I have an old (circa 1930?) Craftsman 10″ table saw. It has given me great service over the years, simple and sturdy. Over the last couple of years the saw blade has been very difficult to raise, especially when the blade is at a low level. At higher levels (above about 1 1/2 “), not so difficult. I have cleaned, oiled, greased, everything I can reach without dismantling the entire saw mechanisms.
I am now done with my own DIY repair attempts so I would like to locate a repair service of some kind. I do not want to junk it and buy a new one because the saw is uniquely small and well fitted for my small, narrow workshop. I am willing to spend money on getting it repaired. Any recommendations on how I might go about finding a local shop or independent machinist who could work on the saw?
Edited 9/6/2007 5:46 pm ET by jrogerh
Edited 9/6/2007 5:46 pm ET by jrogerh
Replies
Often Sears will service their product directly. Have you tried contacting them?
Another option is to do some of the basic table saw tune up checks just to be sure your main parts have not worn excessively. If the unit is sound mechanically, you may just need to tear it down and give it a good cleaning. A bit of dust and oil built up in the wrong place - on the gear faces for instance, can bog the mechanism down.
I suggest you would learn much of use by carefully dismantling it ,making some notes as you go if you think you may get confused, cleaning all parts, grease /oil and re-assemble . These are not complicated or delicate things. Chances are high that it would then work like a dream-far better than you would have expected.
Anyway, that is basically what a serviceman would do (and maybe replace some bearings) and charge you for it.
You are prbably right but I would be concerned about how long it might take me to discover the problem, repair it and re-assemble the saw. I would be "out of action" for who knows how long. Sears told me they do not make parts for this model any more so I would have to improvise if I found that the problem was a faulty piece of hardware.
It's unlikely that Sears will have any parts for a saw that old. Generally, their repairs and parts cost more than a new tool. You should fill in your location in your profile so we know what country and area you live in. A Knots member may be nearby and may help. Very often, it's just a positioning bushing on the drive shaft that has slipped. With some saws, there is a worm gear that engages a quadrant gear for the lifting mechanism. It's possible it slipped, it's also possible that it has worn due to lack of grease. There can also be some positioning bushings where the lifting wheel enters the cabinet. These bushings are often held in place with a set screw. Here is a PDF link for Powermatic saws, yours is probably similar. Page 13 talks about the lifting mechanism and there is a schematic of the various parts.
http://www2.woodcraft.com/pdf/816137.pdf
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thanks for the reference. I looked at the figures and determined that my saw uses a worm gear to raise the blade trunion.
In my experience with this type of difficulty on the tablesaws I've owned and "restored," the stiffness you're dealing with when raising the blade may have to do with all that grease and oil you put on the gears over the years. Oil and grease are liquids, and they hold sawdust.
Once that sawdust gets on the gears, it gets mashed between the teeth. Then the clearances that made for easy turning disappear, and the mechanism almost seizes up.
It's a relatively easy task to look at the gears to determine if that has happened in this case - though the mash-up of grease and sawdust does take on the color and consistency of cast iron. Use a nail or awl to pry between some of the teeth. If bits of dark, solid material start to fall away, then this is your problem.
You can wire-brush the mash-up away, though it might take some picking it out with a sharp object as well. Once you're removed it all, use some paste wax on a toothbrush to lube the gears. You shouldn't have to do this job again, as the wax won't hold onto loose sawdust and the mash-up won't occur. When the mechanism is properly adjusted and lubed, you should be able to raise and lower the blade by spinning the handwheels with a single finger.
Zolton
* Some people say I have a problem because I drink hydraulic brake fluid. But I can stop any time I want.
I think cleaning without dismantling would be my first approach but I can only see part of the worm and gear. The blade is currently in the low position where it tends to "freeze up". I suspect that I will have to do at least some partial dismantling in order to be able to see and clean everything. In addition to "down time" I am also nervous about taking the saw apart and then having to re-align everything when I put it back together.
You might try turning the saw upside down to clean it, things should be pretty reachable that way.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
"You might try turning the saw upside down to clean it"
I have thought about this but when I stand on my head and look up inside the body I still can't see enough to assure me of access to the place where I suspect the problem might be.
Edited 9/9/2007 4:45 pm ET by jrogerh
Those little 2"X3" telescoping mirrors with the swivel head are wonderfull gadgets for situations like this ;-)Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I have three old Sears Craftsman saws. I went to Old Woodworking Machines web site and found invaluable information on "old arn"; including an operators manual with exploded view parts list. http://WWW.OWWM.com.
If your saw has a worm gear it probably isn't as old as you think. My ten inch saws both have a rack and pinion raising mechanism. I have to clean them periodically because of accumulated debris. Such is the nature of the beast.
