Stymied- Chicago Electric CMS help

[DrSpyn]

Okay, I'm missing something. I just purchased the Chicago Electric 12" Compound Slide Miter Saw, Model 98194, from Harbor Freight and for the life of me I can't get it to unlock in the vertical plane -- the up-and-down chop-saw motion. Any help on this?

[LCHIEN]

the manual page 12
http://manuals.harborfreight.com/man...8999/98194.pdf

item 2 under "making a cut" says to release the locking pin to allow saw to move up. The pics don't show the locking pin, though. I would expect such a pin to be found near the pivot, though.

As Daryl says a couple of posts down, in the exploded parts diagram, part 57 is shown on the right side of the yoke near the up-down pivot axis, looks like it has a smallish handle ball on the end (56) and is either pulled or pushed to allow movement.

[Daryl]

Which appears to be part 57 on the right side of the yoke. Also there is a depth stop which will limit movement if it is screwed way down.

[cabinetman]

Go to page 23 of this document and you can locate part #57.

.

[DrSpyn]

Thanks, but no joy

Thanks guys for the quick response, but the pin -- part 57 -- is locked down with a small bolt -- part 58 -- that has what looks to me like an inset hex wrench head. I've tried loosening it with a 1/16th hex wrench, but that wrench is too small, and the bolt's socket is too small for the next sized wrenches [either SAE or metric]. Any advice about how to loosen that bolt?

[dbhost]

Important steps

I have one of those saws. PLEASE do not unbolt anything from it! The problem most likely is technique unlocking the head of the saw. I have taken some pics of the process and written this up as best I could for you.

Please ignore the sawdust. I am redoing my shop for power and dust collection improvements, and lately my dust collection has been in a pile in the corner...

The release / lock knob is on the right side, by the pivot. It's a black plastic knob located VERY close to the pivot, just in front of the cable loop holding the power cable to the saw frame. Notice that the knob is on a shaft with a roll pin run through it. That roll pin drops into recesses that either lock or unlock the head of the saw. The deeper recesses, the vertical ones, lock the head, the horizontal keep it unlocked.


This step is KEY, With your left hand, apply light pressure to the handle on the head of the saw in a downward motion, as if to lower the blade SLIGHTLY, all you want to do here is move it enough to take the pressure off the roll pin. I admit it is hard to tell from these pics (sorry, no tripod for my phone!) but the pin is rotated further left, with no pressure on the sides of the recess at this point. If you do not take the pressure off of the pin by pushing down lightly on the saw handle, it will be VERY difficult, if not impossible to unlock the head of this saw. This behavior is the same on this saw, my B&D Firestorm, and a friend's Ryobi. I think most miter saws act this way. At least the ones I have been around...


With the pressure off the pins, with your right hand, pull the knob straight out until the roll pin is clear of the housing.


Now turn the knob 90 degrees and lower it such that the roll pin will rest in the shallower, horizontal recesses.


Now let go of the knob, and allow the head of the saw to come into the full upright position.

[big tim]

Very clear and well done dbhost!
The OP should be able to sort it out now.

Tim

[Pappy]

Same way my PC SCMS releases.

[LCHIEN]

the key to most of those releases is you have to take the pressure off. It keeps the pin from moving and it also prevents the head from suddenly jumping up under spring pressure and hitting you in the chin or breaking something when released.

[leehljp]

I have a Makita 12" CSMS and unless I move the head a tad to take the pressure off, it is very difficult to release also.

[DrSpyn]

Thanks again!

My thanks to everyone who responded, especially dbhost.

I just got back from Harbor Freight and from the floor model discovered that the saw I purchased has a jambed release pin. No matter how I move the saw head, the pin is stuck fast. Since I purchased the 1-year extended warrenty, it'll be just a matter of swapping the defective saw for a new one.

Those were great pix and a very helpful explanation.

[dbhost]

If it is jammed up that tight that you can't relieve some of the pressure and unlock the head, and it's still under warranty, take that thing back to HF... They every now and again do ship a dud... Mine came with a bad blade...

Expect to replace your blade with something decent. I opted for the Freud Diablo 80T 12". Cuts smooth as warm butter...

Glad my pics helped. I wasn't sure how to explain it so I figured I would show you how to do it as best I knew how...

For what it's worth, a miter saw should NOT be that dusty... I REALLY need to get my shop in full working configuration soon!

[DrSpyn]

dbhost -- Exchanged the saw with no hassle and the new one released fine.

The saw works well for rough tasks, but now that I want to do some fine work, I find the cuts aren't perfectly square. The manual has some instructions for adjusting the fence and the bevel, but is less than clear to me. Any suggestions about where there might be better -- or at more detailed -- information besides those on pages 16 and 17 of the manual?

[dbhost]

The fence is 1 piece, with 4 bolts holding it to the frame. Those bolts lack any sort of thread locker. Remove one bolt, dab some releaseable thread compound on it, run it back in, repeat till done.

Next set your table to center (0 deg) position, and with the head of the saw all the way down, loosen all 4 fence bolts just enough to allow you to move the fence, now using a known good square, set the fence square to the blade, and snug the bolts up. Recheck square, adjust as needed, once you are sure the fence stays square when snug, tighten them down. Now your fence is square, and the thread locker will keep the bolts from backing out.

Setting the angle stops is a bit trickier, I may have to break the camcorder out and run through a demonstration of the procedure.

[dbhost]

How to tune your HF 12" sliding miter saw #1.

I am going to have to explain this in several posts, over a couple of days so that I can assemble the tools needed, run through the process and illustrate it the best I possibly can. Once this is finished and all is good, I am going to compile this into an article for easier future access to the information.

Tools and materials required:
#1. Socket set with metric sockets. I like to use my 1/4" drive set. 6pt is fine.
#2. Sliding Bevel gauge, and protractor, or better yet, a quality digital sliding bevel gauge.
#3. Quality engineer / try square.
#4. Loctite Blue. (Medium Strength thread locker).
#5. Metric combination wrench set.
#6. Duct Tape.
#7. Common sense.