Hi John,
Don’t really know if it’s a problem, but it is an issue… I have a ~20 year old USA made Delta contractor’s TS that my Dad gave me (thanks Dad!), with a 1.5HP motor. I realigned the blade w.r.t. miter slot about 6 mos ago, and it was within 0.003″ back to front with the motor and belt attached. I installed the TSAligner brackets to help out.
A few projects later, and the blade is now off by 0.01″ back to front. When I remove the load from the motor/belt weight, it’s back to about 0.003″.
Does this make sense to you – this much deflection when everything is hooked up? Should I now try to compensate and reset the alignment such that it’s w/in tolerance under load (weight), and out more in the other direction when unloaded? I did not recall this much contribution from the motor weight before. As you probably know, it’s a real pain to try to align the darn thing without the motor and everything else getting in the way, and a darn near impossibility to do so if the motor is still hooked up.
Any insight or pointers would really help me out.
thanks,
JP
Replies
A quick follow-up...
The additional deflection under weighted load is really only at the rear of the blade, not at the front. I am surprised that this occurs in the first place.
jp
JP,
Sadly, this type of deflection is typical for contractor's saws, and is basically a design flaw. I gave up a long time ago trying to get contractor's saws perfectly aligned, you do the best you can and then check them regularly.
The arbor assembly on these saws is built up from two castings joined by two long bars and it is much more flexible than the large single casting used on most other styles of saws. Combine this with the stress of a vibrating motor hung off the back and deflection is almost guaranteed.
Also, when adjusting the trunnions on these saws it is hard not to leave a little play in them that will allow the alignment to shift once the saw is put to work.
Check that the nuts on the ends of the long bars are tight the next time you try to align your saw and also make sure that the two halves of each of the trunnion assemblies are fully engaged before you tighten up the bolts attaching the rear trunnion to the table. As you suggested, trying to adjust the alignment to compensate for the inevitable flexing is also worth trying.
John White
Thank you very much for the reply. I will realign, try to overshoot a bit, and see how that goes. Looks like I've got to get the "paperwork" started for a new TS, with SWMBO.regards,JP
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