Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw - Eakes

8/17/2019 Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw - Eakes

1/100


2/100

I

15

y

on akes


3/100

Introduction 9

Contents

Chapter I

Table Sa w

vs

Radial Arm Saw

Procedure 4 Adjusting th e Clamps 29

4 1 TIle

Arm to Column

Clamp

Adjustment 9

Craftsman

DeWa lt

Rocku ell

t z The Yoke Clamp

Adjustment 31

Cr tsman

f eW alt

Rocku ell

4 3 The Bevel Clamp

Adjustment 33

Craf tsma n

DeWalt

R X ku eJi

4 4 T

he

Rip Clamp Adjustment

5 Fence

amps 35

Procedure 3 Cleaning Your

Saw

27

Proced ure 1 Stabilizing the Stand 24

Proce

du

re 2 Asse

mbling

and Cove ring the

Table 24

Chapt

er

3

Adjusting

th e

R

adial

Arm

Saw

23

Snug xtovemcru 8

Positive Clamping 8

Use

of

the End POilU

of

l ck 9

Sq uaring to Actual Work

Su rfaces 2

ver ification on Cut \

ood

Defin ition

of

Entry Before

Cut ting 2

Principle 5

Princi ple 6

Pri nciple I

Prin ciple 2

Principle

Principle 4

Cha pte r 2

The Principles of Precision

17


4/100

Procedure 5 Ad justing Sliding Tensions 6

5 I

Roller Head to Arm

37

r fts m n

DeWalt

Roc

kwe

ll

5.2 Arm-to-Column. Vertici l

Piver 39

r ftsm n

De a l t

Rocku e

l l

5.3 Column-to-Base: Rise, Fall

and

Pivot

4 1

r ftsm

n

DeW

lt

Rockwel l

5.4 Column-to-Base: Rotation 44

r f t sm n

oe

w u

Rocku elJ

5.5 Crank Cont rol 46

Procedure 6 Tab le-to-Arm: Parallel Planes 47

6 1 Locking Tongue Open 48

r ftsm n

DeWalt

R

ockwell

6.2 Position ing Table Ibils 50

6.3

Flattening the Tab le

51

6.4 Planing Table Plat 52

Procedure 7 Blade Square

to Table

Rough 53

r ftsm n

DeWalt

Rexktce

l l

Procedure 8 Travel Square to Fe nce Rough 55

r ftsm n

oe

w

Rocku ell

6

Procedu re 9 lied and Toe 58

9. 1 Hertzental Hl

I

and

Toe

r f tsm n

DeWalt

Rockwel l

9.2 Vertical IIeel and Toe

6

r ftsm n

DeWalt

Roc

ku

e

Procedure 10 Travel Square to Fence

Precision 63

10.1 Precision Testing

64

10.2 Pre

sion

Adjustments

10.3 Miter Scales

67

r f tsm n

DeWalt

Rock /De

li

Procedure 11 Blade Square to Table Precision 9

11.1 Precision Testing

9

11.2 Precision Adjustments

70

11.3 Bevel Scales 7 1

r

tsm n

DeU alt

poceu

eu

Procedure 12 p HLCI and Toc 72

12.1 Causes of Heeling

7

12.2 Precision Testing 74

12,3 Rip Scales

74

r f tsm n

DeWalt

Roceuett

Procedure 13 Adjusting Splitters

76

r ftsm n

DeWa

ll

Rockwell

Procedure 14 Ker f Cutting into Table 78


5/100

Chapter 4

Quick

Daily Check 79

Check for Hee l and Toe Alignment

8

Check for Blade Square to Fence 8

Check for Blade Square to Table 8

Chapter 5

I

naccuracies Induced

by

Operation of

the

Saw 83

Blade

lin

C ausing Bevel Angle Change 8

Blade Lift Causing Raised Dado Cuts 85

Rip Pivoting 86

.\liter Sliding

87

Chapter 6

Accesso

ries

Re lated

to Precision

89

Por ta

bility

9

Table Extensions 91

Hold-Downs and Hip Guide; Commercial 93

Feather

Boards

9 4

Raised Hip Table

Push Sticks 98

Splinte r

Back-Up

End Stops 102

Specialty Fences

1 4

Electricity 104

Lower Blade Guards 105


6/100

Introduction

This hook

is

nor a general manual on hoy, to work w ith

3 radial arm

SJ.w.

Nor

is

it a

fancy

list o f all the gadgets

you

in

attach

to

a radial with a compilation

of

fifty

of your favortte projects in the appendix. It is simply

a very detailed

lo

ok at how to gel the not

or

iously

sloppy radia l arm saw to

work

dead

squar

e and to a

cutting tolerance

of

one 12Hlh of an inch w

ith

a s

imple

s

a?

blade. It cove rs the line-up procedures and tr icks

that the

manu

factu rers don t include in their owners

ma

nuals a

nd

that the fla

sh

y text

books

sides

tep

fo r

f r

of

bo

ring you.

lt

covers the first

ho

ur of my radial

arm S;l\V seminars thai students acro ss Canada have

demanded I pu t down in w ri ting.

A

f l lial

arm saw is a wonderful and versatilemach i ne,

but

in talking wi th woodworkers across Canada,

am

ateur and

professional alike, I

fi

nd that the

radial

is

rarely

used

to

its

full po

teruul. I

can count on

the fingers

of

one hand the number of machine; I haw found

prope

rly lined-up in the las t several

ye

ars . I

const

an tly

find salesmen, manufacturers representatives and even

sch

oo

l

tea

ch

ers

w

ho

are unaware

th at

certain adjus t

ments exist. Store

personnel

who aim at the hand

yman

seem to take the

attitude

that wo

od

working doesn t

need to he all that precise (they love se lling plastic

wood

and sandpaper).

Manufac

ture

rs have

to convince

people

tha t their

machines are simple

to

set

up

and

simp le 10 usc (at ICJSI simpler than those of the COlTI

petition).

appears

that inh

ere

nt problems

in the nature

of

a radial arm saw ca

nno

t

be adm

itted to a

nd

dealt

w ith by manufacturers because compet ito rs wou ld o f

cour

se claim that their machines are problem-free .

Publicity is

concen

trated

on

gadgets. not

on

mastering

the all-important basic saw c-urs.

In sum,

few

understand how to line the machine up

and how 10 use

it

on its

p

recise sil

k ,

and fewer still

teach how this is done . As a

co

nsequence , the radial

arm

S:IW

has the r

ep

utation of being an interesting bu t

imprecise, or

even

dangerous,

woodw

orking

tool.

With

prop

er

alignm

en

t, the radial can become the mos t

trus ted machine in

you

r shop.

There is no one perfect machine

on

the market

tod

and every

woodworker

will find his

or

her

own

reaso

to

choose

one

brand

of

machine

over

another.

Ma

find important d iffere nces in the height of the (ab

and the

ace. -ssibiliry

of the cranks

In

this

hook I

ha

tried

to avoid s

how

ing

my ow

n preference. Mo

impor

tantly,

a radial arm saw is

a

radial arm s

whether it is

made by Craftsman,

DeW;l1t

Rockwell

so

meo

ne else.

The

nuts and ho lts arc in different plac

and the

pub

licity departments sing

diffe

rent tunes , b

basically

the machines are quite

simila r

a

nd

genera

have the sa

me

in

her

ent qualities, positive and negativ

\X

h en

I point

out

a

specific

problem,

il

i ;

not in an

eff

to cr iticize

rhat

machine but rath er

to

face

up

to [

shortc

omin

gs and to demonstrate how to overcom

(hem . In this text, I have tried

( 0

show how all thr

of the major

IOmch radial

arm saws can

he kicke

codd

led

and cajoled into

providing perfection in (

cu tting

of

wood.

Other

brands.

models and

sizes

machines can profit by the nppllca tion of th ese sam

principles although you may

have

to find the locati

of the pr

op

er nu ts

and

holts yourself.

All

ph

oto a

ph

s

in the text s

how

ing various adju

ments on

a

specific

machine

are

brand-name

iden tif

as

Craftsman, DeWalt o r Rockwell. Since

I wro

te t

hook, Rockwe

ll

has

changed

its

name

to

Beaver/Del

So

if you have a

Bea

ver

/Dena

saw, you

sho

uld follo

the inst ructio ns in this book for Rockwell.


7/100

r ftsm n


8/100

e


9/100

o kwell


10/100

Chapter 1

Table Saw vs, Radial

Arm

Saw

l

e question urn most fre

que

n tly asked a

bo

ut statio

arv saws is this: Should I buy a table W or a rad

arm

SOlW?

