# Startrite 275 Table saw setup instructions



## andrewballantine (5 Nov 2009)

Hi,

Just joined the web site and you seem to be a pretty helpful bunch.

I have just acquired a Startrite 275 Tilt Arbour Table saw.

On checking it over I find that the saw blade is not quite parallel to the mitre channels in the table top. Since the saw carrier is registered into the table top by two steel locating pins I am not too sure how to make adjustments to fix the problem.

The saw blade is about 1mm closer to the mitre channel towards the riving knife.

Has anyone by any chance got a copy of the Startrite instructions or any idea how to do this.

This is my first cast iron table saw and I am looking forward to much more accurate cutting than my Electa Beckum contractors saw bench.

Any help and ideas greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Andrew Ballantine.


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## 9fingers (5 Nov 2009)

Welcome to the forum.

The usual place for startrite manuals is Daltons website but I have just looked and they don't seem to cover your model.
But if you looked at some of the other TS you might get a clue.

http://www.daltonsmachines.com/downloads.html

There has got to be a method of setting the angle. Are the pins on an eccentric by any chance? Or has anything got damaged in the past?

Looking at the forum users saw thread in the tools section, no one has confessed to having your model either but don't give up hope - someone might see this and be able to help.

Good Luck

Bob


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## 9fingers (5 Nov 2009)

ANdrew, these people refurbish Startrite saw and may be able to supply an manual

http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/sta ... 75_275.htm

Bob


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## andrewballantine (5 Nov 2009)

Bob,

Thanks for your speedy replies.

I have printed off a Daltons manual which is very similar to my model, so I'll have a good look at that.

Thanks again,

Andrew.


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## andrewballantine (7 Feb 2012)

As a late post script, I managed to take-up/adjust the slack in the saw mounting so that the saw blade now runs true to the guide slots. I also made myself a sled which is brilliant for cross cutting large and small items.

Thanks for the timely advise and apologies for being so slow to say thank you.


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## jo-53 (23 Feb 2012)

Hi, 
I have just come across your post. I am currently having a similar problem trying to set the blade parallel to the table slots on my 275. I have tried in vain to slightly adjust the alignment by shifting the table on the mounting bolts, but it seems that your solution is the only one, to adjust the blade mounting itself. I have a manual (which I could copy if you still want one) but can't make out what to adjust. Perhaps when I go back and look at it it will be obvious, but I am hoping not to have to remove the table to get at it. Is this necessary?
regards
Jo


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## Steve Maskery (23 Feb 2012)

Jo
The table and the trunnions (that's the curvy bit that supports the arbor) have to be rotated with respect to each other. So it depends on what the trunnions are attached to.

If the trunnions are mounted on the cabinet and the table is also mounted on the cabinet, then you slacken off the table/cabinet bolts and tap it CW or anti-CW. My Xcalibur is like that.

If, on the other hand, the trunnions are hung from the tabletop itself, you need to slacken those bolts off and do the same. It has to be one or the other, doesn't it?
Cheers
Steve


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## andrewballantine (23 Feb 2012)

Jo,

If I remember correctly (I'm amazed that it is two years since I set up my saw), the arbor mounting on the trunions is a V groove and there are pointed pins that run in the V groove that can be adjusted. Mine were worn and I was beginning to despair of adjusting out the play. Then I found that the pins could be twisted in the adjuster and that takes up the slack.

You can get to these adjusters by taking off the table top.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Andrew.


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## jo-53 (25 Feb 2012)

Thanks Andrew and Steve,
I have to admit looking at the diagrams in the manual I haven't quite identified the pins you mention, Andrew.
I spent nearly all day today adjusting the allen head bolts which go through the shoes for the tilt arbour (if that makes any sense) which seemed to be the correct point to be adjusting the alignment of the blade mounting to the table. Blade on to measure the slots, blade off to get at the nuts on the inside, tilt blade mounting to get at the allen head bolts, adjust, reverse order, etc,etc. Finally got it right, tightened table mounting bolts which I had slackened previously, thinking to move table top to align slots with saw, and... back to square one!
I will post the drawings from the manual to explain myself more clearly, and perhaps someone will be able to see what I am doing wrong.
regards Jo


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## jo-53 (26 Feb 2012)

Pleeeeeeease!!!! 
How can I upload my pics? This has been more difficult, and taken almost as much time, as trying to align my table saw!
I have uploaded them onto flickr and BBcode is on
Thanks for any help
Jo


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## andrewballantine (27 Feb 2012)

Jo,

Couldn't find your pictures.

