Sawstop PCS owners - lock knobs on tilt and height wheels don't work

[Ed Popiel]

Hi all,

Just finished setting up my sawstop PCS and both the lock knobs on the tilt wheel and the height adjustment wheel do not lock.

I turn the knobs all the way to full stop and I can still turn both wheels freely. I followed the directions verbatim and couldn't find anything on the 'net about this.

So...I'm wondering if anyone can help me. Did I miss something or is this a production problem? I bought the saw over a year ago and just finished my shop and set up the saw yesterday and today.

BTW, the saw looks great!!!

Thanks,
Ed

[Carl Hunsinger]

I'm surprised you haven't gotten any replies to your question yet. If this were a certain other forum, you would have already gotten a reply from a certain person who has made "hat,n" the SawStop a religious crusade. At any rate, I checked mine, and the locks work pretty well. I can still turn the knobs, with enough pressure, but they are stiff enough that they won't move while sawing.

Carl

[John Coloccia]

Make sure that the wheels are fully on the spindle. Loosen the set screw and make sure they're fully seated. The other thing it could always be, of course, is that they shipped the wrong knobs. I got the wrong stand braces when I assembled my SS.

[Andy Sowers]

To this end, if I remember correctly when I assembled my PCS... the two different locking knobs (for tilt and height) were different (the center threaded portion was longer on one than the other). When I put it together the first time, I had the two mixed up. Is it possible you did the same thing?

If not, call Sawstop tech support or email them... they are extremely easy to work with!

HTH
Andy

[John Coloccia]

Yes, this too. The elevation one is the longer one, I think. I did the same thing, now that I think of it.

[Ed Popiel]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, I used the correct length knobs on the the correct wheels. I even tried to switch them but they don't fit the other spindles.

I looked at the exploded diagrams in the manual and it doesn't seem to have any obvious adjustments.

When you say put the wheel all the way on, do you mean all the way against the machine, or flush with the spindle? The instructions say flush with the spindle, but I don't think pushing the wheel any further would help any since the lock knob hits the spindle and the wheel being any further on the spindle won't matter.

Maybe they sent the wrong knobs, not sure. Hopefully SS will help me out.

[Carl Hunsinger]

Ed-

Please let us know what you find out from SawStop.

Carl

[Noah Katz]

Does the exploded diagram show rods that go down the center of the shafts?

Are the rods in there?

On my PM2000 and previous saw, locking is effected by the thread of the knobs pushing on these shafts.

[Ed Popiel]

Hi all,

Actually, I just got off the phone with Darin at SS and he is great. He worked me through the problems. This is what happened:

1. The height adjustment lock knob I got with my saw (which I ordered in 2009 and just had the opportunity to set up) is the wrong dimension. He's sending me the correct one. This is a known problem they had.

2. The tilt wheel: the way the lock knob works is that you screw in the knob and it presses out a key that pushes on a metal sleeve that then locks the spindle from turning. But....my spindle didn't have a key in it!!! Darin said that this was very strange... but it makes sense and I am very relieved.

Darin is sending me a new lock knob and two keys (just in case the other spindle is missing one - I called and suggested this and he agreed) overnight!!! So, I should be getting them tomorrow and should be back in business.

Again, great service and respect. He talked me through the issue while I was at the saw.

I'll let you know if this fixes the problem.

[mreza Salav]

Great service is all I have had from SS. Good to hear your problem is solved.

BTW, you are VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY patient! you bought the saw in 2009 and waited until now to set it up?! WOW!

[Will Overton]

Ed,

The keys he refers to should have been in the hardware pack ... upper left/blue section ... and installed by you, between installing the wheel and installing the knob. If you had followed the instructions a step at a time, you should have seen this. Look on page 17 of your owner's manual.

[Ed Popiel]

Well, I guess I had to have patience since I didn't have a shop to put the saw in. I was in the middle of building one when I bought the saw, and there was a rumor that the price was going to increase, so I bit the bullet and ordered the saw and have been looking at the box for a very long time. So I finished the shop in Nov and it feels really good to finally set it up.

Will,
The keys you are referring to are part 37 on page 102 of the exploded diagram - the M5x5x25 keys. The keys I am missing are part 38, the control shaft keys.

I got the parts today and the key made the tilt wheel work perfectly. But the new lock knob for the height adjustment still doesn't work. My bet is that that key is also missing. Kinda makes sense that both keys would be missing - in a weird sorta way, but makes me wonder what else may be missing.

I asked Darin at SS to send me 2 keys (thinking that this may be the case) and I was going to install the second key, but I decided to call SS again to get the exact instructions. The key for the height adjustment spindle has a few more parts to take off and I want to be sure what I'm doing. It also has the saw blade angle indicator attached to this spindle, so I want t o make sure that I do this correctly and re-adjust correctly.

Just seems strange that both keys are missing. Does anyone else with a PCS have lock knobs that don't really lock the wheels? If so, I think I may have your solution.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Mine lock, but I can't recall ever locking them down.

[Will Overton]

Will,
The keys you are referring to are part 37 on page 102 of the exploded diagram - the M5x5x25 keys. The keys I am missing are part 38, the control shaft keys.

My mistake. Sorry about that.