The table saw is the preferred machi ne o f almost

professional wood

wo

rkers. hut this is 1l

rh Cly

due to t

fact that their radials are not pro

pe

rly lined up and th

have never received

any

train ing in the usc

of

a radi

Hence , for the professional. the radial is usually his cu

off

s:.IW used

only to shorten boards, with all his detail

work being do ne on the table saw,

Properly set up , the radia l arm

: \J.W

can he as p

cise and safe in cut ting

wood

as the table saw. Bo

are machines

which

can accomplish much of t

same work. I have and usc both machines, but f

some

one

who

doesn t

haw

the

mon

ey

or

the spa

for the two , lei s look at the characteristics of eac


11/100

[

The

Table Saw

]

[

The

Radial

Ann

Saw

]

On the

one

lund, the table saw is a simple machine

with few moving parts hence very easy to set up and

maintain. II is a stab le machine which mai

nta

ins

its

adiustmerus, mak ing

it

excellent for production runs.

Also, it can be pu rchased for less than a radial

becau

se

it can

be

obtained without a motor, switch or guard .

n

t

he

o ther hand, t

he

table saw requires

co

nsid

er

able floor space, as yo u must be ab le to work allar

ound

it and have

wood

stic king OUl on all sides. Moreover,

know-how, construction time and experience are

required to build specialized jigs for almost all opera

tions other d

un

ripping. In a professional shop most

ripping is

done

on

;I

b

an

d saw anywa y. These

jigs

are

usually complex lx. CI USC of their need to slide acr

oss

the table and because

of

the

li

m t

ed

ad

ju

s

tme

n ts of the

saw blade with respect to the jig. TIle table saw has

a theoretical advantage in prec is ion v

hi

ch

is usually lost

in the i

mp

recision o f the jig5nn d their movement across

the

table.

As

well, the table

saw

is limited in its use of

bevel angles . especially with da

do

or molding heads.

It can also be a dangerous machine bec ause of a hidden

and often forgotten blade.cspc

datly

when making dado

curs with the guard n.-movcd . Lastly, the table

saw

is

rarely u

sed

with its gua rd o r its splitter, as they are too

much t rouble to remo ve and replace and arc rarely

manufactur

ed

with an y serious th

ought

about actual use.

These

guard

s arc the first victims of manufacturers

cosr cutnngs

.

14

Once co rrectly lined up. the radialarm saw is a simple

too l to use for making simple o r complex cuts. It

r

equi

res f

ew

jigs and.

when

necessary , theya re simple

to make .

1

co

mplications arc in the mach ine

itself.

It r

equir

es little

fl

oo r

sp ace

: it is ge

nera

lly set against

a wall. T

he

left and right wings can have cupboards

over them and storage Sp:KC under t

he

m . The machine

can be

qu

ickly dunged

over

from

one

operation or

ad just

ment

to another and can cut a wide variety of

miter and bevel angles wnh saw blades, dado heads and

shaper heads. It can provide the small shop with many

secondary functions which work reasonably well such

as sanding, drilling and scroll saw ing. In addition, it is

cosr-cornpetinve if an e

qu

ivalent motor .

switch

and

guard arc

cou

n

ted

into t

he

table saw price.

On the o ther hand. the radial arm saw Is a complex

machine to set up and to line up and requires frequent

check

ing and minor realignment. It also needs constant

cleaning of the ro ller head tracks and is

mo

re subject

to damage or misalign

me

n t in

tran

sport than a table saw

and

hence

less po rtable. It is less reliable in repeated

pr

od

uction-run accuracy than a table saw.

Finally, it h:1S no effective lowe r bla

de

guards and

can be dange rous

u

sed

improperly.

In my own shop, where I have

bo

th the radial and

the tab le saw, I

lISC

the radial arm

S:IW

for all

one

-of-a

kind custom work. It is quickly moved from one ad just

ment 10 another . With the blade

on

the top it is easy

to make

eyeba

ll cuts and minor adjustments 0 achieve

dose fits. It

is

quickly and accurately displaced from

one

rip dimension to another, whereas the table saw

fence is usuall y

OUI

of line with the blade. I also use

the radia l f

or

all cut -offs, cutting lumber to rough or

finished lengths.

I

use the table saw when

I want 0 make num

erou

s

repeat cuts in production work. The numbe r o f Idcn

tical cuts

justifies

t

he

set-up time required to ad just the


12/100

m achine an d its jigs. 1generally cu t -I x

panels on

my table

sa w

hut th is is only because

I

happen to have

an immense table ar ou

nd

my table saw at all limes

six

fee t on ei

th e

r side

of

the blade and eight feet

be

hi

nd

the

blade ,

hich makes it

mo r

e than

convenient

to

suppo rt the cut wood.

\\ i

th wings on ei ther side

of

the radia l saw and my w

or

kbench rais

ed

to the height

o f the saw table and

placed one foot

forward of

1


13/100

Chap ter 2

The Principles of Precision

Accurate results em on ly come from pre

i

sework

this sense the precisio

n

of the machine and o f y

work

ing te

ch

niques means the ab

ility

10 w

or

k to c

tolerances

Cutting wood to

d ose tolerances :U

or rect dimension

will

result in accurately made,

w

fitt ing joints

Although raft bo oks dealing with such delicate m

ual tasks

as

dovetailing

and marquetry

frequently

with the detailsof precision . the subject is rarely

cussed when dcaltng with

power

tools Yet how

we expect to understand he importance of deta

adiustmerus and techniques unless

we understand

t

role in obtauung precision from our

radial

ann s

\ r radial

and I

work

with six principles

of

precis

I will outline these principles here and then apply th

in detail throughou t the rest o f the ook


14/100

Principle I

[ SnugMovement

]

Principle 2

[ Positive Oamping

1

' '7])blMSuxu more must mot s ottsty n firmtv

Whenever wo

od and

a machine

co

me together they

need to

he

in firm

cons

tant

co

ntact. Vibrations in the

machine will m

ean

a ctan

cring

c

on

tact

betwee

n the

cutting edge

and

the wood A hand plane with a thin

blade d igs in and

out

o f the w

oo

d grain.

If

the s

hoe

o f a jig saw is allo

wed

1 rise o il the wood , it will

no

t

give a clean cu t. Grime, dus t and rough sur faces make

consistent contact equally impossible

On the radial arm .s:1\V, the biggest offe

nder

against

the principle o f

snu

g movement is t

he

ro ller head.

It

must not

mov

e freely, or even easily. Ins tead , it must

move firmly. This is not to say that

it

should b

ind

. bu t

a l

se roller head is t

he

major

C':lUS(; of

the running

forward

feel ing wit h

most

radia ls.

When

the roller

wheels an: adjusted loosely on the o verhead track, the

emire motor assembly has ;1 t

en

dency to lift up during

a cut , hut be cause o f the

of fset

blade it


15/100

to be dead on. As a result. some peop le keep trying

to set the bevel to 1

0

o r 2° in an effor t 10 gel square

em.

But

at

1

0

it d amps very

poo

rly (the beveled index

ing pin it

self

is Ilghlinp the sctnng)and overkill becom s

the standard procedure.

The use of sandpaper in cer tain circumstances can

help

to achieve po

sitive clamping without undue pres

sure. This tsexplained

wh

en

we

conside r the sandpaper

miter fence and wooden f ther boards.

Surprisingly enough, even chipping on the bottom

side of the

U

I can eliminated . It s a question of

cle

an

back-up and etim inaring vibration between the

wood

and the able

as

with my fence bold-down

jig).

Principle 3

Use of the End Point of Slack

Slack tu ys bas em end point - let s use it. ,.

Ignoring slack inscrew drives and indexing pins I

C

to slo

ppy

r s

ults.

You musr take

up

the slack

right

its end

poin

t to maintain precision

The arm-to-column indexing pin mus t buvc so

slack in its adjustm

ent

or the pin simply will not pi

in and

out of

its

indexing slots. This

means

that wh

the pin is indexed to 90 , the saw may ve ry

we

ll

eluting at R8

or

9 1 .

fact , many people find it h

to get the same result twice . f, however, either e

point of slack is de fined and calibrated to exactly Y

then the S W could

be

set to exactly 90 every ti

de

spite the slack . I se

the pin into the

column

an

before clamping it light, shove the arm to t

he

right u

it comes to a full stop against the indexed pin. It is t

e nd po int of slack that I calibrate to exactly 90 a

it Slays

the

re, waiting. dead-on eve ry time.

x h en a

screw dr ive

is used in any machine, th

is always stICk be tween the screw th reads and the

threads. Although rhe threads may be an exact dim

sio n (such as l 1l per revolution), changing the dt r

non

of rotation

will

throw [he slack into any effort

usc screw pitch for

de

pth measure

me

nts. If tu rnin

done

onl

y in one directio n, you will be silting firm

on the end point of slack all the way and depth adju

mcnrs can

easily

be made to

one

12

Hl

h o f an inch

the

co

lumn is sliding smoothly and firmly) by sim

wa tch ing the crank handle positi

on

.

