Hi guys, I need some help. I cannot cut accurate miter joints!(yes, I’m a novice) I have a 70 year old walker turner table saw that wont tilt all the way to 45, and a cheap miter saw. I cant afford to replace the table saw until next year, I can buy a new miter saw, but am unsure of what to buy or if I can expect better results from something new. I have checked my old miter saw seven ways from Sunday. Everything checks out as accurate, everything except the cut! Maybe I am doing something wrong? I have seen several different ways to build miter sleds for a table saw, but the blade on my old saw is not perfectly parallel to the miter slot. It is an adjustment I can’t make because of the way the saw is built. I know my equipment is junk. I’m hoping someone has some alternative way to accomplish a tight fitting miter joint, or a recommendation on a quality miter saw? Help…Chris
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Replies
Go with a new miter saw. I just finished tuning my Bosch 12" up and it cuts a miter for a frame like a champ. First though, reflecting on your post: "Everything checks out as accurate, everything except the cut!" The cut is the proof. No matter what you think you see with a square, the saw isn't tuned until the cut itself is perfect, so use the results of the cut to do the final tweaking on your saw.
To check a miter cut, take a piece of stock at least 2" wide and cut your miter, then roll one side over and put the pieces together to form a 90 degree angle, check the angle with a good square (I use a drafting square with long sides). If you're still not sure, sacrifice a little more stock to actually make a full frame and see if all four corners come together well in a band clamp.
A couple of things to watch for that can throw it off: Your stock has to stay perfectly still during the cut. On a miter saw, it's extremely difficult (for me at least) to do this with hand pressure. Also, make sure the fence is flat and 90 degrees to the table. I use a zero-clearance auxiliary fence when making frames, and it's easy to forget to check it.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks Forest Girl, I will go back and double check my results tomorrow when I'm not as frustrated. And will probably buy a new miter saw after christmas. Any particular reason you chose the Bosch? Chris.
Hi, Chris. When I bought the saw (about 1-1/2 yrs ago) I looked at Delta, DeWalt, Rigid and Bosch. The Bosch seemed the most solid to me, had a more generous table than most of the others, and the extra stock supports were very well priced. The DeWalt was very tempting, but because of an Amazon special, the price on the Bosch was so good, I just couldn't pass it up. I have not been disappointed for sure!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I'm trying this one more time!
tinter
I did not read all 50 something posts, so forgive me if this has been mentioned. Those old cast iron saws are still excellent saws, and were manufactured with cast iron and precision that most new saws only dream of. I have a 1957 Northfield Jointer, and I had a 1939 Oliver 270 tablesaw and a 1928 36" Tannewitz bandsaw. They are, and always will be, the best tools I ever had the pleasure to work with.
Chances are, at some time in it's history, the saw's cast iron top was removed. When it was re-applied, it wasn't lined up correctly. You can realign the miter track parallel to the saw blade by loosening the top bolts, and tapping on the appropriate corner this way and that to realign. As John W stated, you should be able to find someone in your area that does this type of work on old woodworking machines. I'm in Chicago area, and know of two excellent candidates here, and there are probably a dozen I don't know.
Once that saw is set up, it'll out run and out live any cabinet saw being built today.
Don't give up on the diamond in the rough.
Here's a picture of my '57 Jointer after restoration. Before, it looked like it had been soaking at the bottom of the ocean for 20 years.
Jeff
The old iron was great. The problem is you don't know what it has been put through over the years. It could have been dropped in a move or otherwise abused. There's no doubt that you could tinker, beat and bang, replace parts, fabricate parts, etc. until you had the thing in complete tune. You just have to ask yourself if it's worth the time.
There are some value-added dealers of old iron around. They tune them up before the sale. This stuff costs you more, but you do get a little more peace of mind.
It is easy as all get-out to get sidetracked with the tools and lose sight of your woodworking. You wouldn't be the first guy to turn tool tuning and tweaking into full-time work or at least eat up the spare time you once had carved out for woodworking. So, be careful.
Thanks Jeff, you've done a fabulous job rebuilding that joiner. With Forest Girls help I was finally able to post a picture. (post 56) The trunnion assembly has a metal tab that fits into a groove in the table, it prohibits the table from moving more than say 1/16". My inexperience really limits me, for I dont know anybody in my area (Tucson, AZ.) that could work on this machine. I will ask around though at the various hardwood dealers and maybe some names will pop up. Thanks for your post! Chris
PS: The frustration ....... yeah, I understand that! Hope it goes better tomorrow!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Either way an accurate cut or a new tool! Thanks Forest Girl and merry christmas!