I had another look at my saw today and "pins" is not quite the right description. The saw carriage runs on a curved V groove into which run V blocks which are adjustable. I found that you could take up the wear in the blocks by twisting them in the V groove and then re-tightening them.
Having taken the play out of the saw carriage you replace the cast iron table and it is very important to align guide channels with the saw blade. This is the first priority. The next priority is to align the fence to the blade.

If you cannot align the top with the blade, then this suggests that there is a more serious misalignment which could be fixed by shimming the mounting of the complete saw carriage where it fixes to the side of the cabinet. However this would be a extreme case as once you have removed the play in the carriage you should be back the the factory setting.

Hope this helps.


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## jo-53 (1 Mar 2012)

There are no pics because I can't upload them!... any advice?

I contacted ALT engineering (startrite spares), who were very helpful, and told me the way the machines were originally set up was to mount the table onto the cabinet and to secure the alignment of the blade to the slots by drilling 2 holes through the table,and through part of the apron of the rise and fall mechanism, where it is secured to the underneath of the table top, and putting in 2 spring dowels. The only way to adjust the alignment was to remove the dowels and rotate the table a little. How you relocate the spring dowels afterwards I don't know.


Well I tried that. Removed the spring dowels, slackened off all other nuts securing base to table top, rotated top to align blade to slots, tightened everything again, and it had all just gone back to where it started!
Not sure if I should admit to what I did next, but I have just spent 2 days trying to sort this out, and it worked. I took a large length of wood and levered the arbor against the saw slot!

I hope the official, or my desperate, solution will be of help to anyone else with this problem.

Next task is sorting out the rip fence, which at least is nice and solid when the clamping arm is down, but does not stay parallel to the blade when it is moved.

Jo


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## andrewballantine (1 Mar 2012)

Jo,

If it worked, that's great.

I made an interesting discovery the other day. For a long time I have thought the brass measure for the fence was pretty useless since it did not read zero when the fence was touching the blade. I was at an auction of woodworking gear and saw the identical saw to mine. Out of the side of the fence sliding block was a pin with a right angle and a pointer to the brass measure. This had been snapped off flush on my saw and the Allen key covered in sawdust. As soon as I released the Allen key I was able to extract the stub of the old pointer with a magnet. The diameter of the pin turned out to be exactly the same size as one of my stock nails so I cut the head off the nail, bent the point at 90 degrees and fitted it to the fence. Then set the pointer to zero, set a size on the fence and the cut was spot on the measurement.

See attached photo.






The red arrow shows the location of the pointer locking grub screw which is turned with an Allen key.

Hope this helps.


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## Eric The Viking (1 Mar 2012)

Chaps, this is fascinating. 

If you use the "Full Editor" button instead of just submitting a Quick Reply, you can upload JPEGs from your local hard drive. You can then decide where to place these as "attachments" inside your messages (there's a drop down list of what you've uploaded, and one click puts an image in where you've parked the cursor. Try it, it's easy!

Andrew, I think you need to make a few more posts before the system will allow you to upload images (it's like that to prevent spammers, I think). 

Anyway, us Startrite wannabes are all waiting with bated breath... 

Cheers,

E.


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## andrewballantine (1 Mar 2012)

Eric,

My first attempt was a BMP file, which didn't work. I changed it to a JPG and that worked; photo now visible.

Thanks for the tips.

Andrew.


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## jo-53 (1 Mar 2012)

Here are the plans. I will try and identify parts when I can see the pics myself.


Part 45 on the apron diagram, is the spring dowel (with the one on the other side not shown) which needs to be removed to be able to rotate the table. Before that I had tried to adjust things by slackening one and tightening the other of the allen head bolts, parts 36.37


On the other hand, part 85 on the saw spindle and motor arm diagram is where i applied the leverage to align the saw blade!