\X

i th the blade

the horizontal position, this allows for cu tting surpr

ingly accurate box jo ints without either measuring

marking the

wood


16/100

Principle 4

Squaring to Actual Work Surfaces

Align a machine at its

pnx

tnaion end

oo

o ften.

in

structi

ons tell us

to square

the

saw up

ro Ihe table

rails

or

: c:

»uc

ot he r refe re

nce

point tha t is

not the s me surface

that

will

be hol

ding

the

wood.

Even lining up the table an d the n att a ching a covering

can

c hange the

angle o f the

cu i

in the wood It

is

the

final table surface

and

the final fence

which

should serve

as

refe

rence

poin

ts

for

alignmen t of

the

saw.

If temporary

tables

or fence additions are

added,

[he

actual angle

of

1 Jt in Ihe

wood

should

be

verified before

trying to

produce

:KnJrJIt :

n

suhs. since

the

precision

of your

m ac hi ne may ha ve

been com

promised

by

inaccuracies

in

your temporary ad ditions

or

the

ir

installatio n.

20

Principle i

Verification on Cut Wood

RolI? h sialic

alip //11/ 1I1

is done trill; instruments on

t machine. dyu micfine luning is

done

u-ub a blade

cutting

wood

.

It doesn tmatter if ;I jointer, for

example

looks

good.

Wha t counts is whe ther or not it

produces

st raight

square

board

TIlls

i


17/100


18/100

Ch:lPICf 3

Adjusting the Radial Arm Saw

In ge ne ral te

rm

s, I begin m y ad just men ts

by

stabilizi n

the

mach

ine, then snugging up all moving and clam p

ing tensions. Next,

I

prepare

th e table p la ne as the bas

of

all squaring adjustments, follow ing w

hich

I work o

squaring all the c uts and finally breaking in

the

table

A

ctu

ally, this

sequence

is applicable to

any

\

oodwork

ing machi ne , hu t m

os

t

peo

ple le ave stabilization a

n

adjusting tensions as an afte rt

hought

- a fatal error

Aligning

a

r;

rd tal a

rm saw

re mi nds me of

buildin

pyrami

ds - if

you

don t

put the bottom

down first

an

the top o n last, it won t

stand

up for very lo

ng if

a

all , Al

th o

ugh t

here is

some room for var iation in th

orde

r

of

ad ju

stm

ents, l rec

ommend following m

sequence

to ssure adju itment


19/100

Proced ure 1

[ Stabilizing the Stand

]

Procedure 1.

Assembling and Covering the Table

Although the radial

arm

S; ' Gin func tion in

a

free

sta

nd i

ng position.

yo

u wi ll find that it is easier to use

if it

is fixed solidly. Either

Scrl W

l

i l

t: feel to the fl

oo r

or run 1 x ..j stabilizers from the frame back to a solid

attachment on till: wall. If you do noth ing else , at least

ensure that the 11: : aft leveled up to eliminate any

wobble.

I

han

SL't'1l rcconuncndauons

to set the SJW

on

a

slight backward lilt; the reasoning being

tha t

the roller

head will roll back us

neutral

postnon

all

by itself

For GOlfs sake. if your roller head is loose enough to

roll anywhere by itself, unplug the

SJW quickly

- you

have a

dangerous

mac-hine The roller

head

should

be

snu g enough

that

it

wo n

, go anywhere unless

yo

u pu r

it there (, ,{x Proc e

dur

e ) on sli d i

ng

tensions). Yo ur

53\\

should be relanvclv level, bUI CX Kt kve lling

10

the

ground

with

a

carpcrucrs

level b

ur mcccssarv. \ <

h :lI

mU >1he exact b the relationship be tween the table and

the ann - nor necessa ri ly the table and the ground (refer

10 Procedure ()_

Cornplctclv assemble the table, wi thou t bo ther ing to

tr y

li ning it up 10 till. S;IW . Precision ad justment of the

table rails

at

this

lime

is u

seles

s as

they can get knocked

out w hen you cover the

table .

In fact you re not ready

10line anything

up

at

all un til you finish Tension Proce

dures .t and 5. Follow the manufacturer's instructions

in (he (able assembly. skipping

ov e

r any li ne-up efforts

;II this point .

If yo u are installing a new 1;101e to p

no t

supplied

by

the manufacturer

with

pre-drilled mounting boles, then

you must lake GUC

that

the rails arc

mourned

in

svm

metrical fashion.

e h

one hc :

ing

the same distance back

from the fn l i l t edge of the table. The best bet is 0 copy

the size and layout of the original table. If you want

to nuke the tabk-oversize

or

add

exte

nsions. see Table

Extensions

in Chapter 010 avoid po tential problems

The best. most stable table tops arc made from Y.

or

even I high-density

composition

board. Exce llent table

tops

Gill

also 1)(: made from I

:

9-byer hard wood ply

woo

d, alth

ou

gh it e m be costly and hard to find.


20/100

Xow we want to cover the table base with J dis

posable

working

surface. This \V;IY the table base

neve

r

needs III

I'll:

changed again . Fig. 5- 1 shows a IIi ply

wood

cover

pla

ced

over the fron t

por

tk

1Il

o f the table.

Quality finis

hed

plywood ra

ther than

shop-grade ply-

woo

d is best for thisapplication Both sides shou ld be

smooth and free from

de fects

to til properly to the table

base and to provide a Sl11 xxh working surface.

vla ( mite

is not re

commende

d her e bCC;IUS(: it is unnecessarily

hard

on

saw

blades

and

moves

«X

much

with mois

ture changes The cover sho

uld fi

t bot h

sides

and the

front o f the

table

ex act

ly

II s

hould

t ill 6 to

1/

short of the fence as seen in the photograph. This is

an Imp

ortan

t link detail since w ith

ou t

the small gap,

slivers o f wood are cons tantly catching between the

fence

and

table -

ho

l

ding

t

he workpiece away

from

the

fence

in

an

untrue fashion II is

both

ersome

and

often difficult

to remov

e t

he

se sliv

er

s,

som

etimes

requiring loosening of the fence. The small gap between

the table

cove

r and the fence eliminates all of tha t.

Splinters w

hich

collect

there em

be

hlown

or

brushed

:tway eas ily

wheneve

r

necessary

as t

hey don

't jam in to

the crack.

No effort

is

made to Cl lV T rhc back

silk

of the table,

or

even the ) 1/ ' spacer. There arc two reasons for

this. First of all, with the

IY

Kk table lower than the

front table.

Wl

c

an

drop

the blade 1

1 1 i

nto

the table

J

5·)

Tab/I

l

COWl for an ordinary cu t. hut it still floats

abov

e

back table to allow swinging into miter posi tions w

out having to

lift

the b lade.

Whe n

the fence

is

mov

back to eithe r rear position,

we

arc almost alw

ri

pping qu

ite far

forward

on

the

front table. Hence

workpiece is well supported ncar the b lade . The

that the back portion o f the table is lower w

rarely affect the cur. If it is a p robl

em

in a spe cial ca

a

N

filler can

be

SCi in for that jo b.

J attach

the

tab le

cover

with small

br

ass t:Kks (br

so thai if they

are struck bv

the blade

there is no

l :unaJ

and

no

spark) toget he r w ith a

conservative

hlob

rubber cement

(obtainable at stationery

stor

es) at

l

oc

ation of each tack and all along the rear line of

table cover. Do no t use co ntact

cement

:LS it is

s

trong

.

The Rille

is

there

to ass

ure

that

the

c

over

st

down and flat and that no

sawdus

t sneaks under i

the

fence,

but leaving it relatively easy to pry up a

change when it ge ts tcl c

hewed

up. The tacks are th

to ho ld the cover

down

tight

wh

ile

the gtuc dries

you

have

olhe\

means of pressing

the

two

pie

together you can skip the tacks completely. SL-c Fig.

for

an

id ea

o f

the p lacement of th e tacks so that th

avoid the primary zones of S:lW cutting. Make sure

countersi nk the tacks just below the surface o f

cover .


