[maxman10]

When I turn the wheel counterclockwise it straightens the blade but eventually the handler unit starts to unscrew. When I turn clockwise, the blade starts to tilt, but is very difficult to turn beyond this point. Nowhere close to 45°. Is it stuck? Is it jammed? Thoughts?

 

[lilman]

Does it get hard or completely quit moving at all? If it quits, there are screws that are used to set 90 and 45. Maybe one of those are getting in the way?

 

[rrich]

Contractor saw? Is something preventing the motor from moving?

I would suggest using a wire brush and clean the threads / gear teeth of the tilting mechanism and then lube with white lithium grease. (It comes in tubes from the local hardware store.)

As for the knob coming loose, I can't remember how they are assembled. The lock knob is in the center of the cranking wheel. I seem to recall I put Loctite blue to insure that the crank wheel wouldn't come loose. A locking nut in the back of the crank?

 

[woodnthings]

Craftsman saw?

The tilt gear bevel teeth get gummed up with saw dust. You have to look underneath to see where those gears are, then use a ice pick or small screw driver to clean out between the teeth, usually the small gear. You should just tilt the blade every so often to keep them clean, a lesson I learned the hard way. :thumbdown:

 

[cabinetman]

Stating what kind of saw you have would help in giving advice on the tilting problem and the crank handle. Generally, just cleaning out all the shafts, gears, any of the mechanisms would be a good start. Use compressed air or any tooling needed to remove wood particles that may be sticky from sap.

I would use a dry lubricant, like graphite.

.

 

[NetDoc]

I had this problem on my Ryobi before I found this forum. It was mostly an accumulation of saw dust, with a light coat of rust that was causing the binding. A couple of shots of air and a bit of well placed penetrant oil worked for me. Be very shy with using oils. Dust can/will accumulate on the residue and will possibly cause more problems down the road. The spot I had to lubricate was on the not so dusty side and I used very, very little.