# Craftsman Table Saw Model # 113.29940



## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

My neighbor, who knew that I was into woodworking called this weekend to tell me that another neighbor had sold her house and downsized after her husband had passed away. This second neighbor wanted to know if I was interested in his old table saw. When I went to check it out, expecting a small bench model with direct drive, I found a Craftsmans 113.29940 is really good shape.

I have a Craftsman jobsite professional saw that was chosen due to portability and compact size given my space requirements (One bay of a two car garage.).

The new-to-me-saw is in solid condition and cost me only a gift card to a local restaurant (She wanted to give it to me to have it hauled out, but I just couldn't take it so this was the compromise.) Does anyone have this saw or know anything about it. I appears to be a great low-cost upgrade from my old saw. The old job-site saw that I have been using has all Craftsman proprietary parts and is basically not upgradable with standard add-ons. (Even the miter slots are non-standard size.)

It will need a new power chord, replacement power switch to make it more child/idiot proof ( As my children also use the garage to store their things. Additionally, I have to take a tiny bit of light surface rust off the cast iron table, but no pitting.

It has an older belt for the motor and I am going to replace it with a link belt.

The motor is 1 hp and original. Does anyone have any thoughts about replacing the motor for more power? I have a spare 1 1/4 hp motor from a lathe.

I am most excited about the idea of putting an after-market fence system on the saw to really rev it up. Any thoughts as this is still a budget job (I want to stay married and telling my wife that I spent $500 for a fence on a $25 saw will not go over well.) And adding an outfeed table to the back side of the saw.

Additionally, anyone in the Cincinnati area that is looking for a jobsite saw, I have a great one that will go on craigslist when I finish prepping the new toy.

Please let me know about your thoughts. I don't want to start dumping money into a saw that someone with experience says it is garbage, but I also know that I will likely not be in a position to by a cabinet saw for a long time, if ever. Hey I made it 6 or 7 years with the jobsite saw just fine.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Justin in Loveland, OH


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

If your saw has the same 1 hp motor that my saw (113.29991) has, you might find that it is powerful enough. Several years ago when I was looking to upgrade my fence, I started looking at the big Blue Box Store. They do carry one that isn't too expensive but I started looking at making my own. There are some home made aluminum fences listed on this site. I made one following the guide in the book titled: Shop-Tested Woodworking Tools You Can Make. For me it had the right price: just used scraps I had in the shop. Several years later and it still works fine.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

That could make for a pretty nice saw….it's very similar to the Emerson made Ridgid contractor saws.

As much as I like the Biesemeyer fence, I don't think this saw merits the regular price on one though. The Delta T2 is a decent aftermarket fence that's available for $156.50 shipped from Tools-Plus, and is a logical choice IMHO. You might be able to sell the stock fence for $25 or $30 on Ebay to offset costs. Add a decent blade like a Freud Diablo or Infinity Combomax Lite, align it, and you're in business.

You may find you don't need more power, but time will tell.


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

Just so you know, the 113 model number signifies that it was made by Emerson.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi Justin, I was in the same boat with my $50 Craftsman. I bought a link belt and machined pulleys, and this switch (Grizzly customer service helped me with the box and a mounting plate for it). It moves well on this base. Use a thin kerf blade and keep the stock motor. My plan was to use this fence (but fortune smiled on me and I found an Incra LS/Delta Contractor saw on CL with so much extra treasure and hardwood that I am uncomfortable gloating).

As you see the cost of a $25 or $50 saw adds up quickly. To make the Craftsman into a saw worth having you will need to align it. A properly aligned saw is SAFER, more efficient, and makes smoother cuts. Matthias Wandel's site has very good info on saw alignment . Ed Bennett's table saw alignment site is well worth the effort to register and log in. I used PALS and a TS Aligner Jr to align it.

Tuning my Craftsman I learned a lot about table saws and to appreciate the much closer tolerances of my Delta.

-Jack


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## KTMM (Aug 28, 2009)

I'm doing a blog on restoring an old saw from the 113. family. Gotta go do some alignment work and hopefully I'll be updating tonight.


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Jack,

when you ordered the switch, how did you fit the switch into the small front opening on the saw? That switch says that it is rated for a 2 hp motor. Does your saw have to 2hps or is the switch ok for my 1 hp motor?

