Dewalt GWI Question

[Jerome Hanby]

Before I go digging over at the old woodworking machines site, can anyone tell me how difficult it should be to raise and lower the arm on a Dewalt GWI RAS? I don't see anything that clamps to "lock" the height, and it takes a manly effort to raise and lower the arm (had to raise it to extend the fence, then lower it back). I hit it with a little WD40 and that may have made a slight improvement, but not much. Is there a clamp someplace that I've overlooked (I looked through a PDF version of the manual and didn't see one)? Is this a hint that IO need to tear it down, clean, and lube everything good?

Thanks

[HANK METZ]

Sometimes if you acquire a used machine, the previous owner used brute force to lock the column so as to eliminate side play, instead of doing a righteous calibration. Short answer is no, it shouldn't feel like you're cow tipping to make a height adjustment, I shot an image of my '57 MBF project for you to show the column end play adjustment and elevation tension arrangement. It's basically the same system on all models but with minor differences as time went on or machine size went up.

mbf column.jpg

The large nut is the column clamp while the setscrew below fine tunes it. The setscrew further back bears through a brass strip against the strip of flat stock bonded to the column itself and is the end play adjustment, used to take out left to right arm (miter) slop. Back off on these and it should crank nearly effortlessly, if not you got a problem, and you may have to tear into the acme screw inside the column.

That's all I got for now, good luck.

- Beachside Hank
The use of nails in fine furniture is to be abhorred- drywall screws are preferred.

[Jerome Hanby]

That's what I needed. I saw those bolts, but could have sworn the up and down used to be easier, so I didn't tear into them. Now that I think about it, I bought a Powershop about a month before I found this GWI, and I may have been thinking about it.

Some day soon I'm going to get replacement bearings for the motor and possibly build an electric brake fro this beasty. I may just do a through tear down, clean, lube, and reassemble while I'm at it.

[Myk Rian]

Movement should be smooth. The gears in the column may be caked with sawdust.
I found the "Mr. Sawdust" book to be most useful during my restoration of a MBF.
www.mrsawdust.com . You will want to use it for aligning the saw before cutting with it.

[Jerome Hanby]

I've got the book, probably the best tool book I've ever seen. I've got things dialed in well enough to do "rough" cross cuts. Think I'll leave it as is until I get my shop squared away, then restore it after I finish my Unisaw.

[david brum]

+3 on disassembing and cleaning the elevation screw inside of the column. Mine was gummed up with decades of congealed grease.