Jo


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## mickthetree (10 Oct 2014)

Morning
I am picking up a 275 today. I plan on stripping the whole thing down when I get it home and cleaning it before putting it into service. Any of you chaps know if the cast iron top can be removed? This would also reduce the weight greatly for the move!!
I'm assuming all imperial nuts are used?


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## mickthetree (10 Oct 2014)

if anyone has the manual that would be greatly appreciated!


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## flh801978 (10 Oct 2014)

The top is easily removed by 6 bolts as i remember
Then the whole tilt arbour removes with another 4 bolts
then this leaves you with a very floppy base unit

all easily managable by one bloke to carry

Ian


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## apreston (10 Oct 2014)

You've probably found out by now - but I recommend carrying a full set of imperial and metric tools. Mine had imperial socket head screws holding the rails on, but metric hex head bolt elsewhere. I guess it depends on the age of the saw as to what mix of imperial/metric was used. As Ian said, easily dismantled, I'd also recommend removing all rails and separating the motor from the tilt arbour to get more manageable chunks. Easily manageable? I found the cast iron top alone weighed almost as much as me!


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## mickthetree (10 Oct 2014)

Thanks chaps.

What a beauty. I took your advice and took the top off. So much more manageable.

Cannot wait to get it into action.


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## mickthetree (11 Oct 2014)

The rise and fall mechanism works effortlessly but the tilt is quite stiff. Is this normal? the motor is huge!! So I guess it has to do a lot of work to move it, but as the rise and fall is so smooth I'm sure there must be an issue.

I got all of the manuals and guides with it and it all looks as it should (very simple aren't they).

I'm wondering if stripping the tilt mechanism further and seeing if this reveals anything. There are three shoes that run in grooves on the tilt mechanism. I'm wondering if these are poorly aligned.

Should I lubricate any of the mechanisms? if so what would you suggest I use?

Any advice you could give would be appreciated.


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## apreston (11 Oct 2014)

I find the rise/fall is much smoother than the tilt, though I wouldn't say the tilt was stiff, so you probably need to clean and adjust it. Most likely just sawdust gumming up the leadscrew.

I think you're right to look at the shoes. One of these shoes is adjustable to take up any slack, so you might need to adjust this. Easiest done with the tilt assembly out of the cabinet, but even when assembled it is accessible from the front through a hole covered by the tilt indicator label.

I stripped mine down to component parts (only afterwards did I see Wallace's advice in one of his restoration threads about keeping nuts/bolts/etc in a piece of card to ensure they go back in the same place they were removed). Then I cleaned with engine cleaner, and reassembled with a dry PTFE-based lube (actually bicycle chain oil). I figured some lube would be good, but didn't want to use anything wet as dust would just stick to it. My saw hasn't seen much use yet (only couple of hours real cutting) but hasn't clogged up and still runs as smoothly, so I'm starting to think I made the right choice on lubrication. I'm sure more experienced members will have better advice.


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## flh801978 (11 Oct 2014)

My saw was very stiff on tilting a complete strip down cured it 
with if i remember part 32 was seized into the casting so as the lead screw moved along the part 32 was canted onto the lead screw making it tight then it would suddenly twisted it went free for a turn or so then was canted over and seized up again
removing part 32 and cleaning the shaft and hole made it like new
I wouldnt lube on reassembly other than with a dry silicone spray
dust just sticks to oil or grease and makes a paste

Ian


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## mickthetree (12 Oct 2014)

Evening chaps. So the lead screw part 32 is indeed very stiff, but one half of the universal joint part 23 is also very stiff. just a very slight movement.

Is there some sort of penetrating fluid I should use to loosen / clean these parts up? Are spares available anywhere?

I have managed to remove the assembly so can have a good stab at it now.

Soak in WD40?


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## flh801978 (12 Oct 2014)

Strip it all down clean and reassemble
if you soak in anything it will need redoing again soon
done properly it'll be good for years
Ian


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## Shrubby (12 Oct 2014)

I use a cycle lube called Progold on woodwork machines - tried most of the others
Matt


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## mickthetree (13 Oct 2014)

Cheers guys. Wd40 and wire wool maybe?


