# delta table saw arbor suddenly free spinning?



## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

hey guys this is my first post here

I have an older second hand Delta 10" contractors saw that suddenly has a free spinning arbor.

Took the blade off, turn the motor on and it makes the usual roar as if its working, and I can see it's internals spinning, but the arbor just sits. When turned off the arbor just spins freely in my hand.

Any idea what has happened?

It worked fine recently, and most recent cuts were to mdf and seemingly stress free.

Curious if this is a simple problem or if I have to remove the motor and investigate further.

Thanks for reading! -chris


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Contractor saw? Okay this might sound like a dumb question but I have to ask… Is the belt still attached / tensioned?


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## Granddaddy1 (May 16, 2012)

Sounds like the key stock fell out on your shaft pulley. Unplug the saw and see if you can spin the blade by hand without turning the motor. If you can, that's what happened.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

broken v-belt or key


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

So there's no belt… the arbor comes directly out of the motor… do I have a tilting arbor saw and not a contractors saw? If so, sorry for the name confusion.

Thanks for your quick replies fellas!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

That's not a contractors saw then. By definition a contractors saw is belt driven, and the motor sticks out of the back of the saw…

Please post your model # up so folks will know what you are dealing with…

It sounds like a lower end direct drive saw like a modern bench top. Delta / Rockwell used to make direct drive saws with full size cast iron tables. They still make direct drive saws with aluminum tables. They are pretty common…

The way the arbor attaches to the motor varies by model in direct drive saws a LOT. Given the model # we can look up an exploded view of the saws drivetrain and help you figure it out…


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

So it is a Delta cat #34-670, and the motor serial # 1313314. It does indeed have a cast iron table.

here's a google pic of the exact saw
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachments/f12/20734d1297109384-new-me-delta-table-saw-delta-34-670-sm.jpg

Thanks!


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

there does appear to be an internal drive belt that could have snapped, http://www.ereplacementparts.com/images/dewalt/34-670_Type_2_WW_2.gif part #226 on that gif

think that's the culprit?


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## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

if 226 is a belt that the motor uses to drive the arbor shaft, that could be the problem. would this be called a direct drive saw? kinda has me wondering as there's no traditional belt driving an exposed arbor. rather, it looks like the belt referred to by the OP is within the carcass of the motor.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

It's got a little vacuum cleaner style belt….probably the cultprit.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

I have that same saw. It's the belt. It's a toothed or notched belt and the teeth sheer off. It's only a 20 dollar replacement. The woman I bought the saw from said there was no belt, that it was direct drive and the arbor was broken so she sold it for 50 dollars since she had already bought a replacement saw. I lucked out on that one.


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

Awesome. You guys have been incredibly helpful!

I'll pull the motor tonight and take a look at that belt. Fingers are crossed.

DaleM - I put a modern Delta T2 30" fence on this one after a little modification of the fence itself, and the saw is so nice now. And yeah, I paid more for the fence that the saw itself. Good stuff.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

I have what I believe is the original fence. My fence had a lot of play in it at the end opposite of the lock with the aluminum outer part having a gap around the steel inner part, but I was able to tighten it up so it works okay now and stays parallel to the miter slot and blade.

Now that I got it all set up, it works well, but it's still the loudest saw I've ever used. Is yours really loud too?


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

Okay, problem solved, broken internal drive belt.

You guys have been SO helpful today. The belt cost $25 or so. Done.

This saw was purchased of CL for $100, and when the original crummy fence broke a year or so later I replaced it with a modified T2 fence, and so having the motor crap the bed was heartbreaking. So glad to fix it.

Yes DaleM, this thing roars like Airwolf. The bearings sound pretty crunchy when I manually spin the arbor, so maybe now is the time to swap them out, that's gotta be why this saw is so loud.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Replacing the bearings sounds reasonable while you have it apart, and could prevent problems down the road. Being that it's a universal motor, it has brushes, some it'll still be fairly loud. Come to think of it, those are a consumable and should be checked too.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Replacing the bearings sounds reasonable while you have it apart, and could prevent problems down the road. Being that it's a universal motor, it has brushes, some it'll still be fairly loud. Come to think of it, brushes are a consumable and should be checked too. (part #207)


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## chet077 (Sep 2, 2012)

Hello…this is my first post and I'm kinda new at this woodworking. I bought this delta table saw model 34-670 and it was running well till recently… it roars like it's supposed to, but the blade doesn't spin. in reading the post and viewing the picture on this thread…i have a near exact model of the table saw pictured above. I also believe the belt is broken..part #226. my question: how do you drop the motor out of the cabinet? do you drop the entire mounting bracket somehow? any advice would be appreciated. thanks


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I used to own the same delta table saw and had the same belt break. Glad to see you have found the solution.

Chet, the motor mounting bolts should be accessible from up top through the area where the blade sticks through. There are only 4 bolts and the motor is removed fairly easily.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

Chet, I actually laid my saw over on it's back so I could access the bolts from underneath. I removed the motor from the mounting bracket/trunnion. After you remove the four bolts and pull the motor out, you can see the pic above that seldomright posted for the rest. It really was fairly simple. Later on, when aligning my blade to the miter slot, I did have to loosen and readjust the entire assembly, but that may not even be necessary for you.


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

I'm a little late responding, but yeah Chett007, four bolts accessed from the top. I tipped my saw over at a 45 degree angle so I could loosen the bolts from the top, and kinda hold and brace the motor from below. I didn't think to check blade alignment DaleM, and now I a little concerned, I just assumed the 4 bolts simply hoisted it back into alignment. I'll check. I did replace the brushes as well. My caveman brain couldn't figure out how to get the motor open any further to replace the bearings. The saw definitely sounds and feels more solid now.


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## seldomwright (Aug 8, 2012)

And actually, maybe someone has some insight here, as far as when I went to replace the belt, I had to use some serious brute force and deft leverage to get that belt on, as I saw no way to loosen the tension on the cog. It was a rather stressful operation. I took off that little tension clip on the cog but saw no way to make it eccentric in order to simply slip the belt on.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

Seldomwright, you are right this time. It is hard to get the belt on. I took the washer off the motor shaft so I could put that side of the belt on, barely catching on the edge, then fed it onto the other one like putting a bike chain on by turning the whole thing. That only got the very edge of the belt on of course, so I kept pressure on the belt, pushing it towards the cogs, while turning the thing. As I turned it, it fed on a little at a time. I had to turn the thing quite a few times before the belt worked its way all the way down.


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