: I think that I must live with the perfect woman. I saw a table saw for sale
: in the paper that I thought that I had to have, broached the idea to her
: and her reply was, "Bob you've wanted one for a long tine, you have
: the money get it." So for 200 frog skins I have a Craftsman saw with
: cast iron table, table extensions, 1 3/4 hp motor. I was wondering if
: there were any books on saw adjustment. I plan on changing the pulllys so
: that I can have double drive belts. Of course Jayne wnants me to finish
: triming out a wall we put in last summer, but I figure that in the course
: of getting the saw adjusted I can rip the strips for my next boat, I got
: 1/3 of them done tonight getting a "feel for the saw". Any tips
: on tuning up the saw? Thanks Bob

Hi Bob :)

Welcome to the world of Power Tools! Don't know if you've got any others, but, it sounded cool to say. Do you know what year your saw is? Must be a later model if it has a 1 3/4 hp motor. I can give you a few little tips, but, unless you have used it for a while, you may not know just what all it needs, if anything.

1) With the saw unplugged, take the plate off the table and take hold of the blade and see if it has any play in it. Wobble or end play. That will tell you if the arbor is worn. Probably isn't, but, doesn't hurt to check.

2) Check the distance of mitre guide slots from the blade, front and back. That will tell you if the blade is straight( trundle adjustment, made from under the table where you have a couple of adjustable bolts ).

3) Check the distance of fence to the blade, when locked down, to see if it locks down straight. If not ( and Craftsman saw fences are notorious for not being too accurate ) I'm not sure if all have adjustments or not, so you may need to adjust it, or live with it. Mine doesn't adjust, but, I can either measure both the front blade distance and back blade distance to the fence and lock it down each time.....or...... when you lock it down, push on the "T" part closest to you, and make sure it is up against the table, and then lock it down. That always works for me. You want the clearance as close to the same as posible so that you don't pick up circular blade marks in your wood or burning.

4) Take out the plate.......oh wait, you didn't put it back yet........ well, take the plate and make some duplicate templates out of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood, and cut them to fit into the table, and run the blade up through them. That will give you some zero/clearance plates, which you will get to like in a hurry if you have used the sears 3/4" wide opening in their plates. You can lose whole pieces of wood in there, especially if you are cutting strips. When guideing small stuff through the blade, they can sag and jam in that big ole hole. And " Kick-Backs " are a bitch. So are 360's, but, that's another story.

5) Use nothing but Carbide blades, as steel dulls too fast and YOU start doing too much work and the saw not enough. That's a disaster waiting for a place to happen. You should not have to put any amount of pressure when you are feeding something into the blade. When you have to push hard, something isn't right.

6) Take this one with a grain of salt, as it will draw a lot of flak from others around here, but, If your sears saw has the standard Sears issue blade guard, take it off and throw it away, or store it for when you sell that saw and buy the Delta Unisaw. Those guards are more of a hazard than a help. You can't see what you are doing, and they get in the way when you are trying to work with small stuff. Most often, they cause small stuff to bind up and kick back. There are some on the market that are O.K., but, the Sears brand isn't one of them. I've been working in wood for over 25 years and haven't missed mine a bit. I am always double carefull when working with any power tool. If you respect it, and what it can do, you will be just fine. If you are afraid of it, sell it now and don't bother. Fear is what causes many to make mistakes.

7) If the saw is set up for 220v., it will give it's best performance. If not, it will work fine on 110v., but, take a lesser feed rate and maybe bog down on thicker items. Cutting these strips will, or should not have any affect of it.

8) Sharpening a carbide blade can be done very easily at home, by you. If it seems to be bogging down, or burning the wood, and you suspect it is dulling, take a look at the teeth. If there is a residue building up behind the teeth, it will cause the blade to appear dull. Just take it off the saw, lay it down on a piece of scrap wood or newspaper, and spray it with Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Let it set for about 10 minutes and then wash it off with water. Dry it and put it back on the saw. Cutting this type of stuff, you will seldom need to tune/sharpen a carbide blade. One day you will need to, but, it ain't cheap. Don't waste your money if you don't have too. This if often what they do, and charge you $15 to $25.

9) This one is optional, and sometimes questionable. When I picked up a used saw a few years ago, it was a bit corroded on the table, so, I took some fine silicone/carbide sand paper and sanded the top to get rid of the corrosion, and then applied some parafin wax, very lightly to the top and fence and then rubbed it out. The problem arrises when you get too much, and your work may pick up some of it, and stains and finishes will have problems sticking. I never had that problem, but, it could happen. Sure is nice to have material slide over the table like it was on ball bearings. Again, this one is optional, and if you are worried about getting wax on your work, don't do it. I never had a problem, but, I rubbed it out real good.

Those are the things I know, and use, and I'm sure there are more that can aid in bringing your new toy up to snuff. Good luck and most of all, be aware!! Table saws, as other power tools, are very unforgiving. Now, have fun. :)

Rehd