# The Coolidge Chronicles



## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*

After some research and helpful suggestions from Lumberjocks members I purchased a new Grizzly G0490 8" jointer and a Byrd Shelix cutter head from Grizzly. Below I chronicle the assembly and installation of the new cutter head.

In this first pic I have unbolted the motor from its shipping location and mounted it onto the motor bracket inside the cabinet. I also installed the dust collector outlet and mobile base lift wheel. I got the beast up on the stand with the Kubota tractor, its not a one man job without a hoist or method of lifting it.

*Issue #1* - Hand space is cramped around dust collector sheet metal when installing the 8 bolts to hold the jointer to the stand. Plus you can only get about a 1/8 turn on some of them with an Allen wrench. Ideally I would have used a long 12" extension and a Allen head socket wrench for this job but I made due with a long flat tipped screw driver to get the bolts turned in snug then a short Allen wrench and suffered through the 1/8 turns.










Here I have removed the straight knife cutter head, I backed off the table stops and lowered both tables as far as they would go. The 4 bolts securing the cutter head were not very tight, in fact I have found a number of fasteners that were not very tight so I'll be checking them all as I go. The cutter head came right out with no issues.










Here is my victory picture, the bearings and these cast iron blocks have been successfully removed from the old straight knife cutter head and installed on the new Byrd Shelix cutter head. It was not without drama however.










*Issue #2* - Pay no attention to the instructions, you can't tap these bearings off the old straight knife cutter head with a dead blow hammer and block of wood and in trying you are more apt to damage something. I ran into the same issue on my old Grizzly planer when swapping in a Byrd Shelix cutter head, you need a hydraulic press.

I removed the left green cast iron bearing block easily, the fit is snug. I get the feeling if I cleaned the green paint off the inside of the block it would be too loose. A few taps with a small dead blow hammer and it was removed, leaving the bearing still firmly attached to the shaft.

The right green cast iron block must come off together with the bearing, the bearing is secured in the block with a snap ring facing the cutter head which is inaccessible.

A trip to Harbor Freight and I'm now the proud owner of a 12 ton hydraulic press. I used some scrap lumber to make a box for the cutter head (4 sides and a bottom nothing fancy) so it would stand up straight on the hydraulic press and drop onto the block of wood as I pressed the bearings off. First up was the right hand cast iron block and bearing, it went BANG!! when it let loose, no way it was going to be hammered off as per the instructions.

*Issue #3* - There is not much room behind the left bearing to get old of it. Maybe they make a gear/bearing puller that's small enough I don't know but you have to get under the inside bearing race and apply force there so you don't damage the bearing by pulling on the outer race. There's only about 3/16" of space. I happened to have 2 thin box end wrenches that were about 3/16" inch thick, I sandwiched the bearing between them and used the press to drive the shaft out and pop the bearing off. The press had bent the wrenches significantly before it cut loose with a BANG!! that's how tight it was on there. If you are replacing the bearings and not worried about damaging them its no big deal if you pry on the outer bearing race with a puller.










Re-installing the bearings was straight forward. I applied anti-seize in case I need to replace the bearings at some point. I used a socket wrench socket to press the left bearing on. The right bearing is both a larger diameter than the left and you have to clear a few inches of the shaft, I didn't have a socket that large or deep so I used a piece of 3.5" long black iron pipe filed flat on one end. Again you just want to apply force to the inner bearing race.

*Next* I will re-install the cutter head and dial it in parallel with the outfeed table. This should be interesting, the instructions say the cutter head may have been shimmed at the factory, I don't see any shims but I do see lots of globs of green paint and since the cutter head bolts were not very tight when the surfaces are cleaned and bolted down proper who knows what will be needed in the way of shimming. Also the instructions suggest using newspaper to shim, I'll be using proper shim material from McMaster Carr.

*Round 2*

Here's the front bearing block, note the proper sized shoulder pad for the socket head cap screws which will not be the case for the rear bearing block in the next pic. Also note the holes drilled in the Byrd Shelix cutter head, apparently these are part of a balancing process, one of the carbide inserts near a drilled hole on mine is chipped and will have to be turned before use.










Here's the rear bearing block, note that its been drilled three times leaving very little shoulder for the socket head cap screw to grip. I dub this shoddy work on Grizzly's part. One of the lock washers was missing anyway so while I'm had the hardware store tomorrow I'll take my digital calipers and see if I can find a wider washer that will fit.










Here is a pic of the rear bearing block base, not exactly precision work here and there is only a narrow bit of shoulder left/right for the block to rest on. Keep in mind the corners of the bearing block are chamfered so the actual contact area is small. This base should be flat not stepped like that imo. With the gooped on paint my guess is they just bolt it down and adjust the tables to fit, why even bother to shim here per the instructions with these surfaces to work with, I don't see how they shoot for +- .004.










*Next* I'm off to the hardware store tomorrow.

*Update 11/1/2013*

In this round I installed the Byrd Shelix cutter head, cleaned off the shipping grease, then got out the measuring tools and dialed in this beast.

*Cutter Head* - I adjusted the outfeed table to spot on with the front of the cutter head and the rear of the cutter head measured .004 low. The instructions say leave it alone up to .004 but shim if its .005, I decided to shim it and got the cutter head to slightly less than .001 front to rear with the outfeed table and called that good!

*Infeed table* - The infeed table was spot on at the rear but .008 high at the front so I had to remove the set screws and adjust the eccentric bushings. The manual make it sound like this is some big scary procedure when in fact it was quite easy. Infeed/outfeed tables are now 0 to less than .001.










Now for the not so good. I peeled the paper off the tables, wiped off the grease and found these gouges in the outfeed table, they were raised up above the surface so I had to grind them down flush.










I also found this, it looks like the factory tried to fix something.










These warts are a bit disappointing but given the lower cost of the jointer I won't sweat them, they don't effect the usage of the tool and I'm pretty happy with how flat these bit tables are and how close I was able to dial them in.

With all that nice cast iron cleaned of grease and rain about to start I applied a good coat of BoeShield to the tables to protect them and called it a night.


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## Bigrock (Apr 16, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> After some research and helpful suggestions from Lumberjocks members I purchased a new Grizzly G0490 8" jointer and a Byrd Shelix cutter head from Grizzly. Below I chronicle the assembly and installation of the new cutter head.
> 
> ...


Hi:
Once you get it up and running you will love it. The Byrd head are great. Be careful and patient.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> After some research and helpful suggestions from Lumberjocks members I purchased a new Grizzly G0490 8" jointer and a Byrd Shelix cutter head from Grizzly. Below I chronicle the assembly and installation of the new cutter head.
> 
> ...


Very nice write up! Bummer when things don't go smooth but glad you get it worked out in the end.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*

I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,

Grizzly G0448 *$1,495*

Shop Fox W1743 *$995*

Powermatic 719T *$1,275*

I'm currently undecided after the first round of research. There are not a lot of reviews out there for any of these machines. Each has its pro's and con's.

Shop Fox vs Grizzly - The Shop Fox is the price winner, currently its on sale for $50 off and its a whopping $500 less than the Grizzly. Much of the two machines is 'exactly' the same, same motor same HP same fence, table, dimensions, table travels, etc. all the same. Where there are some minor differences these seem to be an upgrade on the Shop Fox so why is the Grizzly $500 more? I found the answer in the PDF manuals.

The Grizzly is advertised as "heavy duty" and while these machines appear exact clones from the front they are in fact significantly different from the side and back. The Grizzly has an extended base to the rear and the column mounts to the base entirely different from the Shop Fox. The Grizzly does appear more heavy duty, but is the added beef needed and is it worth another $500 that's the question.

Here you can see the extended rear base on the Grizzly.










Here is the Shop Fox, the column floats in thin air.










Here's a detail shot of the Grizzly










So advantage Grizzly as far as rigidity and stability go. Not sure its $500 worth but I tend to work hardwoods so its a consideration. The Grizzly also support a slightly larger mortise vs the Shop Fox.

Now the Powermatic, this machine is an entirely different beast. The Grizzly/Shop Fox columns tilt which can be problematic. That's a lot of weight if you throw it over 30 degrees you best have the machine bolted to the floor and even then it seems to me it would be awkward to operate when titled. I also question the stability even with bolting it to the floor when tilted to the right. Plus I'm not too crazy about drilling holes into my brand new concrete garage floor.

The Powermatic on the other hand has a stationary column that never moves. I like that, trying to dial in one of these tilting columns can be a real pain even with a stop, just tightening up the bolts can pull it off square a few degrees so naturally once you get it set then you tend to avoid the tilt feature altogether so as not to have to dial it back in square again. The Powermatic has a tilting table, I like that you always pull the handle straight down no matter the angle. From the look of the machine I think the table would be solid enough when flat, I am less confident it how rigid it would be with the table tilted and just those thin steel arms holding it up. Advantage Grizzly/Shop Fox for iron rigidity. If its not rock solid stable when tilted then its probably a useless feature imo.

Several pro's and cons with the Powermatic, the column itself is much smaller than the Grizzly or Shop Fox, But the way it bolts down its probably as rigid or more so than the Grizzly. The Powermatic table however is significantly smaller, 7 inches deep vs 12 inches for the Grizzly and Shop Fox and far less rigid. Oddly there is more table travel on the Powermatic, 4 inches of front/rear travel and 15 inches of side to side travel vs only 3 inches of front/rear travel and 14 inches of side to side travel on the Grizzly and Shop Fox. I'm more concerned with the 3 inches of travel, if I put my machinist hat on that seems limited but I suppose for woodworking its not a big deal.

Finally the Powermatic is 1HP vs 1.5 HP for the Grizzly and Shop Fox. The front clamp on the Powermatic seems to just clamp horizontally to the fence where the Grizzly and Shop Fox clamps hold the work piece both against the fence and down onto the table. The Powermatic base and cabinet is quite a bit smaller and there are no tangs to bolt it down to the floor or a mobile base.

*Summary* - So its a mixed bag, the Grizzly is the heaviest, most rigid, with the largest capacity. The Shop Fox is the least expensive. The Powermatic has a rigid column, no tip over issues as it has a tilt table vs a tilt column, I'd say is the lightest duty though.

Comments/suggestions?










*FINAL!*

*Shop Fox W1743 *WINNER!! Is the Shop Fox as heavy duty as the Grizzly, that was the question. Up to its rated 1" chisel I could make a case that perhaps it is, see the Grizzly notes below. The Grizzly is rated to a 1.5" chisel, okay but am I really going to use the Grizzly with a 1.5" chisel or would I use a much heavier knee style mortising machine? Never mind I have been all over the internet shopping chisels and couldn't even find one larger than 1". The Shop Fox which is on sale is $500 less than the Grizzly and $280 less than the Powermatic. With savings like that I could buy 7 premium made in Japan chisels for $311.

On a side note the Shop Fox manual lists the table cross travel at 5", in the pictures it appears that it will travel about that amount though chisel to fence is about the 3" maximum noted in the specs sheet. The added travel would let you move the table out towards the operator I'm guessing for loading stock.

*Grizzly G0448 *- I was having a tough time choking down the $500 premium for the Grizzly over the Shop Fox since so much of the machine was exactly the same. If anything the Shop Fox is appointed a bit nicer. With a set of chisels $311 shipping $99 lift gate $35 and sales tax the Grizzly package was nearly $2,100.

At first glance the Grizzly has more iron beef but in studying the schematic further I noticed there are only 2 bolts holding the column in place vs 3 bolts for the Shop Fox. The Grizzy just has a pin at the bottom, I would have preferred a bolt there since that's where it will pivot under load. That took the wind out of my argument to pay more for more rigidity. As I mentioned above the added chisel capacity is probably not in play, that left only the longer base and that's not worth $500 to me.

