Really irked at myself

[Cliff Holmes]

Yesterday, I wasn’t paying attention and tried to tilt my tablesaw blade over to 45 degrees. I encountered some resistance and, thinking that the previously flawless tilt mechanism was sticking a bit, forced it. The real cause was that I had forgotten to change out my zero-clearance insert. So I ended up bending my beloved Woodworker II blade. Not much, but enough to ruin the previously flawless cuts.

So, being a Saturday night, I ran down to the local Home Depot and got the most expensive Freud blade they had to use while I send the WWII to Forrest for straightening.

This morning, doggone it if I didn’t do the exact same thing again and bent the Freud!

What’s interesting is that the brand-new Freud blade barely cut better than the bent WWII. First thing Monday morning I’m ordering a new WWII from Amazon.

[ROY DICK]

Cliff.
The only thing hurt was your wallet.
I admit I did chuckle at that though.
Thanks for posting a reminder to us all.
It will get better.

Roy

[Richard Jones]

We must be twins and were separated at birth.........

I feel your pain.

Rich

[Rick Moyer]

I thought you were going to relate what I had done a few years back. I had forgotten to release the lock on my tilt wheel on my contractor saw. Same thing, I thought it was sticking and forced it. I didn't bend the blade (non ZCI) but I caved in the side of the saw body!! I couldn't straighten out the sheet metal so I had to order a new carcass. That involved a lot of tear down to replace that.

[Doug Carpenter]

At least you're consistent.

Sorry for your luck.

[Scott Loven]

How about putting a reminder on the crank to remove the insert before you tilt the blade? A piece of plastic pipe perhaps?
Scott

[Byron Trantham]

Cliff,
I think replacing the blade is a MUCH better idea than trying to have it straightened. The cost difference would probably pretty much wash.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Cliff,
You're mind was somewhere else. We spend tons of money on "safety" equipment but the truth is, you have to be focused around the power tools. I'm often asked if working in the shop can relax my mind after a bad day at work. If I don't feel completely focused, I sweep the floor and sharpen drill bits. Be safe, be careful!
fmr

[kenneth kayser]

How about putting a reminder on the crank to remove the insert before you tilt the blade? A piece of plastic pipe perhaps?
Scott

I hang a small piece of wood from the tilt-wheel handle.

[Dan Mitchell]

Been there, done that. I didn't bend my blade (also a WWII), but I did put a slight crack in the phenolic zero clearance insert. I printed a small sign & applied it to the cabinet of my PM2000 right next to the cranks & miter scale to help me keep my head out of my ***

[David DeCristoforo]

OK. Here's what you want to do. Go get a really cheap crappy blade and mount it in your saw. Pop in your ZCI and crank that puppy over. Bend it good. That will make three. After that, you should be safe...

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Engrave "90 Degrees" in large print on your 90 deg ZCI. If you're like me, you look at the blade either before tilting it, or while.. Nice reminder and good clear label, to boot.

[george wilson]

NEVER force anything. Always investigate. One time I lowered my milling machine's very heavy 42" table down. I didn't feel any forcing,but wasn't looking in the right place,and brought the power feed unit (a genuine Servo $$$$$$ unit down on top of a stool. The stool popped out,and there were several 2500# TONKS!!!! Fortunately nothing was hurt,but I was lucky the nylon gear underneath the power feed wasn't bent. Plus,the mill didn't topple over!!

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Cliff.

I know your pain, been there, done that, and didn't like the Tee shirt.

Just send your bent blade into Forrest for a sharpening, and specify that you want the blade checked for wobble. You will get your blade back in new condition.