Blade will not go up!

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MPC thanks for the suggestions. I did overtighten the screws but only because that is the way they were when I removed them -- probably the reason for threads becoming stripped along with the sawdust. the splitter was not installed so that was not the problem. I backed off the screws and problem solved! Any chance that the saw operation will lead to the screws backing off? Should I use a dab of loctite?
I did notice that the saw carcase is pretty wobbly w/o the side panels; pretty amazing how those sheet metal parts stabilize the saw case. So on to re-aligning! Thanks again for all the help.

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