*Powermatic 719T *- I tried to like this machine for several days but the fact is, its smaller in most every way. I also didn't like the way the table tilted on those two thin strips of steel, if that had been beefier I may have taken a longer look at the machine. It didn't help that when I recently researched the Powermatic jointer and found I really wasn't getting more for the huge premium in price I would be paying.

So there you have it, I checked with Grizzly and they have both the Shop Fox and chisels in stock ready to ship so I'll place my order tomorrow!


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


Check Baileigh woodworking out. 1hp, 267lbs and on sale for 675.00. They have tilting table version for 875.00 and it weighs 350lbs.


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


The horsepower won't matter at all on a mortising machine. All that's doing is spinning a drill bit. You supply all the downward force.

1HP is plenty. I wouldn't choose one or the other for horsepower. Choose based on how easy or difficult it is to clamp, release, and move the workpiece, since that's what you do most often with those things. Picture creating a 3/8" by 1" mortise. You plunge at one end then need to move the piece to the side several times to finish the cut. Check out the ergonomics of how that happens - that's the most important factor in choosing.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


The Baileigh MC-1000TT has some interesting features the other machines don't have. I like the front/rear tilting table. I like the hold down cam clamps. I like that the tilting column is on a gear vs the others are not. However I just spoke with Baileigh and the things I don't like are the plastic parts. The hand wheels are plastic. It looks like the end stops are plastic. Replace the plastic with metal and I might have pulled the trigger on this on the spot. Its also made in China vs the others are made in Taiwan, I'm not saying anything against the Baileigh specifically and its priced appropriately for its origin but 'typically' Taiwan quality is better than the China quality. So its in the running but would be a leap of faith since there is next to no information on this tool on the web.


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## Bigrock (Apr 16, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


Hi:
I have used several different Mortise machines both bench top and stationary over the years. I also build a lot of Craftsman style furniture, and just completed a Bow Arm Morris Chair & Foot Stool with 70 plus mortises. .If I was going to buy one today it would be the Powermatic stationary mortise machine.
Good luck on your choice.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


That's good feedback Bigrock, can you tell me your top 2-3 reasons why you would go with the Powermatic and what mortise machine you are currently using?


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## Bigrock (Apr 16, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


Hi:
I like the weight of that machine. The weight helps make it stable on 1/2" mortise cuts. I am not sure but I think you can do 3/4" Mortises with this machine.
I like how well it moves left and right.
It is very easy to adjust height and depth of cut. 
The ways of the machine stay straight.
The work piece clamp is large and you can add a secondary piece of wood to make the clamp longer or wider. 
I like the working height of the machine. 
Currently I have to use a bench top machine because of space, but a good friend two blocks away has Powermatic stationary which I use most of the time. When I get a little more space that is what I will buy.
For me I would stay away from a Shop Fox. I don't think they have got there quality up to very high standards.
I don't know anything about the Baileigh machine.
I hope that helps.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Which Mortising Machine? - Grizzly G0448, Shop Fox W1743, Powermatic 719T*
> 
> I still have a jointer and band saw to assemble so naturally I'm already on the hunt for yet another machine lol. I like Mission, Shaker, Craftsman style furniture so I'm gearing up for square mortise and tenon work. I already have the Grizzly tenoning table saw jig so next up is a mortising machine and I have it narrowed down to these three,
> 
> ...


deleted


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*

*PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.

*Extension Table* - In the pic below you can clearly see the extension table is not flat, there's more. First I had noticed earlier in the assembly the far end of this extension table which was installed at the factory was sticking way up in the air about 1/16 above the outfeed table. The reason is they located the bolt holes so poorly in the this extension table it could not be adjusted flush with the infeed table so they bolted it on uphill towards the outfeed table which 'looked' okay and fooled the QC guys. I had to drill out the front hole of the infeed table to 3/8 and add a washer to the bolt to have enough adjustment to get it flat. Then as you see in the picture it was uphill to the left.










In this pic I have shimmed the extension table .003 on top and it bolted up flat.










Here's a pic to look over while I dispense some assembly tips. See those white horizontal motor mounts in the cabinet, they allow you to adjust up and down for belt tension. The motor slides in/out on these runners to adjust upper to lower pulley alignment. Loosen one or the other but not both at the same time or everything will get out of whack. With the runner bolts loose for adjusting belt tension keep the motor bolts tight to keep everything square and vise versa when adjusting the motor in/out for upper to lower pulley alignment keep the runner bolts tight. I also recommend you adjust those runners parallel with each other and the cabinet as a first step before mounting the motor, from then on out so long as you keep either the motor bolts or the runner bolts tight it will stay aligned square. Finally see the bottle jack holding up the back of the motor, that made the job much easier.










A small gripe here, the infeed table stop for max depth of cut is utterly useless imo because its not long enough. Here I have adjusted it to its maximum and the depth of cut is still about 3/8 of an inch (see steel ruler on the outfeed table in the pic). Since the maximum recommended depth of cut is 1/8 I had planned to adjust the table so that it could not be adjusted lower than 1/8 as I have no plans to use the jointer for rabbiting. What would another 1/2 inch of bolt cost? Oddly the outfeed table can be adjusted so that the outfeed table won't even move e.g. 0 depth of cut. My guess is they just didn't want to make one bolt longer than the other three. I'll pick up an longer bolt I guess.










Here's the depth of cut pointer, it was .032 off, the instructions say loosen the screw and adjust it but you can't because they also drilled a hole and pinned it in place. To be fair installation of Byrd Shelix cutter head probably threw this off in the first place. I simply removed the pin, adjusted and tightened the pointer screw as best as I could. Its possible to bump the pointer out of alignment but I'm really not worried about it.










Small gripe here, there's no flat on these knob shafts for a wrench and the black knob just spins if you turn it. The threads were sloppy loose and the handle wouldn't stay tight so I dabbed some locktite on it and carefully snugged it with some channel lock pliers.










Assembly tips, first you don't need to install this fence base when the instructions say to do so. Wait, install the motor pulleys, align and set the belt tension first with this hunk of iron out of your way. Then later when you install it you will find its quite heavy and when resting on the bolts its too low and will bump into the infeed/outfeed tables. I raised it up and let it rest on a couple 3/8 drill bits which proved to be the perfect height for mounting this thing.










Arrgh the blade guard did not have enough spring tension to spring back to the fence, it kind of sat there about half way across the table. I installed it and tightened the set screw, then loosened the top bolt and carefully turned the top clockwise with some channel lock pliers increasing the spring tension, it doesn't take much to go from not enough to just right maybe 15 degrees. Also if you look closely the blade guard rubs on the extension table, I had to file the extension table for proper clearance.










Okay 240 volt electrical cord and razar sharp shards of metal don't go together (see metal shards on the bottom of the square tube in the pic). They hacked this metal tube with a saw and never bothered to de-burr it. I filed off all the sharp edges both inside and outside and was good to go.










Here's the front of the fence square to the table










Here's the rear of the fence not square to the table, its possible it needs a shim somewhere I'll have to investigate this further.










And here she is fully assembled! Quite an enjoyable build really. While I took the time to document all the warts and issues it was only to help the next person who assembles one of these not to criticize. For $995 its a hell of a lot of machine and I was quite impressed with it overall for that price point. Sure it would be nice if it didn't have any issues but then I spent $49,000 on my truck and the rear diff started puking oil at 15k miles.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


Looks just like my DJ-20. They are great jointers, I think you will really enjoy it.
Question about the fence being out of square…
Is the fence itself not flat, or is it just a table corner adjustment that is causing it to be out of square?
That's one great thing about parallelogram jointers, you usually don't need to shim to get things flat and straight.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


Not sure yet on the fence, could be the fence is twisted, the fence tilting mechanism needs adjustment or shimming, or the outfeed table isn't flat. I doubt its the outfeed table I have a precision 24" Starrett ruler and it seems perfectly flat. There are a lot of parts to the fence tilting mechanism my money is on that needing a nudge somewhere.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


I'm definitely jealous. I should have when with this model instead of the G0656. Its what I get for trying to save a couple hundred. I'll never learn it doesn't pay. Shimming its a pain. Fortunately, it hasn't seemed to go out of square yet.

Congrats on a nice machine!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


Thanks clafollett, go see my new post in the forums on the Grizzly 12" table saw I'm thinking of buying. Appreciate any comments you might have.


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## bowedcurly (Aug 31, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


the blade guard is easy to adjust just loosen the set screw pull it back then retightend the screw I had to put tape on mine it hit the fence so hard, have a good day


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Assembling Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Byrd Shelix Cutter Head*
> 
> *PART 2* - In part 2 I complete assembly of the Grizzly G0490 jointer, there were a number of issues to overcome but no show stoppers, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


As of the day of this posting, I turned my G0490X on for the first time. Thanks is, in part, due to this posting. So, thanks darthforth. I didn't note the simple adjustment for the guard pressure (lack thereof) in the manual. It took just a minute or two to up the spring tension, after installing the guard, then loosening the Allen screw.

I made an eight hour round trip to Bellingham to pick this up. I was mulling the complications of unloading and assembling an over five hundred pound toy all the way home. I lucked out.

I eased the base out of the truck and removed it from the box. Then I knocked the sides off the crate, after which I was able to lift and push the end of the jointer to tilt it. Without too much effort, I was able to walk it off the crate base.

After removing the debris from the jointer crate, I installed the lift wheel on the base. I then moved it over to the pickup and noted it was only 1/2" lower than the bed of the truck [and the jointer bottom].

I put some of the crate foam on the base, to avoiding scratches, and pulled the jointer straight back onto the foam on the base. Just before the jointer dropped the 1/2", I put more foam under the jointer at the tailgate. Then I pulled it back a couple more inches. It came off smoothly.

Clearly, key to avoiding straps, pulleys and lifting more than seventy or so pounds is, you need a 2003 Ford Ranger, with two wheel drive.

The rest of the assembly went smooth. The unit rolls nicely. In fact, the hardest part of the project was moving the Powermatic P50 out into the garage.

The unit plugged into an existing 220 outlet and ran quietly and smoothly. A test with a couple of 2" thick chunks of wood gave me invisible joints. That was after minimal alignments.

Somewhere someone complained about the switch being made of plastic. For that reason, I was worried about how flimsy its base might be. As it turns out, it's mounted on a solid iron tube and very rigid.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514 X2B w/ Motor Brake*

Here in part 1 I finally get my tool stand issue sorted out. I had previously determined the Shop Fox super heavy duty mobile base I purchased was way to tippy and sloppy for this saw. The sum of the slop in the mobile base wheels and pads, flex in the stand under the weight, not having the saw bolted down, etc. was not acceptable and I hadn't even put the cast iron table on yet. It was not going to tip over I just don't like my tools moving, period.

Click here to view this saw on Grizzly's site

After much thought I ruled out casters altogether which sucked because I had found some really cool cast iron hub/urethane casters…I will find a reason to buy them later ahaha!

So in the first picture you can see I decided to bolt the saw down to a maple base fitted with low profile machine pads. For a 24×36 inch piece of maple bench top local stores wanted a staggering $269…I don't know what they are drinking 190 proof Everclear maybe. Fortunately I found the same 24×36 inch top at Grizzly for $77 plus four 3" machine pads good to 1,600 pounds.










Here you can see the slope in my garage floor, the rear pads are all the way up the front pads are all the way down. That's in only 36 inches, apparently the building code police are afraid some water might puddle on the floor geesh!