Here, I took some pictures tonight and threw together a How-To at WWA.
http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?p=111043#111043
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks forest girl, You've went to an awful lot of trouble to help me out and I am super appreciative. That was a great link! Sorry the photos I finally posted are huge, I tied to compress them but they did'nt compress much. Again, thanks for going above and beyond to help me, Chris
Hi forest girl, I've been reading up on miter saws, the bosch looks pretty good, Do you have the sliding model? Thanks, Chris
Hi, Chris. Nope, a slider wasn't in the budget. I have the 12" compound miter saw from a couple years ago, this model. I strongly recommend additional stock supports like these. They enable me to slap down an 8' piece and cut it with ease, and I don't have room for a big miter station. It's important, though, to get the set that's made for the saw model you choose. Might take some internet research to get that info, as Amazon's description is no help at all.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks forest Girl, Maybe not getting the slider was a blessing in disguise as I am reading some negative things about flex in the head. Thanks for everything, and have a great new year! Chris
To keep stock from slipping I glued some 100 grit sand paper to the side of the mitre or back fence. Really helps the slippage problem
Hi everyone, I have been woodworking for over 20 years now and have some pretty fancy machines. Some of my equipment includes a Hitachi miter saw and a well tuned Felder. I will cut my miter on the saw rough and then use a shooting board and a well adjusted, sharp low angle plane to fit the miter. Like with all this type of tasks it takes some preparation to make a shooting board and your plane has to be well tuned and SHARP.It needs a bit of passion, love and time to learn this but it is all worth at in the end when the miter fits perfect. A trick I learned of an fellow craftsman is to make the end grain wet when final cuts are taken on the shooting board. This makes it easier to cut the end grain due to the soften of the timber fiber.
And allways remember wood working machines not only cutting wood!
Tinter, look under your table and see how the motor and blade assembly are hung. There may be some play in the mounting bolts. I have an old Beaver that had adjustment there, and make sure the tilt and lift mechanisms are tight and in line.
tinter,
a common culprit of poor joints is a dull blade , could this be possible ?
dusty
Hi Dusty, I scrubbed it down a couple of months ago with very limited use scince. But not impossible. I'll check it again tomorrow. It's a freud combo, the blade is worth more than the saw! Thanks for the reply, I need all the feedback just to get my mind around the problem. Chris
"It's a freud combo, the blade is worth more than the saw!" Worth it's weight in gold, IMHO, love mine.
If you're going back to Square One on your tune-up, you need to verify first that the blade is 90* to the table. Take a thick piece of stock that's flat on both sides, cut it in half, then roll one side over and put the two pieces back together again. There should be no gap between the mating surfaces when the new "stick" is laying on a flat surface. Any gap that exists is equal to twice the error in your 90* set-up.
Then to check 90* to the fence, you do the same thing but with a piece that's maybe 2-1/2" wide. When the roll-over is done and the newly formed "stick" is straight, again there should be no gap (running across the face). To be sure I'm not cheating when I do this one, I lay the pieces on my jointer table and slide them up against the fence. The slightest gap will show clearly.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thats good info forest girl I dont recall reading any articles on miter saw tune up in the last couple of years , so I just started checking angles with a square. All this will have to wait until after Christmas, as I have been recruited to help my wife make christmas candy. But I will find time to get it done next week. Thanks, Chris
I read through this pretty rapidly so I apologize if this has already been posted. You say you have a talbe saw, why not use it to make your miter cuts until you decide which new miter saw to get (I vote Bosch also by the way)?
See figure F in this link: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_shop/article/0,2049,DIY_14445_3418511,00.html
The beauty of this type of jig is that even if you do not have it aligned perfectly, the error on one side will be corrected when you cut the matching miter on the opposite side. hope this helps stir the juices.
John
hmmm, That makes sense. Thanks for the vote on the bosch and the nice link! Chris
I do not know what kind of miter saw you have but i know that the early model DeWalt had no provision for adjusting the arm pivot point parallel to the table, they latter changed this.
try checking the blade at 90 with the blade down and then with the blade raised half way chris
Hi Chris, Im hanging my head and scuffing my toes. it's a bench top miter saw. I dont mean it sits on top of a bench. that is the brand name. a fathers day gift from a well meaning and frugal wife. I have not checked it with the blade up, only down. I will try that. Thanks, Chris
Yep, Christmas is knocking at our door too. This cut-to-check procedure is so cumbersome to describe and so simple to do! Maybe I can recruit my husband to take pics, and I'll just make a web page for illustration!
