Two other possible fixes depending on your set up. Tap the holes to the next largest size and use new adjustment screws. Drill out the existing holes and insert helicoils that match the original screw size and thread pitch.
Fixed saw fences
My saw is a HF bench saw. New was around $ 50-60, years ago. Still runs fine, and has a nice carbide tip blade. Two issues tho. One, the blade tends to get out of alignment with the miter slot every few years, no biggie, an easy adjustment. However, the adjustment is held in place by screws, and the last time they pretty much gave up the effort. Have been able to get around that by angling the fence, and that gave satisfactory results, but the fence really sucks, and I'm tired of constant remeasuring every time I need to cut a different width. The blade angle pretty much kills using a saw sled too. But, have got it worked out. I have a large hose clamp, and a bolt with a flat hook on the end - not a clue where I got it, or what it went on. I will drill a hole in the front of the saw base for the bolt, loop the hose clamp around the motor, hook the bolt to the clamp, use a nut to pull the motor straight, then another nut to lock it all in place. This should keep it all solid and keep it solid. Then saw sled time.
But the fence still sucks, and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Then woke up a couple of days ago, sat on the side of the bed, and it hit me. A non-moving fence. I need to cut plywood lengths that are probably 3 different widths at the most. So, my thought is a plywood fence. Make sure a piece of plywood is aligned with the blade, at the desired distance for a cut, then fix a glue block on the bottom outside edge. This will give an exact width every time I use it. The 'fence' would be held in place by 2 hooked bolts going thru the top, and hooking into one of the saw top holes, with a wing nut on the threaded end. Repeat with the other needed widths. I may glue a stop block on each end of the fence also. Probably glue a piece on the saw edge to make it higher too. When one is not in use, hang it on the wall or a rafter. Of course they will all be marked with cut width, and any other necessary information, so they don't get mixed up. Among other things, this will mean I don't need to buy another saw. Except I probably would just make one with an old circular saw I was given. Now just need to buy some more of those hook end bolts.
But the fence still sucks, and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Then woke up a couple of days ago, sat on the side of the bed, and it hit me. A non-moving fence. I need to cut plywood lengths that are probably 3 different widths at the most. So, my thought is a plywood fence. Make sure a piece of plywood is aligned with the blade, at the desired distance for a cut, then fix a glue block on the bottom outside edge. This will give an exact width every time I use it. The 'fence' would be held in place by 2 hooked bolts going thru the top, and hooking into one of the saw top holes, with a wing nut on the threaded end. Repeat with the other needed widths. I may glue a stop block on each end of the fence also. Probably glue a piece on the saw edge to make it higher too. When one is not in use, hang it on the wall or a rafter. Of course they will all be marked with cut width, and any other necessary information, so they don't get mixed up. Among other things, this will mean I don't need to buy another saw. Except I probably would just make one with an old circular saw I was given. Now just need to buy some more of those hook end bolts.
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Yes, possibilities, however I don't think there is enough metal there for either to work. Even if there is, I don't think it would be a permanent fix, merely temporary. So I think I'll just go with my way, I think it should be permanent.Two other possible fixes depending on your set up. Tap the holes to the next largest size and use new adjustment screws. Drill out the existing holes and insert helicoils that match the original screw size and thread pitch.
Theo,
Sounds simple and effective.
Sounds simple and effective.
well it sounds like u know ur saw...nuts to bolts...that is all well and good and ingenuity is certainly something to be proud of .... but ... IMHO - I don't like the sound of any of it.... with that said I wish you all the best in all u do with it....oh btw I can claim not an ounce of knowledge in what u were describing..............
Theo instead of leaving money in your estate to some one leave them an almost new table saw. :laugh2:
I am trying to understand this...if it comes out of alignment every few years, and you are constantly having to re-measure everything...if you put the stationary fence and such on, won't you still have to be measuring because now, just another piece will also be out of alignment?
I've owned 5 table saws in my life and 4 of them wouldn't cut straight due to many different problems, but mostly due to the fence. Then I got an older Delta Unisaw with a 52" Unifance for less than I paid for the previous saw new. I cleaned up the Unisaw, put new bearings on the arbor, and bought a Uni-T-Fence extrusion to replace the original Unifence extrusion. Although the original fence extrusion was fine, the Uni-T-Fence extrusion has T slots in the top as well as the blade side, so feather boards can be attached easily. I'm no longer searching for a better table saw. This one is better than I could have hoped for. I should have done this years ago instead of wasting money on those other saws.
Theo, A table saw is the heart of a woodworking shop. It gets used for everything. Don't
mess with a saw that has serious problems. You will end up spending more shop time fixing the saw than working on your projects.
A Unisaw may be beyond your needs and shop size, but a Delta Contractor saw can be had in near perfect condition for just a few hundred dollars. I helped my son find one of these for $150 and then helped him with the cleaning up and tuning. It still has the original Jet Lock round tube rail fence, but it cuts as accurately as my Unisaw. The 2 hp motor (when connected to 240 volts, 1.5 hp when connected to 120 volts) has provided more power than it needs and it is proving to be a great saw for his home remodeling work. My only complaint with his Contractor Saw is that it has no good way to contain the sawdust. The open bottom and back of the saw lets the sawdust go wherever it wishes. Had I known how accurate one of these saws could cut, I would probably have bought one instead of the Unisaw.
