The Ultimate Sawsmith Radial Arm Saw Thread

[heathicus]

At the front of the base is the arm/blade height crank. Clockwise raises the arm. Counter-clockwise lowers the arm.



The handle is attached to a shaft that runs through the base and turns a pair of bevel gears that changes the plane of the rotation and turns a "shaft-screw" to raise and lower the arm.



The cabinet base was an optional accessory. A regular stand with legs was also available, or the buyer could mount the saw base to a stand or bench of their own making. I was pretty excited that this one came with the cabinet base.



The construction is pretty simple - just a metal box. Two sides, top, bottom, and back bolt together at pre-drilled holes. The door lifts up and slides into a tray under the top of the base. Shelf rails were included, but the buyer had to build their own shelves. Plans were included in the manual as the first project to build with your new Sawsmith.



The door could also be locked closed. My lock is broke. It looks like there is lock housing, but there is no locking mechanism inside the housing. And the key used to release the the power button does not fit the keyhole on the lock housing.



The casters operate similar to the Shopsmith. A lever rotates a rod with a cam on it. The cam pushes the wheels down (or does it push the cabinet up?).



Something was installed incorrectly on my caster assembly. I believe it was the cam, but I haven't yet fully investigated. The levers should always be at a 45 degree-ish angle. Push down on one side or the other to raise or lower the casters. However, my levers are horizontal (0 degrees) when the casters are retracted, and vertical (90 degrees) when extended. Not only does this make it hard to work the levers, they also hit one of the screw heads that attaches the bottom of the cabinet to the sides so I had to remove them until I fix the caster problem.

[JPG]

It would be easier to unnerstan the caster elevator problem if you did not switch sides between the pix.

The first pix(underneath left side) appears to lower the casters with about a 45 degree rotation clockwise. Hence I be confused what the second pix(lever on right side) is showing us.

Appears to me that the left side is as you described to be normal if the casters were not holding the shaft so the lever is near horizontal. Do the cams not clear the casters more when the shaft is rotated ccw?

[heathicus]

It would be easier to unnerstan the caster elevator problem if you did not switch sides between the pix.

The first pix(underneath left side) appears to lower the casters with about a 45 degree rotation clockwise. Hence I be confused what the second pix(lever on right side) is showing us.

Appears to me that the left side is as you described to be normal if the casters were not holding the shaft so the lever is near horizontal. Do the cams not clear the casters more when the shaft is rotated ccw?

I went and investigated again and it appears as though you were correct. I was definitely doing something wrong. While they are still hard to manipulate (as evidenced by the bent lever arm on the right side which was bent by a previous owner), the levers and cams are in the correct positions now. I can't quite explain what I had done wrong.

Thank you for your amazing powers of observation, deduction, and questioning!

Lever positions with casters extended:


Left caster extended:


Right caster extended:


Lever positions with casters retracted:


Left caster retracted:


Right caster retracted:

[JPG]

That right shaft 'support' bracket may be the source of 'binding'.


BTW the key is the same as my Mark VII key. Chigago Lock Co. double bit YPP. I be assuming they are all keyed alike.


P.S. the right side rear may provide additional 'binding' clues.

[heathicus]

That right shaft 'support' bracket may be the source of 'binding'.


BTW the key is the same as my Mark VII key. Chigago Lock Co. double bit YPP. I be assuming they are all keyed alike.


P.S. the right side rear may provide additional 'binding' clues.

I had noticed that support bracket as well. I don't know if it's a cause of the binding or caused by the binding. I'm guessing the former and assume it was bent during a move at one point.

I'll take a good picture of the key later so you can compare it to yours, but I bet you're right that they are keyed the same. This isn't a security lock, but a safety lock, so it makes sense. I've got a paint bucket at work full of little keys all keyed the same that came with a bunch of wireless access point ceiling mount panels we've installed.

Here's pictures of the rear casters.

[JPG]

I had noticed that support bracket as well. I don't know if it's a cause of the binding or caused by the binding. I'm guessing the former and assume it was bent during a move at one point.

I'll take a good picture of the key later so you can compare it to yours, but I bet you're right that they are keyed the same. This isn't a security lock, but a safety lock, so it makes sense. I've got a paint bucket at work full of little keys all keyed the same that came with a bunch of wireless access point ceiling mount panels we've installed.

Here's pictures of the rear casters.

. . .

Not necessary! The third pix in post 3 above is good enough!;)

I do not see anything amiss in either of the rear caster stuff.

[johnmccrossen]

heathicus,

One thing I need and have never been able to find is a replacement for the metal indicator strip for the bevel guage on the yoke. While doing your restore, if you (or anyone else) happens to run across a source for something like that, a note would be appreciated. Again thanks for your postings. John McCrossen

[heathicus]

If anyone is in the Cleveland area... http://cleveland.craigslist.org/tls/3919837465.html

[heathicus]

If anyone is in the Cleveland area... http://cleveland.craigslist.org/tls/3919837465.html

[apexsunguitars]

I may have missed it in the discription, but can the saw blade plunge or float while in use like many of the sliding miter saws sold today? I would love to be able to make a cut along a radiused surface where the blade can float to follow the radius thus making a cut of a consistant depth. I would employ some sort of roller to follow the radius and act as a depth stop.