Happy candy-making.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I wont ask you to describe it then, although my curiosity is piqued! Nothing happy about stirring cutting and hand wrapping individual caramels. Blech! Happily tomorrow is a day of rest! Merry Christmas!
Set the mitersaw saw to 45 1/2° for each side of the miter.The cut will give you a perfect looking miter.If your saw jumps back into the detent when locking it, leave it unlocked.
Check your table saw for a stop bolt at 45 and 90°.You should be able to adjust the bolts .
mike
Thanks mike, I'll try that. Chris
Double check the member lengths also to be sure that opposing sides are exactly the same lengths.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I did do that bruce, and kept them the same as I cut and recut and recut the miters. Good thought though. Thanks, Chris
" the blade on my old saw is not perfectly parallel to the miter slot."
There MUST be a way to fix this. Until it is fixed, you may never get a good joint. I presume this is a tilting arbor saw, not a tilting table saw. Either way, it has to be adjustable. Find the way.
Cadiddlehopper
I don't know about the must. I have an old Beaver that the blade was not parellel to the mitre slots, and there was just no way short of weld filling and redrilling the table mount holes to straighten it. I gave up and bought a new saw, but not before finishing the inside of my house. I ended up cutting just a little bit to long, and finished with a chisel to make a 45, or what ever I needed. The things you do when you have more time than money. In reference to another thread, I used the chisel flat side down! For most of my joints, I used a hand mitre saw, and chisel finished the cut to make it nice. (it's the way it used to be done before power miters and fine finish blades).
What I mean to say is that I cannot imagine a saw with no means of realigning its parts as wear occurs. Perhaps the unimaginable happens, but I hope not.Cadiddlehopper
Oh I agree with you, I took it apart 3 times trying to figure where I could do what to straighten it, but no way. It wasn't out much, and I had a home made fence anyways, so I could make it work. The new one is so much better.
I agree, I figured there would be some way, but I took it apart 3 times ,and just couldn't do it. It didn't have a fence with it, so I made one, and that was okay, and didn't use a mitre. My new saw is way better.
Cadiddle, I'm a novice so maybe I'm not seeing something right, But what I assume are the trunnions mount to the table with bolts beside the bolts are tabs of metal that fit into grooves in the table. Now maybe the grooves could be ground wider? But then perhaps the bolts wouldnt line up...maybe I should try this. But with a table saw built in the 1940's I cant get a zero clearance insert plate, the saw has no fence so I had to make something for it. I always thought I would replace it "soon" . But something else always comes up. I get maybe 3 days a month to woodwork, and up til now I've been reluctant to use my time fiddling with this saw. Now I'm seeing that anything I do will be subpar until I fix or replace it. Anyway, I will look into this further thanks for the suggestion, Chris
" perhaps the bolts wouldnt line up...maybe I should try this."You probably should release (not remove) the trunnion bolts if you haven't already. There is probably some clearance for adjustment. I cannot imagine a saw with no means of realigning its parts as wear occurs. Perhaps the unimaginable happens, but I hope not. If there is no play in the arbor bearing, aligning the blade and slots is a first step. If that doesn't let you tilt all the way to 45*, adjusting the tilt stops is probably the next step. Lots of luck!!Cadiddlehopper
Released and adjusted as far as possible. After your first post and my subsequent reply, I started thinking that maybe I will take the top off and grind off the metal tabs, put it back together and see if I can get some more play from that. Keep your fingers crossed for me and thanks for getting my brain jumpstarted! Chris
You should not have to grind off any parts of your saw to get it to line up. You really need to get somebody familiar with machine maintenance to give you some assistance.
Best way to get perfect miters every time is with a shooting board and plane. Google it, or do a search here. Once you've got an accurate shooting board, you can cut the miter on any saw, get it close, and shoot to a mark for perfect miters every single time.
Jeff
Edited 12/24/2006 10:41 am ET by JeffHeath
Thanks Jeff, I have been reading the postings on knots for a couple of weeks and have become interested in owning a good plane or three. I will continue to read about them and someday soon will pull the trigger on a plane or two. I was shocked to see the prices as I researched them but it hasnt put me off owning one. Thanks again, Chris
No problem. Enjoy the process, and don't fight it. Keep asking questions, because that's how we all learned, no matter what the level. Here's a picture of my shop made shooting board with a miter plane, a LN #9.
