Renzo Posted August 28, 2010 Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Recently got a new General 10" Hybrid table saw. I was just ripping some purple heart (to make marc's cutting board) and the saw just stopped half way through cutting the first piece. Seems like it's the motor as the saw is still getting power (the angle gauge has power) I've emailed the dealer I got the saw from but grrrrr. Was looking forward to a weekend of making cutting boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted August 28, 2010 Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Check the circuit breaker. Just a shot in the dark, but it could get you making sawdust again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted August 28, 2010 Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Wow, powered angle gauge? Cool... Don't know that saw, but check for a reset button on the motor. Some have it. Why it would have gone off? Dunno. Purpleheart is hard. 8/4 purpleheart would be a workout. I assume you've removed the purpleheart stock already. Can you start the motor? If you haven't removed the stock, do so without starting the motor; actually unplug it. If the motor is spinning but the blade isn't, maybe you have a belt tension issue. If the blade now spins, but cutting something causes the stop again, you might still have a belt tension issue although I would have expected some smell to go along with the blade stall. Well, no cutting board; have to call in pizza... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renzo Posted August 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Hi Yep first thing I did was check the breaker, reset it as well for fun even though it wasn't tripped. I have already removed the stock with the machine unplugged (not taking any chance of it powering back on when my fingers are near the blade) The motor isn't turning on at all. I hit the on button and nothing. Hahaha well i already had steak so that's OK. I'll check to see if the motor has some sort of reset switch. I know it's a bit of a lower end saw, but I assume it should be OK with 1 5/8 purple heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renzo Posted August 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Good news! The motor had a reset switch that had been tripped. Any idea what would cause this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted August 28, 2010 Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Glad you are working again! I assume you just put too much load on the motor and it tripped the circuit breaker built into the motor. Try making multiple passes, like with a a router. Don't try to plow through a deep cut all at once. Or, it could be wood with a lot of internal stress, and it pinched the blade. I've seen that happen. But, I think you would have mentioned it if you had had to pry the wood off the blade after the blade stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renzo Posted August 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2010 Fyi Seems like I was feeding too quickly. I slowed down about 50% and no more problems. The only thing I had ripped up til now was 4/4 maple. I guess 1 5/8" was a tad too big for my table saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted August 29, 2010 Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 Good news! The motor had a reset switch that had been tripped. Any idea what would cause this? Excellent. If it keeps happening, give the dealer a call as it might be a hyperactive reset switch. It's like a mini-circuit breaker so you must have pulled too much current, but if you're on a 15A circuit and the saw is 110/15A (my assumption), it seems like the house breaker would have gone first as the saw would be set higher. Not sure. Purpleheart is a tough one, though. I think Beech mentioned it, but maybe the purpleheart pinched or maybe your fence isn't toed out (or dead parallel). If it is toed in, it would have been pushing the bulk of the material against the blade greatly increasing the load. It's a kickback scenario, but with your larger stock, you may have gotten away with it. Easy way to test the toe in/out... take a piece of 1/2"-ish ply (oh, you're Canadian: 12mm ply). Raise the blade quite a bit above the ply. Push it through the front of the blade and go until you approach but don't engage the back teeth. Hold the ply there and stop the saw. Now, lower the blade until the back teeth are in the kerf of the ply. If they rub greatly against the side closest the fence, your fence is toed in and dangerous (the situation is eluded to above). If the teeth are dead in the middle of the kerf, you're parallel. if they rub against the side of the kerf furthest the blade, you're toed out (which is good... I toe-out by 2-5 thousandths). Give that a quick check before running the purpleheart again. This is how I test my fence alignment after using a saw gauge from Woodpeckers (which I highly recommend, actually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renzo Posted August 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 Thanks i'll definitely give that a try. I've got a gauge on backorder. Should be here in a week or so. Best i can tell with a square etc i'm parallel to the fence. But the gauge will definitely be helpful. Haha thanks for the metric conversion. It's weird here we go my cm for snow, lb for weight, ft for height, celsius for temp and inches for measurements. Weirdness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted August 29, 2010 Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 Marc has a table saw tuneup video (part 1, part2) where he gives a half dozen different ways to check alignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renzo Posted August 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2010 Yep i've watched the table saw tuneup video at least three times. Once before getting my saw and twice after I'm certain my blade/fence are setup properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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