Here I have completed the layout and drilled both the leveling pad holes 7/16" and lag bolt pilot holes 1/4" for the saw. I spent quite a bit of time laying out the pilot holes because I had just one try to get it right. I later drilled out the pilot holes to 5/16" as I felt the lag bolts were too tight going in, 5/16" turned out to be perfect for the 3/8" lag bolts.










Here's the Grizzly machine pad rated at 1,600 pounds. This was overkill on weight but not on size, I wanted a fairly wide 3" pad. I sourced leveling pads all over the place and these were an excellent value. I did replace the factory threaded rods as they were too short for the maple base. I also went with thinner jam nuts to keep it as low profile as possible. I used blue locktite on both.










Here's the hard rubber bottom.










Here I used threaded inserts on the bottom hence the larger 7/16" hole for these.










Here it is installed










Finally another trip to Harbor Freight for a chain hoist to lift this tall beast. Tomorrow I'll open up the box of goodies and continue assembly.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514 X2b Arrrgh!*

Houston we have a problem…did I check this table for flatness before installing it? I honestly can't remember.

*UPDATE:* Houston disregard previous transmission. Okay I decided to go loosen the trunnion bolts just now to see if that made any difference, nada no change. So I took the feeler gauges to get some accurate measurements of the gaps…they seemed less than I originally thought. So I removed the alignment pin and presto the gaps increased. I was surprised that even the low spots at the rear of the table moved…okay interesting. So I put the pin back in and set my Starrett 24" rule on the table as I tapped in the pin, I could watch the gaps to the rear of the miter slot get smaller then vanish, cool I thought, then I moved the rule in front of the miter slot, the crown had vanished but a cup had formed. So I backed out the pin and tried again. Long story short I found a sweet spot that should work. The gaps in the rear of the table are less than .0015 as that feeler gauge was a no go. The rest of the gaps at various points on the table now vary from .0015 go .002 no go, .002 go .003 no go and one .003 go .004 no go so the largest gap is now .003 which I think is fine.

Who knew that alignment pin was so touchy and could tweak the rear of this big thick table even, lesson learned.










Here I had applied some Boeshield to the bottom to prevent rust.










*UPDATE:* This issue has been resolved, see above update.

Yes I installed the table, the fence, the stop bolt, the tilt mechanism, had the fence aligned to less than .001 then put my Starrett 24" rule across it and found this…that's at the back of the table. The table is crowned (low on both sides) and it gets worse towards the front. The split area of the table is a hopeless cause, even with the alignment pin tapped in pretty solid the right side is still considerably higher than the left. Your talking .020 to .025. So I'll give Grizzly a call tomorrow. I am going to loosen the trunnion bolts to make sure bolting it down didn't pull it out of whack.










Continuing on…this first pic is the factory screw for bolting on the table tilt sliding plate. The paper instructions say its a hex bolt, the on-line instructions say its a M6 10mm cap screw, its actually a M6 12mm cap screw and its still too short. No way I trust 4 threads in cast iron, especially since Grizzly seems to tap them on the loose side. In the second picture I picked up some M6 16mm screws and used those instead. M6 20mm are too long by the way, the hole is deep enough but they don't tap it all the way down.



















Here is the underside of the fence, there are two set screws to take the slop out of the fence/rail when the handle is released and you are re-positioning it. One is secured with a nut (the fence pointer attaches here with another nut) the other is a really sloppy loose fit in the threads, this set screw has my vote for the part most likely to fall off the saw so I applied some blue locktite. The fence rail is a few thousandths under 1", I used my digital caliper to adjust these set screws to .998 and that was a good fit. Just loose enough that the fence moves smoothly without hanging up.










Here's a shot of this fence, its really nice. That 1" square rail is solid metal and highly polished chrome. Grizzly has so many models priced so closely together you really have to look for these different bits, in this case the fence difference between the G0514X2B vs the slightly less expensive G0514X2. The X2 has a "*deluxe fence*" vs the X2B which has a "*heavy duty fence*". The heavy duty fence is the one they offer on the bigger 21", 24" saws, and the $2,400-$3,100 ultimate saws.










X2 fence










X2B fence










That's it for part 2, I should be able to finish up this assembly in part 3 and move on to assembly of the Shop Fox mortiser which is still sitting in its crate.

*Update 11/18/2013* - well I'm still waiting on parts for both the bandsaw and mortiser…and the 12" table saw is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow lol. I did test fit some 4" dust collector hose and a Y adapter to the bandsaw. I have decided I want this to be rigid so now I'll pick up the rigid fittings. I did get the 20 amp 220 breaker and outlet installed, wired up a 12 gauge 20' extension cord and fired up the saw, ran fine and fairly quiet, it stops FAST! Power push buttons feel cheesy to me though, I'm half tempted to replace them with industrial quality.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514 X2b Arrrgh!*
> 
> Houston we have a problem…did I check this table for flatness before installing it? I honestly can't remember.
> 
> ...


Glad to see you were able to get the table to your liking. That would have drove me nuts too.

Hopefully the operation of it is acceptable. Let us know how it cuts when you can.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*

Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .

Here I unboxed the fence and compared it to the PM. The major points, both fences use the same 2" x 3" steel tube. The Grizzly fence is longer and has end support to ride on the rear fence rail. The Grizzly has aluminum fence guides vs polyethylene on the PM, I think I prefer polyethylene and will likely apply a thin skin of this to the Grizzly fence. Polyethylene is very slippery, nearly as slippery as Teflon and is virtually indestructible. I don't worry at all about moving the PM fence around but I'm already skittish about scratching something with the Grizzly fence or damaging it. That said polyethylene isn't exactly a precision manufactured product it has to be machined flat. Trivia…I once purchased a 4×8 foot sheet of 1" thick polyethylene…it weighed several hundred pounds.










Here's a close up of the PM fence bottom, it has small friction pads of an unknown substance and not much spring it seems pretty much welded in place. Also the top rail plastic buttons wear very fast due to the course grind on the fence rail.










I think the Grizzly has the advantage here, these are polyethylene friction pads and much larger, also this piece is freely sprung and looks replaceable with a couple of screws.










Here's an angle shot of the PM fence bottom, note how the tube bottom is open near the clamp to allow access to that fence bolt, this area is welded shut on the Grizzly so I say advantage Grizzly on strength here.










Here's the Grizzly










Here's a final shot of the top of the fences, the Grizzly is several inches longer. I think the PM has a nicer locking handle though the Grizzly is no slouch. The Grizzly has 2 magnifying viewers for the win over the PM's one.










Here are the Grizzly fence rails, they are the same size/thickness as the PM. Grizzly says these are epoxy coated vs painted I like that. I say Grizzly wins here if for no other reason than they are black and that's bad ass!










Okay its time to uncrate this thing, I was concerned about these two cross braces rubbing on the table top during shipping. One did rub on the plastic but its a very thick plastic bag with another layer of plastic covering the table and there was no damage to the table at all.










Dang this thing is BIG! Note how the table wing looks different, its not ground and polished as well as the table, I would say the Grizzly table wing finish is on par with the Powermatic table.










That's not a rust spot, that's a yellow sticker on my garage door reflecting on the table surface! Sorry $3,000 Powermatic the $2,195 Grizzly has you beat bad on table surface quality. That was one disappointment with the PM I was not at all impressed with the quality of the table surface.










Here's a close up, that's curious how they machined away part of the throat plate, the fit and finish thus far is very nice I'm quite happy with what I see.










Here's a shot of the front, even the sides of these tables are machined flat and smooth. Every saw I have owned before has had some course grind don't give a crap finish on the sides of the table. Well that's as far as I got tonight folks.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


I'm definitely jealous. I would be over the moon with the PM, but I have to admit that at 30% less the Grizzly would surely be my choice too and maybe even at the same price. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


What a great saw. I am super jealous. Please post a video when you are done so we can see it cut something…..and drool


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## SFDCapt (Sep 28, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


definately interested in hearing/seeing more about this saw. Keep us posted and enjoy!


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


I'm awaiting your further reviews on this beast. I may be looking for a new table saw to replace my Porter Cable Lowes special (aka Hitachi C10FL). I need more power and am curious to see how much wood your 5hp Grizzly will consume!

You know Tim Allen would say you should have gotten the G0697X 13" 7.5 HP model. You can never have enough power! lol


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


Hey clafollett where you been man. I got distracted today with a trip to the hardwood store, picked up some 5/4 oak for a project and a sheet of 1" 5'x5' birch ply. Beast assembly to begin in 30 minutes.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


I've been around here and there. Been working on a monitor stand for my wife on the weekends and my project at work has been working after hours so free time has been limited.

One of our macaws decided to land on my wife's nice 27" Samsung LED monitor and bite down on the screen. This killed off a 1 1/2" wide horizontal and vertical band on the screen. I vowed not to let that happen again so I've designed an enclosed monitor stand I'm making out of Maple ambrosia for the frame and aromatic cedar for the side and back panels. Hopefully I can get it wrapped up in the next couple of weekends. I'll post up some pics when I do.

I've been watching your Coolidge Chronicles though. You look like you're getting close to getting out of the tech industry! lol I love all your new tools and that damned table saw is a beast!

I'm looking forward to reading how she performs.

Later…


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> Well the 12" 5HP beast arrived today…and still the UPS freight driver mocked me for not having a lathe geesh. Out of respect before I got going on my saw I first gave my brothers Powermatic PM2000 I have been using a good cleaning and a fresh coat of Boeshield .
> 
> ...


Aromatic ceder, love that stuff they had a nice stack of it at the hardwood store earlier today. Yeah post some pics I'd be interested.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*

With the new table saw uncrated I returned my attention to assembly of the mutant mortiser before starting on that beast.

Yes mutant, here's the Shop Fox W1743 pic in the manual, the pic on Grizzly's website matches this. Note the short base vs the Grizzly below. Also note how the column mounts, there's a center hub it rides on with a bolt left and right to tighten the column into position. This design has been around for a long time for tilting head machines.










Here's the Grizzly G0448 mortiser, note the long base and different column, see how it mounts to the two L shaped brackets bolted to the base, completely different from above. Not only was the Grizzly $500 more expensive than the Shop Fox (which will make no sense to you in the next paragraph) but I decided it was a poor design. They only used 1 bolt (P see pic) in the front and 1 bolt in the rear to lock the column in place, I felt that was not sufficient, turns out I was right, keep reading.










Now here's the actual Shop Fox machine I received, its nearly identical to the Grizzly above which costs $500 more. Long base, same L shaped brackets, besides some cosmetic upgrades on the Shop Fox the machines are nearly identical so I'm not getting the $500 premium for the Grizzly. But wait you say, didn't I just say I didn't like the Grizzly design? Yes, but they have changed this on the Shop Fox I received, it has 2 bolts in front and behind the column spaced a bit apart to lock it into place, 4 bolts that's an improvement and will get the job done so I'm okay with receiving this machine plus I saved $500 vs the Grizzly woot! NOTE: This Shop Fox is listed as on "Clearance" in the Christmas catalog, though it says "NEW" on the website so who knows what's going on. Also the manual has not been updated with this new design but the Grizzly manual will suffice since they are nearly exactly the same.










I have the super heavy duty Shop Fox mobile base with the cast iron wheels for the mortiser. First order of business replace the included Shop Fox hardware for mounting the casters. The Shop Fox hardware on the left is thin in comparison to the True Value Hardware on the right. Also the Shop Fox bolts are too short even with the thin washers, I wasn't able to get the nut started with the lock washers in place. I replaced with 3/4" 5/16 bolts, washers and nuts. I also installed them upside down vs the instructions, nut/washers up.










