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Buying
a Used Table Saw
Often choosing a
used saw over a new saw will get you a better model with
added accessories for the same money. The disadvantages
are that you will likely have no recourse if anything
goes wrong with the saw, however with proper scrutiny
most pitfalls can be avoided.
- What was your
overall first impression of the machine? Are there any
obvious signs of abuse or neglect, broken knobs,
damaged parts, rusty or warped table.
- Does it have
the guards installed, if not are they included so you
can install them?
- Why is the saw
for sale, has the seller upgraded or replaced it wth
an equivalent model, if you can see no improvement be
wary.
- Plug the saw in
and listen and feel how it runs, keep in mind that if
the saw has sat around for any length of time the belt
will not be a supple as it should be and will thump
for a while.
- With the saw
unplugged check the adjustments, raise and lower the
blade, tilt the blade, do the mechanisms work
smoothly? Raise the blade as high as it will go, lower
it just slightly, with a glove or rag to protect your
hand grasp the top of the blade, check for any
movement in the arbor or trunions.
- Place a block
of wood on the table behind the blade so it just
touches a tooth that is offset toward the block,
holding the block with one hand slowly rotate the
blade checking for wobble. If there is any visible
wobble several factors come into play, the blade is
warped, the flanges are damaged, the arbor is bent.
Remove the insert and the blade, check the condition
of the flanges and check the arbor by rotating it with
a bar resting on the outer end. If the flanges and
arbor seem okay try another blade.
- With the blade
lowered below the table check how level the table is
with a straight edge, check it across the ends, along
the sides and diagionally, if it has attached wings be
aware that they can be adjusted, it is the solid table
around the blade that is critical.
- Check the miter
gauge, it should slide through both the slots without
binding and have no side to side slop.
- Check the rip
fence does it move smoothly across the table and lock
solidly, bear in mind that this seems to be the
weakest link on any saw and there are aftermarket
replacements that are superior to the
orginal.
Most saws offer a left tilting blade, meaning that when the ripping guide is to the right of the blade the blade will tilt away from the guide. Some of the higher end saws also offer a right tilting model.
When making a bevel cut, a left tilt moves the blade away from the fence, keeping the teeth away from your hand and lowering the risk of pinching the piece between the fence and blade. Even though the risk can be reduced on a right tilt by moving the fence to the left of the blade, this is a less familiar action, which might increase the risk somewhat.
In addition the arbor thread is a normal right hand thread on the left tilt models, on the right tilt models it is a left hand thread which takes some getting used to when changing blades.
If you only have one saw you will soon get used to it, whether it is a left or right tilt, so this probably should not be a factor in your decision on purchasing a saw everything else being equal.
Tuning
Up
for
Ripping
order
from Rockler
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Get the highest
degree of accuracy with this combination Master Plate and
Super Bar. Together, they help you tune-up, calibrate,
and align your table saw to within 1/1000 of an inch!
What's more, it promotes safer operation by helping to
eliminate kickbacks, sticking, and binding. The master
plate is made of solid 1/4'' thick, flat-ground aluminum.
It replaces your saw blade and bolts into a 5/8'' or 1''
arbor to provide a full 10'' of near-perfect flatness for
aligning your equipment. The Super Bar jig has an-onboard
precision dial indicator that measures alignment as it
slides in the miter gauge slot. This enables you to keep
the saw blade parallel, align the fence, square tour
protractor, and check runout on routers, drill presses,
and more! |
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Your saw
will produce much better ripping results if it
is set up properly, kick back, stalling, burnt
cuts, and tapered cuts can be virtually
eliminated.
1. Use a
quality blade suitable for the job, this will
eliminate most problems.
2. To check if blade is parallel to the miter slot, unplug the saw, raise blade to full height, place a short length of flat iron on edge against a tooth at the front of the blade, mark this tooth. Lay a strip of wood against the face of the miter gauge so that one end touches the flat iron. Clamp the strip of wood to the miter gauge, remove the flat iron and rotate the blade so that tooth is now at the back of the blade. Slide the gauge forward so the strip is in line with the same tooth. Check the gap with the flat iron, it should be the same as it was at the front. If the blade has to be moved this is done by loosening the bolts holding the trunions under the table.
3. Align
the splitter with the blade, this is an
essential feature of the saw.
4. Check
that the rip fence is not bowed and set it
parallel to the miter slot. There are two
schools of thought here, some saw manufactures
recommend that it be set parallel while others
suggest that the rear be offset slightly outward
usually about 1/32".
Even with a perfectly tuned saw certain woods such as cherry and soft maple may tend to show burn marks, this can often be overcome or lessened by feeding the stock though the saw faster.
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