21/100

1;8

space f or sawdust

cteanout

Nai ling pat t ern f or t able t op cover

=h

+

+

+

+

+

+

+ +

+

+ +

s

.

§

W pl ywood G2S

+

+

+

+

+

+

....

+

+ +

+ +

+

6

6

l4

4 6

--1-

(

6

Your table wi d

6

Fig 3.2 able o/ ;,r


22/100

Taking the initiative to pull

off

and replace this table

cover w

hen

the old one ge ls rather sloppy

em

make

J

very big diffe rence in the precision of your wo rk . In

Procedure 14 of the adjustments. we will talk about

kerf cut t ing into this tab le cover. During

t

normal

operation of your

saw

, take ore to avoid continually

d ropping the blade a b it lower as you will qu ick ly cu t

thro

ugh the 14 top . It will then require immedi te

replacement as s awdust

will

slide under and ere..ue a

bulge in the middle of the table.

Procedure j

[ Cleaning Your Saw

Radia

arm saws

nee d

more cle

a

ning

than

ub

ricaung

They need dem ing when they arc new out of the

bo

as well as da ily and regu lar cleaning.

If

you

have :1 new machine, star t

by

filing o ff shar

corners that arc sure to rap your knuckles. The Dc\X'a

is the worst offender, wi th knife-sh arp

co

rners on th

mo tor namepla te silting right next to the guard nu

A qu

ick to

uch

with

a small smoo

th

file and

th

n ameplate becomes inoffensive. The

co

lumn ba C nca

the table scr

ew s needs

filing on the Craft

sma

n a

nd

(h

yoke cas

ting

nea r the bevel damp needs rounding

o

on the Rockwell (o f course as

soon

a the manufac turer

read this

hook

, the new

models

w il l no longer hav

these prob l

cm

st).

e who le machi ne

shou

ld

be

kept dusted c1

JI l

, an

all

moving p

arts shou

ld

be

k

ep t p olished

dean Dus

and chips on the table and against the fence can cha ng

the angles between the wood and the

b IOC

. ,, oexl du

allowed

to fall

betwe

en th e fence and the table

befor

tightening it into

place w ill put the machine OUl o

square.

Keeping moving parts

po

lished

clean is

(he on ly

we

Jn

prope rly adjust the sliding tensions in Proce

du r

e 5 and ob tain the precision I claim for the rad i

arm saw. Cleaning the back

co

lum n is a regu lar tas

a

nd

cleaning

the

motor

roller track ami b

earing

s is

da ily task wh ich

un

der certain dusty conditions ma

h

ave

to

he

done

seve

ral times a da y, It

is qu

ite quic

and easy

a

nd

the differ

ence

in opera tion justifies th

litt le t

roub

le.

WD-40 is the standa rd cleaning material recom

mended by most

people It

docs clea n and tends t

leave a sligh t

lubri cati

ng film, The problem

with

it

that , desp ite claims to the

contra

ry , it

collect

s grim

deposits mo re rapidly t

ha

n

when rhe machine

is cleane

w ith

:1

pu

re cl

eaner

like

ammo

nia . See Fig. 3·3 . I fin

a goodbalance by using

D40

abo

ut every third clean

ing

and ammo

nia the rest o f the rime . This is ch

eape

a

nd

puts the accent on cleaning. not lubr icating . By th

way, when you clean

don

't be toe cheap, Clean w it

a clean rag.Otherwise you may put on

more

grime tha

you rake o f f.

2


23/100

Fig on rs

To clean till: column simply raise it a ll

the

way up.

C

le

m

it of f well

Drop it d

own

and the n hack

lip

clea n

once mo re amigive 1little shot I f WO--

IO

to the co lumn

keyway where the set screws rub . Always wipe it

dry

before throwing sawdust at

it

Ohm , people loosen the

c ol umn t en si on thu s losing pr ecision) w he n

really

all

if

needed W;lS

a go

od

cleaning .

To

dean

the ro ller track and ro ller bearings, start by

p us hi ng the mach inc a

ll

tile way back. Apply cleaner

lO the rag or

li l

t: track and wipe th e e x

pos

ed track.

Be carefu l wit h th e De\Xall anti the Rockwell as they

have machined track s which usually h:IVC sharp edges.

Yo u

ll UI

yo ur linge rs if they are not well

covere

d

by the

rag. Th e n p ush the machine f

orwa

rd a

nd

clean

the rea r port io n o f the trac k.

28

Fig

j -.f le ning rotters

Now cl ean the n Iller beanngs tha t ride in

or

o n the

trac ks. Fig 1· }

shows

the tec hniq ue o n the

Dewal t.

I

is the same fo r the Rock wel l a

nd

s imilar for the

Crafts

man

exce

pt rb.u thc killer has its ro ller

bea rtngs

on

the

o utside and is s lightly mor e difficult to reach e 1US<

of

the

protective

co

vering.s. Pull the

mo

tor forward

App ly cleaner to the r g Push the r ag up agains t the

roller and pu sh away from yo ur rag. The roller w ill turn

ag

ainst the rag an d cl ean itself, Do nor pull the

moto

toward the rag or yo u will pinch y

our

finger between

the

roller and the track , The hack roller s are clea ne d

by

gell ing behind the motor, :IJlplying the ragan d pus h

ing toward thl: front o f the arm - always awa y fro m

your

finger so as not to pinch it in the track .

After the roll ers are cleaned, wipe the track once

more

to

p ick

up

depo sits made w hile cleaning the

ro llers

Tilt

who

le

p xvdurc

takes about 25

secon

ds

but

the rcsuljs ma ke yo u realize clcarlv tha t you are work

ing with

a

pre

i

sion

machine . no t a clu n ky circu lar saw

hu ng

on

a rail. The diffe re n ce is as

dea

r as

co

mparing

a

kee

n ch isel edge to a dull o ne ,


24/100

proc edure

-1

[ Adjusting the Clamps

Here , we are going to put into practice the principle

of

positive clamp ing -

t

hings thai

sho

uld no t mo ve,

must nor

mo

ve. As I staled previously. our guideline

is that chimps sh o ul d clamp sol idly enough to p reven t

the pressures that the S:IW will exert

on

them from

moving their pos ition, bur at the same time not he over

tightened 10

either harm

the machine or tire your

hands.

4.1

The Arm-to-Column Clamp Adjustment

Fig

3-)

esting arm to cotumn

cta

ig_ 3 5 shows the

procedure

f

or

testing the adjustm

o f the arm-to-column clamp. The arm is swung to a

position between 0

0

and 4 ) 0 , i.c., the indexing pin w

not lock imo the o lumn. hen the clamp is fu

applied Now grasp the table with on e

lund

and

pla

the other hand

on

the end o f the arrn. Apply press

to the

end of the ann as if bring it hack

to

the

pos ition. The on ly thing resisting movement of the a

is the arm-to-column damp It is always possible

force

the

arm to mo ve

because

of

the tr

eme

ndo

leve rage the long arm

gin S. \X

hat we arc

loo

king

is a reasonable holding

power

so that it won I mo

easily. The direction of force while sawing in a m

position isgcncrallvback towards the column. not s

ag:l insl the arm, so the saw will neve r apply

much pn ssure ag ainst

tlus

d amp :1 ; you arc now app

ing during this test (Proced ure 10 will take e ire o f

exceptional case of pressure during ripping operatio

If the arm m0yt S too easily you will need to t igh

the d a

mp

adjustmen t. If it is impossible or difficul

1 X k the

clamp.

then

yo

u w need to loosen the cla

adjus tment . How hard

sho

uld it he

10

lock the d am

\Xh cn testing, it should be as loose as possible w h

still

resisting firm pressure on the end of the ann


25/100

Cra f lsman

Fig

3.6

The lock ing cam on the Craftsman is adjusted by

w

a finger knob accessible from u

nde

r the a

nn

as s

ho

Fig 3 6 Simply rcl

i

the clamp, tum the knob slightl

you r finger, and then res t it again .

DeWalt

Fig

To adjust the De\\ alt you must remove the cove r on the

arm they call it a shrou d). Fig, 3·7 indicates the adjustment

bolt at po int

A

Th is can best he reached with a socket

ockwell

wrench, although you can manage to get an open-e

wrench

to work from

above

Point

B

in the

photo

ind i

the lock ing set screw that must

be

released before ad

ing A and then retightened after the ad justment.