Next I replaced the cast iron wheels, I could eyeball drill these more accurately than they did here plus they squeal and squeak and were already rusting.










I ordered some really nice urethane on aluminum hub 3" casters but it took the company 5 days just to ship them and they still haven't arrived so I decided to go with these locally sourced wheels. I found these at Home Depot very reasonably priced, I got the whole thing here for what it cost me just for the wheels from the other company. I removed the wheels and installed them on the Shop Fox casters, and I'll re-use these double locking casters with the wheels I have on order.










Here's the mobile base assembled and the mortiser base bolted down. I used some 3/4" oak plywood and drilled through the metal pads in the mobile base bolting everything up tight as this mortiser is top heavy.










Here I have it rigged to my chain hoist in prep for lifting. Don't let the small size fool you this thing is heavy, close to 270 pounds.










Mission accomplished!










This is bent bolt #2 on this machine, Taiwan stop embarrassing yourself (face palm)










Tomorrow I'll take shop towels to the grease and complete the assembly.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*
> 
> With the new table saw uncrated I returned my attention to assembly of the mutant mortiser before starting on that beast.
> 
> ...


Again, thanks for the blog and review of the super duty base and Tiawan's lack of quality control dept. I thoroughly enjoy seeing your super fine shop come together. I just hope, that after you've spent a lifetime's fortune for some of us with Grizzly Inc., that they are reading these remarks! Is your shop intended to be a production shop producing an income or the ultimate hobbist's man cave? No fault found, just plain curious.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*
> 
> With the new table saw uncrated I returned my attention to assembly of the mutant mortiser before starting on that beast.
> 
> ...


Thanks Handtooler. I swore one day I would have a woodworking shop NOT filled with crap warped out of square tools. I have done nice work in the past but at great cost in terms of frustration and extreme measures to compensate for the quality of tools I had.

So I'm creating my version of the ultimate hobby woodworking shop. I would say with good quality tools short of getting stupid about spending money. Hence this mortiser vs a 1600 pound knee mortiser for example.

Hobby definitely, I have a full time job already so this is my escape cave that allows me to work with my hands and craft something from raw materials which I don't get to do in my day job. That said I would not mind selling a few pieces so 300 years from now someone can say look what this guy built 300 years ago that would be pretty cool.

As for the quality issues with these tools I realize these tools are built to a price point so I expect to be fixing some minor quality issues. I'm finding that Grizzly is often better than the much higher priced Powermatic line, at a substantially lower cost. I think Powermatic has gone backwards on quality while still asking a price premium are just cashing in on the Powermatic name which as an American kind of irks me.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*

In part 2 I complete the cleaning and assembly, lets get to it.

Here's the bent 90 degree stop bolt, the new grade 8 bolt won't bend I guarantee it!










Taiwan drops the ball again, the posts for the depth stop rod were not even hand tight so I had to remove the rear cover plate from the column to tighten them.










Here's a close-up of the nut.










I decided to grease the gear while I had the cover off the column, any excuse to use this cordless grease gun its awesome!










That's some of the ugliest half dried cosmoline I have seen in years, it took quite a bit of scrubbing with brake cleaner to remove it.










Clean and assembly complete without any further mechanical issues, I did find a wart under the cosmoline though. By the way I tilted the head full over and tested the machine danger of tipping, even with moderate pushing sideways it was not about to tip over so that's good!










Closer in its nice and shiny but do you see the wart on the fence?










Here's the back.










Here's the wart, I have no clue what that is, casting defect or got hit with a torch or something. Does not effect use of the tool at all but for $1,000 it shouldn't be there.










Finally here's a gut shot from underneath. See that shiny chrome handled on the left wheel, see the ugly plastic handle on the right wheel…I purchase the chrome handles for the bandsaw but that idea didn't pan out due to the cast iron wheels I purchased but they fit the 2 smaller hand wheels on the mortiser so I attached them. I'll order up the larger 3/8 handle for the large wheel and get rid of the plastic handle.










That's all for now, the next news on this mortiser will be a review after I put it to use.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*
> 
> In part 2 I complete the cleaning and assembly, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


Thanks again for the continuation of your shop development. Here's hoping that Grizzly tech support, if contacted, will replace that fence. and take heed of your quality findings. After all you are purchasing some of their finest woodworking tools/products. Your observations should be important to their marking dept. And, yes grade 8 fasteners are the way to go when heavy weight use/contact is expected.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*
> 
> In part 2 I complete the cleaning and assembly, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


That is one beastly lookin' mortiser. Holy crap! Can I borrow it for my Roubo build?


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 of 2 - Assembling Shop Fox W1743 Mutant Mortiser*
> 
> In part 2 I complete the cleaning and assembly, lets get to it.
> 
> ...


I'll let you know how it works clafollett I'll be using it on the quilt ladder, 5/4 red oak.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*

Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…

First modification replace the plastic hand wheels with cast iron hand wheels. I'm sure the stock hand wheels are fine but they seemed to flex and I just didn't want plastic hand wheels. Here I'm cross drilling the new one for the set screw.










I had to bore it out to .400 as well.










This looks pretty good, did run into a problem though. See how the handle is recessed into the wheel well nobody seems to make a handle that fits this even Grizzly doesn't offer one. I should have gone with hand wheels that have a surface mount handle. True Value hardware to the rescue, I found some 'heavy duty' steel bushing that were thick and chunky and used one for a spacer. Also re-used the original plastic handles. Oddly, the Grizzly plastic handle on the table tilt hand wheel is completely different from the plastic handles on the other two hand wheels.










Say they look pretty good!










Ahahaha bandsaw headers man! I wanted this to be rigid, that white pipe is smooth bore HDPE you can get it cheap at Home Depot. I had to peel off tool assembly for a couple days to finish a French drain project at the house and used a piece of left over pipe. It took a bit of head scratching to connect the two dust ports in a way that would flow well yet hug the saw and not stick out in my way.










Here's a completed shot, really nice band saw I have already put it to use on my drain project cutting the 4" pipe.










Tomorrow I'll get started on the new 12" table saw…hello beasty!










I have been spending so much time in the shop I decided to pipe in some music, check out this Sony blue tooth speaker and Ipod Nano combo, takes up almost no space on my bench and the sound quality is quite good.










See how flat it shoves right up against the back wall










Behold its Joe Banamassa


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


It looks like you are well equipped. Congrats on the new bandsaw and table saw.


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## Henndoe (Oct 22, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


I have been following this crazyness for a couple weeks and i am very jelous. Did you hit the lotto or something? I would cut off my own arm to own some of the stuff you just got.


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## woodmaker (Jan 12, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


Nice bandsaw and I like your taste in Music. Joe Bonnamassa is my favorite modern Blues player.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


Henndoe - man if I won the lotto I'd be posting about $250k CNC machines!

Hey woodmaker, Joe Bonnamassa is the man! Here's my guitar…


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


Congrats on the tools and the upgrades


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


Great mods! Where did you get those hand wheels from? Those are sharp.

So when you gonna find time to use all these great new tools? 

Oh, and NICE GUITAR but I have to say that case may be even better! Very cool! I can't make out the label on that head stock. The body says PRS but that logo doesn't seem to match.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 of 3 - Grizzly 19" Bandsaw Assembly G0514X2B*
> 
> Finally I wrap up assembly and modifications to the new Grizzly 19" bandsaw, here we go…
> 
> ...


I got the hand wheels from Grizzly, see my notes on them I would go with a flush mount handle design if I was doing it over.

I'm getting close to being done assembling these tools (table saw is done, just have to wire the plug and cord) and I'll start right in using them. I already have 2 warm up projects waiting a mobile outfeed/glue up table (torsion box) and an oak quilt ladder for my sister.

Behold that is a PRS Modern Eagle Quatro with 53/10 pickups and a solid rosewood neck! Ahaha that guitar case is epic, when I purchased the recliner I wasn't even thinking about the guitar case I just liked it, then I got it home and figured out why.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*

I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.

Looks like I have everything I need, the arbor wrenches are gigantic!










I was in Ace hardware to pick up some 4" clamps and saw these new stainless clamps for only a buck more than the regular hose clamps. I thought they looked cool and splurged $2 extra for them.










*$49.95 FAIL!* Sometimes when you go cheap you get burned. I have Starrett precision 12" and 24" rulers, they are expensive but they are absolutely straight. I wanted a 36" for setting up this saw, the Starrett was going to be $300 so I cheaped out and purchased this precision ground straight edge from Grizzly instead.

Grizzly says, "These 36" Bevel Edge Straight Edges are made from hardened steel with satin chrome finish and are precision ground and lapped for straightness and parallelism…Accuracy: 0.001" NOT even close Grizzly. First it doesn't lay flat, its bowed (bent) over .024 at one end. Second its not straight, its bowed .010. I put this thing across the table saw and thought damn there's no way the saw table is ground that badly. Matched the straight edge up to my 24" Starrett and confirmed Grizzly's 36" straight edge is utterly worthless. I have seen Home Depot carpenter squares straighter than this.










The extension wing weighs in at 51 pounds!










Here is the underside of the wing, its substantial with extra beef in the area of the 3 bolts and front/rear edge.










Just as impressive were the size of the bolts, 1.5 inches long and beefy 14mm hex heads. Here they are soaking in some Boeshield. Here in western Washington State its a rain forest, I noticed a few of the fasteners on the Powermatic 15HH planer were getting a bit of surface rust so I have been coating all machine fasteners in Boeshield as I assemble them.










Here she is with the wings attached. I had to shim the right wing about .003 at the bottom and the left wing .006 at the bottom. This brought them up nice and flat when torqued down. The table and wings are absolutely flat front to rear I could find no peaks or valleys straight on front to rear or at angles. I was very impressed with this. Side to side across the main table and extension wings was very good but not perfect like the above. From the right miter gauge slot to the left edge of the left extension wing is dead flat except for one small area which has about a .002 valley. That is quite good. Between the right miter gauge slot and the right edge of the main table (not the right extension wing) there is a valley about .003 deep. The right extension wing is dead flat with the rest of the table though. I'm not going to sweat a .003 valley, its absolutely meaningless. So this is one of the biggest quality points in a table saw, they need to be flat and this one is near perfect good job Grizzly!










In this image you can see clearly the difference in the ground finish of the extension wing, which is quite good, vs the polished main table which is even better! Now its not like polished chrome not even close but I'm pretty happy with it.










Here's the 1" arbor, its BEEFY and so is the bearing!










Here's another shot of it.










The 12" blade good lord! Look at the poor 10" blade, it looks like it might cry. lol










4" depth of cut, get some!










Here I'm checking to see if the blade is square to the miter slot.










Here's the other side but I'm not sure I trust this measurement. They make a precision plate you can bolt to your arbor for dialing this in and I'm probably going to buy one. I need to speak to Forest regarding the blade because I noticed something odd. That said I think this is pretty close to dialed in from the factory and I elected not to attempt to adjust it further.

As I ran the indicator front to rear along the saw blade there was a bow inward of about .006 to .007. I checked the other side of the blade and confirmed it had a outward bow about the same. I removed the blade and checked it with my Starrett 12" ruler, confirmed the blade has a bow in it but is flat out near the teeth. Blade run out doesn't seem that great either about .005 wobble. Its not the saw that arbor is dead on.










Here's a shot of the arbor run out, the needle just kind of fluttered right where you see it without moving, your talking maybe .0002 which is to say its probably more accurate than my dial indicator can measure. I was pretty happy with this. That's a large arbor plate remember must be 3" in diameter so an error would definitely show up here.










