Table saw questions

[gerald_gruber]

Hi I am an amatuer woofworker and I currently have a 10" Sears table saw with a problem. The pully on the arbor frequently slides off the arbor and it is a real nuisance to replace. Last night it was really bad. It stayed on for one cut and then slid off. Happened three times. Note that the original belt was replaced some time back with a link belt. When I replace the pully on the arbor I take care that it is aligned and the set screw is tightened to the key. Not sure what else to do. Any suggestions.

On a related note I am thinking of upgrading, possibly to a cabinet saw, or at least a better contractors saw. Remeber, I am an occasional, amatuer and the saw would not get heavy use but I want something accurate, reliable and easy to maintain. Suggestions are solicited and welcome.

[Doug Miller]

Take the pulley off and look for marks made by the set screw on the shaft. If you don't see any, that means the set screw isn't doing its job. There might be some burrs on the set screw, or on the tapped hole it goes into, that increase the friction and make you think that it's tight when it's not. So examine the threads on the screw and on the hole carefully for any signs of damage.

Re-tap the hole, and replace the screw, if necessary.

Try using Loctite on the screw threads before reassembling, then wait a while (instructions will be on the package) before using the saw. Use the blue Loctite -- you just want to keep the screw from coming out by itself, you don't want to make it impossible to remove.

[brianlanning]

Is the set screw vibrating loose or is the pulley slipping off the arbor? You might want to try some lock-tite on the set screw to see if the pulley stays in place. Alternatively, you could drill a shallow hole in the arbor for the set screw to screw into. That would stop it from slipping.

grizzly.com

brian

[RayV]

Are you saying that the set screw tightens against the key on the arbor shaft?

If so, the key may be angled slightly so that the screw is actually wedging the pulley off, check this. Also: Make sure the bottom of the set screw is flat -file or sand if needed The key or point on shaft that screw tightens against should be flat - file if needed Ensure everything is clean and oil/grease free

Removable loctite make cure the problem but may make it difficult to remove the screw later but that is its purpose.

[RonB]

Some of the regulars will probably say "Here he is again." but if you decide to upgrade take a look at Grizzly. My experience with two of their saws:

1) I have owned a 1023s Cabinet saw for about five years. I think it is as good as anything on the market under $1,700-1,800 - Including Unisaw. Lots of power, good accuracy and the stock Shop Fox Classic Fence is great. With shipping you can still get one for a little over $1,000.

We recently helped our son finish a house in SW Missouri. He purchased a Grizzly G0444Z with the Aluminum version of the Classic fence. I gave it a pretty good workout ripping hundreds of board feet of Oak and cutting many sheets of MDF and Oak veneer plywood, not to mention a lot of laminate flooring. The 2hp motor never strained and we got good cuts. I still prefer my old Iron Classic fence but the aluminum version is a good choice too.

Griz has good customer service and anything I have ordered has been delivered within a few days. The 1023 arrived, on dock, 36 hours after internet order.

RonB

[gerald_gruber]

Thanks all for the advice and quick response.

[gerald_gruber]

Ron

Thanks for your response and good advice.

[gerald_gruber]

Ron

Thanks for your response and good advice.

[Mike Marlow]

I have had this same problem and here's what I've done. First - clean up your arbor shaft. Typically the shaft gets scared up a bit from this problem and a light lick with a file to smooth everything down nice again is in order. Obviously, don't set about to file off lots of steel - just clean up the shaft. As well - put a new key in. Likely the surface of the key is gouged from the set screw.

Then - get a new set screw. Set screws do not have an indefinate life. They rely on a pretty small contact point in order to really hold and after they've been loosened and tightened a few times the end flattens out. After that they don't bite as they should.

What model saw do you currently have? This problem is fairly common on the Model 100 which is a great saw other than this problem. Get past it and you really have a very good saw there, if that's the saw you have.

[gerald_gruber]

Thanks Mike

It is a model 113, about 10 years old.

[Roger Haar]

Hi, One way a pulley can get loose quickly is that the set screws are not quite lined up with the flat on the shaft. Things will seem tight, but in use the pulley will rotate a few degrees on the shaft and the set screws will be loose. Sometimes this can be a real pain to get right. I start with the screws a bit loose, and rotate the pulley on the shaft, slowly tightening the setscrews so that the pulley only rotates maybe ten degrees. Then I center the setscrews on the this free rotation.

Good luck, Roger Haar

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gerald [e-mail] wrote:

[dpb]

gerald [e-mail] wrote: ...

Read the other responses so far which all seem to concentrate on the set screw -- I expect that's the wrong place to look unless the threads are stripped in which case you need the same solution I'm going to suggest... :)

I expect the real problem is it was/is an inexpensive "pot-metal" cast pulley that wasn't ever very true and owing to having run loose the bore is "hogged out" so that it will not (and most importantly _can_ not be) tightened and retain its tightness under load.

You need to replace the pulley, preferably w/ a machined one, but at least w/ a new replacement that will have a true and accurate diameter bore. If you're careful to ensure it is tight periodically, even another cast will probably last quite some time unless the shaft is now also worn excessively, but in general, the shafts are sufficiently harder than the pulley they rarely are too bad.

I don't have any particular recommendations for contractor/light-duty saws since have no experience w/ them altho Grizzly routinely seem to get high marks from the price-conscious crowd and support/service are apparently good...as I noted recently (after suddenly having realized the fact w/ some self-surprise :) ), I'm such an old fogey all these reasonable quality imports are beyond since I last bought a stationary machine so don't have a reference point.

[Mike Marlow]

This is really very true. I concentrated on the set screw because the OP stated that he had gone to a link belt and I assumed he also went with a good quality pulley at the same time. Maybe a rash assumption.

[gerald_gruber]

Mike You made a reasonable assumption but it wasn't true. I should have gotton machined pulleys. I didn't. I will. Thanks all for advice.

[gerald_gruber]

Mike You made a reasonable assumption but it wasn't true. I should have gotton machined pulleys. I didn't. I will. Thanks all for advice.

[Mike Marlow]

Well advised. Do a favor - post back with an update after you install them. Many will be interested in how you make out.

[Rick Samuel]

Ensure everything is clean and oil/grease free

If the shaft shows no marks from set screw, look for two set screws, stacked up.

[lwasserm]

I guess you have already checked the condition of the pulley including the arbor shaft bore, and the arbor itself, and made sure that the pulley slides onto the arbor snugly? (Is that a word?) How about alignment of arbor & motor shafts? Are they parallel? Did you remove the set screw completely from the pulley? Sometimes there are 2, one under the other. With the pulley removed from the arbor, are you able to turn the setscrew far enough so that its end pokes into the bore?

Let us know what you find.

[Doug Miller]

*There* is a tip for the files.