Merry christmas,
Jeff
That looks great! Would you recommend the LN 4 1/2 for a first plane? Chris
Those Walker Turner saws were built to pretty exact specs back 70 years ago, and since they were built out of good old American cast iron, they generally tune right up. Before I'd spend the money for a new saw, I'd trouble shoot the W-T. If you want some free W-T advice, you might visit OWWM (Old Wood Working Machinery)dotcom. That place is full of Walker Turner devotees.Of course, you could always just send that old Walker Turner to me! I'd take it.
My wife has a rausch mustang. hope you got the royalty check! The guys at old wood working machines turned that hunk of iron from a lawn ornament into a table saw! By way of providing me a link to parts. What part of the world do you live in? you may have a table saw coming your way next year. Chris
A lot of things, both dynamic and static, frustrate the perfect X-cut.
The stops squiggle, the work twists, the blade bends. In my view, your best shot with the saw is to cut in pairs x < 1 kerf. When the blade is shaving rather than riving it spins in its best circle.
Notwithstanding, I use an edge sander. I can tune the fence to a precise angle, the work does not squirm, and I can get a smooth chatterless face to glue or join. I do sand in pairs, and I do use a semi special belt with a mitered skived sine-wave splice.
All right routerman I have come to the point where I have to show my complete and utter ignorance. What is an edge sander? Sheepishly, Chris
Perhaps there is another explanation that I learned about. Make sure that the blade comes to a full stop before raising it up from the cut. If you make a fast release after the cut, the movement can slightly move the wood while the blade is still spinning. leading to a misalignment of the result.
Good luck.
I am most assuredly a fast releaser. But these cuts are so far out of whack.... I will try another cut using your advice next time I get in the shop, and thanks for the advice! Chris
I wouldn't give up on the tablesaw. Some of those old saws are the best. You may have to take it apart and tune it up a bit, but I'll bet you can do it.
Hey EZ, I "rescued it from a dusty barn where it had sat for.....ever. Took it apart, cleaned, lubed, replaced belts etc. When I was ready to use it, I found that it had no arbor nut. After 3 + months of searching only to find that Walker Turner had a proprietary thread pattern. I found a website that was able to put me in touch with a company that had the parts! I have used it now for a couple of years. It purrs, it has plenty of power. I so far have been unable to make a zero clearance insert plate for its odd shaped opening. The table is warped. There is no safety equipment on it. It does seem a shame, I am fond of the saw (is that odd?) But frustrated with it as well. A real dilemna, Chris
Get a Lion miter trimmer if you really want them to fit and know you can make them fit time after time without thinking.
Shooting boards are accurate if you can build it dead-on and if the plane you run on it is dead on (sole and sides square) (or you can adjust the cutter to compensate every time). A shooting board will produce a miter that fits since the angle produced is *usually* consistent, but it might not be consistent at an exact 45. It's not a big deal if it's a bit off, usually, but if the case is a touch out of square and the shooting board produces a miter 'going the same way' you will have a gap between the moulding and the case, at least at one corner, that can be fairly noticeable - this assumes you snug up the moulding miter which can mean you present the opposing pieces at something other than a 45 in order to make them fit. This is why wide mouldings are often capped with a narrower moulding - to hide the gap that results from a shooting board that is not deadly accurate and a case that's a touch out of square. Narrow mouldings can be flexed down and nailed to obscure gaps and also throw a shadow line on a gap to camouflage it.
All that said, I can usually tune the fit on mouldings with a block plane, by back-beveling a bit until I get a perfect fit. You should be able to take the cut from a decent manual or power miter box and trim lightly with a block plane to get the fit you need. Or, one slice on the Lion and the fit is a virtual certainty.
Edited 12/25/2006 9:27 am ET by CStanford
Thanks for the helpful information, I'm starting to realize that alot of people have to fine tune miters. I'm thinking that I should get a plane and learn to use it! Thanks again, Chris.
You can certainly hand tune the fit of a miter with a plane, but as I mentioned a miter trimmer cannot be beaten for producing an absolutely flawless fit.
Walker Turner built very nice machinery and fans of their tools, myself included, will offer you quite a bit of money for your "junk" old saw.
It is very unlikely, unbelievable actually, that Walker Turner would have built a saw where the blade and miter slot couldn't have been brought parallel to each other, or that couldn't be tilted to 45 degrees.
My sense is that you don't have a lot of experience with machinery. If you can find someone who can tune up both of your saws they will probably cut perfectly well. In addition to the problems caused by a poorly tuned saw, the condition of the wood you are cutting and the procedures you are using can also cause problems with cutting miter joints.