Second, when you ordered the pulleys and belt, did you order the Sears/Craftsman one (the first one on the page) or did you have to measure your arbor as the site suggests?

Thanks
Justin


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

KTMM,

I will follow your blog. Your saw is older than mine, but I have already learned a great deal from you project. Thanks and keep going, it is a great old saw that is getting awesome new life.


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

All of you guys that threw your two cents in, I am going to go for it and rework the saw. I will try and post some pics later today/night.

Justin


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Justin,

Your saw is a bit different from my contractor saw. The design is similar but the contractor saw has table extensions and maybe a larger table. The switch on my saw mounts under the front rail. The rating would be *up to* a 2hp motor (with 110v or 220v). I don't know if you could upgrade your switch without modifying the case unless you abandoned the stock switch and went with one mounted externally.

It is always better to measure, so you know you are getting the right parts. The manual says both pulleys are 2 1/2"x5/8", but I would check . -Jack


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Jack,

The saw is listed as a "bench saw", but it really is a contractor saw. It has two cast iron table extension and the sears after-market moble base. For its time, it was fairly reved up. I will try to get some pictures up tonight. My wife took some last night, but I got caught up in removing the small amount of rust from the table and the grime from a couple of decades of garage life. Once I get the pictures up, I would like to hear your thoughts on the switch. I will try to include a pic of the front of the saw.

I am thinking of taking the castors off the legs as the legs are the same sheet metal that the saw body is made from and with 4 indepedent castors, they are pulled in different directions. I think that the moble base you mentioned from harbor freight will fix that.

Justin


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Here are a couple of pictures of the saw. All I have done to it at this point is use some WD40 and a scotch pad to remove some surface rust.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Thanks for adding pictures. I'd try a couple of other less expensive options before changing motors. As stated, a thin kerf blade could STILL come in handy even if you switch motors later. Just for grins, trying a 7 1/4" blade can also be advantageous at times. Lastly, consider keeping your old saw with a permanently installed dado blade or always set to 45 degrees. When you're all done, I'm sure a nice box would be well received by the widow but I'm sure you already have something planned. Keep us posted on your progress.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

I've got an older Craftsman TS that I bought off of a friend at a good price. His Uncle passed, and he knew I was into woodworkin, so, well, I've had it for 6 or 7 years now, and it suits me just fine. I ran into a deal at Lowes on a clearence rack, I bought the last Beisemeyer 30" fence there for 180bux or somewhere there-a-bouts. Took a little drillin, but, it mouted up just fine. The switch on it was a toggle switch that finally crapped, so I replaced it with one of them nice switches fer 30bux on sale. It works fine. Also, enclosed the saw in a table with some outfeed, and my router on the right side. There's a pic or 2 on my page of my shop. check it out. I'll buddy up, cuz I'd like to see how ya make out.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Justin-Brian-KTMM-KnotScot -

What do you think about this as a cheap upgrade for Craftsman saws?

-Jack


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

I have been considering a new belt for mine for a while, but the the belt I am using has not slipped once yet. When it does, I plan on getting a belt and pully system similar to that.


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Well, I did some math last night and while I really want a revved up saw, I don't want to turn my $25 fixer upper into a cash hog. So some tough choices had to be made.

As of now, I am dropping my plan to use the modile base from Harbor Freight and instead, will take the shop made mobile base off of an old tool stand and reuse the casters and hardware to build my own. The saw already has casters and is thus mobile, but the casters don't lock and with the sheet metal standard base, I don't feel confident. So, there is $35 back in the saved column.

While I want the machined pulleys, I know that I will undoubtedly have unforseen problems and my time is limited so the pulleys are out for now. But the v-belt is shot. After reading some reviews, I bought 5 feet of link belt at Harbor Freight today for just under $20 after standard 20% off coupon. I hooked up 41 inches of link and worked that on in under 5 minutes. Smooth, is all I can say. And believe it or not the HF link belt is made in the USA!










Later this afternoon, I took the freud thin kerf blade off of my old jobsite TS and put in on the "new-to-me" saw. I did a few cuts of some 1/2 inch poplar. There must be some gunk on the table that the wood picked up so some more cleaning is due. Also the blade is causing some ragged tear-out on the bottom of the cut which I think a zero clearance insert will fix. Any of you know how to adapt a stock one or get one for the saw?

