Hello knowledgeable woodworkers…looking for some assistance here.
I recently purchased a craftsman 10″ table saw [I know I know…leave the craftsman bashing out of this for the time being 🙂 ]. Its the 3/4 cabinet model with the cast iron wings, 1.5 hp, etc….got it all put together, ready to use it but the table saw blade is not parallel with the table top. Measuring from the front of the blade to one of the miter slots and then from the back of the blade to the same miter slot yields a difference of about 3/16″. I rotated the blade to measure from the same tooth, as suggested in other research. I’d call Sears Help but they’re only open M-F from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm, which also happens to be the time I spend earning money for such tools. Was kind of hoping to get through this today.
I looked through the manual and no description exists for aligning the blade parallel to the table. I read some info in a table saw book I have that says to align the blade you have to adjust the trunions. I have no idea what a trunion is, but the description of the saw on the sears website says this saw has em, so what do I need to do? Is this something I’m better off having someone experienced do for me?
There are 2 allen-wrench screws inset into the table surface about 2 inches from the front of the blade. Looking into the saw cabinet with a flashlight, the one to the right of the blade isn’t connected to anything. The one to the left appears to be attached to some of the ‘innerworkings’ connected to the blade arbor. Is this what I need to adjust?
Thanks much for any help!
J Kyle
PS – yes I know, shouldda bought Delta, GC, Grizzly, Jet, etc etc etc. But there were circumstances that made the purchase of this model a better deal for me. : )
Replies
Ok, I did some more research and found that on some alignments, you can just loosen the bolts on the table-top and adjust it....But when I do that it doesn't adjust 'enough' to make the blade parallel. What next?
Ok,Jkyle I understand, I have a craftsman contractor saw and a craftsman radial arm saw. I am fairly new myself and just went through it, but my contractor saw is over 20 years old, so take any input with a grain of Salt. I believe that Emmerson tool is still making the saws for Sears so it may not be much different from the one I have. Mine got out of alignment when I hauled it on its side some distance.
On my saw, I have two allen screws on the top that can be loosened, DO NOT REMOVE!! On my saw the saw assembly continues though the back of the saw and the saw guard is actually attached to that portion of the saw assembly. Once you have loosened the the allen screws, you can use that portion sticking out the rear to provide leverage to adjust the blade one way or another. Good luck I hope this helps.
Silversmith
The two screws at the front of the table top are for adjusting the vertical and 45 degree stops for the blade tilt and adjusting them won't solve your problem. The design and quality control of the Sear's saw is not especially better or worse than the other saw brands you mentioned, and any saw can go out of alignment and need adjusting.
Saws a commonly designed one of two ways when it comes to how the blade and the top are aligned.
One style has the trunnions, which are the large, half round pivot assemblies at the front and rear of the blade opening, attached with two bolts on each trunnion directly to the underside of the cast iron top. If your saw is built this way, then these bolts need to be loosened and the entire trunnion and blade unit is shifted to align the blade with the miter slots. This can be an annoying and exasperating job.
The second method of assembling a saw has the trunnion assemblies made with extensions that bolt onto the top frame of the cabinet. The cast iron table top is also bolted to the top frame of the cabinet with a different set of four bolts. This style of saw is easier to adjust, the bolts holding the top in place are loosened, they're on the outside of the cabinet, and the top can then be shifted to align the blade and the miter slot.
I believe you have the second design on your saw. I also recall that some of these saws didn't have enough clearance around the bolt holes in the frame of the cabinet to be adjusted properly. You could square up the blade but it was impossible to get the blade aligned properly and keep it centered in the throat plate, the blade would actually scrape on one side of the blade slot.
The (relatively) simple solution to this problem is to remove the top completely by taking out the four bolts attaching it to the cabinet, lifting off the top, and then filing the bolt holes larger in the direction the top needs to move. What makes this difficult is that you need to remove the fence and wings to make the top easy to handle, but you could leave them attached if you had a helper that could assist in lifting the top and moving it aside.
John W.
JohnW - you were right on, bud. Thanks for your input. My saw is indeed the 2nd of the types you described, and when I removed the tabletop and loosened the bolts on the trunion extentions it did indeed move but not far enough. So I guess I need to file away those bolt holes to accept a little more movement. What type of file is recommended for this type of operation? I currently own NO files so it would be good to know the type to go purchase to do the job properly.
J Kyle
Just to be clear, you don't need to move the trunnions, you want to shift the table top itself and the table mounting bolt holes in the flange around the top of the base cabinet are intentionally made oversize to allow this, though sometimes not oversize enough.
The file for enlarging a bolt hole would be a coarse, called a bastard cut, round file, probably 10 or 12 inches long which is the longest size commonly available.
Round files taper and ideally you want as large a diameter file as will fit in the existing hole for at least three quarters of the file's length or more. You can use a smaller diameter file but a large one will cut faster and make it easier to keep the hole diameter consistent.
Be sure to put a handle on the file, it will save you a nasty wrist injury from the tang if your hand slips. If the local hardware store has one, also get a file card, a steel brush with very short bristles to clean out the teeth of the file. If you are cutting a metal that keeps clogging the teeth, called pinning, rub chalk on the file's teeth.
Store the file so that it doesn't get dulled by banging into other files and it will stay sharp for a long time.
Before you start filing, make sure you are elongating the hole in the proper direction it is easy to get turned around and start filing on the wrong side of the hole. Mark out how far you need to lengthen the hole and give yourself a little extra length for future adjustments. Replacing the existing washer under the bolt head with a thicker, and possibly wider one, will make it easier to adjust the alignment without the washer distorting and hampering the process.
John W.
Edited 9/26/2005 10:32 am ET by JohnWW
I can only speak to the 22124 which I have. You didn't say which one is yours but the 1.5 hp clue says it's one of the others. The 22124 has 4 bolts outside of the cabinet that hold the top. Takes 15 minutes to setup. Over 9 months now and haven't had to touch them since.
Joe
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