As

the

e\

Xalt lo

ckin

g set screws, the re is a little b ss

between the set scr

ew

and the ad justing bolt. Don t lo

as il prevents dJmage to the threads of the adjusting

Attn

some

wear or

serious adjustment, the d amp

trol handle located in tilt: front

end ot

the

arm

may not t

fully in the O

pen or

the d amped positions without stri

the hou sing

casting.

i this is the case, the locking set sc

sh

ow

n in Fig must be loosened and the link shaft tu

in

or out to

properly position the handle

for

bo th op

tions. Retighten the locking set screw.

fig 3-9

The

Rockwell arm to c

olum

n

d amp is self-adjusting in

sense that

it

has a screw action and not a cam action

the ot hers . Fig 3·9 shows its position, You sho uld use

same tes t procedure outli ned above to learn how hard

should tighten this

screw

. People tend to

ovcr tjghrcn

i

fear of

som thingmoving You

need it tight eno ugh to p

the tes t but nOI so a .. 10 wea r parts before their l

no

r lire your

hands

30


26/100

DeWalt

Fig ·R

4 1

he

Yoke Clamp Adjustment

Fig 1 Testing Ox yo ke m

Fig 3 10

sho

ws the proced ure for

te

stin

g

the yok

clamp

adjust

ment

Diseng

age the yoke indexing pin an

swing the motor halfway around between a cross c

and a rip

H

so that the indexing pin is no t engage

Lock

the yoke clamp firmly Now grasp the motor wit

bo th hands and try to swing it back into the cross c

position II should nOI mo

w

at all

the

mo tor docs move the yoke handle need

adjusting It may also need adjusting

if

it hits the yok

cas

nng

in either the release or the clamp posi tion


27/100

Craftsman

D

e

alc

Rockwell

Fig 3-1 1

Fig 3-12

o

adjust the yoke clamp on the Craftsman, it is neces

to remove the carnage from the arm. This isdone by rcm

the

arm cap in

the front of

the

arm

and

ab

o

remo

the Allen-head ho lt which acts a s a carriage stop . \X he ne

removing the

carri age

from the arm,

be

careful

10

pu

s

tr

aight

forward and

all

the way

o ff so

as

no t

to force

hack

roller bearings , Jlold it

vcrv

s traight when going b

on to the arm until all four rollers arc safely onto their r

Put the yoke clamp handle in the unlocked posi tion

tighten

the

central

nut

as shown

in Fig. ,)- 11

The han

should

n

ow lock when

approxtmarely halfway

between

two sides of the yoke.

Fig. 3·12 shows the butterfly lark that adrus ts the yoke cl

on the

De X :lII Ideally

the

ctamp

will he locked when

d amp

handle is

about

halfway

between the two

stdes

o

yoke, To adjust, use a screwdriver 10 bend o ne of

butter fly wings down over the Stop lug and then rotate

entire butter fly - counter-clockwise to tighten;

clockw

to loosen.

xtake sure tha t

the stop lug is 1

J

ted in a

l

ing position between the

two

wings of the butterfly. I

some reason this ad justment doesn t want to work, you

have 10 remove the carnage from the arm and tighten

king nut in the same manner

;IS

explained above for

Craftsman.

Fig

If the yoke clamp handle w ill not lock before st riking

yoke casnng on the Rockwell, you must remove the

h m

and reposition it on its mou nt ing. Fig shows the

nut that must be removed . The handle drops off and is s

ply

rcpo

smoned one flat on the shaft and the nut is t

replaced.


28/100

Cr

aftsman

Rep lace the carnage o n the arm. Don t forget to replace

the holt

t ha t

acts as a car nage st

op

in the e nd

of

the arm .

xo w repeat the lest s

hown

in FiR j -to

/

The Bevel Clamp Adjustment

T he bevel da mp is r es te d in t

he

S; \l11 : ma n ne r a

ot

he r

clamps

as sho wn in Fig. 5-H . Set the be vel

to

ab o

ut

JO e

to ens u re that the indexing pin i

engaged and h

en

lock the clam p With bot h h

try to force the

mo

tor

U of

its position. If it m

you nee d

to

tighten the clamp adjustmen t. If

ex tre

mely

di fficu lt

to

close the

beve

l cl

amping

ha

it has

been over-tightened. Handles are o ften

br

off

by

people over-ughtcmng them - usua

lly

reso

to hammers and vise-grips for leverage. [ have f

two c

om

m

on

G

llISCS for th is over-tigh tening er

Fig .:\ 14

esting becot

I f oil or some other lubricant gets between th

fri

ction

plates or ring.s clamped

by

th is handle.

no t

hold. Clamping su rfaces arc

one

area of the

that

should

nor be cleaned with \X[) -40 ;1 all;

onl

am m

on i

a or so lve n t.

The

seco

nd common GlU iC o f

ov e

r-tighrcmng

th e blade is n

ot

lined up to a proper 9 J o to the

h ut rather 1

_2

o ff w hen you tr y

se t the

ang le that close to an i

nd e xin

g

poin t for more

th

occasional

rut

the

in

dexing

pin

itself

will

tend

10

th e

beve

l over 10 its in

dexing

poi n t. If yo u

co

sale

hy

tigh t

enin

g he d amp rather

than by adj

the inde xin g p in to a p rorx:r X you arc gen

obliged to over-lighten the handle and for .. : som

to the breaking

point .


29/100

Craftsman

DeWalt

Fig

3·15

The Cransman is a

dju

sted

hy

removing the

damp

handle

and repositioning it on the clamping bolt. Fig. 3 15 shows

tbc

removal of tbe holding

screw

in OAA, to drop

the

handle

down.

This

em

he

do

ne without removing the handle

and

the hen :1 x lc (they were removed in the

photograph

to

show

the mechanism more c1l .I

r1y). Be careful here

because

the

da

mping bolt

h;IS a left-handed thread

If you acciccn

:lil

y unscrew it (rom

i

t\ nut, you will have to remove the

saw h;mdle and the 1} :n:1scale as in Ihe

photo

in order to

put tbc nut hack the bo lt

Once

the clamp handle

tu

been posuioned (u-,ing the ab ove test 10 properly clamp the

bevel posinon), screw the holding screw firmly back into

posit ion .

Roc

kwell

Fig

.3-

17

The

Dewalt uses a cam action

10

clamp the bevel. Fig.

3-16

shows the use

of

a smal hex wrench

10

release the loc

king

SC

t screw

10 permit ad juxrm

cn

t

of the locking

bo

lt. Here you

must he especiall y careful because if you remove this set

screw ;1small brass plug, which protects the holt threads

from the

se t

screw, will

fall o ut

and gel los t. Tighten the

holt from the hack as in the pho to. After

rcsung

the

clamp,

don , forget

to

tighten the lock ing

SCi

screw.

To adjust

the bevel

da

mp handle

on the

Rockwell,

the motor

must

he placed in a vertical

pos

ition

as

in

Fig.

3-17

Then

the handle ran he swung countcr ckx kwise un til it comes

right off the d U l

pin t

bon. The bolt should he pulled care.

fully out of its socket on the left side, ro tated one

fl it

of

the hex head and pushed back into its socket.

The

handle

is then screwed back o nto the other end and the tension

tes ted.


30/100

4.4

The Rip Clamp Adjustment

The

rip ckunp simply prevents t

he

carriage from movi

ng

on

the

arm d uring rip o perations . As shown in Fig. 3-18

the test to sec

if

it

is

w

or

king effectively is simply to

lighten

the

knob the-n

uy

pushing the carriage .All three

machines work in the same fashion .

Fig .\-18

esting rip ct mn

If it

does

not clamp the GIU C is usually not an adiusr

rncnt bu t a missing

p rt

as some

of

the clamps have

a brass insert w hich pre sses

aga

in

st

the arm casting. If

if

is missing the scre w w ill no t reach the arm . If

it

is

not missing. th is

p n

takes many to wear o ut.

O ne problem w hich arises oc casionally is that the

clamp slow ly close; because f mo tor vibrations during

cross-cutting causing an an no ying d rag or blockage in

the travel of the carn age. This problem is sil

y

climi

narcd by remo v ing the clamping kno and giving the

bo lt th reads

on e

gm

into

your deslgrus.

YC

JfS

ago DeWalt

had

a grea t cam system

op

from up front und er the main

tab le.

