Blade Height Adjustment Problem

[ragswl4]

I have read alot on this forum about this subject and after cleaning and inspecting under the saw I still can't seem to figure out the problem. The blade height adjustment works fine when raising the blade (just like when new) but when I lower the blade it seems to bind for about half the rotation of the handle on every revolution. I noticed that the jack screw seems to lift about 1/16 of an inch (viewed from the bottom) when I lower the blade. Binding seems to be occuring at the two 90 degree opposed gears. Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

ragswl4

[Ed62]

Welcome aboard. You can probably find quite a few threads on raising and lowering the blade if you do a search. Sorry, but I don't have the answer for you. Shim problem??

Ed

[ragswl4]

Read about the Shims

Thanks for the response. I read a thread earlier about the "shims" but I swear there are no shims on my saw's mechanism or maybe I don't know what I'm looking for???? Thanks again and be safe woodworking.

ragswl4

[mpc]

The shims are thin metal strips between the fixed aluminum portion of the saw guts and the moving part with the motor & arbor shaft. They move with the motor part and ride on the flat spots machined into the fixed aluminum part. That's where a little wax helps a ton. On the BT3000 at least, the shims have a half-circle end, folded over to "grip" the motor part. If the shims ever bind up, they sometimes un-bend these ears and slide up/down between the two big aluminum assemblies... causing binding.

If you look at the moving block of aluminum you'll see little allen head screws in the corners of it; these adjust the clearance and tension of the aluminum parts relative to the shims. Too tight on these screws = dragging on the shims, making for a stiff raise/lower operation. Too loose leads to wobble/vibration in the arbor and saw blade.

Other folks have seen the handle spring bind up on a shear/roll pin in the shaft, causing a rythmic "click" when raising or lowering the blade.

mpc

[ragswl4]

Thanks alot. I'll check that out ASAP. It's weird that I only have binding in one direction (lowering). I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my problem.

ragswl4

[T-Bone]

Not weird to me. I had the same problem - blade was easy to raise, almost impossible to lower without two hands. I did a search and read a couple of the threads on this site about where to lubricate and what to lubricate with and my problem is solved. I used the non-silicone teflon spray lubricant from HD and sprayed it on all the moving parts involved and it is much better now.

Here is one of the threads:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ghlight=teflon

[ragswl4]

Problem solved

Discovered that the 14mm nut at the bottom of the elevation shaft had backed off about 1 1/2 turns. Tightened the nut and blade height adjustment works as good as new. That explains why it was only binding in one direction (lowering). Thanks for all the help from you folks on this forum.

ragswl4

[T-Bone]

Wow. I just did the same and it is 1000% better. I thought that I solved the problem when I lubricated everything which did make a significant difference but tightening that nut really did the trick. I can now raise/lower with just thumb and forefinger on one hand. A couple weeks ago I could barely lower the blade with both hands. I saw reference in one of the other threads about tightening a nut and the poster gave a part # but I couldn't find my manual to see which nut the # corresponded to. Thanks for clarifying that for me by telling me where to find the nut.

Travis

[ragswl4]

Isn't this forum great, I'm a newbie, you are a newbie and here are all of us folks helping each other solve problems.

ragswl4