# Craftsman table saw tilt mechanism



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

I'm refurbishing a Craftsman table saw that is about 30 years old. Most of the work is done but I'm having trouble with the tilt mechanism. There is a threaded rod that is cranked to tilt the blade, and a stop at the end of the threads. When I crank to the maximum tilt the blade is near but not quite at 45 degrees - about a couple of degrees. The stop has two brass set screws that I've loosened to be sure the stop is as far out as it can go. Is there another adjustment that I'm missing?

Andy


----------



## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Are you measuring with a protractor or going by the gauge?


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

I'm measuring with a protractor.


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

i removed those from one of my saws. the problem with that element of the emerson electric built TSs (i'll bet your model number starts with 113 and looks like this: 113.XXXXXX) is that saw dust can collect where the the stops meet the tilt mechanism and almost never give you an accurate 45 or 90 degree setting. remove them entirely and use either a digital angle cube (like a wixey) or drafting triangles.


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks Toolie. I used a compressor to blow out the sawdust and lubricated the threaded rod, and I don't think that sawdust is the problem. But I'm happy to take off the stops as I don't use them anyway. Is there a way to take them off without taking the entire saw apart?


----------



## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Does your blade go BEYOND the 90 degrees at stop (back toward the fence)? If so you may have to shim the fence side of the table with a washer between trunions and table until the blade stops at that 90. If that isn't the issue you may have to take your stop over to the grinder and remove some material. That shouldn't have to be the case I know, but if nothing else works…


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

*Is there a way to take them off without taking the entire saw apart?*

not that i'm aware of. i removed them during the clean up phase of an emerson electric built c-man saw i cobbled together from 3 different purchases. if i remember correctly, the bevel control rod needed to be removed to get the inner "stop" collar off the rod. i did this when the cabinet was upside down on a workbench. if this is an issue for you, there was enough room on my bevel control rod to loosen this inner stop collar and move it sufficiently out of the way. hopefully, your saw has the same capacity.


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks for the information Toolie. I looked again at the mechanism and I see that the stop is not the problem. I moved it to the end and the bevel control rod binds before it gets to the stop - about 3/4 of an inch before it hits the stop. So something else is binding as the blade swings; do you have an idea what is binding?

dhaselton: I haven't had a chance to check this yet but I will soon.


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

I have a 113.298030 and the blade gaurd support hits the rear fence support tube (Vega Utility Fence), when I angle the blade. YMMV.


----------



## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

Documentation for these Emerson saws from Sears can be found here . This is for my model saw (113.29901) but, really, there was only minor differences between them for the 50 - 70 years Sears sold them.

Please don't a grinder to your saw, that just shouldn't be necessary!

Here's one thing I found while helping a friend with his saw: the pulley had been replaced at some point in the saw"s life. The parts list shows a 2 1/2" pulley but whoever replaced it used a 3" pulley. The extra diamtere on the pulley interfered with the table when trying to crank the tilt all the way. I don't remember whether it was one of the 113 Emerson saws or one of the 103 King-Seeley saws but it might be worth checking.


----------



## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

andyp…......how about a pic of what's happening. might help figure out what's in the way.


----------



## jayscott (Dec 18, 2011)

I have a Craftsman professional cabinetmaker's saw #113.298840C. The 90 and 45 degree stops are set screws accessible from the top of the table. I always had trouble getting the blade tilted to 45 degrees, the handwheel became harder and harder to turn, starting at about 35 degrees.

Taking the saw apart, I found the trunnion was binding on the cradle so I filed that out but I also had to loosen the screws that held the tilt mechanism bearing retainer to the side of the saw.

It's much better but still not as easy as it should be.

Hope this helps.
Jim


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

DIYaholic pointed out my problem - A Vega fence on the saw (standard 113) blocks the blade from tilting fully to 45 degrees. The blade guard hits the fence a few degrees before you hit 43. I assume that there's no solution to this except don't make 45 degree cuts unless someone has an idea. I guess I could grind down the guide on the back fence rail a bit but that seems extreme.

Thanks to everyone for helping me out on this one.

Andy


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

AndyP,
I contacted Vega, regarding this. They said to grind/cut out the offending metal on the rear fence tube.

The rear fence tube only supports the back sliding portion of the fence and is not critical to the fence operation. I have yet to do this, but it is a rather simple procedure.

I'm glad you found the problem and hence a solution.


----------



## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

So it is true, not everyone has saw dust in their brain. Glad to see such sharing of ideas and information


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

DIYaholic,

Thanks again. I may try grinding it down then. I was going to take it off to enlarge the hole for attaching the rail because the rail is a little high as it is now - the miter gauge hits the rail and I have to lower the rail about 1/32 inch.

Andy


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

I picked up my saw used. I had to redrill all the mounting holes for the same reason, that and I moved the whole fence over to the right, to gain more ripping capacity.

When I fix the blade angle problem, I will only remove metal from the bottom & only what is neccessary for 46 degrees of blade tilt.

BTW: Welcome to LumberJocks, a great place to feed your wood working insanity!!!
Good luck & happy sawdust making!


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks DYI. Given what you say I think I'll try grinding the rail down where it rides high and interferes with the miter gauge instead of trying to enlarge the bolt hole. I'm not sure when I'll get to this but I'll post when I do it.

Andy


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

AndyP,
That (grinding vs. removing & drilling) sounds like a much easier plan. Be careful not to accidently grind any of the table away. I would also repaint the tube, to prevent rust from forming. Remember, there are two miter slots!

Good luck.


----------



## AndyP (Dec 3, 2012)

DYIhaholic: After talking to you I decided just to take off the blade guard on the saw. It was awkward and I usually didn't use it anyway. That solved the main problem. I decided to call Vega on the problem with the fence before I ground the high spot on the rail off and they told me that a batch of back rails had been drilled wrong and I had one of the bad ones. They're sending a replacement on that so both problems seem to be solved. Thanks again.


----------



## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

YEAH!!


----------



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

That is great to hear!!!
The folks at Vega are great!!! I told them I had purchased a used saw with one of their fences and that day they sent out an owners manual ASAP. They obviously are a very "Customer Service" oriented company. I like stories of great customer service. I'm glad that you got such great service.

I hear ya, regarding the blade gaurd being a PIA, but I still try to use it. I'm considering removing the balde gaurd, but keeping the splitter in place. Or, I may just incorporate a splitter into ZCI and reengineer/retrofit the blade gaurd into an overhead mounted unit, with DC. Time will tell…...


----------

