Startrite 275 Table saw setup instructions

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[apreston]

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.

 

[flh801978]

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

 

[mickthetree]

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?

 

[flh801978]

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

 

[Shrubby]

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

 

[mickthetree]

Cheers guys. Wd40 and wire wool maybe?

 

[apreston]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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?

 

[apreston]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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

 

[Wuffles]

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.

 

[Wuffles]

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.

 

[mickthetree]

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.

 

[Wuffles]

'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.