Alignment Problem


woodhack

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I have a slight problem with my table saw. I have a Steel City #35606 and I can't get the blade to 90 deg. perpendicular to the table. It's not far off, it's at 89 deg. according to the Wixey, and what I've done in the past is just make a final pass on the joiner and it was no problem. It just bugs me that it's off. I've tried all of the above-table adjustments and I can't get it to 90. Does anyone have any idea if there is something under the table that I can adjust to get it to square? I don't want to start screwing around with it and make it worse than it already is.

Thanks for the help!

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I dunno for sure about that particular table saw, but some/many/most saws have an adjustable stop that makes it easy to return to 90 degrees after you've tilted the blade for a beveled cut. Could be that all you need to do is adjust the stop. Do you have the instruction manual for the saw? It might explain how it all works.

-- Russ

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I dunno for sure about that particular table saw, but some/many/most saws have an adjustable stop that makes it easy to return to 90 degrees after you've tilted the blade for a beveled cut. Could be that all you need to do is adjust the stop. Do you have the instruction manual for the saw? It might explain how it all works.

-- Russ

Russ, I removed the adjustable stop and still no cigar. :lol:

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Do you check the cut to see if it is not 90º? Those tilt boxes are a little deceiving since they show the tilt angle down to hundredths of a degree though they are rated for accuracy to +/-0.2 degrees. A tilt-box reading of 90º could be anywhere from 89.8º to 90.2º. I used to use mine for setting the bevel angles assuming they were accurate down to a couple hundredths of a degree... then much later I read the packaging blink.gif

According to the manual, there's a set-screw in the left miter slot to set the stop. Are you saying that you removed it and you are still unable to get the blade to 90º? Is the blade carriage bumping into something else that is limiting the travel? Is the acme screw (or whatever) that does the tilting so gummed up that you can't move further? Is the splitter bumping up against the table opening and preventing it from moving enough? Seems like there's something hindering it if you removed the adjustable stops.

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Russ, I removed the adjustable stop and still no cigar.

Okay. I suppose the next step would be to crawl under the saw with a light and try to see what is preventing the blade from reaching 90 degrees. It seems like it would have to be something simple, like maybe some crud buildup or a scrap of wood or something stuck where it shouldn't be.

How long have you had the saw? Did you get it new? Has it been abused? Has it been moved recently? Has it always had this problem? Have you talked to the Steel City folks about this?

-- Russ

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I'll add another vote to the idea that something is just gummed up under there.. I would advise cleaning everything and then gently adjusting the blade towards 90 and see where the pinch point is..

Good luck..

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Just a thought, not sure about that particular table saw, could it be the table not the blade that is out of alighnment? Any ajustments on the table?

I wouldnt think so because those digital angle gauges you "Zero" it to the table surface and then put it on the blade which should cancel out any abnormality in the table top itself being off.

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Thanks for all of the help guys! I've tried all of the suggestions you mentioned to no avail. However I just received an email from Steel City and apparently there are two tie bars that join the front and rear trunnion and if they are out of parallel the blade can't fully adjust. he also mentioned that it would be somewhat difficult to adjust the blade to other angles and the adjustment handle does bind up as I turn it from 90 (89? :lol: )to 45 deg. so hopefully this is it.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate all of the members of the WW site.

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Epilogue.

Alright, so I did everything the fine folks at Steel City suggested and nothing so now I'm really pissed and I have to figure out what's up. I completely take my saw apart and when I lift the table and wings off of the cabinet about 20 shims that were wedged between the table and the cabinet fall to the floor. The saw was shipped partially assembled direct to me and the guys at the factory must have shoved them in there to keep it stable during shipping I guess.

Anyway, I bolt the table back on (minus the shims), slap a blade on the arbor and it's freakin' PERFECT.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions.

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