warped cast iron top?

jeep_man

My brother recently finished construction of his new house. He sold his old house and has had most of his tools in storage for the past 11 months. While he has been checking regularly on his items, his old craftsman table saw with a cast iron top now has a huge bow in it. I am assuming it is from moisture/heat? I have never personally seen anything like this. When he told me about it I did not beleive it. I personally have owned an old unisaw and never had a problem. I am really grateful now that I own the 4511 since this will not be a problem for me. I am trying to convince him to get a new table saw-4511, but he wants to keep his.

My question is where can he get a replacement top? I know one might be available from sears, but seeing that this saw is 30+ years old, I kind of dought it. His top is 1 5/8 thick and is about 28x40".

Should he make one out of wood and put formica on it? I know that he does not use his TS as much as I do and he does not want to spend a lot of money on this. Does anybody have any suggestions?

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xplorx4

A warped 1 5/8" cast iron top, I cannot imagine how that would happen! The problem that I see with using wood, or MDF or plywood is that a tip that big will need to be supported somehow. I am sure someone will be along that has had experience in this area.

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AxlMyk

For something that old;
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westend

If the top is 40" wide, there must be extension wings bolted to the top. The older Craftsman saws did not come with a single cast iron top that was 40" wide. Maybe the bolts that attached the wings loosened in transit/storage or have been bent. That would be the first thing I would check. I saw a 30+ yr. old Craftsman at a garage sale, two days ago, that was selling for $30. If a new cast top is needed, the G-sales are a good resource.
BTW, no I didn't buy it. I phoned my buddy that needs a motor for the TS that I gave to him but he didn't get it because he's too d*** lazy. Go figure, I gave away a nice little saw to a guy that won't use it.

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BrianS

Yes, do check wings as Lance suggested. I inherited my Dad's table saw and discovered that a weld was broken on a corner of one of the wings, making that side drop down and giving it a "warped" look.

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