1. Home
  2. Woodworking Forum
  3. Wear items on cabinet saw

Wear items on cabinet saw

I'm looking for a good used cabinet saw.

What are the major wear items and average life? motor - how many hours? arbor bearings - avg life? trunnion -

Reply to
Kevin
Loading thread data ...

Next to the hour meter there is a sliding gauge that goes from green to yellow to red. If it is in the yellow-orange area, it would have to be a really good price to make it worth while.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Is the hour meter attached to power cord, is it attached to the switched power, or does it have its own 50 year battery? Is there a standard? My Delta contractors saw is attached to the switched power while the Unisaw is attached to a 50 year battery. Actually the contractors saw also has a humidistat. There is a delta H adjustment which I think is for wide humidity swings. I think if the tool is stored in a conditioned space the hour meter runs at 60 minutes to the hour instead of 55 minutes to the hour.

Reply to
Jim Behning

Here's what I'd check:

table flatness miter slots even in width and parallel to each other arbour runout play in the arbour bearings play in the motor bushings/bearings belt condition

Reply to
Chris Friesen

I like the hour meter myself..

I check flatness and runout. I can check wobble in the bearings.

A motor runs about $500. For the asking price of most saws.. an extra $500 would put the used unit over the price of a new saw.

Any tips for guessing at motor life? Assuming no one changed the belts that's a good suggestion.

Reply to
Kevin

If you buy a cabinet saw that has not been used in a production woodshop, there is hardly any chance it has been worn out. Abused, possibly, but that will show up on visual inspection. If the fence has to be replaced, that can add about $350 to the cost of your saw. The motor is the big ticket item. If it starts and runs, sounds and smells OK, bearings, belts etc. can be replaced at nominal cost.

The Emporer Has NO CLOTHES! I see a lot of people here obsessing over table flatness. I think table flatness is an indicator of the amount of care and precision the manufacturer put into their machine. But after a certain point - not sure what that point really is - table flatness becomes sort of like the quality of the paint job. Sure it's a reflection of overall quality, but does it affect the way it works? I don't think the table from a reputable manufacturer (Delta, Powermatic, Jet, General, even Grizzly) will be bad enough to be a cause for rejection on a used saw. When I can get a throat plate that's as flat as the rest of my table, then I'll worry about how flat the table is. Right now, I'm using a plywood throat plate because it's much flatter than the aluminum one that came with my cabinet saw.

DonkeyHody "Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Reply to
DonkeyHody

The original table on my General International cabinet saw was out of flat and the miter slots were not parallel to each other. It was bad enough for them to replace it under warranty. The replacement top was flatter, but now the right hand miter slot is not the same width all the way along so I need to use the miter gauge in the left slot.

I bought a Steel City 18" bandsaw and it had table flatness issues as well...bad enough that a miter gauge would hang up on the split in the table. They replaced it under warranty.

I think that unless you spend the really big bucks there's going to be an element of luck involved.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Friesen

Maybe things out there are worse than I thought. I've been wrong before, but I just don't see the table flatness itself being a big problem unless it causes other problems like you described. At least those problems should be obvious without carrying a straightedge and feeler gages to shop for a used saw.

DonkeyHody "Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him." - Thomas Carlyle

Reply to
DonkeyHody

I've seen big variations across the saw I have and the ones I've looked at.

I could rock noticeably a Starrett straight edge on a Unisaw. I'd guess the gap was at least 1/16" maybe more.

On an old jet.. I could not see light under any part.. front to back, side to side, and diagonal.

On my Delta contractor, I have one corner that dips.

I'm not sure it really matters.. but for a 1500 unit.. it ought to be .005" flat everywere....

Maybe things out there are worse than I thought. I've been wrong before, but I just don't see the table flatness itself being a big problem unless it causes other problems like you described. At least those problems should be obvious without carrying a straightedge and feeler gages to shop for a used saw.

DonkeyHody "Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him." - Thomas Carlyle

Reply to
Kevin

I don't think the manufacturers are curing the cast long enough they only worry how much they can get out the door. If they can get it out 1 day earlier.. they will.. then they'll try for one more day.... Eventually quality suffers.

Also having miters that are not parallel is a serious problem that you shouldn't have to put up with.

My friend took his pm66 top to a machine shop to get flattened... I hated to see that polished top disappear... to me the pm top has had one of the finest fit and finishes.

My delta is out of flat, but I d>>> I don't think the table from a reputable manufacturer (Delta,

Reply to
tiredofspam

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.