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## apreston (13 Oct 2014)

WD40 good for freeing, but bad for attracting dirt afterwards. I wouldn't bother, and prefer to strip it all the way down and clean each part.
I have found Auto Glym engine cleaner brilliant for cleaning.
Some would say use no oil at all, but PTFE bike lubes like Finish Line are my preference - mostly because I have them to hand - but they do seem to make parts go together more smoothly and don't seem to gum up in use.
For spares give ALT Saws a call. Very helpful. But rather pricey.


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## mickthetree (14 Oct 2014)

I've given the parts in question a few good sprays of wd40 now. When I get chance, hopefully this weekend, I'll see if they come apart and free up.

I have a can of Trend PTFE spray which seems very similar to Finish line. I'll give that a go.

Itching to get it all up and running !!

Keep you posted.


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## mickthetree (15 Oct 2014)

now I'm really confused. 

In the diagram part 32 is the trunion nut that the feed screw passes through. It is held into the casting with a hex head screw and washers.

On mine there is no hex head screw, just a shaft passing through the casting held in place with a circlip, much like the nut on the other feed screw, part 26.

Part 32 is very stiff on mine. I have freed up the universal joint massivly using some WD40. I'm happy for this to go back into service now, but part 32 is letting the side down.

do you know how you got your part 32 out Ian? Was yours held in with a screw?

The end of the shaft looks to be slightly ballooned so I'm wondering if someone might have had a go at it before. I could file it round again then try a bearing puller??

The trunion nut has a slit in it and was a bit loose so I have closed this up to a much tighter fit using my vice.

I could put it all back together and use it as is, but whilst its in bits I'd really like to do a proper job on it.


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## mickthetree (17 Oct 2014)

Its free!!!






The offending article.

So now the trick is going to be getting it to fit again! I have contacted alt spares to see how much a replacement would be, but if its too much I'll have to reuse this one.

There head is slightly skewed on the shaft for some reason, although it seems like pretty soft metal so might not be too hard to correct.

The slot is fully open on this one unlike the trunion nut on the rise and fall mechanism. I have closed this one up in my vice so its a nice snug fit now. It was very sloppy before, probably caused by the force being applied as the nut did not pivot in its hole.


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## mickthetree (29 Jun 2015)

Hopefully Jo and Andrew still follow this thread...

It has taken me some time but I finally managed to get the arbor sorted on my saw, new bearings too, built some cross cutting and mitre sleds. Blade is almost perfectly aligned to the mitre slots and makes perfect 90 degree cuts.

But now I notice that when I tilt the blade to 45 degrees it kicks the blade out of alignment quite badly. The back of the blade kicks in by 4-5 mm. I see that the table insert has a couple of chips at the back left which show it to be an historical issue. When the motor is turned on it obviously pulls on the whole assembly and makes the blade hit the plate.

As long as the work piece can be cut solely by the front of the blade its not too bad, but its less than ideal!!

Does this ring any bells when you were setting yours up?


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## apreston (14 Jul 2015)

Hi Mick,
Slow reply because I couldn't think of anything to add other than "mine doesn't do that". And I couldn't suss it out from just the drawings in the manual. But I've got the top off my saw at the moment for some new bearings, so thought I'd see if I could help you out while I'm at it.

I have no such issue with my saw, and have been able to do some nice square mitres recently so I know my saw remains true even when tilted. Looking at the assembly, I can see 4 possible causes for this movement:

1. The Table is not securely fastened to the Apron. Sounds stupid, but this looks to be the place where I could get most play on mine if the bolts weren't tight. Looks like dowel 41 helps with this too (although I had not refitted these after my refurb job and everything seems fine even without them).
2. Shoes 37 & 51 are not tight in Segment 39, or there is bad wear in these parts.
3. Pivot Pin 34 (or the corresponding holes in Arms 36 & 82) is worn - I find it hard to imagine this could cause the 4-5mm deflection you are seeing.
4. Your damaged trunnion nut. At first, I thought this was unlikely to cause this problem, thinking it would only cause sloppiness in the tilt adjustment. My trunnion nut does not have a slot in it, and it is fixed to the arm with a hex head bolt and washer, just as shown in the manual. (So it looks like yours has been butchered in the past.) I notice that when I pull on the Saw Arm to simulate your deflection, the tilt Feed Screw 31 is securely anchored to the Tilt Arm by the Trunnion nut, and at the other end to the Apron by Tilt Shaft Bracket 6. So maybe this has some bracing effect and helps to keep the whole assembly rigid. 

