Elevation crank handle questions

[Sawatzky]

I have to turn the handle almost a full turn before the blade will either raise or lower. I never thought it was a problem until I watched a pod cast online about table saw maintanence. They talked about the importance of the elevation handle on a table saw being percise so you can make fine adjustments. I looked under the saw and the height mecanism turns in the motor housing, but it won't raise or lower for about a full turn of the handle. Is this normal? Should I be concerned about it, and how can I fix it if it is not normal?

[ragswl4]

I have a BT3100 and it does that occasionally. Check to see if the nut on the bottom of the vertical threaded shaft is loose, that is what I find is the problem on my saw. I never quite get all the slop out of it but its about 1/4 turn or less after I tighten that nut. It seems to work loose as I raise and lower the blade. Probably some loktite would cure it, just never get around to it.

[LCHIEN]

That sounds like a huge amount of backlash to me.
I have done tests using my dial gauge height gauge. The BT3 elevation screw is 12 Threads per inch, each turn of the crank is like .0833 inches. I can turn the crank in about 1/4 turn increments and change the height about .021" I can crank it up 12 turns and be within .005" of an inch higher and back down 12 turns and be within .005" of the original position.
When I say I count turns I count one turn as bringing the handle back to the same "clock" position as it started. I can measure 1/4 turns quite precisely by uisng the Noon, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions.

Normally the backlash I can feel, where I reverse the direction and sense the blade height moving, is much less than a 1/4 of a turn.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that amount of slop or backlash you are getting indicates some some serious problems, also that the BT3 saw is normally very accurate.

Worn threads in the aluminum motor bracket is the first thing that comes to mind.

[Sawatzky]

If it is worn out thread in the motor housing, how expensive and easy is it to fix?

[LCHIEN]

If it is worn out thread in the motor housing, how expensive and easy is it to fix?

detailed answer in my BT3 FAQ.

[farkel]

the slop in the crank is one of the things that tempts me to move on to a different saw if I am ever in the market for a new table saw.

[Sawatzky]

Well, I tightened the nut on the bottom of the elevation bolt. That fixed the problem, and now the crank is much smoother and only takes 1/4 of a turn or less to get the blade to move. I wish I had done that first because I ended up taking it all apart. But at least I got to clean the shims and re-lube everything. So, I guess I am lucky and will make sure I regularly clean and tighten things so it runs smooth.

[ragswl4]

As soon as you feel it getting rough when raising the blade, the nut has come loose again.