This elim

tha t far reach to the bac k. II was o f course a

of cost cu tting. For the inventive woodwork

co uld be a

useful

modification

to

your

machi


31/100

Procedure <

Adjusting Sliding Tensions

I Icre we an. goi ng to pur into

prac

tice the principle

of snug movement - th ings tha t move must move

s

mooth

ly and firmly ,

\,\ ()(x1workers arc often

proud of some

of [heir fine

tools

and machines,

showing off the way in which the

pans

fir together Hkc a Swiss clock. Yet t

hese same

people will all roo often accept the fact that [heir radial

arm saws rank- a long in the

co rner

as s

loppy 3S can

be. This ra ttling l

oo

senes s has a se ries

of

important

consequences .

First

of

all. many

machines

- like the radial ann

saw

-

em

become dangerous. A

r.Htling loose roller

head

will lend to jump

up

and

dow

n and

charge

forward

as it tries to

climb up on tilt:

wood. Secondly, all

hope

of

precisi

on

will

h 10

;(

as

the

blade changes

its

be vel

angles from instant 10 instan t, the arm swings right and

l

ef

t and [he

co

lum n le

an

s for ward a

nd

backward.

Thirdly,

your work

i l ~ e and

fuJI

ofsurface

s

plin

ters

as the

5; IW

c

hops

through the

bo

t tom and the heel fails

to follow the

toe .

P

erh

aps

the

mos t un fortunate resu h

of

faitu

rc 10

prorll.. r

ly

adjust

the slid ing tensions

of

radial

arm

SJWS is

that

the saws

gel a had rcputarlon If you

put

together

:1

sports

C

t as loose ly as mos t people

assemble their saws. you could never

hop

e ( 0 stay on

the

ro ad.

S ug is

about

as

hard

:1

word (() define

in

a

hook

as

taste

I low loose is ratt li

ng ho

w tight is hind

ing and just

when

have we found snug ? If you were

to drive ;1 new Mercedes

and

rhcn ;1 vny old Ford, you

would easily feel what r mean by the

word

snug .

Y L S, your crumm y o ld radial arm saw can be tuned up

to run like a new Mercedes. Keep reading.

36

On

eac h

of

the adi usrmen ts, I have tried 10 give y

a specific test p rocedure which will help to a

nswer

t

quesnon

Gene

rally s

pe

aking. a

s

nug sli

ding tens

io

is one

that requires a

firm action on

yo

ur

part

move it but has

no

tendency

10

move in increment

The

ro

ller

head

moves smoo

thly

a

nd

the

column

do

no t

drop

do

wn in

jumps.

A snug

tension

requ

ir

frequent cleaning

of

the

two

surfaces, and in fact a sli

ing

anion

that appears [ 0

be

bi

nd

ing may

be

found

be 100 I


32/100

fig 3-19 sting rou r

t nsion

5 1

RoU

er

Head to Ann

The way in w hich tilt: whole motor carriage rides in

the

arm trac k is

the

mos t important of the slid ing ten

si

on

adius r

mcuts

.

I

have rarely fo und a machine wit h

;1 properly tensione d ro ller head, When this is

loose

it

nOI

only mOH S up and

down

hut

because

of the

fact that the blade is off-set to one side, the bevel angle

w ill

change as it mules

along.

The weigh

t

o f the

mo

tor tend s to h ide slop here.

Pur your hand un

der

the motor and lift. Is there a click

ing

sound

in the track? That

is,

arc the ro llers so l oos e

that

they

can

move

lip and

down in or on the

trac k?

Well, that s exactly w hat ha ppens every tim e yo u try

to cut ; p iece of wood .

lo

wcvcr,

the

saw

is

so no isy

that yo u do n t hea r

it.

Our

o bjective here s 10 nsure

that the

carriage

rollers arc in

firm contact

with both

the

top

and

the

bottom o f their

tra

ck

s

for the fulllengt h

o f the ir IrJ - withou t making IIK1n so tight as 10 force

o r wear the tracks.

Before pe rforming the following lest, make sun: tha t

you have clea ne d tile tracks and the carriage ro llers.

Plan : your thum b directly o n the carr iage ro ller wheel

as

shown

in Fig, 3-19. Press ha rd and

with

you r ot he r

hand

push the carriage away fro m you r thumh pull.

ing towards yo ur thumb

w ill

seri

ous

ly pinch your skin).

If yo u arc able to SlOP the whee l fro m ro lling, it is to o

loose .

xtaktng

this test

wh

ile wearing

;1

rubber glove

is

ster

on your thumb and really ens ures thai th

is no t slipping.

Y

ou

mu

sr also repeat this test

o

n o ne

of

th

wheels. remembering to push the carriage a wa y

your

t

humb toward

the

from of the

arm

If the wheels arc 00 l oo se, you

will have

10 t

them as show n in the following sections. If the c

is binding an d you be lieve it to be too tight, follo

adj ustment instructions but l

oose

n rather than t

the s

l

ding tensio n , then re-test to he s ure you ha

made the m

too

l

oos

e .

It

should

move smo

o th

you should not be able to stop

the

whee l while m

the ca rriage.


33/100

C

ra

ftsman

Fig 3-20

On tbc Cran

sman

, rbe atlJlt l:lhle rollers are on the l

ef

t hand

side o the

carnage

You will have 10

remove

the side

CO\T r

10 get at them. Sec Fig 3-20.

The wrench in the pictu re is about to be placed on the

eccentric bolt of Iht- rear roller. First you must slightly loosen

DeWal t

Fig 3-21

The two rollers

on

the

lett

of the machine arc adjustable

in the DeWalt. Then: is

a

locking

nut

just ahead of the

the lock ing nut that ts

on

thai bolt. II can be found unde

the mounnng assembly. Then you turn the eccentric

bo

a bit to the riHht or left. hold

i

in place and lighten the nu

below . Test f

or

the proper te nsjon and then perform th

same

adjus trncm pr

ocedu

re for the second roller.

Tightening the locking nut ten ds to move the boll a

sligh

amo

unt, ( h:mginHyour adiustmcm. Hold the upper wrenc

very solidly,

or

move it alinlc 100 far so that when the loc

nut shifts it a bit il ends up in the proper position (that

nO

realty

he

nng

Ill l be nding with

rbe

wind ra ther tha

ligh ting it).

The Craftsman car nage rollers ride on srecl rods attached

to the sides of the arm casnng. when

adjus ted

10 be snug

you may find th:lt the carriage

mo

ves unevenly across th

wrench in FiR .\ -21 and the bonom

of

the ro ller shaft em

be reached with an Allen key from unde rneath. Allen key

with IWOlong teg s, like those provided with new saws, work

bes t for both re h anti leverage . In

or

der to expc. Se the

adjustable shahs from unde rneath , you must put the saw in

the

o

ut-rip pos ition . that is. the handle to the right.

loosen the

king nur turn the eccentric shaft leftor righ

with the Allen key, and retighten the locking nut.

Always retighten before testing, since the act

o

retight

ening can change the adjustmen t a little bit. This tendency

of

locking nut s to move an adjustment can be compensated

Rockwell

38

Fig ; 22

I

The adjustable rollers on the

Roc kwell

are the two on the

left hand side

of

the

ca rrtagc

(the photo of Fig. 3-22 was

taken from the back of the machine). To get to them you

must remove the cover over the top of the arm.

As

on

the other

machines, the shafts of the ad jusrahk

rolle rs arc eccentric shafts, locked into place with a

lex

king

nut. You will find whatlook s like two nuts. one on top of

the ot her. The small one on the top b

the locking nut and

must he slightl r loosened to make any ad justments . T

hen

the larger nut is moved to the right or left 10mow the roller

into or away from the track. Retighten the locking nut before

testing the slid ing tension again.


34/100

C

ra

ft sma n

full

length o f the arm. Th is can be due to uneven wear on

these rods, but more frequen

tly

it

is

because sawdus t has

managed 10

get behind the

rods and

push t

hem

forward in

between

their

mounting screws.

You

may

have 10

remove

the rods and clean behind them. I have seen their perform

ancc impr

ove

d by adding two additional mounting screws

to hold them tighter to the arm. Also, with great care not to

gum up the wheels, yOli could sca t up the cr ack betw en

tbe rod and the

Ar

m whe re the dust gets in.

Arhough

these

ro

d

track

s wea r taster

th;

the mac

hined

tracks on the

othe r

IWO

mach ines, they have the theore tical ad vantage of

being replac

ea

ble.