Last pic for tonight, here you can see I'm using the planer to hold up the front rail while I install it. The instructions say to first install the front/rear rails then the right extension wing. Its a lot easier to install and dial in both wings without the rails in the way. They suggest installing the rails first so you can quick put a couple bolts in the extension wing while someone else holds up the heavy beast. I also use the planer to hold up the wings so its no big deal to install them without the rails installed.

I'm quite impressed with the rails, after cleaning I gave them a coat of paste waste just because. I'm quite pleased with the saw altogether so far. 6 flat head bolts hold that front rail on, everything lined right up, everything was tapped correctly, zero complaints. So far this saw seems very well designed and manufactured. I have pointed out a lot of warts on their other machines I have assembled recently but they so far have done a great job on this saw.










I should finish up tomorrow and get started on my torsion box mobile outfeed table assuming that blade isn't totally whacked.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


Thanks! That's a very thorough, in-depth blog of the assembly. Photos are super and helpfull. And, I'm grateful of the critique of the iGaging straight edge and it's lack of exceptable quality control. Do you suppose a 4" double squre would have similar errors?


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


Handtooler I can't speak to the quality of Grizzly's other measurement tools as I have historically gone with Starrett and Mitutoyo for my measuring tools. I know one thing, every damn time I buy a cheaper measuring tool they suck. lol there's a clue.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


I appreciate you being so forthright. I'll begin to save a little longer in favor of going more high quality on my measuring and marking tools.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


Man that is one nice looking tablesaw. Great write up darth!


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


Also, when you checked squareness of the miter slot, did you rotate the blade to make sure you checked the same spot on the blade fore and aft? Doing so should eliminate any blade irregularities from the equation.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw Assembly*
> 
> I continue the inspection, assembly, and dialing in the saw in part 2, here we go.
> 
> ...


Yes but that blade was whack…see my next blog post on the saw in about 15 minutes I have good news on this.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*

I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...

Curve ahead…(face palm) the good news is that's pretty much the only thing I found wrong with the saw!










Here's some eye candy to look at while I give you a summary.

*Fence Rail Tube *- Oddly the manual skips right over installing the fence rail tube lol. Not that it was any great loss, looking over the instructions for other Grizzly saws it pretty much just said, "install the fence rail tube with the bolts" and that was it. Now Grizzly states the fence was aligned at the factory but there is a fair amount of forward/backward slop with all the fence tube bolts in…if the tube is bolted down crooked no way the fence will be aligned. I elected to simply pull the fence rail tube back towards me away from the saw, then tightened the bolts starting in the center and alternating out towards the ends, first just good and snug, then repeated the pattern tightening the rest of the way. The fence measured parallel to the miter slot within .001 front to rear, measured with a dial indicator/miter slot jig. No adjustment required.

*Blade to Miter Slot* - Again Grizzly says they aligned this at the factory, just check it in case it got knocked out during shipping. I did and it was right on within .001. I have owned a few table saws over the years, this is the first I have not had to adjust this, good job Grizzly!

*Forrest WWII Blade *- So I got a bad Forrest blade…I got over it quickly Grizzly is taking it back and issuing me a refund. The blade run out was .008 which made checking the blade to miter slot pretty much not possible. I ordered a Ridge Carbide blade this morning then because I wanted to get going on some projects I found a 12" Freud Fusion blade at my local Woodcrafters (not Woodcraft). The measured run out…drum roll… .001 a tad less really whoohoo! I then checked the blade to miter slot which was .001 as I noted above. Same tooth, opposite tooth, random tooth, blade plate vs the tooth, all measured .001 I like it.

*Blade dish/crown* - So I have noticed this with both the Forrest and the Freud blade. The Freud blade is flat, but with just some moderate tightening of the arbor nut a dish forms on the nut side and a crown forms on the arbor side. This is very slight, maybe .004 and inside the kerf boundary. The Freud still measures with .001 true at the teeth and outer rim, the dish is about in the center 7 inches of the blade. So its not going to effect anything but it does bug me a bit. Never had a 10" blade do that. The arbor plate and washer both seem perfectly flat. Remember in the last blog I measured the arbor run out to be about .0002. While the arbor plate and outer arbor washer are large, the center of both are recessed, they only contact the blade on the outside, a strip maybe .300 wide. Best I can figure simply clamping a 12" blade in that spot tweaks them a bit. Note the Forrest arrived with a dish/crown already in the blade, tightening the arbor nut just increased it a bit. The test will be cutting 3-4" thick stock, I believe there is plenty of side clearance within the boundaries of the kerf but we'll see. Its a non-issue completely up to about 2" stock. It might be interesting to install the blade backwards and see of the dish/crown flip with the blade or stay the same, if they stayed the same then I would say it must be the arbor plate and washer.










Here's some more shots










A close up










Some 5/4 red oak for a quilt ladder for my sister, that oak looks quite tasty










I purchased some new leather gloves, buy American!










Oh wait. what the hell?










This table saw was assembled to the tune of…










One final step to complete, Grizzly didn't give me any electrical cord, I have the 30 amp plug end but I'll have to go get some 10 gauge cord tomorrow then this assembly will be a wrap and I'll power this beast up and cut something. Other than my finger, yeah it already drew blood!


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


Must be nice to have most all setup complete huh? That is one dead sexy machine! You've now got me looking at new saws which is making my wife a bit nervous! 

I call BS on those gloves. Talk about some misleading marketing. Purely intentional for sure. They wouldn't sell many if the slogan said "We glove the Peoples Republic of China"

BTW, great tune to build to. I personally love Stevie's version of Little Wing. Probably my favorite non vocal tune ever. I had many beers playing pool in shady bars while listening to that tune on the jukebox back in my younger years. Ah the memories. RIP Stevie!


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## woodcox (Nov 21, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


Great blog you have shared. Amazing to see a shop of this caliber come together. Check out Starrett's adhesive tapes. AskWoodMan has some good info on proper installation of them. I believe he still sells them too. 
....and the planer table/third hand pic was epic. Stay safe out there.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


clafollett ahaha I'm just getting started on you Mr. the videos are next, 5HP of chomp unleashed. Little Wing is another favorite I have a few versions of Little Wing by various artists. Great now I have a sudden urge to go grab my Strat.



















The big rig


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


Woodcox thanks, my goal was to assemble a quality shop of machine tools without getting stupid about it right. I think I'm on track there.

Starrett makes adhesive tapes I did not know that. I'm tempted to look into a fence DRO. I never use the fence rail tapes, I use my Starrett steel rules but a DRO if accurate and reliable I would jump on that. Already plan to put one on my planer.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


Some additional observations about the table saw, except for the stick on measuring tape fit and finish everywhere else was excellent. Holes cleanly tapped and accurately located, good quality fasteners, paint job is excellent, the epoxy coating on the fence rails is very nice. Look at the grind on the fence rail tube, it feels about 220 grit to me, the grind on the Powermatic PM2000 tube is more like 80 grit and shreds the nylon adjusters.

Motor cover, steel and heavy not plastic like saws costing $1,000 more. Beefy hinge pins yet the cover lifts off easily and reinstalls just as easy. 6 bolts to attach the front rail, 6 more on the rear rail. You know how many bolts they give you for the longer rear rail on the Powermatic PM2000? 2 then the instructions say well if you want to drill your own hole and buy your own bolt you can add a 3rd. Do these rails really need 6 bolts? Probably not but I like that the saw is over engineered in a good way.

Did they have to polish the main table to that degree of shine, nope the competition isn't doing that anymore but I appreciated the effort. Hangers for the fence, arbor wrenches, and miter gauge trimmed with protective vinyl, vinyl cushions on the arbor wrenches so they are easy on your hands. The wrenches are mega over sized and angled out well clear of the blade. Blade to miter slot adjusted spot on at the factory. Fence ditto at the factory.

Everywhere you look on this saw you see pride in a well designed well manufactured tool. Now its not been under power yet but so far I'm pretty impressed with this saw at this price compared to 10" saws out there costing substantially more. The PM2000 that's sitting a few feet away, its not a contest. The cabinet, yeah pre-drilled with threaded nuts for the roller outfeed table Grizzly offers. I remember when you were expected to drill the cabinet yourself for that stuff. Both an integrated riving knife as part of the blade guard and a 2nd stand alone riving knife to use when the blade guard cannot be used. Well you get the picture. I think Grizzly has thrown down the gauntlet in the table saw category.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> I wrap up assembly and setup of the saw in part 3 (well almost)...
> 
> ...


Nice axe! Stevie would approve. 

I think your last post sums it up well. After seeing your blog entries on this saw, I'm think I'm sold. I'm not sure when but I'm pretty certain this model will be the one I purchase.

I probably don't need a 5hp saw but just like with motorcycles, there is no replacement for displacement. I want something I can grow into, not out of. My future retirement will hopefully involve quite a bit of wood working and this saw looks like it would last a life time.

Thanks for all your hard work in putting this stuff together. I know its time consuming and with your profession, new toys, and musical hobbies, time is probably limited.

I can't wait to see what goodies you put together and I'm assuming a fair number of amps will be coming out of that shop.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*

In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.

I use Lowes brand 10/3 power cord for all my 30 amp 220v stuff. Grizzly calls for a 12 gauge power cord so this is not a slam on Grizzly, but their cord strain relief fitting (which was quite nice by the way) on the electrical box on the back of the saw was too small for a 10/3 power cord. The proper size fitting at Lowes was less than $4 but wouldn't you know it, the fitting required a 1" hole. I had a Unibit already…but it only went up to 7/8" (face palm) so I had to choke down the $48 it cost for this larger Unibit. And after all that I had to wrap the cord with 3 turns of black tape because the new fitting was a touch too large. Its this kind of crap that reminds me I will never remodel a house ever again!! lol










I still have a mark from the extra $52 it cost me but its done I guess.










Lets talk about something more fun, this baby is INBOUND!! Made in the USA also! There's a lot more to this story so stick with me.










This is great, as I'm a bit cramped on space I like that it folds down out of the way.










Here's a couple of close-ups.



















Okay before the whole out feed table saga here's a couple of misl items. Check this out, 3/16 inch steel with plenty of holes, I thought this might come in handy so for $3.99 I bought 4 of them! What can you even buy for $4 anymore, Harbor Freight.



















Here's another cost savings deal, I have two epic hardware stores near me that make Lowes and Home Depot hardware sections look like a joke. Anyone notice how both Lowes and Home Depot have cut back their offerings in this area? Anyway here's a bag of grade 8 fasteners, my one hardware stores sells these for x amount for each item, this bag would have been quite expensive at that store. My other hardware store sells grade 8 anything bulk for $3.99 a pound. I think there's over 100 grade 8 bolts in this bag alone, the whole bag was less than $16.










Okay finally the out feed table saga. Ever have one of those projects the spiral completely out of control? LOL

First I decided I needed a torsion box table that was flat and stable for lay out and glue ups. Kreg legs and rails $167. Castors $30. 1" 5×5' sheet of Russian ply $85. Stack of maple 1×4 $100. So I'm into this thing already $382.

Next I decide hey, why not use this for an out feed table too. I measure all the machines, of course every machine is a different height so I says hey make the top adjustable! After I exhausted 3 or 4 expensive mechanical methods of making the table adjustable I moved on to hydraulics, then air, then air powered hydraulics, then an electric winch power lift.

At the brink of pulling the trigger on one of these methods I stopped at Lowes to buy some power cord. I found myself staring at a Rockler out feed stand for like $65. DUH they already make adjustable out feed stands and rollers you idiot. Phew close call! So the torsion box table will be just that, though it is possible to attach adjustable rollers to the table hmmm…


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


Darthford, Please; Is that the same Grizzly fold down outfeed table that fits their 10" saws such as G0691 and G1023's?


