bob493 Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 So I have a vintage craftsman table saw. Everything is functionally perfect, motor is strong, table is true, blade is near perfectly aligned (took some effort but I dialed it in to .002" variance), and the stand is great. I still notice my cuts aren't that crisp, nice edge, and I ran it today just to see what was going on. Well, I finally realized, the motor is bouncing and causing variable tension on the belt to the blade. I am thinking of attaching springs, but will this cause too much tension? I can't really think of any great ideas, and google searches aren't helping me a lot. Any advice greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Motor bouncing.. Is something broke? What blade are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 7 minutes ago, TIODS said: Motor bouncing.. Is something broke? What blade are you running? No nothing's broke as far as I can see. I'll have to make you a picture to explain better. This is kinda whats going on, just a random picture I found online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 First thought would be the belt, and also the cheapest thing to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 1 minute ago, krtwood said: First thought would be the belt, and also the cheapest thing to replace. The belt is a bit old I guess, didn't think that could cause the issue though. I'll give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 What you can try to determine is does the bouncing occur in time with a revolution of the belt or a revolution of the motor pulley or something else? Take the belt off and inspect it for anything out of the ordinary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 12 minutes ago, krtwood said: What you can try to determine is does the bouncing occur in time with a revolution of the belt or a revolution of the motor pulley or something else? Take the belt off and inspect it for anything out of the ordinary. Allright, I'll go do that now. Well. With the belt off it made the problem readily apparent. I think the bearing on the motor is going out. The pulley was rattling all over the place lol. *sigh* more crap to fix :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Could be the pulley itself. If it's sliding side to side then the set screw is loose. Bearings usually make interesting noises before they get to that point. Mine was whining intermittently for 4-5 years before I finally got around to it. If it is a motor bearing they really are pretty easy to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave's Not Here Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Other issues to check would be misaligned pulleys or worn motor bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Once you get the bearing/pulley issue sorted, then get a good belt. A Linkbelt works well for reducing vibration & they seem to have more grip than a conventional belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 16 hours ago, bob493 said: Allright, I'll go do that now. Well. With the belt off it made the problem readily apparent. I think the bearing on the motor is going out. The pulley was rattling all over the place lol. *sigh* more crap to fix :-/ My saw's vibration was reduced drastically when I went to the steel pulleys. And they're quite inexpensive. http://smile.amazon.com/TB-Woods-AK2558-Bored-Section/dp/B003H057J4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 The only vibration I have left is from my blade being not quite flat. That changes this weekend. Also, a belt flat spot can make the motor bounce. When a belt gets old it gets stiff. You end with an oval being flung between the bearings. That's bounce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted April 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 10 hours ago, collinb said: My saw's vibration was reduced drastically when I went to the steel pulleys. And they're quite inexpensive. http://smile.amazon.com/TB-Woods-AK2558-Bored-Section/dp/B003H057J4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 The only vibration I have left is from my blade being not quite flat. That changes this weekend. Also, a belt flat spot can make the motor bounce. When a belt gets old it gets stiff. You end with an oval being flung between the bearings. That's bounce. Mine actually has steel pulleys already (they are quite heavy, definitely not aluminum). Good to know. I think its just the motor goin bad, but to be fair its from the 70s lol. I'll grab a new belt and see if i can squeeze a bit more life while I look around for motors, i'll check those linkbelts out drzaius. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Bob, here's a pic of an old Craftsman ts my dad had and we have in storage. Note the adjustment rod (bent) that kept tension on the motor. I suspect that the motor is not heavy enough to do that alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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