John W.
Hi John, I am a fan of old things. I collect rare coins and currency, love old movies etc. However I must say it would be easy to be a fan of an old saw when you dont have to use one. I assume you dont or you would have included useful information on how to tune it. I am inexperienced with machinery. I just use my eyes and common sense when trying to work on them. I am going to try to post some pics later today that may help everybody see what it is I am talking about. I am not interested in making money off the saw, but would love to give it to someone who could appreciate it when I am ready to replace it. As I posted earlier, I do like the saw, I am just very frustrated with it. or more likely my ignorance, which will come home to roost full force when I cant make any better cuts on a new saw. As to the condition of the wood etc. I joint and (power)plane my wood square. But, I am a novice, reading about woodworking is the only education I have on the subject. So it very possible(probable) that my techniques are flawed. I love woodworking too much to ever give it up, so I guess I will prevail eventualy Thanks, Chris
Perhaps you missed the sentence where John mentioned he and many other woodworkers would offer you good money for that "junk" saw of yours? <grin> His book, Care and Repair of Shop Machines (probably available at your library?) would be a good start. The Old Woodworking Machinery web site might have a user's manual http://www.owwm.com/
Is it a contractors style or cabinet style??forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Eating crow mmmm, mmmm my specialty. I'm posting a pic, probably wont be too enlightening. But if someone had specific information on how to fix it rather than "it must be able to be adjusted" that would be useful. Sorry if I offended. Chris
We don't see your pic yet. Do you need help with that. Click on my name and drop me an email if you want. I'd love to see a pic of the saw! and maybe someone out there has one like it, you never know.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
tinter,
Imo , John W gave you solid information in regards to the Walker Turner line of machines . I would also agree that many of us would take the old saw off your hands .
Also chances are the limitations you speak of can be rectified or repaired or restored to good working order without grinding or otherwise altering the machine .
dusty
Chris,
I do own and use vintage machinery, almost every tool in my shop, hand and power, is pre WWII.
As to giving you advice, it is very difficult to know what is wrong with your saw when I can't see it and I don't even know what model it is. Walker Turner machines were well designed, but can have some unique features in their construction that make it impossible to give general advice about how to adjust them.
It could be that you just haven't figured out how to make the adjustment, but the saw could be damaged, or parts that should move are frozen together or locked by a set screw that can't be seen.
Another possibility is that someone took the saw apart and reassembled it incorrectly, or broke off, or threw away, parts that were needed to make the adjustment. In my experience an old machine's worst enemy is misguided "repairs", since the damage done often can't be undone. This is why I warned against starting to grind off parts, that is almost certainly going to be a mistake.
John White, Shop Manager Fine Woodworking Magazine
John, with Forest Girls help I was finally able to post a picture of the trunnion assembly. (post 56). So you can see the trunnions metal tabs interlocking with the table assembly prohibiting any substantial movement. My inexperience limits my knowledge of other woodworkers or people who might be able to work on this saw. but I promise, I wont grind anything off or otherwise alter the saw. Your point is well taken. So, take a look at the pics (trunnion and saw) maybe you will recognize the model and have some idea of how it can be adjusted. Thank you for your patience with me! Chris
Have you checked to see if the table might need to be adjusted, rather than the trunnion?
Sometimes you can loosen some screws and shift the positions of the table itself slightly to make the adjustment. It you get this saw tuned, would you consider purchasing an aftermaket fence assembly such as a beisimeier to make it safer and better? As someone with more time than money, I also appreciate the value of perfecting less than ideal equipment rather than spending top dollar. I would suggest posting some more varied photos of your saw and asking JohnWW what sort of improvements you might make. It can be truly rewarding to bring new life to an older tool.
