Help! Stupid mistake has put table saw seriously out of alignment

[Arthur Wood]

'll try to briefly provide background on what I did and seek your help on getting things right again.

I own a Delta Contractor Table Saw. I (had) a hardboard cover that I used for the back of the saw to help keep dust from shooting out the back. This cover was supposed to be removed before making angled cuts. . . .
. . . but, i was cranking the blade angle on the side of the cabinet and it started to get really bogged down. I *thought* it was because I had so much dust gunked up in the gearing so I *cranked* harder (I had obviously completely forgotten about the hardboard cover on the back of the saw that was interfering with the raised/angled trunnion) and. . . .

BAM! I hear a loud pop. I realize my stupid mistake and now was worried that I'd cracked something somewhere. Good news is that it appears no permanent damage was done. But what did happen was that the rear trunnion popped out of its sem-circular "groove".

I loosened the front and rear trunnion bolts to the point that the whole saw mechanism was barely attached to the table and got the blade square to the fence again. The problem now is that my blade is about 1/8" closer to the fence than it was before.

I could (and have) cut a new zero clearance insert because of the new blade position - but I realize that the blade now no longer works with the "stock" insert that came with the saw. The blade is just about 1/16 to the right of the stock opening. This is telling me that something isn't right. . .and that while I could just go ahead with a new zero clearance, there's more adjustment to be made.

I should also mention that I've tried re-loosening all the trunnions once again - but, standing at the back of the saw, there is no more "play" to get the blade mechanism moving to my right (away from the fence).

I've attached a few photos to help illustrate the problem. Really appreciate your help.

1st pic: illustrates how, with athe old zero-clearance instert, the blade is about 1/8 inch off (too close to the fence, preventing the insert from seating properly


2nd Pic: Same idea, from above


3rd Pic: from under the saw, the front trunnion (and the blade angle gear that caused the problem in the first place)


4th Pic: under the saw, upward toward the blade. You can see here how close the blade is to the "tabs" of the table saw top (which support the insert). I realize that the blade should not be centered in the opening, but it's still too close to one side).

[Mike Marcade]

Is the blade in your pictures square to the tabletop? It looks to me like it is set at an angle.

Have you been able to ascertain if there are any bent/cracked parts?

[Arthur Wood]

Is the blade in your pictures square to the tabletop? It looks to me like it is set at an angle.

Have you been able to ascertain if there are any bent/cracked parts?

The blade is square. . . it's just a bad angle of the photo that's suggesting otherwise.

As far as I can tell, no parts are bent/cracked.

[Mike Marcade]

Are the trunnion rods still both in the same plane?

[Doug Shepard]

You mention loosening the trunion bolts but did you actually remove those to see if they got bent?

[Chuck Lenz]

Hello Arthur, while I may not be able to solve your alignment problem, I do however wonder if a set of PALs would help you to get things right if there isn't anything broke or twisted. Also I'd like to add that when I designed the dust collection for my Delta 34-445X Contractors tablesaw I did not fully block off the back of the cabinet for fear of doing what you and others have done. Dust collection can be done on these types of saws efficiently without fully blocking the back off.

[Dale Johnson]

you should still have some lateral adjustment in where the trunnion blocks attach to the table. check the manual or go on-line to look for a diagram.

[Mike Marcade]

you should still have some lateral adjustment in where the trunnion blocks attach to the table. check the manual or go on-line to look for a diagram.

I belive Art said in his post that he is as far as he can go to the right with his trunnion adjustment.

[glenn bradley]

Before you knock yourself out, verify that the trunnion assembly did not get tweaked. Flip the saw on it's head (remove your motor first), pull the trunnion/arbor assembly and set it on something flat (not your TS top as it may be in question). If it sets reasonably flat you're OK there. Check your motor bracket support rods as long as it's now convenient (they won't cause what you're showing but can cause other problems so you might as well check 'em as long as the guts are out of the base.

If you have teeter-totter-city while the trunnions are setting on something flat, breath deep . . . breath . . . . OK now try to decide if it is bad enough to replace or if you think you can tweak it back to the proper plane. Let's try to get that far and see how it goes. Then we can proceed.

[Brian Weick]

Whole assembly mounted underneath to the Cast iron table- ? If so I think you can fix this problem relatively easy!
Brian

[M. A. Espinoza]

I think you should verify that your trunnion rods are in the same plane. Essentially you remove the blade and place a flat surface across the trunnion rods. It should not rock; if it does you must readjust to get the trunnions back in the same plane.

I usually just use a piece of mdf that I've checked for flatness on my jointer bed. A flat piece of steel or some thick float glass would work. Doesn't have to be dead flat within .001 but flatter the better.

The ability for rod connected trunnions to get tweaked is why I want to retire my Grizzly contractor and don't want that design in anything that replaces it. It gets out of adjustment far too easily.

After you get the trunnions adjusted you should be able to get your carriage assembly back where it was before, or at least very close.

Luckily table saws are pretty simple machines. I would also remove the motor and flip it on its top if possible. Will make this the process a little less painful. Get things back where you want and then replace the motor and recheck to see if anything moves due to the weight. It might but should only need minor adjustment at that point.

Good luck.

[John Bartley]

In the last picture, on the side of the blade mandrel closest to the pulley there appears to be a threaded plug - maybe for setting the lateral position of the mandrel and bearings in the mandrel housing? It "looks" as if it's threaded out or has jumped out of its housing, almost the same distance that your blade is out of position. ... or am I seeing things...?

cheers

[M. A. Espinoza]

In the last picture, on the side of the blade mandrel closest to the pulley there appears to be a threaded plug - maybe for setting the lateral position of the mandrel and bearings in the mandrel housing? It "looks" as if it's threaded out or has jumped out of its housing, almost the same distance that your blade is out of position. ... or am I seeing things...?

cheers

Good catch. I missed that.

Just because something is unlikely doesn't mean it didn't happen. Although I don't see how overcranking a binding carriage would shift the arbor, doesn't mean it couldn't have happened. If there was enough force built up to pop the trunnion out; weird things could have happened.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Good eyes John. The spanner nut has backed out. Unfortunately, the spanner nut only holds the bearing next to pulley in place. The "special nut" hold arbor assembly together. I expect that the trunion rods are the problem. Don't ask how I know, but I do. Every time I forget to slide my contractor's saw forward, the motor hits the out feed table and upsets the trunion rods, when I try to do a 45. Seems like I would remember! It is a good idea to RECORD the measurement from one of the miter slots to the face of the arbor. It something moves, it can be returned to where it was by duplicating measurement. Then all your ZCI's and sliding jigs will fit.

[Arthur Wood]

Are the trunnion rods still both in the same plane?

By visual inspection they are, but I'll take a measurement tomorrow when I'm back in the shop.