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


Handtooler yes I believe it is, I ordered the 37" but they also sell a 24". My saw cabinet is already drilled and tapped for it.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


By the way I paid $299 for the outfeed roller table ordering from Grizzly, Amazon wants $438 for it, I probably would not have paid that much.

ALSO I may yet have to back track on stating my cabinet is drilled and tapped for this…there are 2 drilled and tapped holes in the cabinet along the bottom, there are two unused holes in the fence rail up top, logically this is where I would attach this roller table. IF its not designed to attach there I may just re-engineer it to attach there anyway!


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


I also use get my 10/3 from Lowes. Same exact brand I believe. Nice stuff. Very flexible. I direct feed to my breaker box and route them where needed with plug ends.

That outfeed roller rig is pretty sweet! I like how it nicely folds down out of the way. I currently have a 2×4 frame/plywood top table I use which also serves as a utility table but I can see where your roller table will work very nicely for sheet goods and the like.

Now I've gotta rib ya a little bit here… you mean to tell me you've spent many thousands on these tools and that tractor of yours and you are going to worry about spending $52 for a bit and cable fittings? Seriously? 

Seriously though, its all coming together. You need to make sure to open up that garage of yours, step back a bit and take a nice wide angle shot of all your goodies. That would make good shop porn for sure!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


Ahaha yeah $48 for that drill bit I will probably never use again (censored) lol To be determined on this outfeed roller table, I'm a bit concerned about the mounting…I had thought it would bolt right up to the existing locations but studying the picture I'm not so sure. I won't be drilling holes into my brand new saw cabinet I guarantee you!

That tractor…ouch! I have paid less for brand new vehicles than I paid for that tractor. I keep telling myself I'll sell it once I'm finished clearing my property and the difference in what I paid will be less than it would have cost me to hire someone to do all that work.

Dude I have already had the builder over to scope out a 20×40 to 20×50 garage addition…or sell this house and build a new one with the shop of my dreams from the start. Or I could just get a less expensive hobby like snorting coke or gambling.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


I hear ya… $48 for a one time use bit is a bit high but look at the bright side, if you by chance ever need it in the future - and seeing the kinda stuff you do, its highly likely you will - you will have it on hand. I know I sure have a few items around my garage like that.

If you really like your property, I say clear it and keep it and put the addition on. Just like with developing software, starting from scratch always sounds good until you have to start doing it and realize all the nuances you forgot about when it sounded like a good idea. Some times just refactoring what ya got in smaller chunks at a time is the much better route.

As for the less expensive hobby, since you are in WA, skip the coke and start growing weed! Its much cheaper and you could even get licensed and sell it for a profit. I'd only stick with gambling if it involves the Seahawks getting to the Super Bowl. I'd say that's a pretty safe bet.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


I'm putting that drill bit on craigslist for $58 (evil grin) Okay back to the shop I go, I got some 4×6 lumber to mill.


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## clafollett (Feb 17, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 4 I complete the *costly* wiring of the power cord and address the need for an out feed table plus some misl.
> 
> ...


Oh that is evil!

I've got my fingers crossed all your milling goes according to plan.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 5 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*

In part 5 the Grizzly FEEDS on 4×6's…the first test cut oh yes I did throw a 4×6 at it GET SOME! I filmed some video also, of the saw, the jointer, and the planer, plus decibel readings for all three. I'll see about getting that out on Youtube tomorrow.

Dust collection fail…I had read this was the case with this saw there's far too much saw dust escaping…though I did have nearly the full 4 inches of blade out and was cutting a 4×6, still this may need some improving.










This is the base for my torsion box table, Kreg legs and rails 28×44. The top will be 30×60x4. Okay 4×6 beams to mount the casters may have been overkill…yeah so! lol










My Ridge Carbide blade arrived today, I'm saving it for the fine woodworking and using the Freud for stuff like hacking 4×6's.










Because the Ridge Carbide lady on the phone today was so nice, and their tech guy was nice enough to answer a couple questions I had not related to my order I'll give them a plug here, always nice dealing with pleasant helpful people.










The blade didn't have the fancy swirly laser cuts but it did have these interesting copper inserts…interesting.










Here are a couple of close up's of the teeth, at the right angle they shine nearly chrome like.



















New tool review, I dub these bad ass I could shave with them they are that sharp…and then there is…










New tool FAIL, so FAIL…yes they rate a first ever category Obamacare Website FAIL! Okay so they were only $10 at Lowes, part of the black Friday stuff but good grief neither of them will cut anything, not paper, not plastic, nothing.










That's all for now, tomorrow I continue on my torsion box table.


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## dahenley (Sep 1, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 5 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 5 the Grizzly FEEDS on 4×6's…the first test cut oh yes I did throw a 4×6 at it GET SOME! I filmed some video also, of the saw, the jointer, and the planer, plus decibel readings for all three. I'll see about getting that out on Youtube tomorrow.
> 
> ...


my 10" Ridge Carbide blade had those copper plugs as well. 
i was nerves seeing them spin the first time… but now its nothing. i did some reading and they are there to help absorb heat and theres some other reasons… but its normal for some.

i am wondering what the runout is on that beast of a blade haha. (mind didn't come with the fancy plastic coating…)

how do the teeth compare to the WW2? (as far as carbide thickness? and what not?)

lastly… can you do an update on your cyclone? i read your initial review, but was wondering how its going now and how the update and any critiques?


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 5 - Grizzly G0696X 5HP 12" Table Saw*
> 
> In part 5 the Grizzly FEEDS on 4×6's…the first test cut oh yes I did throw a 4×6 at it GET SOME! I filmed some video also, of the saw, the jointer, and the planer, plus decibel readings for all three. I'll see about getting that out on Youtube tomorrow.
> 
> ...


I happen to have a brand new 12" WW2 blade so I'll take some measurements tomorrow. I'm returning it because the run out was .008. I have not measured the run out on the Ridge Carbide 12" but the run out on the Freud 12" was within .001.

I'll open up the cyclone bucket tomorrow and have a look, it moves a lot of air for sure and soaks up some amps, I had to put it on a 30 amp 220 breaker.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Video Blog - Table Saw, Jointer, Cyclone, Planer in action plus decibel readings!*

Okay it only took 4 hours to get the crash-o-matic Sony Vegas software to render a video but I got'r'done. This video includes decibel readings and shots of the machines working a couple 4×6x48 beams.

Featured

Grizzly G0696X 12 inch 5HP table saw
Grizzly G0490 8 inch jointer with Byrd Shelix cutter head
Grizzly G0703 1.5HP cyclone dust collector
Powermatic 15HH planer with Byrd Shelix cutter head


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## vcooney (Jan 4, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Video Blog - Table Saw, Jointer, Cyclone, Planer in action plus decibel readings!*
> 
> Okay it only took 4 hours to get the crash-o-matic Sony Vegas software to render a video but I got'r'done. This video includes decibel readings and shots of the machines working a couple 4×6x48 beams.
> 
> ...


Just curious, but did you try placing your meter around your shop at head level? And if so did you get the same readings?


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## Lance09 (Jun 26, 2011)

darthford said:


> *Video Blog - Table Saw, Jointer, Cyclone, Planer in action plus decibel readings!*
> 
> Okay it only took 4 hours to get the crash-o-matic Sony Vegas software to render a video but I got'r'done. This video includes decibel readings and shots of the machines working a couple 4×6x48 beams.
> 
> ...


I just caught up on your whole blog post the last 2 months, looks like a lot of fun and hard work you've put into your shop. Are you new to the hobby or just doing a complete upgrade in tools? I like the post who asked you if you won the lottery, your answer was hilarious! lol Looking good, update your workshop on your page, would love to see your layout of your shop. Thanks for sharing.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Video Blog - Table Saw, Jointer, Cyclone, Planer in action plus decibel readings!*
> 
> Okay it only took 4 hours to get the crash-o-matic Sony Vegas software to render a video but I got'r'done. This video includes decibel readings and shots of the machines working a couple 4×6x48 beams.
> 
> ...


Thanks Lance, as far as woodworking I'd rank myself a 4 out of 10 on an experience scale.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Video Blog - Table Saw, Jointer, Cyclone, Planer in action plus decibel readings!*
> 
> Okay it only took 4 hours to get the crash-o-matic Sony Vegas software to render a video but I got'r'done. This video includes decibel readings and shots of the machines working a couple 4×6x48 beams.
> 
> ...


Vince I didn't but I may do that tomorrow just to see how much difference there is if any.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP...UPS Freight arrgh!*

Well UPS Freight setup up an appointment to deliver my new Grizzly G4003G gunsmith's metal lathe today, 11am to 2pm. I waited and waited, 2pm came and went no truck no call. I said just be patient and waited another hour and nothing. I just got off the phone with the idiots…its still on the truck heading back to their facility. They didn't put the things on pallets so the driver couldn't get his pallet jack under them. They tried to blame this on Grizzly by the way which earns UPS even more lame points.

Make an appointment, don't show up, don't call, yeah that's some great customer service…morons! I'll be back to this blog tomorrow to post the uncrating if they don't screw up again, stay tuned.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP...UPS Freight arrgh!*
> 
> Well UPS Freight setup up an appointment to deliver my new Grizzly G4003G gunsmith's metal lathe today, 11am to 2pm. I waited and waited, 2pm came and went no truck no call. I said just be patient and waited another hour and nothing. I just got off the phone with the idiots…its still on the truck heading back to their facility. They didn't put the things on pallets so the driver couldn't get his pallet jack under them. They tried to blame this on Grizzly by the way which earns UPS even more lame points.
> 
> Make an appointment, don't show up, don't call, yeah that's some great customer service…morons! I'll be back to this blog tomorrow to post the uncrating if they don't screw up again, stay tuned.


Somebody needs a naaaap.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP...UPS Freight arrgh!*
> 
> Well UPS Freight setup up an appointment to deliver my new Grizzly G4003G gunsmith's metal lathe today, 11am to 2pm. I waited and waited, 2pm came and went no truck no call. I said just be patient and waited another hour and nothing. I just got off the phone with the idiots…its still on the truck heading back to their facility. They didn't put the things on pallets so the driver couldn't get his pallet jack under them. They tried to blame this on Grizzly by the way which earns UPS even more lame points.
> 
> Make an appointment, don't show up, don't call, yeah that's some great customer service…morons! I'll be back to this blog tomorrow to post the uncrating if they don't screw up again, stay tuned.


Negative ghost rider.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP - assembly*

In part 2 karma bites UPS Freight for pulling a no-show on me, I get this beast uncrated, inspected, make some leveling pads, shake a rattle can of hammered green paint, and heave this 1,000 lb hunk of iron up on the stands, here we go!

KARMA I'm telling you!! This is a long funny story so here's just the short version, the UPS Freight driver was about to take a sledge hammer to his lift gate. Let me put it this way with a 1,300 pound lathe on the lift gate it let loose on its own, the decent was uncontrolled and too fast but no damage to the lathe or my driveway. Thankfully the driver was standing out of the way when it let loose.

Okay lets get to pics…this is the largest crate so far, arrived undamaged thankfully.










The stands looked kind of small, I thought maybe this lathe isn't as big as I thought…wrong its huge!










I could not abide the hack paint job on the stands so I too measures with a rattle can of hammered green paint.



















Next I crafted some leveling pads out of 5/8" bolts and hockey pucks. I had some Grizzly machine leveling pads but the stand had .700 inch holes in the bottom, a 3/8 level pad stud in a near 3/4 inch hole not a good combination.