Hi Vince, As near as I can tell, the trunnions attach to the table prohibiting movement of any sort. (post 56 trunnion). The bolts you see are through the trunnion, and into the table, there are metal tabs on the trunnion that fit into grooves on the table. I'm hoping that John can tell if maybe I'm missing something. My original plan was to buy an aftermarket fence of some sort, but I scrapped that idea when I could'nt get it tuned properly. If I can get it tuned up, I would definately consider keeping it. Other than a problem starting occasionally, it runs smooth and quiet (wwII) with plenty of power. I would also like some safety features, a splitter would be nice. I can prop the table on the ends to make it flatter. Anyway, hopefully something productive happens, I love happy endings (especially when they happen to me!) Thanks, Chris
Tinter, if you haven't checked out the OWWM website, I think you're missing a good bet. If JohnWW is right and your Walker Turner is an 1180, they have at least nine in their Photo Index:http://owwm.com/MfgIndex/Detail.asp?Tab=PhotoIndex&ID=808If you click on the 9/29/06 entry by Bob Clayton, inhttp://owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=4207he notes that he finished the restoration but, "I still have some adjustments to make lining up the miter slots..." Sounds like he's got just the inormation you need. You might be able to click on his name and send him an email, or sign up for the forum http://www.owwm.org/and ask your question there. One side note: in the 9/12/03 entry, Jeff Lesueur points out that a larger Baldor motor limits the tilt to 30 degrees. Maybe your saw doesn't have the original motor? Good luck,
Dan
Thanks Dan, I used that site to get information on parts for the saw. I kind of gave up on the problem when I was'nt able to adjust the table/ trunnion. But you guys have breathed new life into it. I will go back and do some more research. Thanks for spending your time looking into it and providing me with the great links! Chris
You're welcome, Chris. Judging from the "after" photos, the Walker-Turners look pretty good when they're cleaned up. Last night I didn't find the manual reprint that JohnWW mentioned in his 33334.65, but I went back and tried again tonight, and it would appear to be the 9/25/2003 entry, "TA1180-TA1180B Tilting Arbor Saws," athttp://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/Detail.asp?Tab=Publications&ID=808If you click on that entry, it will take you to the page where you can download the pdf file. As John said, the instructions are sort of vague, but there ought to be somebody at the site who can set you (and your saw) straight. Again, good luck with it, hope it all works out. Dan
Walker Turner table saw trunnion adjustment
It looks like the trunnion adjustment question within this thread was never clearly addressed so I'll add some info based on experience with my Walker Turner belt driven table saw.
The Walker Turner table saw trunnions attach directly to the table which sits on top of the cabinet so you can't simply budge the table top to adjust the alignment of the blade to the miter slot. The arbor assembly moves with the table. This could be considered a design defect compared to the Delta Uni-Saw but if you've got a huge extended table surface supported by outboard legs then fine tuning the blade/miter slot alignment by bumping the huge table might be difficult.
The front trunnion is indeed keyed into slots cut into the mounting lugs in the table casting. However, the rear trunnion does not have keys so adjustment takes place at the rear trunnion. There is just enough room for an open end wrench to fit in and work the bolts. If you discover excessive play in the fit of the keyways of the front trunnion you could add shim to eliminate that if you think it would be useful but otherwise I'd leave the front trunnion alone. If there isn't enough play in the rear trunnion to get the blade parallel to the miter slot I'd simply file the holes in the soft metal trunnion a little larger (after setting the motor arbor assembly securely on blocks or jacks).
Michael,
Just thought I'd chime in and say that since you have revived a thread that's almost 5 years old, you probably shouldn't be disappointed if you don't get a thank you from the original poster.
Ray
one never knows when
someone with the same problem may google the same problem and way down in the mix is a solution to the question. I guess that is one of the good features of the archives is that google still applies
ron
I had a young fellow phone me about three years ago and he said ,"I have your old car" and I asked what one and he replied, "your old 32 chev sedan". He was amazed at what info and detail that I could give him and I hadn't seen it for 40 years
Chris,
Your saw is probably a model #1180. If it isn't too beaten up, the round aluminum Walker Turner label showing in one of your photos should have the model number.
I haven't rebuilt one of these saws so I can't give you any advice based on direct experience. A reprint of a manual for that model saw on the Old Woodworking Machines site was so vague about the alignment method that it wasn't much help.
The reprint basically said that you shifted the motor to line up the blade, so I suspect that the motor and arbor assembly is mounted with its own set of bolts, separate from the trunnion mounting, and that loosening the motor attachment bolts will allow you to line up the blade.
John W.
Hey John, The front tag has the serial # but no model. I have been trying to take some more photos, but I have an extension table with cabinets underneath built around the saw so it's going to have to wait until I can take it apart. Thanks for all your help and the time you spent looking into this for me, Chris
If you're not clamping the wood before cutting, then try that before buying anything else. There's no way you're getting a clean miter without clamping.
I dont clamp, forest girl mentioned that earlier. I will definately start clamping, Thanks! Chris
if your saw is checking out as accurate, I would suggest you are experiencing creep in the cut. Try a gluing some sandpaper to yiour miter guage to keep the wood from moving.
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