The Big problem was that the power to the saw blade dipped all three times I made cuts. It started fast, dipped, then revved back up about 3 inches into the cut. I know that there is a problem with the switch and it will need to be replaced, I think this is the culprit. Turning on the switch does nothing until you nudge the switch back toward off and then it comes to life. I am planning to order a paddle switch from Girzzly and mounting it under the rail. More $.

The last pic I am putting up today, shows the blade in place and the stock fence. The stock fence is being replaced by the Delta T2. Ordering that later (maybe tonight). I made a call to the local Woodcraft to get PALS for the alignment, but they are out so I will be ordering those too. If any of you have thoughts on any of the issues I am facing, let me hear them.










Thanks in advance.

Justin


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Thanks for updating us. I think you made the right move starting with the link belt first, and not the pulleys…sounds like you probably won't need them. The fence upgrade is a good move IMO. Enjoy!


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## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

Buy a sheet of hardwood plywood and make your own mobile base. It will also give you storage for all the extra stuff you are going to accumulate: blades, wrenches, miter gage, etc.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

If you can make your own zero clearance inserts that would save you a bundle. I bet you could sell your original fence + rails (Ebay) to help offset the T2's cost. -Jack


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Got the switch replaced this weekend. A huge thanks to everyone out there that helped out with the wiring. It really was very easy, but I have a healthy concern around electricity. I had the saw running by 10:00 am Saturday, and was cleaning out the shop/garage when a neighbor came over with some doug fir 4×4's to have ripped down to 2.5×2.5. as well as some S3S 4/4 poplar for a project. His basement shop would not accomidate the lumber. Its hard to believe that someone has less space than my 8'x20' garage bay.

The saw cut the first 4×4 down easily, but each cut after that got worse and worse with a decreasing amount of power. It finally got to the point that 4/4 poplar stopped the blade the first time that I touched the wood to the blade. I began to panic and imagined the money and time that I had put into the saw to now find that the motor was either shot or that 1 hp was just not enough. This seemed odd since before replacing the switch I had run some Osage shorts through without a problem.

Before you start to speculate on the problem, I checked the motor only to find that the link belt had stretch a very generous amount. I adjusted the motor mount to get the blet tight and then flew through the last 20 or so board feet of poplar. This week, I need to take the belt off and take a link or two out then readjust the belt.

I am hoping the Santa will have a delta T2 fence in my stocking, but for now, I am building jig for blade alignment and will be installing the PALS this weekend. Then its going to be time to build a new base.

The final question of the day, anyone out there that is using a saw similar to this one, how are you handling dust collection? I am thinking of building a 4" dust port into the new mobile base and running either 3 or 4 inch PVC through the side of the base and out to my central system, but that doesn't handle the dust out the top or the open back. The tilting arbor means that the back must be open to allow the blade to tilt.

Justin


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## bczygan (Feb 5, 2011)

I just got this same saw free off Craigs List. Looking forward to rehabbing and setting it up.

Bill


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Frankensaw. This saw has both parts from the original saw, and parts from the saw in this post. Trunion was a direct swap. Motor was an after-market one. Dual belts. Original fence. Been running fine for over twenty years. The reson for the "Frankensaw"? Trunion had cracked on the original 113, parts were too much from Sears. Construction Company I worked for was replacing thier one sears, with three Deltas. I got their saw for $20. I swapped out the bad parts with ones from the "new" saw. I also kept all four steel wings. One went on the left, three on the right, with a leg added under the wide side.

I made a zero clearence insert, once. Just some plywood, cut to match to opening. A rabbet was made on the underside, and a screw slot was added. Installed it, and then ran the spinning blade up through the plywood insert. Seemed to do alright. Price was right.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

It's worth replacing the trunnion bolts on these saws. Grade 8 bolts will
hold settings better. The bolts that come stock with these
saws are just regular grade 5 I think, which doesn't stay as tight 
under vibration conditions in table saws.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

I have a slightly older version of this saw. I got a table saw dust collection "plate" from one of the online suppliers, cut a piece of 1/4" ply to fit in the bottom of the sheet metal, and cut it out for the plate. That exhausts down, so a blast gate, a couple of pieces of short straight piece of PVC S&D, a couple of 45 elbows and I can get into my DC. I blocked up most of the opening in the back with some hardboard, and did the same in the front, which is removable if I need to tilt the blade. Seems to work pretty well. You don't want ALL the air blocked coming into the saw, but you want most of it.


