Powermatic PM1000 – Blade Hitting Insert at 45 Degrees
John_Lega
| Posted in General Discussion on
I just purchased this saw. The nice folks at Circle Saw in Houston even put it together for free… very nice. The only issue is when I tilt the blade to 45 degrees, it hits the insert plate. I’m using the one that comes with the saw, which has a non-zero clearance opening, so I figured it was made for a 45 degree tilt. I even took over the riving knife and it still hits. What do I need to do?
Thank you,
John
Replies
You will need to buy another throat plate or make one for 45 degrees.
Does not sound right for a brand new saw. I'd call Circle Saw and see what they have to say. They did the assembly, they might just handle the fix for you.
Insert plate in backwards?
Don't assume it was made for 45 degree cuts. I have one for 90 degree cuts, one for bevel cuts, and one for dados.
Does the PM 1000 adjust like other cabinet saws where you loosen the 4 bolts that hold the top to the cabinet and tap the cast iron top left/right/forward/backwards?
If this alignment is done poorly, the blade won't be in the right position with regard to the blade insert - even if they adjusted the miter slots perfectly parallel to the blade the insert might not be in the correct position with respect to the blade.
Guys, thanks for all your feedback. I went back out there and noticed the blade teeth did not actually "hit" the plate but the distance between the outside of the tooth and plate edge is .043"... I thought it was a little too close for comfort. I called Powermatic and he suggested moving the table over to the left a little to increase that gap. It sounded good but I have made a few zero clearance sleds and that would mess them up. I asked him if I could just use a shim or two from my dado stack to put between the blade and the fixed washer (opposite of the nut you remove). This would move the blade over "X" amount to the right, giving you more clearance. I could them remove it when using it at 90 and my sleds stay nice and tight. He said that would work... so next time, I'll try that... will report back in case anyone has same issue.
That machine appears to have cabinet mounted trunnions so adjusting the table should not be a problem. However the table is aligned at the factory according to the manual so it should already be correct. It would be up to you whether you want to shift the table over to provide clearance yourself or contact the supplier to see how they would like to address it. I would just adjust the table myself but, I am familiar with alining these types of tools and have done it often enough to be comfortable. Your mileage may vary.
Yes, that was his suggestion also (see my comment above yours). The only thing is the distance then changes between the rails and the blade, so it throws off any jigs (like crosscut sled) off. I'm going to add a thin shim to the left of the blade when I cut at 45... simple and then I can go back to normal at 90....
John, if you decide to use the shim on a part-time basis, keep in mind the tape measure on the fence rail will be off whenever the blade is shimmed.
But if the shim is really thin, the difference will likely be negligible.
Good point... Likely when I do bevels (for example for French Cleat), I will just use a tape measure.. thanks for the tip.
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