Friday, August 12, 2016

A Rockwell/Delta 10" Table Saw -- Part II


[Part I of this post is here. I left off part I having just completed the overhaul of the arbor assembly (new bearings; axial run-out eliminated from saw flange face). I've since brought the machine inside the workshop from where it was under the carport, and can now reassemble the machine for a trial.]

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Chassis Mounting Holes At Rear

The abuse that machines take -- the two rear holes in the chassis' lower lip for fastening the chassis to the stand are pulled out.


I'll see how well I can hammer that back to something resembling what it ought to be.

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I got a reasonably good result.


Fortunately, that's not a critical part of the saw's construction.

The Motor Mount Platform


The platform pivots on a 1/2" diameter steel rod. There's provision for a 1/4"-20 setscrew to lock the rod in place, but there's no setscrew. I'll correct that if and when I do the restoration.

The Motor Mount Seen In Its Normal Orientation


Note that there's no provision for a belt tension adjustment; belt tension is, in effect, set by gravity. The motor's weight tensions the belt as the motor mount pivots to where the belt restrains the motor from pivoting any further.

That's not a belt tensioning method that I approve of. I think it tends to result in greater tension than is required. I'll see if I can come up with a belt tensioning adjustment scheme.

Elevation Screw Trouble

I got the arbor assembly back into the machine, and meant to install the elevation screw. That did not go well.

The elevation screw and nut do not align with one another correctly. Here's a view of them that I hope shows the trouble adequately.



The screw's axis is significantly off to the left of the nut's axis. I got the screw and nut to mate partially like that, and the screw was very difficult to turn. That no doubt explains why one of the saw's plastic handwheels is broken where it keys to its shaft. This saw must have had this defect right from the factory.

I'll take the arbor assembly out again, and see if I can get that nut to align better.

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Time Out

The difficulty and complexity of this project are going through the roof. I may or may not have the wherewithal to see it through to a successful conclusion.

I'll carry on, but I'll suspend the blogging part for now -- it's just too much to write about to no particularly good end. I'll return to this post when I have something worthwhile to contribute to it.

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Back At It -- SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

I've done a fair bit of work on the saw and its stand, and I'm now ready to start reassembling the fully dismantled saw. It will be slow going, because I've yet to paint the two major motor mount components, and they need to be painted prior to final reassembly.

Anyway, here's where I'm currently at.

Table, Frame, Trunnions And Arbor Assembly Back Together

Here's an underside view of all that.


Four 5/16" screws fasten the frame to the underside of the table, and four 5/16" screws fasten the trunnions to the underside of the table. The trunnions' screw holes are considerably oversize, to provide for parallelism adjustment. I've positioned the trunnions at design centre, and tightened the screws. I'm hoping that I'll have sufficient adjustment latitude at the rear (easily accessible) trunnion to achieve parallelism, without having to disturb the front trunnion. The saw will be upright on its stand for the parallelism adjustment, and if I have to adjust the front trunnion as well as the rear, I'll be in for a difficult time; the front trunnion won't be at all easy to adjust on an upright, fully reassembled saw. We'll see how that turns out.

The Tilt Indicator Rod


Something tells me that this feature of the saw is lame and gimmicky. I'll give it new red paint at its indicating tip, and I'll want to have it in place before I turn the saw upright, but I doubt that it will ever be of any use. Adjusting it will not be easy.

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The Tilt Screw -- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

Here's the tilt screw back in place.



To be continued, maybe.

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