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## ChrisCarr (Jun 19, 2010)

From looking at those pictures it seems that tube style fence is a bit "small-looking", my tube-style on my older delta contractor saw is a bit beefier, If i were you a new fence thats bulkier would be a great option.


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## Hns (Feb 10, 2011)

Hey Fellas, I've got an older 113…040 as well. After cleaning mine up, replacing bearings, etc., the arbor housing now shifts away from the cradle. The stop pin is secure in the cradle but the housing moves over time. Any thought or ideas? You can imagine the grief…

Thx,

Hans


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## danulb (Feb 13, 2011)

I have the same model saw as the original post, that I just received. Originally, I had to do is replace a switch. It worked well for several weeks, however recently the blade has stopped moving, but it hums when I hit the switch. Everything else seems to be working however. I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas what I can look at to get it working again?

Thank you,
Dan


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Dan - It sounds like it could be a bad capacitor, or a stuck centrifugal switch.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

You might try using an air hose and blowing out the inside of the motor. Then check the start cap. OR, use this as an excuse for a new motor.


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Just an update to this topic. I have nearly completed a new cabinet mobile base. I only need to finish the door for the large end cabinet. I will try to post some pictures later this weekend.

Now I have a new question. I purchased a set of PALS from Woodcraft and will likely install these this weekend. However, as you can see from the last picture that I posted above (rear view) the rear trunion is held in place with three bolts. The PALS are meant for only two trunion bolts. Should I: (A) Remove the middle bolt and just go without it, or (B) try buying a second pack of PALS and use one of the adjustable mounts for the middle bolt attachment?

There is a part of me that says the middle bolt is over kill, but there is another part that says if it was overkill, it wouldn't have been placed there by the manufacturer.

On another note, I also have a T2 fence sitting in a box ready to go on this saw!


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

The PALS are available in several sizes/types to fit different saws. If you got the right set, it should work on your saw, so unless the instructions say to remove the center bolt, I'd leave it. They should still be able to provide lateral pressure for adjustment when the bolts are loosened, and the center bolt should help provide extra holding power once adjustments are made and the bolts tightened down.


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## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

I've worked on models of these saws that had the place for the third bolt on the trunnion, but it was never installed. I think you could leave the third bolt and install the PALs on the two outside bolts. When it comes time to adjust the saw, loosen the third bolt, square up the trunnion, then tighten that third bolt to help hold the trunnion in place. I haven't done this myself, but it sure makes sense to me.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Has anyone found a heftier hp motor that fits the mounts?


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## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Well, it's been a long time, (a little over a year), but other than putting the PALS on the saw to get the blade aligned, I think that I have my Frankensaw tricked out.

A big THANK YOU to all that added their insight and information. I hope that others will try something like this. Just a quick run down:

1. Removed surface rust from top.
2. Replaced v belt with link belt (from Harbor Freight)
3. Removed faulty switch from front and installed paddle swith (Grizzly.com)
4. Original 1hp motor failed, replaced capacitor, still nothing. Replaced motor with 1 3/4 hp delta cabinet saw motor (loving the power)
5. Added Freud thin kerf blade
6. Built new mobile base from KTMM blog - Thank you so much! Mine is a little odd looking as it is from left over reclaimed lumber including a disassembled TV hutch. Base has built in dust collection to connect to central system.
7. Added new wiring for delta motor. Heavier gauge and extra length, thus no extension chords.
8. Installed Delta T30 fence system. I did the version of the install that uses some of the existing holes in the table. I only had to drill one hole (in the front) and none in the back. I did have to remove the measuring tape from the front rail and realign/install. This was easy and the whole install took only a little over an hour (That's with me being extra cautious.)

Enjoy the pics. They are before and after the fence addition.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the update Justin. You'd be hard pressed to find a better saw for what you've invested in this one. -Jack


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