Here it is rigged to the Kubota B2920 loader. This lathe is about 1,000 pounds and technically over the limit of my tractor but I thought I would give it a try before renting an engine hoist. She lifted it off the pallet no problem. But you can see we are lifting it at the front edge of the bucket, that has the least amount of leverage…she took a deep breath and…60% there….70%...80%...81%...no go she pooped out and I needed another 8 inches of lift to get it up on the stands. I set it back down, gave it about 8 inches of bucket curl and gave it another go…it barely got there but that's good enough!










Victory!


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP - assembly*
> 
> In part 2 karma bites UPS Freight for pulling a no-show on me, I get this beast uncrated, inspected, make some leveling pads, shake a rattle can of hammered green paint, and heave this 1,000 lb hunk of iron up on the stands, here we go!
> 
> ...


You're quite the genius, and equipped with the best tools to almost anything. "Hear,Hear" to you! Merry Christmas and a New Year that provides you with the opportunity to make use of all your new shop tools.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP - assembly*
> 
> In part 2 karma bites UPS Freight for pulling a no-show on me, I get this beast uncrated, inspected, make some leveling pads, shake a rattle can of hammered green paint, and heave this 1,000 lb hunk of iron up on the stands, here we go!
> 
> ...


OMG, that is a monster. How did you manage to move it around into your shop? Merry Christmas, nice machine.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - Grizzly G4003G Gunsmith's metal lathe 12x36" 2HP - assembly*
> 
> In part 2 karma bites UPS Freight for pulling a no-show on me, I get this beast uncrated, inspected, make some leveling pads, shake a rattle can of hammered green paint, and heave this 1,000 lb hunk of iron up on the stands, here we go!
> 
> ...


What a wonderful piece of machinery. Congratulations and I hope you have a lot of fun with it!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.

Well…rebuilding it turned out to be a LOT more work than I thought. It needed a few hundred dollars worth of work to the motor, bearings, electronic starter, capacitor, and since I was in that far already I went ahead and had the windings soaked and baked and the motor which itself is cast iron sand blasted and painted. I'll have to paint it over but that's another story.

Here's the first pic, doesn't look too bad from a distance. I thought meh a good cleaning, a few new bearings maybe some paint and I'd be good to go, it wasn't to be the case.










Lets take a closer look…ugh rust!










And more rust










And the hits just kept coming, that's one of the 4 nitralloy precision ground rods the carriage bearings ride on doh!










Yes rust just about everywhere










Look at this thing, I had to take measures!










I give you the rust destroyer a product call Evapo-Rust wow it saved my butt on this project. Take a look at the after picture, all I did was soak it over night and rinse with Simple Green under the faucet wow!



















It took a while to cycle all the parts through my gallon of Evapo-Rust. What I found was Delta assembled this saw 'then' painted it so every bare metal internal surface wasn't protected and has been rusting the last 61 years. I elected to tape off the contact surfaces and paint every last remaining surface to avoid this happening again, underside of the castings included. Here's a group shot from tonight, I'm about ready to begin re-assembly.










Here's a close up










Rut-roh










V-grooved and ready for aluminum brazing










The Bernzomatic aluminum brazing rods worked quite well.










I elected to leave a bit more of the brazing material for strength vs grinding it perfectly flat. This will be painted black in any case.










There is a 2nd internal 1-1/2 inch arbor nut on the motor, I finally found a socket big enough but the OD was too big so I chucked it in the new metal lathe and presto!










That's it for part 1. Just about everything is painted now and I have all the new parts in, carriage bearings, needle bearings, thrust bearings, 4 hardened precision ground 1/4" rods for the carriage ways and a new gear. There was one internal component with a gear that was broken and I'm going to have to machine a new one on the lathe.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


You are a brave man to take on such a big renovation and it looks like it is going very well. I expect you will have an A1 machine when it's finished. It will be nice to see how it performs. I've heard so much pro and con about RAS machines that it leaves me confused about how good they really are. Some say they aren't accurate enough while others claim they are better and more flexible than miter saws. I imagine the difference must be how they are adjusted and used. I remember my brother talking about them, back in 1950 I think it was, about how innovative and wonderful they were.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


WOW! You've really brought that beast back to almost manufactured new condition. That's a FANTASTIC job. You surely are a wonderful machinist to tackle something of that magnitude. So, that new monster of a lathe has already seen some necessary use. Many thanks for sharing.


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Fine work.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Stefang - while researching and shopping for a RAS it seems the saw designs got progressively cheaper and less accurate over time. When Sears and Montgomery Wards jumped into the market to sell to the masses my guess is that Delta and DeWalt had to cheapen their designs to compete. Delta only made my saw in 1952, they revamped the design vs 1951 and changed it again in 1953.

1953 and later Delta RAS smaller fixed turret to angle the saw for miter cuts.










My 1952 RAS has a large turret that can also be adjusted front to back on cast iron ways. So I have a cast iron top arm, a 7 inch diameter cast iron plate that rides on the top arm ways and another 7 inch diameter cast iron plate that bolts to the carriage track. Everything can be locked into place and with surfaces that large there is less issues with rigidity and maintaining accuracy. Base cast iron, column cast iron, the more cast iron the better imo. Later RAS have bent sheet metal bases far less robust components and more aluminum.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Handtooler the new lathe has been quite useful so far. Today I'm going to start with a giant 3/4 grade 5 bolt I got at the hardware store and see if I can make a replacement for this broken piece. Not only are several teeth broken off this thing its bent. I purchased the gear from McMaster Carr and plan to braze that piece on.

This component is just a micro adjust wheel to position the assembly on the cast iron top arm. I don't really need it, its only useful if you plant to turn the saw 90 degrees to rip wood sideways which I'll never do, I'll lock it in place for optimal cross cutting and leave it there. But it bugs me that its broken. lol


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that history lesson Darthford. It puts the little I know about these saws into perspective.


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## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Wow! just saw this. I'll have to check it out further… after the game (championship Sunday.) Do you know about the RAS forum at Delphi? You have to sign up to get in, but no cost. It's all RAS - all Day.
http://www.delphiforums.com/index.ptt?query=ras


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 1 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> I picked up this 1952 Delta RAS off craigslist impressed with the amount of cast iron and design for cross cutting long boards. I looked at modern sliding miter saws but saw too many complaints about quality and inconsistency. I need a crosscut saw that cuts straight on the first try every time and if this several hundred pound beast can't do that nothing can.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link Harold, I signed up but it looks like the forum is primarily about DeWalt and I have a Rockwell/Delta so I probably can't post stuff about my saw over there but no matter its still a cool forum I'll check it out.

Save your 'wow' for part 5 its going to be epic, I have been re-assembling the saw today and its going together nicely.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 2 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

In part 2 I didn't get a lot done but what I did get done was important. Today I needed to repaint the motor black. I had asked the motor shop to paint it black after they sand blasted the housing so naturally they painted it grey. (face palm).

The motor also had about a 4 gauge cord attached to it for some strange reason. Someone went so far as to remove the cord strain reliefs from the motor, arm, and column so they could fish that giant cord through the holes. I removed that cord and installed the proper 1/2" strain reliefs for a 12 gauge cord.

Everything was going to plan until I noticed the brass bushing on the side of the motor that holds that side of the 51 pound motor up was loose. You could just rock it up and down and in/out a little. I grabbed the pin that fits in that bushing and it was loose on the ID also. You can't have one side of the motor slopping around and achieve accuracy so I decided this bushing needed to be replaced.

I checked the hardware store but this bushing was an odd size .686 ID and .815 OD and they had nothing even 
close so I picked up a piece of brass pipe instead.










Here you see the finished bushing, it came out great…on the third try LOL. I overshot on the ID twice and had to part off and start over. It got a little heated in the shop. On the bright side this proved my decision to purchase the DRO for the lathe was correct, it eliminates this trial and error nonsense.










Now with the bushing finished the only problem was the bore in the motor housing was rather out of round. It varied from about .810 to .819. You could see on the old bushing where the factory (or someone) filed the bushing to fit the poorly machined hole in the motor. Instead I turned the bushing to .818 and used a Dremel to fix the bore in the motor housing. Its a nice fit, tapped in with a dead blow hammer, not too tight not too loose just right.










Here fitting the pin required a few minutes work. I wanted this to fit tight but it still has to turn and it was a bit too snug. A bit of 400 grit on the pin and some oil and I got the nice snug fit, just enough resistance and the slop is gone!










With that finally I was able to paint the motor black. Next up in part 3 fix that track micro adjuster with the busted gear by making a hole new part out of a 3/4 inch grade 5 bolt and brazing on the replacement gear.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 2 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 2 I didn't get a lot done but what I did get done was important. Today I needed to repaint the motor black. I had asked the motor shop to paint it black after they sand blasted the housing so naturally they painted it grey. (face palm).
> 
> ...


Really cool. I love watching machine builds. I like seeing how people machine things too. Something of which I have no experience at all. Should be a fun blog


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…

This is a micro adjuster for the turret. On the Delta 40-B both the carriage and turret slide forward and back, the carriage on the carriage bearings and the turret on dovetail ways ground into the top arm. On many radial arm saws after 1952 the turret is fixed.

There's a gear track up under the top arm this adjuster meshes with. The reason the shaft is ground so small left of the gear with that big chamfer is it has to reach over the dovetail way to get to the gear track which is up behind it.

So…I had a brain malfunction. Rather than fix the original adjuster and decided I should machine a whole new adjuster from scratch out of a big 3/4 inch grade 5 bolt. Well 2 broken C5 carbide bits later the bolt had defeated me, dang those things are hard. Hence I fixed the original adjuster below.










Here you see I machined the broken gear off with the lathe.










I found a new gear at McMaster Carr but it can't go on this way due to having to clear the dovetail way in the top arm.










I turned it around.










I brazed the gear on with a torch then trimmed it leaving a hub of material for added strength.










Here's the most mangled part on the saw, one of two eccentric cam bolts for the carriage. This thing was so mangled I had to force it out of the carriage with a hydraulic press. The hex socket was stripped out and the bolt was galled badly from someone over tightening a set screw. This part really should be thrown away but I decided to repair it temporarily for now so I can get the saw back in service.

Here I have machined down a socket head screw and plan to braze it on with a torch and brass brazing rod.










Here it is test fitted, the fit was fair not great.










Here it is finished, brazed on then turned on the lathe so the hex nut will fit. I had some brass wick up the threads a bit fortunately I had a die on hand to clean them up.










I decided to machine another brass bushing, this is for the front of the base where the crank handle is located to raise/lower the column. I'm using a 1" solid round of 360 alloy brass, it machines very nice dry no lubricants. I hogged out the hole with a couple drill bits and an end mill then bored it. Here I'm turning the OD.










Here's the new one next to the old one.










Here it is installed in the cast iron base, again the casting was bored out of round so I had to rework it with a Dremel.










Finally I repainted the motor black.










In part 4 finally reassembly begins!!!


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…
> 
> ...


My, my You must be a master machinist by education and career to do such nice work. No wonder you went for the big, heavy fine stuff for your recently updated shop. Thanks for the blog


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…
> 
> ...


Great work darthford. Once again very fun read. That radial arm saw is going to be one cool machine when done. I've never used one so I don't know. But if given the chance with a machine like that I would.


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## smitdog (Aug 20, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…
> 
> ...


Great read, and some great machining skills! Can't wait to see the finished vintage RAS!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…
> 
> ...


Thanks guys the next blog on this project is going to be loaded with fresh paint and shiny new parts going together stay tuned!