Go to the infamous auction site and you will find many saws are being parted out. Ask the sellers if they have the particular part that you need. I had to buy a "new" arbor for a saw as the pulley slipped and damaged the mandrel beyond repair.
First try reaching up/in with a toothbrush and brake cleaner and washing/scrubbing the gears to see if you can loosen it up and get the crud off. The brake cleaner usually dissolves the oil/grease and helps loosen things up so you can get them off with a stiff tooth brush. Soak down the adjustment gear and then try turning it back and forth while you add more brake cleaner from time to time. Once things loosen up I would spray on a good coating of Dupont's "Teflon Multi-Use Dry Wax Lubricant", the can I have come from the tool section at Lowes. It is a very good lubricant for tools in a wood shop. It has a high shear strength, and dries into a thin film that doesn't hold dust.
But your saw is seventy years old, and even under the best case far past the designed life. I recommend that you turn it over, and separate the body from the table and trunnions, and do the best job you can of cleaning and lubing everything you can with out taking it further apart. The trunnion bearings need to be checked for play and greased at a minimum. They may need replaced.
Have you gone to the Sears website, and seen if they have the parts list and exploded view for your saw? If not you should, they are both worth having in hand even if Sears no longer carries the repair parts. he old machine forums are worth visiting there is a lot of good information and resources there.
In closing, there isn't anything really delicate inside your saw. The most common method of truing up the trunnions involves whacking them with a hammer and block of wood. If you can read a set of plans and build things, there isn't anything under the hood of your saw that is beyond your mechanical capabilities. As suggested earlier, use a camera to record things before you take them apart, but also label things, and put index marks on them before/as you take them apart, and a few zip lock bags and slips of paper to keep things together, referenced and organized during the disassembly, will make the reassembly easier.
"Have you gone to the Sears website, and seen if they have the parts list and exploded view for your saw? "
Sears did provide me with an exploded view and parts list. Very poor copy but has been of some help. You mentioned only removing the top of the table saw and the body. There is a front and back trunion about which the saw arbor rotates to tilt the blade. The trunions are attached to the body. Do you think these would be the only mechanical attachments that would have to be dismantled?
Most of the Sears saws were constructed similar to todays "contractor" saws, and had trunnions that attached to the top itself, and the "body" of the saw was then bolted to the table. By removing the body, you have unfettered access to the working mechanisms.
If on the other hand your trunnions are attached to the body of the saw, and the top then bolts to the body, as do modern cabinet and hybrid saws, just unbolt the top and lift it off.
If your motor hangs out the back and adjusts goes up and down as the saw is adjusted it is a "contractor" style, and the trunnions bolt to the top. If the motor is enclosed then you have a cabinet style saw.
Sears had one in the mid sixties that had a flexible shaft drive. I doubt you have one of those as they had serious problems with the shaft wearing and breaking.
I'm trying to keep you from having to undo the trunnions and the lift mechanism itself, but free up access to the parts you need to clean and adjust in order to solve the current problem. Working on a saw from the bottom is kind of like doing laproscopic surgery, on a strange animal, with out the lapriscope. And, unless you are some kind of space alien with an extra wrist located where your elbow is, it is nearly impossible to bend and stretch enough to get to all the parts you need to.
You should get a good book on table saws, that covers their adjustment and tuning. A well tuned saw cuts better and is considerably less dangerous to operate. And, you are at the point you will have access to everything so you might as well learn to tune up the tool. There are some good web pages on tuning up a table saw,
http://www.ts-aligner.com/tablesaw.htm , is a good one.
Also, if you do have a contractors style saw a PALS setup from Peachtree is worth every penny.
http://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_products.htm
What is the model number of your saw? I might be able to download the parts diagram and give you better advice.
The trunions are indeed bolted to the top and the motor is mounted outside the saw with a pully drive. This is definitely a contractor's saw. The model number is Craftsman 113.22411. I have a small exploded view from Sears but it is of very poor quality and difficult to discern small parts.
The Old Woodworking Machines website does have a copy of the owner's manual for your saw (it's apparently late 1940s-early 1950s vintage.) http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/craftsman/113.22411.pdf
You should join their forum discussions, the people over there have a lot of experience in rebuilding and restoring old machines.
Hey, this is great! I found the manual at the website you gave me. It has a much better, readable parts diagram. Thanks for the lead.
I have one suggestion,
Many universities have machine schools (and shops) and most students can use a few extra bucks. Perhaps you could look there.
Dan
I have a worm gear and trunnion that may fit your saw. I had to buy the entire setup to get the mandrel. If your mandrel is good you could swap out the parts.
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