Aligning an AGS10

[deema]

I believe the machines were painted after they were assembled, rather than individual parts painted separately…..which is what we do when we restore them.

 

[vanders]

I believe that the expectation of what a table saw can do today compared to what they were designed originally to do is now different. (...) Having said that, a lot can be done to improve the accuracy of the saw.

Completely understand. I tend to fixate on the numbers, once I see them

The second is the tongue, as you have called it. Either a new one needs making that precisely fits the slot, or alternatively, a couple / three of holes drilled and tapped into the side and brass grub screws added that can be adjusted to take out the slop. All of the original Wadkin mitre fences are a ‘rattle’ fit in the slot.

I may put some grub screws on there later. At least now I know that the current state of the "tongue" is likely normal.

The fence to tongue alignment for 90 degrees can be adjusted / calibrated.

Is the process of doing that documented somewhere? It doesn't seem immediately obvious to me, looking at the parts.

I have the same miter. Measure the bar and I can measure mine and see if there is any difference. Also measure the miter slots at three different places (inch from front, dead middle, and inch from back) and I can re-measure mine to see if you have any wear in the slot. My saw was only used for a couple years and the paint in the miter slots was barely scuffed so they saw minimal to zero use. Mine isn't a tight fit to the slot, but it isn't terribly sloppy either.

The bar is ~19mm in the back, and ~18.98mm in the front (it looks to be slightly tapered?). My digital caliper is pretty cheap, thus the approximates!
The left miter slot is ~19.5mm at all three spots. The sides seem pretty straight, when I check with my 36" straight edge.
The right miter slot is the same. Maybe a tiny bit more 19.5mm in all three spots. The sides seem similarly straight.
Both miter slots appear to have a bit of rise in them, between maybe 5-6" from either end.

The "head" of the miter fence was a bit of a mess on mine as well. The machining of the bottom was pretty rubbish to be honest, so I lapped it until it was contacting the table flat over most of its underside. Once I did that the face turned out to actually be square to the base which it wasn't before, so while tedious it was a worthwhile effort. I then lapped the front face to make sure that was flat as well. I also tested the 90 degree pre-set on the fence and it seems to be either dead on or nearly so as well. You should be able to at least align the front face of the miter to the miter slot with a machinist's square to take that issue out of your testing. Once you do that any ugliness should be somewhere else in the arbor/trunion mechanism.

This confirms the approach I was thinking of taking myself. I may attempt it.

PS: I couldn't fathom why on earth they would have painted the miter slots, so I just stripped the paint out of them a week ago... turns out there were some filled voids in the casting that they filled with some white stuff which I can't figure out what it is and then painted the slots themselves. I've seen other saws from this era the same way so I guess it was something they just did, but still seems odd to me...

I have absolutely no paint in my miter slots

Thanks to @deema (and the Royal Mail), I now have the "proper" grib in my saw, and it sure made a difference!
I only quickly mounted it today, and tweaked the tension on the screws a bit, but even with that fairly low effort, I'm measuring only +/-0.02mm at various different blade angles and heights. The rise and fall action is smooth, and I think this is as good as I'm going to get it for now.

 

[KT_NorCal]

Thanks to @deema (and the Royal Mail), I now have the "proper" grib in my saw, and it sure made a difference!
I only quickly mounted it today, and tweaked the tension on the screws a bit, but even with that fairly low effort, I'm measuring only +/-0.02mm at various different blade angles and heights. The rise and fall action is smooth, and I think this is as good as I'm going to get it for now.

View attachment 135552

I'll measure everything on my table this weekend and let you know what I find.

I assume this Gib casting just bolted right into the holes that were there correct?

I definitely need to find one of those as well if it did... if anyone has a spare lying around the shop somewhere definitely reach out!

 

[vanders]

I'll measure everything on my table this weekend and let you know what I find.

I assume this Gib casting just bolted right into the holes that were there correct?

I definitely need to find one of those as well if it did... if anyone has a spare lying around the shop somewhere definitely reach out!

Yes, it went on perfectly, without any modifications or issues.

 

[vanders]

Continuing on the alignment journey: I have now taken the spindle apart in order to replace the bearings, and make sure I can lower this thing without the spindle hitting the trunnion bracket.

When reading the big thread again, I am a bit confused about the usage of shim washers. Is this related to positioning the spindle in the housing so that it clears the trunnion bracket, or only so that the bearings are covered by the housing?

I put everything in a little stack next to the housing, and it looks like everything would "fit"?

The manual lists 6203-2RS as the part number for the bearings, and the new ones I bought are also 6203-2RS (although not S.K.F. brand). Do I need to shim these?

Just want to make sure whether or not there's anything else I need to consider before putting this back together. What's the process for aligning the spindle later, so that ultimately the blade can be lowered fully below the table top?

As always, I appreciate any information and help!