I

SJ

y

theoretical because I ve secn j o year

old machines on which the

machined

tracks

arc sull

in good

s

h pe

D

eWalt

for by placing the eccentric shaft out of adjustmen t a li

nk

hit in the

op

po

sne cnrec

non from that

-hich

the lock ing

nut will take when tigh tened. The shift ca

used

by lighten

ing

the lockmg

nut w ll then

leave

the shaft in its correct

postnon

(it s precise result

we want, no matter

how

we gcr

there).

Test

the wheel ag

atn

for snugness. When it is

cor rect,

repeat the same proc

edur

e for the other ad justable

whe

el.

I

Rockwell

As with an rhcse kinds of locking nul arrangements , tight

ening the lex-king nut has a tendency to rotate the adjust

meru shan

;1 little ,

changing the adjustm

ent

.

Be

careful to

hold the achusnng nut firmly while nghrcntng the locking

nu t. You em abo ovcrcompcnsuc the position of the

adjusting nut so that when the locking nut moves the shaft

a bit, it end up in the co rrect pos ition ,

II

is the result mar

counts, not how we get there .

S 2

Arm-to-Column. Vertical Pivot

The arm shou ld

he

snugly attached 10 the co lumn

atrhough it must

he

just I

) )S : eno

ugh to

allow

sw ing

ing the arm from side to side fo r miter cuts. Slop i

this ad justment is rarely recognized be IUSC the

weigh

of

bo th the arm and the mo to r pu ll the arm down 0

o ne side

of

any vertical play . However, J l

oose

con

nect ion between the arm and the co lumn can ca

us

uneven depth

of cu

t w hen making

dados as we

ll

a

incre

as i

ng the

tendency of the SJ\ V to run forward

Fig

3-23 esting nn reruc t p

To

tes t

your machine, first release the arm-to-co lum

clamp . Then place you r hand as shown in Fig. ) -23 an

lift up. If th

er

e is de finite travel and then a stop (

no

just

a bit of flex , you need

to

nghrcn the adiusrmcn

You mu

st

not , how

ever, tighten it so ligh t that wit

the arm-to-column cla

mp

released it is d

iffi

cult to swin

the arm left and right to position it for miter cuts.

3


35/100

Craftsman

DeWa

lt

The tension o n

th e

tit o f the arm to the

column

on the

1k \X alt is

co

ntrolled by two bolt.s1whi ch force o pe n or

d os

ed

the split casting

of

the

ar m

itself. Fig sh o ws the

location of

on e

of these bo lts. The lock ing nut is in the crack

and best

re

ach

ed with

the small

en d

o f the thin-blade wrench

Fig 3 ·2 4

Fig 5-25

To adjust the arm-to-column verticil play o n the Crarrsman

you m us t r

em o

ve the cove r on th e rcur

orthe

arm as s

how

in Fig. 3-24 . Ther e arc four bolts {hat harn ess the arm 10 th

column The two upper bo lts


36/100

5..\

Fig 3·28 esting olumn rise

Testing for s

mo o

th riseIssimple. Pull the motor

10 the

fr o

m end of the arm to put :J stresson the

casting. Crank the arm up to the top . It sho uld m

smoothly, perhaps requiring

;1

little

mo re effort

you arc used to, hut not demanding that you force

crank handle. If it moves up in jumps, dean the colu

If it still moves up in

jump

s, the

b ase

is to o tight aro

the column.

As shown in f ig. 3-27, lift the end

o f

the arm w

watching the column /base joint. f you em see pi

ing,

or

feel

any thi ng

more than simple flex of the

c

ing, you w

il l

li nd that one

of

your adjustme

nt

scr

is much too IOf lS(. . It could be that everyth ing is terr

loose back there or that the top or bottom of the b

casting

is

holding the column while the other en d all

fo r a great deal

o f

mo vement.

3·27 esting olumn p t

2

•

•

.

·

Column-to-Base: Rise, Fall

and

Pivot

The co lumn rise, fall and p

iv o

t

or

vertical play) con

snt

ute three

diff

erent

test

procedun hut only one

a

djus

t

me

nt

for

all

three sli

ding

tensions, The

objective

here is 10ensure that the column moves properly with

out permi tting

it

to int roduce any error into the

cut ting.

The adj u

stm

ents described in this section could be

affected by the column key adjustments made to pre

ven t column

to-base

rotation described in the nex t

section. Look at thai section SI e h

ow

to back off

the column key adju-.tmentsso that they will not affect

the rise, fall and pivot tests, That

wi

ll leave the arm

sw inging freely :1couple of inchesto the righ t and left.

bUI don t let thai

worry

you

fo r

the moment. Clamp

the arm -to-column

da m

p miter clamp) down tight 10

eliminate all

mo

vement between the arm and the

column

f you haven t done so alre

ad

y, thoroughly clean off

the column as described in Procedure 3. A dirty c

olumn

wo rks qui te differently from a clean one,


37/100

freezes tigh t again until the screw picks up the slac

a

nd

fo rces it to jump

down

again . The c

olumn

mus

be

loosened up.

If the

co

lumn will co

me

down without either vibrat

ing or jumping, the sliding tens ion in the base jUM

right. ThL is what

we

are loo king for; the middle

ground

betwee

n the two .

Each of the three different machines

has

two ad justing

bo lts in the base 10 cont rol sliding tension with the

co lumn. Alt

hough

this is

necessary

to Obtain a v

ery

g

ood

fit over such a distance , it complicates the

adjustmen t

because

often we don t know which one

is

too

tight or too loose .

Although I have no a

bso

lute fixed procedure for

plaving with these w bolts to obtain the proper sliding

tension.

I re

commen

d the following

sequence

.

Loosen

the lowe r

bolt .

Tighten

or

loosen the u

ppe

r holt at the

same rime that

you

arc cranking the column downward

i f

you G In reach that far) un til it

falls

between loo se

vibrations

and

tigh t je

rk i

ng. Then tighten the lower bo l

just umil it begins to interfere with the travel of the

co lumn. You may have 10 ret urn and loosen the upper

one

a bit when the

low

er

one

pulls the castings in

Tigh ten the locking nuts and run all three tests

ag

ain

If yo u arc just a bit

too

l

oo

se, stop. The co lumn key

adjust

ment

o f the next section will make

up

the

difference,

-

Fig j 9 esting colu f ll

You will noti ce tha t it is always easier to crank the

column up with the

mo

tor

all

the way at the back. This

is where it should be placed when yo u wish to crank

up during

no

rma l o

pe

ration o f the machine.

With the motor still on the end of the arm as shown

in Fig. 3-29, slowly crank the column d

ow

n. You

w ill

find

one

o f three conditions.

If the

saw

rattles and vib rates all the way

do

wn, the

base is too kXR: around the co lumn. It is banging from

side to side as it comes d

own

.

If the saw drops in jerks, the base too tight around

the co lumn. In fact ,

it

has a friction fit to the

co

lum n

wh

ich holds

it

up in the air

wh

ile the dri ve screw takes

up the slack in irsscrew drive,

pu

shes agamst the corurol

nut and

finally

forces the co lumn

do

wnward. It then

falls to the other end of the slack in the drive screw,

I

42


38/100

ra ftsman

D

eWalt

Rockwell

ig

3-30

ig

3-31

Fig -32

As

you

o

see

in

Fig. 3-30,

ran

sman p

rov

ides

two

brig

plated bol l > in

the ba

se

so

that you

will

have no trouble i

tifying Ihe :ldjusting

IXlIl .

The re are no locking nUL

on t

b

t

s They

hold

on the

principle of spring tension from

ca ting themselves . Tigh tening or loosening these bol ts

tighten and loosen the

sliding

tension belween rhe

se

the column.

The De jlch s the lWO adjustment bolts spread well ap

In Fig. 3 3 1 the wrcr re s arc on the lower boll and the l

ing nuts arc

in the split

in

the

casting The

locking

nut

be

used in either

of

two ways.

If

tigh tened to the left-side cas ting afte r tension with

bolt has been

app

lied, il will loc k the adjusnng bolt im

present position .

l f

the

bo ll

is loose

ned off

and

the

nut driven to the r

side casting, it w ill sp read the castings open. In this c

once the prope r tension

is

esrabtsheo, the nu t is held ste

and the

bolt

is tightened to lock it in p lace. Holding the

and turning I

OC

bolt will

no t

move the castmg inwar

The t

wo

a

djustme

nt bolts on the R

oc

kwell arc house

the casting bumps at the rea r of the base . Fig. 3-32 s

h

a wrench on the upper bolt The

l

oc

king nuts can

he

inside the split casting. The locking nu ts can he uxcd in e

of two ways.