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## chocolyle (Jan 11, 2015)

darthford said:


> *Part 3 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 3 I finish up all the repairs, here we go…
> 
> ...


I am in the process of restoring a Red-Star 40-A, prior to Rockwell/Delta buying them out. Your finished unit looks great!

Would you have any interest in repairing another micro-adjuster for the turret? Mine has the same problem as yours. Please let me know if you could, and how much. I can send you out mine. I can not find a replacement anywhere.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 4 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

In part 4 re-assembly begins. I decided to assemble it on the stand vs my workbench and lifting on the stand afterwards so step 1 assemble the stand.

Hmmm…the original stand I guess it has that arts deco thing going for it but that's about all. 40 count them 40 rusted on screws hold it together. I'd have to start by grinding them all off with a grinder, then de-rust, sand, paint this thing and when that was done I'd have a arts deco stand that was not very practical and a bit on the flimsy side. Its heading for craigslist.










I decided to mount this saw on a Kreg stand instead. Lots of steel with holes in it for supporting extension wings and the like vs the original stand and much stiffer. The stand is 28" x 28". Yeah I paid more for the Kreg stand than the saw lol.










I swapped out the cheap Kreg wheels for these industrial aluminum hub wheels I had on hand. I do like the Kreg casters as they are double locking.










Here's the stand pre-drilled for the base of the RAS and ready to go. Those are 1" thick Russian birch plywood shelves. It looks a bit washed out under the bright as the sun shop lights but I finished both with a coat of Waterlox top and bottom. Not sure if I like that product, first time I have used it, seems like Watco built up much faster.










Assembly of the base and column begins literally in 3…2…1


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 4 re-assembly begins. I decided to assemble it on the stand vs my workbench and lifting on the stand afterwards so step 1 assemble the stand.
> 
> ...


You gotit goin', Buddy! I agree with the new stand and opportunity for the necessary extension tables.


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## TajBuilder (Aug 6, 2008)

darthford said:


> *Part 4 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> In part 4 re-assembly begins. I decided to assemble it on the stand vs my workbench and lifting on the stand afterwards so step 1 assemble the stand.
> 
> ...


That gear seems to have been a common problem because mine is in the same shape and a little bent. Did you ever sell your old stand? I'm rebuilding my 40B and it didn't come with the stand.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 5 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

Heck yeah its time to put this beast back together.

Here's the crank assembly for raising/lowering the saw on the column. I pressed new roller bearings into that cast iron piece (I can't believe how often I'm using that cheap Harbor Freight hydraulic press I griped about buying thinking I'd only use it once) and purchased new made in USA thrust bearings as well. I painted most of that disgusting crank shaft grey, I swear that thing was half rusted when they gooped primer on it at the factory, I threw it on my lathe and cleaned it up a bit.










Here it is assembled and ready to install.










Installed and greased. I elected not to paint the remaining bare metal of the crank shaft just in case this ever needs to be removed again, its a tight fight and I would not want to beat it out of there like I had to the first time. I hit the bare metal with some Boeshield and called it good.










Here it is from the top side bolted now to the stand.










Its so nice and shiny clean










Goooooooop I packed it in grease. This ACME screw is not accessible once the saw is assembled so there's no way to routinely lubricate this thing so I packed it with about 50 years worth of grease.










Here's the upper half of the column and the ACEM nut.










I packed the nut with grease also.










You may have noticed by now I'm using new stainless bolts, nuts, and screws. I would have had to replace some of the beat up original hardware and de-rust clean/paint the rest I said the heck with it and just purchased new stainless. Yeah it got expensive I'm not sure I'd do it again when I can get grade 8 for $4 a pound.










I purchased new hex socket set screws and jam nuts for the column replacing the original giant flat scew driver type set screws and beat up jam nuts. Anti-seize love that stuff, also gave these a coat of Boeshield. Here in the pacific northwest of Washington state we get a lot of rain and stuff likes to rust that's why. ;-)










Here's a shot from the back of the column installed. For the upper and lower column I used way oil I have on hand for my metal lathe, its heavy like 68 weight but designed not to get sticky.










Here it is from the front. I only have the set scews snug but still the column moves with no effort, I don't even need the crank handle you can just grab the shaft and spin it. I think its well lubed lol.










That's all for now, off camera I cut the 4 precision ground 1/4 inch rods to size and have installed two of them already but its time to take a break and head over to Famous Daves BBQ for some sirloin tri-tips, stay tuned I'll get back to it after lunch!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 6 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

After I recovered from Famous Dave's BBQ I continued with the assembly, here's my progress from the evening shift.

Before shot of underside carriage track, wow what was growing out of that top right hand bolt a mold colony?










After shot, much improved. I'm hoping the grey gloss enamel will be easier to keep clean vs the factory yellow primer.










Its starting to look like a radial arm saw again










Close up of the new precision ground hardened rods the carriage will ride on. I decided to paint the rod clips black. Originally they were bare metal and rusty. I figured I'd have to keep them oiled to prevent rust but then every spec of sawdust is going to stick to them so we'll see how paint works.










Here's a side shot.










And a close up. The cast iron ways came out pretty good considering how rusty they were. Another shout out for Evapo-Rust! I removed the aluminum rule which notes the angle (45, 60, 90 etc.) it was pretty beat up and I wanted to remove the rust from underneath it. Not sure if I'm going to put it back on, all the angles have a stops machined for them so its not really needed. I'm mostly going to cross cut 90 degrees anyway.










That's all for now.


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## libraryman (Feb 23, 2008)

darthford said:


> *Part 6 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> After I recovered from Famous Dave's BBQ I continued with the assembly, here's my progress from the evening shift.
> 
> ...


I have the tiny 7" Multiplex That was my Grandfathers. It is in fair condition and still operates ok - however it takes about 3 minutes for the blade to come to a stop after switching off. Have you found anyway to make the motor come to a stop quicker?


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 6 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> After I recovered from Famous Dave's BBQ I continued with the assembly, here's my progress from the evening shift.
> 
> ...


libararyman start by replacing the motor bearings they are not supposed to spin free like that, that's an indication they need to be replaced. They should be packed with grease and resistant to spinning.


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## libraryman (Feb 23, 2008)

darthford said:


> *Part 6 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> After I recovered from Famous Dave's BBQ I continued with the assembly, here's my progress from the evening shift.
> 
> ...


Great suggestion. I didn't think of this possibly being the cause. I'm going to be completely tuning up my saw this Spring - fortunately I don't have rust on any parts, so it will be mostly things like bearings, etc. My Grandfather was a finish carpenter and never needed a table saw - he ripped and crosscut on the Multiplex. I don't think I will ever rip boards with it but hopefully will cut all trim moldings and picture frames with it. Will pester you for more info when I begin - especially if I need motor work done.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

darthford said:


> *Part 6 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> After I recovered from Famous Dave's BBQ I continued with the assembly, here's my progress from the evening shift.
> 
> ...


"fortunately I don't have rust on any parts" lol famous last words I said the same thing until I started disassembling the saw, hopefully you won't. What I found was the factory painted the saw 'after' they assembled it. The internal bare metal surfaces of which there were many had rusted. Most could have been painted had they taken the time to do so, I did on this rebuild. Post some pics of your saw here if you like or PM me I'd like to see it.


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 7 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Bearings MRC 202SFF 12 *

Part 7 is a special edition blog focusing specifically on the carriage bearings. It took some leg work to track down an alternative bearing so hopefully this will save someone else all that trouble.

The original 4 carriage bearings were wasted, someone had previously pried off the dust covers no doubt in an attempt to clean/grease them but my 10x loop showed the races were rusted out. The original bearing is a *MRC 202SFF 12* and no longer available anywhere on planet earth. So began the search for an alternative.

Wolfe Machinery has a bearing *A80970* that will work. This bearing is for DeWalt radial arm saws and is itself no longer manufactured so Wolfe Machinery had to have these bearings custom manufactured. The minimum order was 1,000 bearings and custom manufacturing doesn't come cheap so you guessed it these bearings are a bit expensive at $35 each. I ordered 4 so they gave me a discount $30×4 - $120.

The A80970 outer race was slightly smaller and narrower than the original however this proved to be a non-issue. The OD was smaller by .015 but that was easily soaked up by adjusting the eccentric cam adjusting bolts. The race thickness is narrower by .039 not a small amount, the A80970 seems to ride a bit deeper on the ways (1/4 precision ground hardened steel rods) but this doesn't seem to be an issue it tracks smoothly. I have included some close up pictures to illustrate.

A80970 / MRC 202SFF 12 (original bearing)

ID .590 / .590
Inner race thickness .432 / .432
OD 1.575 / 1.590
Outer race thickness .432 / .471


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 7 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Bearings MRC 202SFF 12 *
> 
> Part 7 is a special edition blog focusing specifically on the carriage bearings. It took some leg work to track down an alternative bearing so hopefully this will save someone else all that trouble.
> 
> ...


Lookin' good. Should be a sweet RAS when you're done!


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## darthford (Feb 17, 2013)

*Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*

Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!

A mix of polished aluminum and black enamel. I polished the aluminum end caps for the carriage rack but the casting was porous and honestly they look better painted black imo. I did polish a few aluminum pieces though, I didn't want it to look too bling and I'm satisfied.










How's this for a before and after…










I installed my 12" table saw blade just for fun, it looks like it means business.










A close up of the polished aluminum, I did what I could with 62 year old parts. I put a new toggle switch in it the existing switch was not rated for the amps this 2hp motor draws.










This will be my last blog on the saw as the rebuild is pretty much completed, thanks for watching.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


A well deserved WOW! is in order. Great restoration work, especially for such a venerable old machine. I hope you get a lot of working pleasure out of it. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


ABSOLUTELY a wonderful reconstruction, including your manufsactured parts. I am certain that DELTA would be proud to have this in their museum. You'll really be prepared to work big long crosscuts or miters when the table is in place. Thanks for the very in-depth blog on this build.


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## dahenley (Sep 1, 2012)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


i just saw another post of yours, and i think you should do one more with the stand and platform installed.

by the way, the saw looks amazing and i think it will give you years and years of great service!


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## ThomBarlee (Feb 5, 2019)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


I love the work you did! I'm just about to buy a multiplex 30a off CL, and I'd like to do some work to it too! Thanks so much for posting such pertinent info. What type of paint did you end up using? I haven't decided on color yet. 
Cheers, 
Thomas


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## Whojamfan (Jul 30, 2019)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


Great job on that!
I just got a Multiplex 40-B, and it's missing the Klixon reset button. I contacted the current Klixon themselves, and person writing me back said she passed on my question to some people who might be able to help. 
I just need to purchase one, but have no idea which one to buy.
Thanks to anyone that can help.
-Mike


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## Whojamfan (Jul 30, 2019)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


Found it-
Klixon CGJ36SB
Direct replacement-drops in and fits perfect.
Got mine from Arrowhead Electric Company.


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## Whojamfan (Jul 30, 2019)

darthford said:


> *Part 8 of 8 - 1952 Delta Multiplex 40-B 12"-14" Radial Arm Saw Rebuild*
> 
> Finally all the parts are back together, I just have to finish the wiring, build a table for it and dial in everything square. PHEW!!!
> 
> ...


Thank you, got one from Arrowhead, dropped right in and mounted on the existing hardware.
They are 20 minutes away from me in Los Angeles(SF Springs), and I was able to drive over and pick it up. I saved the shipping charge, and got motor up and running.
If it wasn't 100 plus degrees outside this weekend, I'd be making a new table and dialing it in.
Thanks for the response, will post pictures and start a thread on it soon.


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