I recently took apart my table saw in a renewed effort to get to the bottom of an issue described in a previous discussion. I've made some headway on that issue and have learned some other things about my saw in the process, but I'm also encountering some new issues. One step forward, one step back.
First off, while reassembling the upper trunnion assembly (referred to as the bearing arm assembly in the parts diagram) I'm having trouble getting the worm gear (#16) and gear segment (#20) for the blade raising to mesh perfectly. I do think I have them centered well and there's no binding or anything when raising and lowering. The movement is fairly smooth and easy as I crank the handwheel. The problem is that if I lift up on the motor or the bearing arm assembly, there's a slight amount of play. From what I can tell, this play is between the worm gear and the gear segment and has to do the positioning of the gear segment. Loosening the hex bolts (#21, #22), the gear segment has quite a bit of movement to change the relationship between it and the worm gear.
My question is, does anyone have any experience or advise on how to fine tune adjust the gear segment to perfectly mesh with the worm gear? I've tried adjusting it a number of times to reduce the slop when lifting up on the motor, but its just a frustrating game of guess and check. I've gotten it pretty close, but cant completely eliminate the slop. I'm just wondering if there's a tried method for dialing this in or of it's just a matter of loosening the bolts, randomly nudging, and checking. I wouldn't be so concerned about the slight amount of wiggle except that I believe it is a contributing factor in another issue I'm having , described in the thread I linked above. I'd also be interested if anyone else has a model 66 and would be willing to check if they have any noticeable movement in the pivot when lifting up on their motor.
Another question I have about the bearing arm is, where is the point of contact supposed to be when the blade is lowered all the way down to it's minimum elevation? I didn't pay attention to this before disassembling, but now that it's back together, I've noticed that the point that limits the bearing arm from pivoting further down is the bearing arm itself bumping into the main trunnion casting under the arbor bearing housing. It seems a little odd that the contact would be between to rough pieces of the castings. The blade height maximum is set by an adjustable bolt (#28) to prevent the arbor or pully from contacting the underside of the table, but I see no such adjustable stop for the lower minimum. This isn't a big concern, but I wonder if others can confirm whether this is by design or if I missed something during reassembly.
And lastly, I'm wondering about the spacers (#41) shown in the parts diagram around the pivot shaft. The diagram below is from a newer version of the saw which shows a spacer on either end of the pivot shaft. Older versions of the manual don't show any spacers at all. My saw, which is possibly a 1987 vintage judging by the serial #, only has one spacer on the nut side of the pivot shaft (right side when standing in front of saw). This spacer looks to be just a large nylon washer to prevent friction as the shaft pivots. I'm wondering if I'm missing a spacer on the left side or if my version of the saw is supposed to have just one. I haven't been able to find a copy of the manual that exactly matches my saw configuration, but I imagine they didn't draw up new diagrams for each incremental iteration of the saw over the years. I'm contemplating ordering two of the spacers and trying that out since it might also help resolve other issues I'm having. If anyone has a newer model 66 that more closely matches the diagram below, I'd be curious of their spacers on the pivot shaft look to be plastic or metallic. Photos of the part I've been able to find online look metallic to me, but the one spacer I have is definitely plastic.
If anyone is curious about the other issues I've alluded to, check out the other discussion. If any of this leads to improvements there, I'll post a follow-up in that thread.
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First off, while reassembling the upper trunnion assembly (referred to as the bearing arm assembly in the parts diagram) I'm having trouble getting the worm gear (#16) and gear segment (#20) for the blade raising to mesh perfectly. I do think I have them centered well and there's no binding or anything when raising and lowering. The movement is fairly smooth and easy as I crank the handwheel. The problem is that if I lift up on the motor or the bearing arm assembly, there's a slight amount of play. From what I can tell, this play is between the worm gear and the gear segment and has to do the positioning of the gear segment. Loosening the hex bolts (#21, #22), the gear segment has quite a bit of movement to change the relationship between it and the worm gear.
My question is, does anyone have any experience or advise on how to fine tune adjust the gear segment to perfectly mesh with the worm gear? I've tried adjusting it a number of times to reduce the slop when lifting up on the motor, but its just a frustrating game of guess and check. I've gotten it pretty close, but cant completely eliminate the slop. I'm just wondering if there's a tried method for dialing this in or of it's just a matter of loosening the bolts, randomly nudging, and checking. I wouldn't be so concerned about the slight amount of wiggle except that I believe it is a contributing factor in another issue I'm having , described in the thread I linked above. I'd also be interested if anyone else has a model 66 and would be willing to check if they have any noticeable movement in the pivot when lifting up on their motor.
Another question I have about the bearing arm is, where is the point of contact supposed to be when the blade is lowered all the way down to it's minimum elevation? I didn't pay attention to this before disassembling, but now that it's back together, I've noticed that the point that limits the bearing arm from pivoting further down is the bearing arm itself bumping into the main trunnion casting under the arbor bearing housing. It seems a little odd that the contact would be between to rough pieces of the castings. The blade height maximum is set by an adjustable bolt (#28) to prevent the arbor or pully from contacting the underside of the table, but I see no such adjustable stop for the lower minimum. This isn't a big concern, but I wonder if others can confirm whether this is by design or if I missed something during reassembly.
And lastly, I'm wondering about the spacers (#41) shown in the parts diagram around the pivot shaft. The diagram below is from a newer version of the saw which shows a spacer on either end of the pivot shaft. Older versions of the manual don't show any spacers at all. My saw, which is possibly a 1987 vintage judging by the serial #, only has one spacer on the nut side of the pivot shaft (right side when standing in front of saw). This spacer looks to be just a large nylon washer to prevent friction as the shaft pivots. I'm wondering if I'm missing a spacer on the left side or if my version of the saw is supposed to have just one. I haven't been able to find a copy of the manual that exactly matches my saw configuration, but I imagine they didn't draw up new diagrams for each incremental iteration of the saw over the years. I'm contemplating ordering two of the spacers and trying that out since it might also help resolve other issues I'm having. If anyone has a newer model 66 that more closely matches the diagram below, I'd be curious of their spacers on the pivot shaft look to be plastic or metallic. Photos of the part I've been able to find online look metallic to me, but the one spacer I have is definitely plastic.
If anyone is curious about the other issues I've alluded to, check out the other discussion. If any of this leads to improvements there, I'll post a follow-up in that thread.
