Table saw handwheels

[adamnolen]

Hey guys. I just bought an old Craftsman table saw and was wanting to replace the plastic hand crank (that raises and lowers the blade) with a metal one. Does anyone know where I can get those? I need one with a set screw in it. I have searched and searched on the internet but can't seem to find one with the set screw. I know they HAVE to make them. Please help :/

Thanks guys.

[PaulMarcel]

It has seriously become my favorite site: McMasters-Carr

[adamnolen]

Thanks a ton man! You made that WAY simple. All of my searching never found that site and it is awesome.

[Vic]

It has seriously become my favorite site: McMasters-Carr

Sweet, Paul!! I bookmarked that puppy. I wonder if I can retro a hand wheel on this. I would think so.

[PaulMarcel]

Thanks a ton man! You made that WAY simple. All of my searching never found that site and it is awesome.

No problemo. I got the link from someone else, actually, just hours before your question so I was using it at the time to locate some oddball brass screws.

I have to say, their selection is phenomenal, but also their search interface is fantastic. As you make selections of the attributes you are looking for, it automatically narrows the search and even lists them all at the bottom of the page. Before this site, I loathed searching on parts sites. Guess McMasters figures you'll buy it if you find it.

Hope they had the part you needed.

[PaulMarcel]

Sweet, Paul!! I bookmarked that puppy. I wonder if I can retro a hand wheel on this. I would think so.

Had to look at the picture for a sec... in the closeup, there looks to be an inset screw with a hex head. I'm guessing the collar under that is smooth without threads. If that's the case, sure seems like you could find a handwheel that would fit over that collar and lock in place with its own inset screw.

Call it poor-man's Benchcrafted.

[PurpLev]

Had to look at the picture for a sec... in the closeup, there looks to be an inset screw with a hex head. I'm guessing the collar under that is smooth without threads. If that's the case, sure seems like you could find a handwheel that would fit over that collar and lock in place with its own inset screw.

Call it poor-man's Benchcrafted.

Unless prices have changed - I believe that would still be some pretty $$$ vise in which case, the difference with the Benchcrafted is just not worth 'saving' - I'd just opt for the Benchcrafted. vise + all hardware and rails and take the guess work out the window.

[Lawrence Brown]

Had to look at the picture for a sec... in the closeup, there looks to be an inset screw with a hex head. I'm guessing the collar under that is smooth without threads. If that's the case, sure seems like you could find a handwheel that would fit over that collar and lock in place with its own inset screw.

Call it poor-man's Benchcrafted.

I believe it's actually a pressed pin inside the hole, similar to a shear pin. You can verify that by looking at it. If you can see all the way through the hole, it's a pin made by rolling a piece of steel into a tube.

Vic: if you really want a round handle on the end of that, I do machining as well as woodworking, so if you're ever up in the Seattle area, bring the vise with you and I could either machine you something or we could find something you like through McMasters or whoever and I could adapt it for you. I'd be happy to help out just for the fun of it. There are several factors to consider though before making such a change, so if you're interested, send me a private message.

[nateswoodworks]

As for the quality of McMasters, top notch. We always go through them at work and a few yrs ago I got a 4" handwheel for my bandsaw to raise up the blade tentioning, very happy.

Nate

[Vic]

I believe it's actually a pressed pin inside the hole, similar to a shear pin. You can verify that by looking at it. If you can see all the way through the hole, it's a pin made by rolling a piece of steel into a tube.

Vic: if you really want a round handle on the end of that, I do machining as well as woodworking, so if you're ever up in the Seattle area, bring the vise with you and I could either machine you something or we could find something you like through McMasters or whoever and I could adapt it for you. I'd be happy to help out just for the fun of it. There are several factors to consider though before making such a change, so if you're interested, send me a private message.

You don't think the existing handle is just set with a allen set screw?

[Vic]

Unless prices have changed - I believe that would still be some pretty $$$ vise in which case, the difference with the Benchcrafted is just not worth 'saving' - I'd just opt for the Benchcrafted. vise + all hardware and rails and take the guess work out the window.

Considering I'll have at least two of them, the price difference seems pretty dramatic. But, YES, I'd LOVE the BenchCrafted models!!

[Lawrence Brown]

You don't think the existing handle is just set with a allen set screw?

Nope. that is part of the same line that Woodcraft also sells. They are all made in the same factory in China. If you go here, you can see a better view of the front vice:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=7534&ss=103103b7-59c3-49ee-9fef-7afe6c3162a6

If you click on the image to enlarge it and look carefully, you can see a better view of the rolled pin holding it together. You can just make out the split in the sheet metal tube in the upper right of the hole, which you can also see is smooth with no threads. I have the quick-release version of that on my bench.

This isn't really a bad thing. All that pin does is keep the handle from rotating on the shaft, just like a shear pin. It would take an awful lot of force to break that, but if for some reason you really needed threads, the existing hole could relatively easily be tapped - that is, as long as the shaft isn't hardened, which I don't believe it is.

Incidentally, the quick-release cam on mine recently broke and I'm not really looking forward to fixing it. The cast iron just shattered when I was doing what I thought to be a routine clamp-down. I'm thinking the solid thread version may be a bit stronger, but I'm just guessing. I really don't want to switch though because then it takes forever to move the head in and out, which is, I'm assuming, why you would like to refit it with a crank handle.

So all that being said, yes, there's maybe a 5 percent chance I could be wrong because I'm not actually looking at it, but I'm pretty confident about my assessment

[Vic]

Thank you! I guess a call to their tech desk would be in order before I decide on that. I believe my Chatroom friend Bud owns it, so he'll let me know.