Startrite 175

[Nizz]

Ok guys,

So I have had a Startrite 175 saw for a few years, it was given to me and has had some but not a lot of use since I have had it. I'm looking to use it more and want to get it working at its best.

I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone on here will be able to answer or at least point me in the right direction.

Firstly, how can I identify the age of my saw? The serial is 18901

I am also trying to remove play in the fence if possible, when locked in place it's fine but the far side moves around a bit before locked in.

Also with regards to the fence, does someone know the tread of the 2 front and 2 back bolts, I have seen another thread on here about this but not sure if it's been found. I have 2 of the 4 that the heads are pretty wrecked on and would like to replace. I'm pretty stuck in the metric world and haven't really any knowledge on imperial threads other than this is one!

The fence itself isn't perfectly flat - I'm guessing that's why some saws have the wooden fence attached, I'm looking into doing this.

Finally, do you guys have any thing I should do or check to make this saw run at its best, there seems to be a lot of knowledge on this forum on these saws.

Really appreciate any help you can send my way.

Cheers

 

[Myfordman]

Take a bolt out and measure it carefully and then look at tables of whitworth and BSF threads online It is exceptionally likely to be one of the two. 1"=25.4mm

 

[deema]

From memory.....caveat before I offer an opinion
The fence has a rod that runs through the centre of it. At the far end it is held by a dowel that has a thread in it that runs horizontally. If you look (usually) on the inside of the fence, closest to the blade you will see a small grub screw in the centre of the dowel. If it’s been taken out it might be on the other side ......or missing!. Slacken off the grub screw. The end of the roof will be poking out of the end of the hooked casting. You can now with a flat headed screw driver tighten up the rod which when the locking lever is applied generates more pressure on the hood stopping it moving around. Often the end of the rod is battered because people try to adjust it without releasing the grub screw!

I’d apply penetrating oil to both 24hrs before hand before trying. Equally 48 hours before that I would have dunked the end in a bath of diesel and the applied penetrating oil. Both of these help to get rid of the resin build up from saw dust and rust.

The 4 bolts you slacken, adjust the angle of the fence to the blade and then relighted. They must be good bolts and seated properly. They are usually 5/16” Whitworth x 1/2” .....but I’ve seen all sorts including redrilled and tapped holes.

 

[Nizz]

Thanks for getting back to me guys. The bolts arent too much of a problem, mainly cosmetic but the worn heads do make them tricky to adjust.

I had spotted the grub screw on the back edge of the fence and have adjusted the screw a bit and the fence definitely grips better. It does still have some play in it when not locked in which makes me question the accuracy of it.

Another question I had was about blade wobble. There is some blade wobble, noticeable when the saw is slowing down as the saw body can be felt rocking a bit.

I have noticed that the part that the blad locking pin goes through is broken and half is missing but wouldn't have thought this would be enough to throw the balance off.

I have looked at the arbour flanges and they are pretty clear of rubbish.

 

[Ttrees]

Hello
Guessing the adjustment for the locking finger is damaged as it is a similar case with mine.
If your fence is the same as on the 275 then beware that it dosen't move whilst in use.
I have mine set to tightly cramp down on the bar, and use the rack and pinion beforehand
( fence set advancing it to the left as to counter backlash )
Obviously I took it apart and seen no damage or anything strange,
Make sure its tight often, and it still lets go sometimes!

I noticed a big improvement with some fetting of the arbor flanges on my machine, but
It would be definitely worth checking for a bearing or belt issue first for arbor runout.
Checking for all things that can be adjusted before making altercations.
Have you got a good new blade for checking the blade wobble?

Tom

 

[deema]

The fence will have wobble when its not clamped, it’s just a fabricated section and is loose on the rails when not clamped. Properly adjusted it should be rock solid. The Wadkin AGS range (old version) had a very similar fence arrangement. Originally they would be set slightly angled away from the blade.

I would strongly suspect that the bearings are worn. Not a very difficult task to replace. When doing it replace the belts at the same time. They are relatively inexpensive and old belts have normally taken a set.

It could be the bearings in the motor, however, if your sure the blade is actually wobbling, and not an optical illusion due to the cabinet vibrating it won’t be the motor bearings. Again not a difficult thing to replace.