So I discovered over the weekend that the tube the rip fence locks onto is ~1/4" closer to the front rail at the far right than it is in front of the blade. I fussed with it last night but near as I can tell the holes are drilled that way. I don't think the rail is bent, if it is the tube is bent that way also. The rails are angle iron with the upright being bolted to the edges of the saw table. The tube then gets bolted to the horizontal piece. I measured how far the holes are from the vertical side on the rail and they appear to all be the same, certainly not the 1/4" the tube is out. This is not a huge problem, - I have the fence adjusted to the blade - except I lose the last 8" or so of rip capacity because the fence jams between the rail and the tube if I slide it far enough to the right. It is not a big deal, I could still rip something much wider than I can ever see ever doing. Mostly it is annoying and appears to be some sort of unexplained user error when I put the saw back together. Originally the rip fence was considerably closer to the blade at the rear than the front, which is consistent with the way the guide tube is out, however if I make the spacing the same end to end, the holes don't line up to bolt the tube down. Any ideas?
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David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment. -
What are the tolerances for the holes that attach the tube to the angle iron. IT sounds like there is play in there for a fine adjustment. -
If the tube is bent, that would be easy to see before its mounted.
The angle iron bolts to the saw table, and the tube mount to it. The tube can likely be shifted slightly on the angle iron to be spaced correctly. You may have the angle iron and the tube not lined up to exactly where they go. That would be evident if there are several holes to choose from in the angle iron.
From looking at your picture, the front of the angle iron should have two indentures (dips) one for each miter slot. The picture you posted the miter gauge is in the way and I couldn't see that end of it. Anyway that is the layout.
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Cabman, you had me a little paranoid but in this pic:
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...00406-2319.jpg
if you look at the rail right near the rip fence you can see the cutout in the rail for the miter slot. The rail is white, the edge of the table is not. The fence is covering the miter slot, but I am pretty sure I have everything installed correctly. When we took the saw apart to move it, I never took the rails off the side table so when I put it back together, there was really only one way it could go.
Phil, I messed around with it last night but I don't see any play in any of the holes. If I fix one end with a bolt and then go to the other end and line it up for a consistent gap, the hole on the rail on that end doesn't line up with the hole in the tube. I will look again tonight, there might be something I am misssing.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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To get only 1/4" out of a long tube, might be just a matter of loosening the bolts and shifting the tube. Think of it this way...that 1/4" might have been there since new.
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This may not matter about the binding problem (or at all), and it may be just the differences in two different fence systems, but FWIW:
First, your front tube as installed appears to preclude moving the rip fence to the left side of the blade. Second, while I can see the notch for the right-hand miter slot, I cannot see any hint of the slot itself. Third, your extension table appears a lot wider (left to right) than the cast iron tables themselves.
Compare all that to these pics of my PM2000. Note the position of the angle and the tube; also note the proportionate size of the extension table as compared to the CI tables:
I am wondering whether the extension wing was built extra-long and the entire rail system shifted to the right to match ... although that would throw the angle notches out of whack with the miter slots and, again, probably wouldn't solve your binding problem. But I do think your tube may be mounted too far right.
How long is your tube (mine is right at seven feet long)? Did you try shifting it TWO mounting holes to the left, and see if the holes would then align with the ones in the angle?LarryComment
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Larry, I believe the tube is 7' long, haven't actually measured it. I can try shifting it left and see what happens. The table was built that long and the rails were shifted to the right like that. I don't know why that would make a difference though. I was in Woodcraft today getting some other things and looked at their PM on the floor. It was set up more like yours. I also know the tube was parallel to the rail on theirs. I will check again tonight for any play in the bolt holes, but I surely didn't see any last night.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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The recesses in the angle iron line up with the two miter slots. Where the left side of the rail ends, it ends. The right side of the extension table (add on) doesn't have to line up with the end of the angle iron. The fence "T" can only go so far to the right and then the right edge will be off the tube.
If you have a back support angle iron (one that supports an add on table) would be an opposite to the front one in that there will be cutouts for the miter slot. That fence system looks like a Biesemeyer, or a copy...different than the one that Larry shows.
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If the holes in the angle that is bolted to the table are parallel to the edge of the angle, then the holes in the tube have to be off, no?
Is that tube original? Is it possible that someone replaced the original tube and didn't get the hole(s) drilled in the right position?
How many places does the tube bolt to the angle?Comment
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Any possibility that the tube is swapped end for end from the way it was before?Comment
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The tube is not swapped end for end. The cutouts in the rails match the miter slots, so apparently these rails are offset to the right that much. This saw was built in 78, so it is possible that was how it was built then. There are no bolt holes to mount rails to in the left wing of the table. The tube also appears to be the original, it still has the ruler on it. There are 7 or 8 bolts that hold the tube down to the rail. There is no room for adjustment in any of the holes in the rail.
Just so you can see I am not going crazy. The camera angle is a little off, but it is about 3/16" out. I think the problem is the holes in the tube are off some.
Right end:
Left end in front of the blade:
David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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It looks like on my screen that the angle iron is bent where you have the tape, giving a larger dimension.
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It is not bent. What you are seeing is where the top edge of the rail drops down to go under the miter slot. I think it is just poorly drilled holes. I was out there after dinner doing some more measuring and checking. Either way I am not going to worry all that much about it right now.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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Could the bottom leg of the angle be bent up slightly at the right end of the table? That would kick the top back edge of the tube closer to the top front edge of the angle against the table.
Is there any play or room for adjustment to the tube if using just the fasteners on the left side? I mean if you used only the 3 or so fasteners on the left, are you able to maintain a consistant gap? It seems like there is adequate spacing between the tube on the left to allow your fence to move properly the problem should be at the right end. I'm thinking if the angle was bent up a little, it would also take out any adjustment play in the tube.ErikComment
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