your reply is VERY helpful!

1. 
   charlesm | May 16, 2006 04:36pm | #12

   I agree with John's method except to say that I think the file may be too hard to control and I doubt there is more than a few ten thousandths to remove. A slower but more delicate tool is very fine emery and start by using it just to deburr the arbor.I disagree with the earlier poster who suggested a burr in the bore and to sand it. Freud blade bores are turned and chamfered on both sides on CNC lathes (so there will be no burr) and 5/8" bores are accurate to a tolerance of 0.625" +0.0007/-0.0000".
   Charles M

   Freud America, Inc.

1. 
   JohnWW | May 16, 2006 05:39pm | #13

   For this application, I would not use emery paper, it will simply follow any flaws in the arbor and just polish them without truing the surface, it will also make the shaft uneven in diameter and leave grit behind. 

   Using a file to clean up and finely adjust the final diameter of a turned shaft is common machine shop practice and is considered far more accurate and reliable than using emery paper.  Used with care, a file can easily and accurately remove just a fraction of a thousandths and leave a nice surface.

   I noticed that I kept referring to the arbor diameter as .500", I've corrected that in my original posting to the more common .625".  I've been restoring some older, pre WWII saws that have 1/2" arbors and the number got embedded in my mind.

   John White

1. 
   charlesm | May 16, 2006 06:03pm | #14

   John,For an arbor that required reducing the diameter or removing a large burr I would agree wholeheartedly with you that a file is the best tool. Based on the OP's description of the problem, my guess is that only light buffing is required. But that's only a guess since I haven't seen the arbor and don't know the measurements.
   Charles M

   Freud America, Inc.