If

ligh tened to

the

l

ef

t-side

casting

afte r

having used

tons

to squeeze the ca stings in, they will lock the adjus

bo lts into their p re

sent

po

sntons.

If the bo lts are loosen ed off and the nu ts driven to

right-side casting, they will spread the castings open. In

GlS

, once the proper tens ion is established , the nUL are

steacy and

the

bolts

are tig

lucned

to

lo

c k

it in

place.

Hol

the nuts and

turn ing

the bolts

will

no t move the cast

in

war

d.


39/100

Column-to-Base. Rotation

The column must no t rotate at all from side to side in

the-

h:lSC .

Slop

here

w ill make it impossible 10 maintain

;\

Sl :l

ighr

CUI

l ncr

f

or

even

if

tIll' arm

is

pro

perly

clamped

10 tile COl l1ll111, it wi ll sttll swing from side 0

skit-. A surprisingly slllall rotation can c-ause a large error

;11 the end o f

the

s

aw run

. This is als, ) the adjustment

th.u wen , most qu ickly, because the column is moved

up and down often. Hence.

it

must be checked

rcgul: lrly.

The set '>(.'[I..'\\S \\I1I(:h push i n s t the

colum

n kcv

ront

rol

tlus

rot ation. B

ef

o re .md ;ldjtt ting these

se t

cr

cws. you .

houlu he' sun:

1

11

the

column

.md

tbc- co lumn key are clean. Gi \T the 0 .tumn key a inlc

shol of This is the only

place

in the

whole

machi ne wh en: I [eally believe in regular l ight lubrt ca

l ion - hut never

with oil.

fyou have just fluishcd ;Kljusting the base tension

of the laS section. yo ur set screws will he completely

hacked

off

ami the col umn

w ill

he

'O

l; l ting frcclv in

the hase. tn this

GISe

skip the test p

roce

dure. go 10

till adjustments then come

back

to ILSI again.

44

In Fig. 5-55 I am pointing at

two

arrows. a hack o

attached 10 the co lum n and a wh ite one attached

the base

The

poin

t

whe

re thl se ar

rows

meet is t

place to check for

column

-to-base rotation . You dUl

have to put two arrows

on

yo ur machine. \X atchin

the du st on IIll co lumn and nl ;Irb r du st on the b;

can provide Ihc sunc re ference points.

Wat

ch

cloSL ly

;

11 the junction between the

colum

and the base and then shove the

ann

left and then rigl

ou

should set: no

movement

at

all

at the

column

fh;ts

junction You n l a ~ prefer 10 put your finger at the jun

tion poin t so t l you em Il d both the column an

the You

w ill

clcarlv feel anv movement as yo

push the arm had : and forth,

The re is enough flex in the :1

1 111

th.u the end f

th

arm wtllrnov c right a

nd

left e ven

i f there

is

no mov

mcnt at the hasl', DOI1 t

k-r

this worry you; wc fl de

with it later .

In all three machmcs . the co tunm-kcy SCi sc rews ca

add a bit of

drag

to the sliding tension between th

co

lum

n and the base.

This

can he USL d positi\-cJy

add the bSI lime hit of tension if the base was adjuste

just slightly on the loose side in the :lsi section. It c.

a

bo

unknowingly he the cause of the slidi ng tensio

becoming

10 0

tight resulting in Xlt.lr movement otrh

column. Ah..-

a}s

repeat the lowering

of

the arm le

>

1

the last section .utcr ;ld justing the column key s

screws.


40/100

The Dc\ \ alt has two

bra

set screws wh ich

bea r

dir

against the co

lum n ke y. They arc locked

into

place b y

n uts. Fig. 3-3 5 shows a wrench

on

the lock ing n ut an

Allen key in the se t screw , As the set scre w is made o f b

the column key is protected :ljylil .

t wear hut req uires

freq uent a

dju

stmen t as the screws wear rather q uickly

mu st abo

he

careful no t to use eithe r the Alle n key o

wrench

on

the o

cking

n ut t

oo

forcefully or yo u will b

the screw right o

f .

Push

the arm to the left to

move

the column key

from

the set screws. Then

ugm n

the m

bo t

h

in snugly

back them o ff the smalle.t fraction . bot h for rot

and d ow nward travel.

The Roc kwell has four set screws which hea r again

c

olumn key . They ser ve the

dual

pur pose of contr

column rotation and adjus ting th e travel of the saw s

to the fence. At thispoint, they should be adlustt. l1 to

p

rotati

on

of the column , even though we

will

co me bac

play w ith the m again when we get to squaring u

machine.

The set screws are adjusted with an Allen wrench a

in

Hg .

3-j 6 and locked into place with

;l nut .

Be

care f

to force either the Allen wrenc h

or

the nut I X tigh

you could break off

thc

he-l

of the

new .

The Craftsman has two set screws that can

be

adiustcd

an Allen key as shown in

Fig. .\-34. ThC C

screws are ten

fit and have no locking

nuts.

Push

the arm to the

le ft

to move the co lumn

key

fro m the se t scr

ew

s. Then tigh te n the m ho th

in snugly

back them o ff the smallest fraction . Tes t bo th for rot

and downward travel.

Fig

Fig 3-35

Fig

3+ i

•

•

•

Rockwel l

eWalt

raftsman


41/100

Rockwel l

Place the

arm

so thai it

is

somewhat

square

to the fence

(don t

bother

too

much with square

yet). Snug the two

bottom screws up to the co lumn key. Then lighten the two

upper ones. Test hoth for rocmon and, as discussed in the

last secnon,

for

column fall.

Crank Control

Some

ew

alts have a hell d rive that connects the c

to the column

drive

screw. This is a toothed

be

lt w

gives a reliable transmission of ro tations from t

he

c

to the col umn hu t it can loosen , caus ing either

ex

sive slop in the

rank

handle

or even

jumping o f

drive w

he

els from tooth to t

oot

.

FiK 3-37 ll

To tighten the

be lt

yo u mus t remove the c

over

the arm, Then loosen the screws

:H

bot h e

nds

of

mountin bracket wh ich holds the fro nt belt wheel

t

he

crank handle shaft), With a second

screw

dr iver

th rough the arm casting , wedge the mounting brac

forward , apply ing tension to the belt . Tight

en

moun ting sc

rew

s.

Make sun: that the set screw which attaches the cr

hand le Onto its shah is seated down tightly. This sim

set screw is o ften the cause of

wha

t appears to h

lot

of

sl

op

in the crank rotation.

The DeWalt

ha

s index marks ar

ound

the crank han

to allow the u

s

o f the

colum

n d rive scr

ew

for prec

dept

h

m

ea

surements. Prec ision is

possibledes

pite so

play in a belt d rive

or

so

me

play in the right -angle g

d rives o f the Cra ftsman

or

the Rockwell, and desp

ordin

ary play in the column drive screw it

self by

us

the end po int

of

play as described in Chapter


42/100

;d 8 r nk ill xing

The Craftsman and Ro

ckwell

mach ines have

no

provisions for measuring crank rotations, so

by

a

ddin

g

a simple marked disc under the table as shown in

f ig.

Y9Ucan

enjoy

this conveructu feature .

Verify

your own machines, hut genera

lly

one rotati

on

o f the

cran k on

;1

Craftsman machine

will

raise or lower the

blade

by

Ih6 while one ro tation

of

the

cra

nk on a

Dc\X ;llt or a Rockwell will move (he blade 1M .

\\ ith the large crank han

dle S

and radial index ing

marks, it is qui te easy to measure an eighth

or

even

a six teenth

of

a ro ta

tion

o f the handle - hence

my

promised

one

I

H th

of an inch accuracy . It

re

illy docs

wo

rk. if you have cleaned a

nd

adiusrcd thc machine as

explained so [;11 in this book and you move in one

direction: up to a st irling point and then on up.or down

to :1 starting point and

then

on

down.

For dado cuts, i t means simp ly

ho l

ding the wood

firm ly ag amst the table. lowering the saw with the blade

ope rating until it just th inks about touch ing the top

surface of the wood pushing the saw back off the wood

and then

cou

nting the rotations for the precise dept h

of

dado cut you wish .

Procedure ()

Up to th is potnr we have done a

grea

t de

al of w

clcamng the mac

hine

and adiu

...

ting the tension. T

W;t


43/100

6.1

Locking Tongue Open

The indexing pin or longue) w hich

ro

ps in to the

column 10 h ol d the arrn nt 9 )0 or 4 ;0 will c

Documents

Fine Tuning Your Radial Arm Saw - Eakes