I'll have the top off for a couple of days whilst waiting for new bearings, so if you'd like any more details or photos of a working unit just shout.

Regards,
Andrew (yes there are 2 Andrews on this thread!)

P.S. On re-reading this thread I noticed some questions about manuals. I found the exact manual for a 275 model on ALT Saws website (very nice people), and the component references I quoted are from there.


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## mickthetree (14 Jul 2015)

Thanks so much for the ideas Andrew. 

I have the original manuals and even the receipts from when the saw was first bought. If anyone needs a copy let me know.

I am coming to the conclusion that I'm going to strip it down again and see if I can fix it once and for all. I had forgotten all about that nut. I'll get my head inside and see what it does when I bevel he blade over.


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## mickthetree (15 Jul 2015)

Hi Andrew
I have re-read your response this morning with the manual in hand. Your suggestions seem very sound. 
First up I will check the fit of that trunnion nut. I havent checked it since closing it up in my vice.
I'm convinced it must be around those pivot pins. They seemed to be a good fit when I checked them last time, but I was unable to "twist" them in any way to take up any slack as had been suggested previously (or in another thread on here).
The whole thing seems very rigid with very little movement so I'm rather hoping something is just worn and can be replaced. Doesn't seem the sort of thing that you can just "give it a whack" to fix. 

Thanks again


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## Wuffles (17 Jan 2016)

Resurrecting this thread to ask for any help I can find on the way the fence connects to the saw. It all seems pretty hit and miss on the saw I picked up about a year ago.

Does anyone have any pictures/instructions on how this should be connected? It works as it is, just sometimes when I slide it, I hear metal scraping noises and it doesn't want to re-engage without me moving "some bits of metal about". 

Technical stuff.

Also, it's (the fence) not parallel to the blade until you tighten it, which makes delicate measuring operations difficult and a game of trial and error.


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## Wuffles (17 Jan 2016)

Actually, looking at pictures of other Startrite saws of the same model number, I see there appears to be no "standard" fence system. Therefore my request might be pointless without some pictures of my own for other users to compare with before giving advice.

Is it possible to change the fence/runners to a better type? I think mine must be from the "vague" school of woodworking. Some of the pictures I see have tapes laid out on them, that'd be cool.


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## mickthetree (18 Jan 2016)

Mine has a rack and pinion type affair which, when engaged, must be turned to move the fence. You can pull the handle towards you to disengage this and then the fence slides along smoothly. Just re-engage the handle to fine adjust then lock down. Very solid, secure and accurate fence.


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## Wuffles (18 Jan 2016)

'Scuse the mess, but this is what mine looks like. Would prefer the one that I have seen that runs on a tube and locks both ends. There's nothing wrong with the one I have, it's just a bit clunky - probably how I have it set up mind you as the saw came to me in a number of pieces.


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## apreston (19 Jan 2016)

Sorry, I can't help. Mine is the tube type, as per the instruction manual. I suspect yours is a custom arrangement, although it looks like it is in Startrite green paint. I suggest you search about Biesemeyer fences.


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## Wuffles (19 Jan 2016)

Right on, cheers.

Still hoping someone else has this arrangement and can tell me which bit of metal to poke where to get it to run smoothly


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## mickthetree (19 Jan 2016)

It looks like quite a robust fence though. I'd be keen to get that working if it were mine.

Is the green cast carriage riding directly on the square metal tubing? Maybe there should be some PTFE in there? either spray or thin strips? Does the whole affair lift off easily form the tubing? If so post some shots of the mechanism insides and it might help to diagnose the issue.

Is there a micro adjuster?


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## Wuffles (19 Jan 2016)

I'll take some more photos today and post them. I'm loathe to play with it too much as it works, and more importantly it remains parallel, just don't understand how it works.


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