Delta Contractor blade won't lock in place

Messages
78
Location
Maplewood, NJ
I've got a Delta Contractor Saw that's about 20 years old. The new SawStop cabinet saw gets here on Monday.

I'm just a home woodworker, so the the contractor saw may be old, but there really should be a lot of use in for somebody with the time and skills to spruce it up a bit.

It's the tilt mechanism. It won't stay in place. I set the blade at 90 degrees to the table, do two or three cuts, check it again and it's off by a degree.

I plan to sell the saw, so I really don't want to be bothered taking it in for repairs. On the other hand, I'd like it to be an honest sale, so I'd like to be able to at least tell the buyer what the problem is likely to be and what it might cost them.

Anybody got any ideas?

Thanks,

B
 
Sounds like the locking mechanism - that small knob in the center of the big one - is either gummed up or broken. You might try removing it and cleaning thing up a bit. Other than that, you'll be needing some parts.
 
I guess I could post a picture, but I doubt I'd be able to do as well as the SawStop web site. My "shop", such as it is, isn't much of a backdrop for it.

And at $70 a pop, I ain't buying any hot dogs for the photo shoot, either!
 
Brian I can imagine how you feel about that old saw but i imagine that if its a simple fix like Jim says it might be worth your while to give it a look. When it comes time to sell it i think it might go for a dollar more or at least have someone bother to buy it at all if it is in working order. Just think it could get you a few new blades for the saw stop.

Why not post a few pics of the old one so we can see the mechanism from a few angles that will help people know what to recommend you do to look at it.
 
Kinda hard to do, Rob. It's hard enough to SEE the mechanism, much less take pictures of it... without taking the saw apart, that is.

All I know is that I square the blade and tighten up the small knob Jim spoke about as tight as I can by hand, and the blade still moves.

Now that I think about it, I may not have done everything Jim said. I guess I should remove both wheels and have a look to see why one isn't locking the other.

It'd be great if it's something a simple as that.
 
I'd try reaching inside and blowing the dust out of the gears with compressed air. It's possible that will fix the problem, and if not it might let someone more easily see what the problem is.
 
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