Charley
Theo, A table saw is the heart of a woodworking shop. It gets used for everything. Don't
mess with a saw that has serious problems. You will end up spending more shop time fixing the saw than working on your projects.
A Unisaw may be beyond your needs and shop size, but a Delta Contractor saw can be had in near perfect condition for just a few hundred dollars. I helped my son find one of these for $150 and then helped him with the cleaning up and tuning. It still has the original Jet Lock round tube rail fence, but it cuts as accurately as my Unisaw. The 2 hp motor (when connected to 240 volts, 1.5 hp when connected to 120 volts) has provided more power than it needs and it is proving to be a great saw for his home remodeling work. My only complaint with his Contractor Saw is that it has no good way to contain the sawdust. The open bottom and back of the saw lets the sawdust go wherever it wishes. Had I known how accurate one of these saws could cut, I would probably have bought one instead of the Unisaw.
Charley
Some 40 years ago I bought a cheap, used Delta TS and discovered with routine use the blade would frequently get out of alignment with the miter slot. Turns out the back arbor plate was to thin and could easily be pressed out of alignment. Regrettably Delta advised me there was no repair for that saw as it was discontinued. Out of safety concerns I junked it.
Jon
Jon
30 year old and newer Delta Contractor Saws like the 34-444 and higher model numbers don't have this problem and they didn't change much at all with each digit increase in the model number (new model year?). All I can say is that these Contractor saws don't have that problem, but I have no experience with older Delta saws. The one big important calibration difference between a Delta Contractor table saw and a Unisaw is that the blade arbor mounts are attached to the underside of the table top in a Contractor saw and they are attached to the base cabinet in a Unisaw. This makes the Unisaw miter slots to blade parallel adjustments easier to adjust on the Unisaw, you just loosen and move the table top. It's harder to adjust on a Contractor saw because you have to loosen and move the arbor mounts. But now there are PALS which are a special OEM option that gives you set screw adjustments to be able to adjust the arbor position to bring the blade parallel with the miter slots.. These make the Contractor saw much easier to calibrate than without them, and my son's Contractor saw already had them in place when we bought it.
Charley
Charley
Yep, that pretty much describes me. >Theo,
Sounds simple and effective.
Trust me, this will work.well it sounds like u know ur saw...nuts to bolts...that is all well and good and ingenuity is certainly something to be proud of .... but ... IMHO - I don't like the sound of any of it.... with that said I wish you all the best in all u do with it....oh btw I can claim not an ounce of knowledge in what u were describing..............
Believe me, I have spent a LOT of time planning my estate. And I should be flat broke by that time. :laugh2:Theo instead of leaving money in your estate to some one leave them an almost new table saw. :laugh2:
Not 'constantly', but oftener than I like. But once I get the blade aligned with the miter slot, and everything tightened and locked, it ain't gonna move again. And as long as the fixed fences are snug against the side of the saw, there is nothing to be out of alignment. The only thing I will need to measure will be each new fence, while I am making it.I am trying to understand this...if it comes out of alignment every few years, and you are constantly having to re-measure everything...if you put the stationary fence and such on, won't you still have to be measuring because now, just another piece will also be out of alignment?
Nope, in my shop my router table and router are the heart, that is the most used, and most fun, tool I have - lots of noise, lots of sawdust, can't help but like that. I've got a decent scrollsaw, a jigsaw upside down in a portable table, a hand held jigsaw, a circular saw, and those actually meet all my sawing needs. Haven't use the bench saw in quite awhile. The reason for re-modding it is because it will save a respectable amount of time over other methods of sawing, for my current projects, and will be accurate. And it doesn't have serious problems, just irritating problems. I figure I can get the saw itself done in maybe an hour tops, depending on how my back holds out. The fences will each take longer than that, maybe a couple of hours each, not counting glue setting time. I've done stuff like this before, and worked out well every time; this is very simple stuff, and don't even need to make a sketch before hand.Theo, A table saw is the heart of a woodworking shop. It gets used for everything. Don't mess with a saw that has serious problems. You will end up spending more shop time fixing the saw than working on your projects.
Before I bought my saw I did a lot of researching on similar size saws. Mostly what I found was that a number of saws in the $300 or so range, were basically the same as mine, top, size, etc. And one or two actually looked identical to mine, except for the colors. Way I figure, it is very possible that my HF saw was made on the same line as some of the pricier saws.Some 40 years ago I bought a cheap, used Delta TS and discovered with routine use the blade would frequently get out of alignment with the miter slot. Turns out the back arbor plate was to thin and could easily be pressed out of alignment. Regrettably Delta advised me there was no repair for that saw as it was discontinued. Out of safety concerns I junked it.
Jon
@JOAT
Understand the research. I paid $25 for mine at the time. As they say, "You gets what youse pays for".
Understand the research. I paid $25 for mine at the time. As they say, "You gets what youse pays for".
Ahhh I think I see what you are saying now. So the fence will be protruding and butted up against the column? So if it's nice and tight, there's no way for the plate to move then?
I'd try the helicoils first. I've had great luck with them as long as you don't over tighten them. You can get them tight...just don't go overboard. I think you'll be ok & a lot less work.
Well, the side of the top, but yes, no movement once it's clamped down.Ahhh I think I see what you are saying now. So the fence will be protruding and butted up against the column? So if it's nice and tight, there's no way for the plate to move then?
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